Apacāyana

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Apacāyana in traditional Buddhism means to show devotion as an exercise in acquiring religious merit.

General

Gestures of respect and recognition serve within the Buddhist Sangha (societies) and Quadruple Community ( parisā ) for role and role model effects . Love and respect for those who can impart Dharma (Buddhist ethics) is seen as the foundation of the ability to receive it.

Apacāyana depends on the object of reverence, on the quality of the action in word and deed, and on the intention and state of mind.

The sublime things include the three jewels , meditation, virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy and hospitality. But respect should also be cultivated in small things in daily life and in the family circle. The objects of the triple refuge count as the highest objects. Before every ceremony or discourse, honor is given to the teacher (Buddha), the teaching (Dhamma), and the community (Sangha).

“Respecting the teacher, respecting the Dhamma, and having a fierce respect for the sangha, respecting concentration, enthusiasm, and a fierce respect for exercise, a bhikkhu, respecting conscientiousness, and with a respect for courtesy - incapable of apostasy - is right in the presence of freedom. "

- AN 7.31

people

Apacāyana means showing respect and appreciation to those who are superior in age, virtue, morality, righteousness and wisdom. Mother and father have a very special position and are called the "first gods". Special respect is exercised towards teachers and scholars. The group of teachers and scholars is above age, ascetics and monks above all other ranks.

Honor is shown to gods and divine beings ( devas ). Humility and honor go to the Ariyas (saints, exalted ones) from the Sangha (community of saints). Paceccabuddhas and the Buddha himself belong to this group. The Buddha and his disciples were criticized by brahmins for not worshiping high-ranking people. The reason is that they had subordinated their age and social position to the Buddhist virtues, especially asceticism. Bhikkhus are even forbidden to show respect to certain people.

The ranking of the fully ordained members of the congregation is regulated by the time of full ordination. Even a 70-year-old who has only recently attained full ordination pays respect to a thirty-year-old Thera . Nuns must show respect even to a monk who was initiated the same day.

The Maha-parinibbana Sutta names four persons who are worthy of building a stupa (memorial with relics) for them: a fully enlightened one, a paccekabuddha , a disciple of the fully enlightened one, and a monarch who ruled in accordance with the Dharma.

Objects

Venerated objects include memorabilia, teachings, and scriptures. The practical use or even marketing of such objects is frowned upon.

Pilgrimage sites

The most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites are Lumbini , Buddha's birthplace and the place of his enlightenment at Bodhgaya (both in Nepal), Sarnath near Benares, where he taught, and Kushinagara (both in India) where he died . Alleged remains of the Buddha are now kept and venerated in countless places such as stupas , viharas and other memorials.

Actions

Respect is expressed through body, language, and mind. Physical respect begins with small gestures and extends to detailed regulations such as those of monks and nuns. These include B. Take off your headgear, walk past with your head tilted, get off your bike, etc. The greeting with clasped hands and bowing, usually named Namaste , is known. Respected persons are always offered a higher seat. It is a common gesture of respect to sit on the floor with your legs bent backwards. Sitting with your legs crossed can seem disrespectful. Putting the legs in the direction of a superior or a statue of Buddha would be disrespectful.

In relation to Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and all things standing for them (monks, nuns, statues, relics ...) it is customary to kneel down and bow as follows: The hands are folded first over the forehead, then in front of the face and in front of the heart then put your hands forward and bow until you touch the floor with all five points (forearms, legs, head). The five points of contact indicate the five clutches . In memory of the three jewels, the bow is repeated three times. Women take care not to lift their buttocks. Some traditions have also made prostration a dominant practice.

The rules of the monks and nuns know postures that do not allow Dhamma to be taught, e.g. B. when a [Upāsaka | layman] is holding a weapon, wearing a hat or shoes, has lay down, etc.

Bhikkhus have an obligation to worship the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha. In addition to this, they are obliged to respect (service) older monks. Monks, on the other hand, are forbidden to show respect for ten types of person: a fresher bhikkhu, an uninitiated person, a woman, a pāaka (sexually abnormal person), a bhikkhu from another school who does not speak the Dhamma, a bhikkhu on probation , a bhikkhu who needs to be sent back, a bhikkhu who deserves atonement, a bhikkhu who is undergoing atonement, and a bhikkhu who deserves reintegration. (The last five are different stages of reintegration from a Saṅghādisesa offense.)

language

In addition to expressions chosen for activities of the other person (e.g. eating instead of eating) or their possession (e.g. kuti instead of house), respectful salutations are the main features in respectful use of language. "Venerable Lord" (Bhante) for a bhikkhu and Sāmaṇera, or "Venerable woman" (Ayyā) for a Bhikkhunī and Sāmaṇerī are common forms of address.

It is not appropriate for monks and nuns to treat lay people like helpless children.

The most common form of recognition are gestures of recognition such as nodding, bowing, and praise. Traditionally (if, for example, someone has spoken Dhammma or has given a discourse) it is expressed with a " Sadhu !" (= "Very good!").

Mindset

Showing respect should counteract pride and conceit and help develop a right view. Gratitude plays a major role in this, and mudita (joy in wholesome actions). Aversion through ignorance, the third poison of the mind , must be prevented.

One story tells of the "anger-eating demon" who, in his high spirits, seeks out Sakka, the king of the gods, to feed on his anger. However, Sakka does not respond to the provocations, responds respectfully and courteously, and the demon, finding no food, fizzles out before the assembly of the gods. Another story describes beetles in a cow dung, the proud king of which rebukes a careful elephant for not disrespectfully lifting his foot over his kingdom. The elephant obeys the request and crushes the entire empire in the course of its bow.

Worship of gods

While praying or asking is common, it is not a wholesome act. Help from heavenly beings is possible, but should not be asked for as in a business or trade. Gods and devas are worshiped for remembering their past merits, qualities and virtues. The Bāhiya Sutta mentions an ascetic who for years devoted himself to devotion.

Different traditions

Puja

Buddhist festivities entirely dedicated to the act of worshiping the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. These events are riddled with acts of reverence.

Vajrayana

Tibetan tantrics know how to prostrate 100,000 times to overcome pride (see Ngondro ). Tibetan pilgrims often continue on their way, going from one full prostrate prostration to the next. It is z. B. Mount Kailash is completely circled in this way (52 km), which takes about four weeks. Pilgrims can be seen prostrating all the way from their home to Lhasa , sometimes 2,000 km away, and the process can take up to two years.

See also

Tham bun

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A Door to the Dhamma - Respect in Buddhist Theory and Practice , essay on the use of respect in practice, by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
  2. ↑ AN 8.2 Pañña Sutta: Insight
  3. ↑ Appamada Sutta: Conscientiousness
  4. ↑ AN 2.38 Kandarayana Sutta: An Kandarayana
  5. ↑ Buddhist Monastic Code II Chapter 8 Respect
  6. ↑ DN 16 Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Last Days of the Buddha , answering Ananda's final questions about how monks should address each other.
  7. ↑ [Codex for Buddhist Hermits II - Chapter 23 (2nd edition, 2007) - Bhikkhunīs], Cv.X.1 the eight Garudhammas
  8. ↑ DN 16 Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Last Days of the Buddha
  9. ↑ Nobel Consumer Protection Program , translations from www.knowingbuddha.org and other marketing from Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha
  10. ↑ DN 16 Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Last Days of the Buddha
  11. ↑ Bhikkhu-Pātimokkha - The main set of rules of the Buddhist monks translated from the Pali of Bhikkhu Ñāṇadassana
  12. ↑ Codex for Buddhist Hermits II Chapter 8 (2nd Edition 2007) Respect
  13. ^ Buddhist Monastic Code II Chapter 19 Penance & Probation
  14. ↑ Pāli title and salutations ( memento from November 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Theravāda working group within the German Buddhist Union (DBU)
  15. ↑ Adult Dhamma vs. Special Dhamma , discourse by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu
  16. ↑ “The Anger-eating Demon” , retold from an ancient Buddhist Story by Nyanaponika Thera (freely translated into German)
  17. ↑ The "Proud beetle in the cowdung" blessing - The "Proud beetle in the cowdung" blessing , told by Ven. Dhammananda.
  18. ↑ http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.070.than.htmlAN (link not available)
  19. ↑ Ud 1.10 Bāhiya Sutta: Bāhiya
  20. ↑ Food for Awakening - The Role of Appropriate Attention
  21. ↑ en: Prostration # BuddhismProstration - English Wikipedia