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Devotional Ritual - Why?
I've had a regular meditation practice for about 6 months and attended intro to Buddhism and intro to meditation courses run by an order member from the Triratna Buddhist community and this weekend went to my first day retreat. We did mindfulness of breathing, metta and walking meditations, which were great. But then at the end of the day, there was a puja devotional practice, consisting of some chanting (in Pali), some offerings to a shrine and some verses. TBH, I felt a bit freaked out by this part of the day and am a bit confused as to where this kind of thing fits in. It looked a lot to me like worshipping the Buddha, which I thought went against the teachings?
So, what I would like to know is how important is devotional practice to a Buddhist spiritul practice? Do other Buddhists find it helpful, and in what ways? How does it fit in with the Eightfold Path (if at all?). Has anyone else felt uncomfortable with this kind of thing or is it just me?!
So, what I would like to know is how important is devotional practice to a Buddhist spiritul practice? Do other Buddhists find it helpful, and in what ways? How does it fit in with the Eightfold Path (if at all?). Has anyone else felt uncomfortable with this kind of thing or is it just me?!
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