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Prayer
lobster
Crusty Veteran
in Meditation
Prayer probably most akin to this Jewish practice
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitbodedut
is one of my extra practices.
I will mostly do puja or Buddhist prayer. The Buddhist prayers I am most familiar with are based around mantra and Tantric deity visualisation practices. Interestingly they can be done by atheists, having an ability to make actual and real, abstract concepts such as compassion, metta and so on. The deities are in a sense mind constructs.
What is your approach to prayer?
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Comments
I've worked with deity visualisation in the past, but it always felt like praying to something external - and a lot of people thought about them as being external, actual entities. So I think your statement that "the deities are in a sense mind constructs" needs some unpacking - in what sense do we mean?
Does it make sense to talk about "praying" to compassion? I'm not sure.
And is mantra really a form of prayer? Again, I'm not sure.
Prayer can also be a powerful form of concentration meditation.
Praying to deities and saying mantras aren't really my thing.
I'm quite happy to chant or say mantras if a group is doing it, more for just embracing the facets of Buddhism. But alone I don't do these things.
I'm glad there are so many paths In Buddhism. Everybody can find a path that suits them.
So what kind of thing are you doing?
I read once (and I think it has been said here before) that "meditation is how Buddhists pray."
I must confess, (must I?!) that 'old habits die hard' and occasionally I have caught myself saying things like "Oh please God, let ~this~ happen!" or the more common "thank God for that!" but then I tell myself to not be foolish... But sending good thoughts out into the universe, while totally unproven to have any effect, I don't feel does any harm...
I feel I was given good deity visualisation teachings. On the mundane or simplest level they are indeed thought of as sky gods, external beings that are dependent on our faith that hear and answer devotion. That is the Father Christmas level . . . well it is not called that exactly . . . it was called the Hinayana level . . .
The appropriate level is seeing them as skilful resonances that we focus and identify with in the practice.
http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0014_Leksheyling_teaching/leksheyling_teachings_0012.htm
I mostly don't do prayer. If a friend or family member is in distress, I may say a prayer for them, but my attitude towards it can be summed up with "If this works, great. If not, no harm done." I don't really think a deity/boddhisatva/deva/whatever will act on my prayer, but it's more a way of sending positive energy. I'm not even sure that has any value.
My attitude towards prayer is that is for the benefit of the one making the prayer, rather than an invocation of supernatural forces. I've always felt that meditation is a better way of achieving self-improvement.
Is mantra a form of prayer? Yes, of course! It's using words that focus on divinity or aspirations for spiritual purity, often "holy words." In the East, Christians have followed the words of St. Paul [1 Thess 5]: "Pray always" in the Hesychast tradition. Some attributes of that tradition are described in great detail in the Philokalia, which is largely of Mount Athos derivation. "Philokalia" is Greek for "Love of beautiful/good things." The Philokalia speaks much about the "Jesus Prayer," as the model prayer, the constant repetition of which under one's breath being a sure path to God-realization.
In the Hindu and Vedanta traditions, the mantra your guru gives you works in much the same way. It becomes almost imperceptible that you are even saying it after a while. But it is there. Indeed, most of the time in meditation, it's still THERE. But, the beauty of the mantra is that you carry it with you everywhere, even into the busy workplace and into the suspenseful movie you are now attending!
The Hitbodedut, or "self seclusion," that is mentioned in the OP is not necessary for prayer, but it is really necessary for meditation. You really need to seclude yourself if you are to dive deep. Not only that, but also mentally: you must not be harried by time constraints, such as having to rush off somewhere to work or to do something.
The Dative Case: You read the book to Alice, i.e., FOR Alice. You pray for compassion. It's true that usually we use the preposition, "to," with the accusative, but language is more fluid than that. Of course, it would be ablative case in the ancient languages, not dative; but in English we formally have only three cases, with two of them quite loose: Nominative, oblique, and a kind-of genitive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case
Taken as a whole, English personal pronouns are typically said to have three morphological cases:
What We Have in ENGLISH: (from op. cit. Wikipedia Article):
The nominative case (subjective pronouns such as I, he, she, we), used for the subject of a finite verb and sometimes for the complement of a copula.
The oblique case (object pronouns such as me, him, her, us), used for the direct or indirect object of a verb, for the object of a preposition, for an absolute disjunct, and sometimes for the complement of a copula.
The genitive case (possessive pronouns such as my/mine, his, her(s), our(s)), used for a grammatical possessor. This is not always considered to be a case; see English possessive: Status of the possessive as a grammatical case.
The reason Wiki states that the genitive is not always considered to be a case is IMO not sound. Any survey of Middle English will show that in today's English there is a distinct inflective ending for the genitive case. Middle English's Johannes Book becomes John's Book in modern English --the apostrophe denoting an elision. In other words, the [noun] + ['s] is the Genitive, and the only inflection. Thus, to say it's not a case is a mistake, I think.
Oops! In case @Lobster thinks I failed to answer the OP:
My mantra is the background "noise," but the love inside is my reaching ("approach," as you say).
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats,
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not up hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
—Alfred Lord Tennyson
Interesting stuff but I'm not sure what any of it has to with Buddhism.
O SN, you're so much fun to interact with!
Om mani padme hum
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
>
Yes, I've read some off-topic posts but that one's a doozie.....
If you really believe in Buddhas and Boddhisattvas (albeit empty ones) then prayer is a reminder (sort of) given to those beings requesting them to manifest. It is like knocking on someone's door and asking if you can come in even if you are friends you still go with the formalities to establish a 'guest-host' relationship. Another example is the heart sutra. The sutra says 'through the power of the Buddha' Sariputra asked Avalokiteshevra, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva, "how should a son or daughter of noble standing practice?"
Without that question that Sariptra asked there would be no answer given by Avalokiteshevra.
In order for dharma to come into the world there must be five certainties: a teacher, a student, dharma taught, a time, and a place. The teaching must come through in some manifest way such as oral, written, or even a prayer.
Oh and although we all 'interbe' it doesn't mean that I can treat others rudely with the expression that they are myself. They are together dependently arisen with me but if I eat a sandwich they will not be full. Beings have dynamic relationships with feelings and that is how emptiness is form.
Maybe nothing. But it's filed under the Meditation banner. So sorry if I rambled on. Especially for all the extra work it causes the Mods.
Didn't cause me any extra work at all. Don't let it cause you unnecessary angst...
Depends on the usage, I'm sure . . .
Most commonly at present I use it in sadhana, which certainly is partly intention based.
On its own mantra can be used not just as a focus or concentration but as interior alignment. So for example:
OM MANI PEME HUM HRIH is the essence of the alignment, resonance and evocation of Avalokiteśvara
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokiteśvara
So personally my usage is closer to prayer/puja than meditation at present . . .
I guess I don't pray. For me, my concept of prayer is saying, "I want I want I want" to God (which, personally, I don't believe in). But having said all of that, I did encounter a troubling situation about a year ago. Without details, let's just say it was a very stressful situation in which I had absolutely no control. My grandmother told me that I should simply pray for everything to be okay, but I told her I just couldn't do it because... I just didn't believe there was any point. I didn't feel that there was anyone on the receiving end of that call. So, she then told me that she would pray for me...which was oddly comforting to me, a feeling that was really confusing, haha. Maybe I have more belief in my grandmother being magical, I don't know.
What do other Buddhists do when faced with a situation such as this? Simply accept the que sera sera? It's hard for me, in that moment.
And I'm a sucker for mantras. Given what's been going on as of late, my mala has been getting quite a workout. I think part of it comes from the alignment @lobster mentioned. That's how it feels for me, anyway. Your mileage may vary.
I pray that I can realise who I am so I can help others do the same.
Something is at work here, don't know what it is but I'm sending those prayers out.
I pray - I don't care whether anyone else believes in it or not. I don't even care what anyone here thinks about it either. I'm like Nike, I just do it _ /\ _
Mindfulness practice & meditation has taken the place of the Lord's prayer and other personal prayers I grew up with. Yep.
PS - If spiny thinks it's funny, I guess I needed to explain that it seems to be worlds better for me....maybe feels more complete or something - shrug
I'm glad you found value in my comment................
I spent two years as a committed, assured, certain beyond doubt atheist. I did not pray because there was no point. Nothing to pray to. I had to get to that point of non prayer, partly for Buddhist doctrinaire reasons and partly because it was a viewpoint I felt emphatically empathically unable to comprehend. Lack of hope is one of the benefits. Got there. Absorbed in its absolute certainty.
Emotionally I did not like it. Spiritually it made no difference to deity practice or meditation. These for me were internal procedures. However I did not like the truth but there is no going back. To start acting as if one believes, to pray to the void is hypocrisy reserved for the outer form of God conformity.
What is a gal to do? I wanted God back. However I was in a condition of No-God. Oh boy.
However just because something is impossible no need to be so limited. I began to think in terms of the possibility of limited or evolving God like entities. I wanted a monotheistic type comprehension which I had grown up with, rather than Pagan multi-deity sentients.
I began to think of our evolution and that of potential earlier multiverse civilisations throughout the cosmos and their nature.
Developing advancing biological and technological change to overcome limitations seemed inevitable. Immortality, ability to create or destroy matter, overcome time and physical limitations became quite a simple certainty. Easy to understand such things as god like. However that is not far enough. With a substantial, perhaps evolutionary increase in intelligence, perhaps augmented, what nature would be exhibited? I realised I could not as a mere just above ape being know . . .
So my way in and return to prayer began with that possibility . . . evolution.
I do several rounds of malas a day.
At the altar before meditating, on the bus, in a café...
Om mani padme hum, Green Tara mantra, Guru Rinpoche, Manjushri, Vajjrasattva...
Every single time I take up the mala I wonder the same: "Why do I do this?"
I don't know. But I still reach out for my mala every single time, any way...
I guess there are many ways to transform consciousness.
I could pray to the universe itself as a deity but I don't think the universe is even aware of itself except through us.
Good plan.
That sounds like another way in for atheist prayer. If a reincarnationist, pray to your future Buddha self for intercession, or more evolved space aliens (might be too weird . . .)
I would suggest that metta or other focus of positive directed mind states is skilful and prayer like.
In other words Buddhist prayer can be independent of Cod (glory to his Fishiness) which we may or may not have a need/belief in. We cut out the middle man/deity as @ourself suggests . . .
I like the irrational response too. Just do it. That Buddha in sneakers would.