What is purpose of ceremony?
racerska
Indiana, USA Explorer
Hello everyone,
I'm still a newb to the Buddhist practice, but I'm an enthusiastic learner and in my quest to read every book on Buddhism in my local library system, I've been reading What the Buddha Taught by Wapola Rahula. I have found it to be an excellent text, but I have a question about a small point the author makes in Chapter 5. At the end of that chapter he explains that the eight-fold path is about developing the self, it has "nothing to do with belief, prayer, worship or ceremony." Side note, this is exactly the sort of thing that attracted me to Buddhism in the first place. He goes on to say:
"In Buddhist countries there are simple and beautiful customs and ceremonies on religious occasions. They have little to do with the real Path. But they have their value in satisfying certain religious emotions and the needs of those who are less advanced, and helping them gradually along the Path."
Am I wrong to find that a little dismissive? Am I missing the point? I understand that a ceremony, as a performance, is not essential or required to following the path. But aren't they still useful? Even to advanced practitioners and not just to the "less advanced"? My understanding of the importance of social or religious ceremonies have always been that they were essential to community building: we are all in this together and we all value and uphold the same ideas. Performing ceremonies helps us psychologically reaffirm our individual choices of practice and sets a community standard and feeling of belonging (hopefully, anyway).
So I guess my questions are, what is the purpose of ceremonies? Why perform any Buddhist ritual? Is it only for the "less advanced," or is there a greater, more sophisticated value to be found in the performance?
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Comments
I'm newish at Buddhism, but I've taken to it in a big way myself. I feel ceremonies are what communities tend to do - to give a greater sense of belonging and purpose (even if it is an illusion or delusion or whatev). Solitary peeps sometimes have their own ceremony like building their altar, etc. I suppose I'd consider such ceremonies to be a luxury of sorts but it's not a necessity.
@racerska
What is purpose of ceremony?
An interesting topic. When I'm grouchy as a Zen Buddhist with minimalist tendencies, they often seem to me like un necessary dances around a maypole. When I'm in an easier mood, I think they can be whatever you want to make of them.
For many though, they are a primary part of their Buddhist practice.
Rite and ritual can be thought of as a moving meditation, but then again, just about any activity can be made into a moving meditation.
Apt participants can transmit some teachings of their understanding of "stillness in activity" and "activity in stillness" with rite and ritual, just as
deluded participants can transmit some teachings of their own attachments or beliefs in magic with rite and ritual
Sometimes folks involved in rite & ritual resemble aircraft circling close to a fogged in airport, in wait for an opportunity to safely land. Perhaps this keeps them safer there than they might be wandering away in search of other landing spaces when their fuel is low.
Yup...You must of caught me in a grouchy mood.
I tend to agree with you @silver An elaborate shrine or meditation corner is not necessary for sitting. I've been laying on my posture trainer on the basement floor to do my meditation lately, after I do my posture exercises. A far cry from bells and chanting and such, but it's what is working for me at this point in time.
In the same vein, I tend to think people coming together as families and communities to do practical things in helping each other is more beneficial than sitting together through a fancy-schmancy ceremony.
I'll use a Christian analogy.
Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians like their rituals and rites. Having gone to Catholic primary school, the rituals are - in retrospect - a way to turn down the critical, analyzing part of the brain and just take part in the spiritual experience. Repetition and habituation to the rituals makes the at-first formal processes (bowing, where to stand, etc) seem second nature. You know what's gonna happen (and if you've done your learning, why it's being done), so you don't need to spend time learning details, but rather tuning into the spiritual nature of it.
I don't read it as dismissive. It just sounds to me that like a lot of things, some things in Buddhism have more of a purpose when you are newer. They help with understanding and commitment. As you go along the path, some things fall away, and this is good. Best to let them go and not cling to them even if they served a purpose just yesterday. I most certainly didn't have to go through a ceremony to take refuge vows. But having done so aids me in my dedication to my practice, and it also helps my teacher know where I am at, since certain paths have processes in place.
I agree with the above, that ceremony and ritual is a type of group meditative technique. To be effective, people must immerse themselves in the chanting or music and movement.
I brought this topic up to the local Buddhist book group I'm part of...
Most seemed to be of the opinion that the rites and rituals were originally developed as a vehicle to transmit the ideas from one generation to the next. And that ceremonies are a helpful way to bring new people into the practice and gives a feeling of community and continuity. On an individual level, rituals are not necessary, but on a community level they are.
Tee Hee.
The Theravadin monkery tradition that Walpole belonged too is very ritualistic and ceremonial. The monks engage in a living ritual of following an outer personification of the perfect being. Any value in that?
In the Zen formula of meditation and mindfulness, we have ceremonial aprons, group intensity reinforcements and a ritual relationship with the worshipful zen master. Any value in that?
In the ceremony and ritual of the tantrika we turn symbol into reality as a fantasy skilfulness. Any value in that?
Yes, IMHO there is value in these approaches:
There is value in eventually throwing away the baby, bathwater and bath too. However that presence is often too formless, premature and ultimately forgettably empty ... any value in that performance?
Well, you know sometimes I think the ceremony becomes sacred in itself and kinda digs into our minds.
Nothing wrong with anything above. There is nothing so good that it cannot be used for bad purposes and vice versa. Rituals and ceremonies have their uses ... OK.
My own view (and at my age, I tend to take the path of least resistance) is that every word and format and whiff of incense is simply advertising. No one who reads an ad for a Chevy believes s/he possesses the car itself, but ads can be informative, ladle out sex appeal, or even divert the buyer from less palatable aspects.
If religion is nothing but advertising, then the only question worth answering is, "advertising for what?" This, to my mind, is the question that all serious students stumble into in the course of getting their educational or ritualistic ducks lined up. The question arises in its own time and not because some bright-eyed enthusiast asks it in hopes of skipping over all the advertising.
Seriously, why should I bother with Buddhism when I might more usefully be learning how to use a hula hoop, blow smoke rings, or put the Kama Sutra to good use? The question is utterly personal. You can't expect an answer from anyone else ... or at least not one that will have much more substance than a smoke ring.
Best wishes.
What is the purpose, if it has one, of ceremony to you now? Whatever your answer, it may change as you walk your walk. There is only one way to find out.
I've learned something from all the ones I did/went to. Some...my expectations were waaaayyy to high.....others...It was symbolic for me at the time...others...bonded a few of us from the group. The older I'm getting...the more I avoid them, to be honest. It's too crowded for me and the piece of paper only means as much as I make it...
The rituals?? Yep...I do some alter stuff at home. It's my reminders for mental states....and maybe some relax moments....and I do a mindfulness bell.
"What is purpose of ceremony?"
When one gets down to the nitty gritty, one could say... It's all about mind training
That's interesting for me because I think my sangha does ceremonies, but I am studying via internet and am not there for their ceremonies so I don't know how it is to be involved in one. What did Wapola Rahula mean by ceremony? Does it include refuge ceremony? or chanting? Chanting liturgy is probably the only ceremonial thing I do but I do it with myself following along with a youtube or other recording. But liturgy is not pure ceremony because the words have meaning themselves.
Wapola Rahula (sorry did not mean to get his name wrong - got confused with Walpole St in London) was I feel referring to shallow and empty Buddha flag allegiance flapping and ego confirming social reinforcement. That is the hypocrisy of all spiritual rote and sheeple based activity.
Ritual and ceremony can be a profound teaching methodology used in non literate cultures, the mystery schools and esoteric dharma as one of the methods of transmission.
In that sense, Rahula was absolutely correct to be dissmissive.
Streamed live on Oct 18, 2014
Lama Shenpen gives a talk on the traditional structure of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism.
For more information about Lama Shenpen, her teachings or the Awakened Heart Sangha, please visit www.buddhism-connect.org
Another idea is through these practices receive motivation and energy. The thought occurs to me that sports teams with various degrees of success try to bring themselves to play harder and better by the locker room and different things. If the coach is coaching you to win that is good. Hierarchies can be good; of course if the coach tells you to shoot steroids or play dirty then in that case you got a bad coach.
You can find a good explanation in Bodhidharmas Breakthrough Sermon.
http://users.libero.it/seza/bodhidharma.pdf
The community or social level is often very little to do with interior development/understanding. True enough.
In many ways social interaction is a game or ritual exchange. When the mask or spell is broken, we can find mental illness or the means to introduce a little magic ...
So the skill is in what game is in play ...
The most important question, though, is how many energon cubes have you accumulated in your practice?
(all meant in good fun, hope no is put off by the gif)
peace
Good question, "What Is The Purpose of Ceremony". I seem to recall people saying here that the Buddha didn't teach ceremony, because he didn't want people to become attached to it. Ceremony isn't necessary in Buddhism, because B-ism is more about self-examination and disciplining the mind.
I suspect it's something that leaked in from other traditions.