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Do Buddhists pray? If so, to what since Buddhists do not believe in a deity?

BuddhaGirl02BuddhaGirl02
edited June 2010 in Buddhism Basics
Hi everyone. Do Buddhists pray and if so, to what since Buddhists do not believe in a deity?

Comments

  • StephenStephen
    edited April 2010
    Please see the thread at http://newbuddhist.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5306 for this; someone already brought it up a few days ago.

    The short answer is "not like you think".
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited April 2010
    Some Buddhists do, especially to statues of the Buddha or various local deities that have been co-opted into Buddhism, but there's no evidence that the Buddha himself ever advocated such a practice or suggested that such prayers would be answered. The Buddha never claimed to be God, nor did he claim to represent such a deity.
  • BuddhaGirl02BuddhaGirl02
    edited April 2010
    Ah okay! Thanks!
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited April 2010
    A big part of my teachers way of teaching buddhism is 'heartwish' which is the longing we feel for liberation. Prayer could be a way of connecting with this longing. Pranidhanas which are like skillful wishes are similar to prayer but the intention is not to invoke a deity rather the intention is to clarify what are wishes are so that we are not going at cross purposes with one foot on one road and another foot on another road. Similar to renunciation. Prayer is also appearing elsewhere though I don't know too much about it. In tibetan buddhism offering to Buddha both real and imagined things and even yourself is done to cultivate bodhicitta which is what the practice is about on the bodhisatva path (bodhicitta). Another big part of my teacher's way of teaching buddhism is that we are connecting to a whole mandala of awakened beings. This is seen in the adhistana or blessing of the lineage a power that helps you to receive the teachings from your guru. The mandala helps you to awaken. It is very difficult to awaken due to the habitual energies and the power of the ego mandala. By the power of the awakening mandala we are strengthened and steadied to remove klesha (negativity caught in) and veils (something obscuring seeing).
  • skydancerskydancer Veteran
    edited April 2010
    I'm particularly fond of dedication prayers. This one is lovely:

    Precept Dedication Prayer

    by Shantideva, revised by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

    <TABLE width=350><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>May all beings everywhere,
    Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
    Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
    By virtue of my merits.
    May no living creature suffer,
    Commit evil or ever fall ill.
    May no one be afraid or belittled,
    With a mind weighed down by depression.
    May the blind see forms,
    And the deaf hear sounds.
    May those whose bodies are worn with toil
    Be restored on finding repose.
    May the naked find clothing,
    The hungry find food.
    May the thirsty find water
    And delicious drinks.
    May the poor find wealth,
    Those weak with sorrow find joy.
    May the forlorn find hope,
    Constant happiness and prosperity.
    May there be timely rains
    And bountiful harvests.
    May all medicines be effective
    And wholesome prayers bear fruit. May all who are sick and ill
    Quickly be freed from their ailments.
    Whatever diseases there are in the world,
    May they never occur again. May the frightened cease to be afraid
    And those bound be freed.
    May the powerless find power
    And may people think of benefiting each other.
    </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
  • DeshyDeshy Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Jason wrote: »
    Some Buddhists do, especially to statues of the Buddha or various local deities that have been co-opted into Buddhism, but there's no evidence that the Buddha himself ever advocated such a practice or suggested that such prayers would be answered. The Buddha never claimed to be God, nor did he claim to represent such a deity.

    Yep. Actually the Buddha asked his disciples to take Dhamma (his teachings) as their teacher after his death. He didn't promote worship as such. Whoever does him respect would follow his teachings really.

    But the Buddhists all around the world do worship the Buddha statues and all that as an act of respect for the Buddha, Dhamma and the sangha. I personally do not go to temple often but if I go there to calm my mind or to meet the monks there, I worship the Buddha statue as an act of respect and heart-felt love for the Dhamma he brought into the world.
  • sukhitasukhita
    edited April 2010
    BuddhaGirl02 wrote: »
    Hi everyone. Do Buddhists pray and if so, to what since Buddhists do not believe in a deity?

    This may help:
    In Buddhist traditions, devotional prayer serves a very different purpose than the prayers normally associated with other religions. The purpose of Buddhist prayer is to awaken the Buddha nature within us. This nature is our inherent inner capacities of strength, compassion, and wisdom. Our prayer is not to petition some external forces based on fear or worldly gain. It is a form of meditation; it is a practice of inner reconditioning.
    Devotional prayer poses a danger if it is practised as an ends in itself instead of being employed as means for channelling the devotional emotions into the correct path. It is when the prayer is wrongly practised that it becomes an impediment rather than an aid to the spiritual life. Correctly observed as means and not as ends, devotional prayers and ritualistic and ceremonial practices can serve to generate wholesome states of mind. Thus contributing to the main aim of all Buddhist practices – that is, to transform the mind.

    .... but I can't seem to find the source of this quote.
  • Ramble0nRamble0n
    edited June 2010
    I can only speak of myself but I use small prayers as a way to increase mindfulness and bring my focus to my thoughts. I don't direct them to any deity. Like in the morning when I walk to work I say this "prayer."

    As I take my first step,
    My foot kisses the floor.
    With gratitude to the earth,
    I walk in liberation.


    Or before falling asleep, I say:

    Falling asleep at last
    I vow with all beings
    to enjoy the dark and silence
    and rest in the vast unknown.


    just little things like that. :)
  • DisneyDisney
    edited June 2010
    BuddhaGirl02 wrote: »
    Hi everyone. Do Buddhists pray and if so, to what since Buddhists do not believe in a deity?
    My understanding is that buddhist respects deity (god or goddess) as they have Buddha nature, and would become buddha eventually. Buddhist pray for suchness or absolute one until it prevailed, and in suchness, their is neither god nor goddess and is a wholesome way of life :D
  • TasslehoffTasslehoff
    edited June 2010
    The universe exists for us within our own minds. Take away the Earth, and we will still carry her. If a Buddhist prays, they are praying to a part of themselves and not to a "real" person.
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