[paydayuscf]

I was wondering, do you pray regularly as part of your Buddhist practice? If so, who are the prayers to?

Do you think there's a difference between chanting prayers and chanting affirmations in Buddhism?

[aabbaDE]

In my personal life I have never prayed because I have never had a religion or the need of such. Also I neither chant nor I do any sort affirmation about Buddhism with chanting. I think it is neither important nor necessary; but when I go to seshins we all chant; I have to do that in order to practice Zazen with the Roshi so respectfully I do that at the dojo. There is no problem for me... in some way chants are a way we all start to settle the mind; when there is group meditation this is very important but they have no other meaning than just that. As we learn to settle the mind, because of the practice of meditation, in daily life, chanting becomes unnecessary and useless at all.

[rorsvierwelia]

I don't 'pray' to any exterior source. I verbally express wishes for beings to be happy, and my intentions, that all the actions of my body, speech and mind, whether (seemingly) positive, negative or otherwise, (to somehow) be a cause for people to turn to the dhamma.

There is a Buddhist sangha I am familiar with, and they have an e-group, and people are always posting things like "pray for so and so who is going into surgery". They say that every good wish helps and makes those who do it a little bit more caring and aware of others suffering, but personally -and this is my own attachment- It reminds me of faith-healers and really puts me off.

I have always thought of affirmations as being self-affirming ideas. So, they might be good for somebody who needs a little boost in the area of self-esteem, but just as with any part of dhamma practice, you even have to not be attached to the rewards you get from it.

This brings to mind another post in which 'faith' was mentioned.

[vRmy0Fzg]

For purposes of communicating with non Buddhist, I refer to practices such as Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig and other sadhanas, as well as aspirations and dedications of merit as prayers. Whether or not the Buddha's/bodhisattvas involved exist on a mundane level or not is immaterial. The practices are still beneficial. I view more traditional forms of prayer the same way.

[masteryxisman]

I was wondering, do you pray regularly as part of your Buddhist practice? If so, who are the prayers to?

I used to not consider the deities I "pray" to part of my Buddhist practice, but I'm not so sure anymore. No, I will not tell what deities.

Do you think there's a difference between chanting prayers and chanting affirmations in Buddhism?

I didn't know Buddhists chant prayers or affirmations. The chants I do are for homage and I guess they're partly affirmative. Good post A-D.
Cheerily,
bucky

[erubresen]

I suppose I call it 'prayer', but really it's just a wish for others to be happy, very simple with no religious connotations

I do morning / evening chanting in the Thai Forest tradition, just to remind myself to be thankful and grateful for the triple gem and also to ready the mind and body for meditation.

I don't know about affirmations? Aren't they traditionally meant to boost ones sense of self?...'I am a strong, confident person', etc. Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

[detskpit]

I guess the closest I come to "prayer" is Kwan Se Um Bosal chanting. We have a side altar, on which we place cards for people in need of help. The altar also has a Ji Jang Bosal on it , for people who have passed away. Kwan Se Um Bosal is the embodiment of compassion and Ji Jang Bosal is embodiment for helping children and people moving from one realm to the next. The whole thing is about intention. The particular tradition I practice in stresses "understanding ourselves and helping others". This practice gives some comfort to those who can use some.

[SannyGlow]

No one to pray to, nothing to pray for.

[bestworkother]

No one to pray to, nothing to pray for.

I don't believe it is necessary for there to be some one to pray to in order for prayer to be useful or beneficial. Prayer can just as easily be seen as guided meditation or contemplation.

[JoesBro]

Occasionally I select chants (I'd describe them as affirmations rather than prayers) from here:

http://www.amaravati.org/abmnew/docu..._Book_2006.pdf

I often briefly repeat the Refuge before meditation and a wish for peace and happiness for all beings.

I used to do pujas and prayers a lot when I was a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, but not since I changed tradition. I just meditate instead.

[BWJfEkOB]

I have found that doing Metta practice and Kwan Se Um Bosal chanting to be very similar. Different clothes, that all.

[Izzy]

No one to pray to, nothing to pray for.

Well said.

[attishina]

I don't believe it is necessary for there to be some one to pray to in order for prayer to be useful or beneficial. Prayer can just as easily be seen as guided meditation or contemplation.

But then it becomes an equivocation of the meaning of the word "prayer".

Guided meditation is guided meditation. Contemplation is contemplation. Prayer is a petition to a supposed outside entity to perform some action, for example, for the Cubs to win a game this year.

[Turbo-ip]

But then it becomes an equivocation of the meaning of the word "prayer".

Guided meditation is guided meditation. Contemplation is contemplation. Prayer is a petition to a supposed outside entity to perform some action, for example, for the Cubs to win a game this year.

Pardon me, but I'm not interested in quibbling over the meaning of words. A great many Buddhist teachers choose to pray. I don't presume to know better than they, nor do I presume to know whether the practice is effective for a particular individual.

[K0aM7urg]

Pardon me, but I'm not interested in quibbling over the meaning of words. .

Just a suggestion, David, but If you haven't done so already, it might be an idea to look at the guidelines for this debating forum at the beginning of the topic list for Beyond Belief.

quote from the guidelines:

"If you disapprove of any of the lively discussions taking place in this forum, or prefer to take a more orthodox position, or get easily offended, then you can simply avoid it ! There are plenty of other forums on the website in which one can interact or post new topics"

(Politeness still applies of course)

with kind wishes,

Aloka-D

[PerfectCreditForYou]

Just a suggestion, David, but If you haven't done so already, it might be an idea to look at the guidelines for this debating forum at the beginning of the topic list for Beyond Belief.

quote from the guidelines:

"If you disapprove of any of the lively discussions taking place in this forum, or prefer to take a more orthodox position, or get easily offended, then you can simply avoid it ! There are plenty of other forums on the website in which one can interact or post new topics"

(Politeness still applies of course)

with kind wishes,

Aloka-D

I don't disapprove. I answered the original post which asks if individuals engage in prayer or if they see other practices as equivalent. It did not ask about the effectiveness or appropriateness of the practice. I'm not offended. I simply fail to see the value in word games. If that is what this forum is for, then I will indeed avoid it.

[alanamosteller]

If that is what this forum is for, then I will indeed avoid it. Dear David, the BB forum is for relaxed debating which relates to the topic in some way. Defining terminology is ok, I can't see why that would be a problem.

[AndreasLV]

I was wondering, do you pray regularly as part of your Buddhist practice? If so, who are the prayers to?

Do you think there's a difference between chanting prayers and chanting affirmations in Buddhism?

I think asking a buddhist if he or she prays is sort of like asking a fish if he pees in his drinking water.
I mean that in a nice way.

[DEMassteers]

I think asking a buddhist if he or she prays is sort of like asking a fish if he pees in his drinking water.
I mean that in a nice way.

Lol, not clear about your meaning there, a fish does indeed pee in his drinking water - but some Buddhists pray and some don't ! I was curious because as a Tibetan Buddhist I used to pray myself - there were prayers to gurus of the lineage, to the 35 Buddhas, to all the Buddha's and Bodhisattva's of the 10 directions and so on.

These days apart from meditation I do a little chanting occasionally, which is what I'd call affirmations or recollections, such as the Metta Sutta for example.

I was just interested in what others members did or didn't do !

[RjkVwPcV]

Because a fish pees in his own drinking water, there is no difference between him and his entire universe.
If a buddhist starts from the view of non-duality (no self / no other) then the question of (there being any difference between) an external deity and one's own mind becomes moot. I think.

Praying to anything that one believes to exist outside the mind seems contrary to Buddhist teachings. On the other hand, if one is engaged the the parctice of mindful awareness when doing other activities such as chopping vegetables or sweeping the floor or whatever, then why should it matter whether the activity is an aspiration ("prayer") or cleaning a toilet? In other words, there is meditation (sammat. & vipp..) which, strictly speaking, is essentally what the Buddha taught, and then there is the question of where one's practice is when one is "off the cushion" as they say. So, can one "pray" and do so "mindfully"?

It's all so terribly subjective. If you tell me that as part of your practice you pray for hungry ghosts or for people who suffer from illness or disaster, maybe that doesn't sound so bad. If I then tell you that every I day rub the tummy of a plaster buddha statue and make a wish, it sounds like a promotional scheme for a new Chinese restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, I have some friends who are Thai monks (living in the United States). Every once in a while they accept the request to conduct a blessings ceremony for the opening of a new Thai restaurant. So, now there is this idea of 'prayers' and 'aspirations' and 'affirmations' and 'blessings' and then simply motivation and intention and how they manifest as the actions of one's speech, conduct and thought.

What differentiates a Buddha from someone who has (merely) ceased being attached to the temporary phenomena of our world? Does a Buddha break through all of our notions of conceptual time and space? Does anyone who becomes enlightened do this? If not, then what is enlightenement, and if so, can someone who "existed" in a body centuries ago still be generating something today that benefits people?

Not arguing one way or the other---just throwing some marshmallows into the fire.