Buddhist Devotional Practice as Preliminary Samadhi

In a previous entry, I used boarding an elevator as an analogy for Buddhist Meditative Practices. I compared Preparation or Preliminary Concentration or Parikamma Samadhi to approaching the elevator and taking steps to get on board. I suppose Devotional Buddhism night be cynically compared to setting up an altar and worshiping the door, kind of like a cargo cult. However, it is deeper than that. The altar can be said to mark the location of the portal. Of course, the portal does not exist at a fixed location. It can be opened just about anywhere and nowhere; though preferably not in the middle of a busy highway.

I was expecting to write a fairly simple, clean, concise piece on Buddhist Devotional Practices as Preparation Concentration. I should have known better. While researching the basic concepts, I quickly became bogged down. There are any number of Chinese words that are pretty much used interchangeably to mean devotion, worship, adoration, reverence, awe, respect, and so on. These were used to translate, or else can be back translated to, a handful or so of Sanskrit terms. It took about two weeks before I concluded that I was not going to be able to sort them out.

The most general term for Devotional Buddhism is probably 信愛 {xinai / shinai}. 信 is a translation of shaddha / shraddha; which means faith or trust. 愛 comes to Buddhism from Confucianism; in which it refers to benevolence. In Buddhism, it means a passionate affection, a devotion. 信愛 probably back-translates to Sanskrit as Bhakti; a word more associated with modern Hinduism. Related words include Vashya; which means to subjugate oneself, and Pranipatita; which means to surrender. Also, Anjali; to revere, and Namaste; to bow before. Then there are couple of words; Vandana and Puja / pujana, that refer to ritual acts of worship.

One of the Chinese words is 孝 {xiao / ko}; which means filial piety. I know Nichiren obsessed over this a lot. It appears to come from Confucianism; but also relates to Brahmanism in terms of the Svadharma or Social Duties. Apparently, the concept of filial piety appears in Buddhism in the context of the Vinaya; the rules of ethics. There are also several generic Chinese words that are used in Buddhism to mean to revere, worship, or adore; such as 拜 {bai / hai}, 禮拜 {libai / reihai}, 禮敬 {lijing / reikyo}, and 崇拜 {chongbai / suhai}. The last one includes the concept of nurturing. Related words include sacrificial offering (of fruit, flowers, incense, ghee lamps, and so on.) 加供 {jiagong / kagu}, consecrate 奉獻 {fengxian / buken}, show deference; reverent respect 恭敬 {gongjing / kugyo}, offering with deference 恭敬供養 {gongjing gondyang / kugyo kuyo}, loving veneration 愛敬 {aijing / aigyo}, sacrifice to or deify, fete 祀 {si / ji}, and invoke [?] 對觸禮 {duichuli / taisokurei}. Vandana is transliterated as 盤荼昧 {pantumei / bandamai} and translated as 敬禮 {jingli, kyorai}; which means salutation. Puja is translated as 供具 {gong ju / ku gu} , 利養 {liyang / riyo}, 供 {gong / ku}, 供物 {gongwu / kumotsu}, and 供養 {gongyang / kuyo}. Pujana is rendered as 供養事 { gongyangshì / kuyoji}. The nuance there is making offerings. Ghrta-pradipa 酥燈 {sudeng / soto} is the offering of a ghee (clarified butter) lamp.

The word worship brings to mind praying to some kind of other power or higher being; with the hope of being granted favors. Words for this kind of worship include 祈 {qi / ki}, 祈祷 {qi-dao / kito}, 祈念 {qunian / kinen}, 祈禱 {kidao / kirei}, 祈請 {qiqing / kisho}, and 祈願 {qiyuan / kigan}; all of which translate as prayer. Western Buddhists go through all kinds of contortions to convince themselves that prayer in Buddhism is really making vows or cultivating merit. However, all of those 祈 words mean prayer in the sense of beseech, supplicate, implore, wish, beg, solicit, or petition. While not the original intent, praying for divine favors is part of nearly every strain of modern Buddhism.

Worship can also mean the cultivation of reverence toward, gratitude for, and trust in the Buddha and the Dharma. Trusting Faith; Shaddha / Shraddha 信 {xin/ shin} has been an integral part of Buddhism from from the beginning. Trust serves the function of overcoming uncertainty; the natural hesitancy or reluctance driven by cynicism, mistrust, fear, and suspicious doubts. In the initial stages, we require some degree of trust to get past our fears of boarding the elevator. So we suspend disbelief or skepticism; and give it an honest shot. We need to remove the arrow. Nichiren called this 以信代慧 {ishin daie} or substituting faith for discerning wisdom. Once we develop the courage to board the elevator; and move into Access Concentration or Upachara Samadhi, then we can can begin to develop Discerning Wisdom or Prajna 慧 {hui / e}.