Buddhism Rites and Ceremonies: What are they? and Types

Buddhism rites

The rites or ceremonies are acts that are done through many years without suffering variations in their culture or religion, in Buddhism they are more of a teaching of philosophy and spirituality that were transmitted by Buddha. Their rites and celebrations are intended to commemorate specific moments of initiation, death, new year, etc.

What are the Rites of Buddhism?

Buddhism is more than a religion, because it is very rich in various beliefs, rituals, practices, celebrations and ceremonies that are very showy. Many of the teachings given by the Buddha are honored and commemorated in these Buddhist rituals. As a religion, Buddhism is very rich, exotic and full of many mysteries, its philosophy is wonderful since it teaches you to live life.

The founder of Buddhism was called Siddharta Gautama, also known as Sakyamuni since he was a young man who belonged to the Sakya tribe, he was born in Kapilavastu, his year of birth and death being unknown, he himself took the name of Buddha, which means The Enlightened One or Awakening, and began to preach his teachings in Varanasi and throughout Northeast India.

Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama lived between the 40th and XNUMXth centuries BC. He was of ascetic origin and became a yogi, healer, philosopher and sage. With his teachings, he founded Buddhism. He imparted his teachings to the northwest of India for more than XNUMX years. These teachings were based on suffering and how to end it to reach Nirvana.

Originally part of an aristocratic family, he renounced a life to become a beggar. Later, he meditated and lived as an ascetic, finding a new spiritual rebirth. It is believed his mother died before he was born; his name Siddhartha means "he who achieves his purpose."

According to many historians, it was a hermit named Asita who analyzed the child's 32 marks and predicted that he could become a great king or a holy man. This prediction was repeated again by several scholars. Later, Kaundinya, a young Brahmin, was the one who predicted that he would become a Buddha.

The first people to write about Gautama described him as a man seeking a spiritual goal, for which he became an ascetic, or Sramana, after becoming disillusioned with the secular life. But later biographies portray a more dramatic view of Gautama's decision to become a beggar ascetic. The earliest known accounts of this spiritual quest are found in the Ariyapariyesana Sutta, or Discourse on the Noble Quest.

There they detail that his renunciation of a life of privileges was because he contemplated old age, illness and death, and thought that for all of them there was an escape, which he called Nirvana. When he left, his father and his stepmother cried inconsolably over this decision. Siddhartha lived as a prince until he was 29 years old in Kapilavastu until he had the incident of the four encounters, where he saw that through riches and material goods it was not what he wanted for his life.

The incident of the four encounters occurs one day when he left his palace to see how his subjects lived, and along the way he encountered a very old man, then a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic. These encounters led him to a deep depression, so he wanted to overcome aging, illness, and death by becoming an ascetic.

He went out on a horse and began to have a life as a beggar. According to historians, he began to meditate with yoga with Master Arada Kalama, later he went with Master Udaka Ramaputa, with whom he came to have states of consciousness that he called the sphere of neither perfection nor non-perception.

He always grew dissatisfied with all these teachings and went elsewhere to seek new knowledge, following the life of ascetics, eating minimal food and controlling his breathing. In a state of meditation, he saw an image of his father in a plowed field and realized he was blissful. There, he discovered the meditative abstraction he called Dhyana, and knew that this was the true path to awakening, not the extreme ascetic life he had been leading.

So he thought that there was a middle way, moderate, that did not go from hedonism or opulence to mortification, he called this middle way "The Noble Eightfold Path". On a full moon night he sat under a fig tree or Bhodi, from which he said that he would not get up until he found the truth, some of his followers abandoned him because they thought he had abandoned what he was seeking.

He spent weeks under the tree, spending 49 days there, and was already 39 years old when he reached what he called awakening, or Bodhi, and thus felt he had completely liberated himself. This event took place in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, and from then on, he began to be called the Buddha or the awakened one, which can also be translated as the enlightened one.

According to very old texts, when one becomes a Buddha it is because the person has achieved three supreme knowledges: remembering the previous lives he had, having the divine eye that allows him to know the karmic destiny and because he has removed from his mind all the elements that intoxicate you. When he comes to his awakening he understands what causes the suffering and knows how it can be eliminated.

This understanding is known as the four noble truths, when they are known and mastered, a supreme state of liberation better known as Nirvana is reached, and he knew that all human beings could reach it. For the Buddha, Nirvana was finding perfect peace of mind where one is free from ignorance, greed, hatred and any other state of pain that affects the mind.

After his awakening he began to have disciples to whom he taught all his knowledge, thus forming the Buddhist community. For 45 more years Buddha traveled throughout the Ganges plain, together with his sangha, teaching all people from sweepers to nobles, murderers like Angulimala and even the cannibal Alavaka, he had patronage of kings like Kosala and Magadha. Years later even his father converted to Buddhism.

The entrance of women to the order of Buddha, had a bit of discussion, since the first woman to want to follow the sangha was Buddha's stepmother, Mahaprajapati Gautami, but she is rejected, she and other women follow Buddha in his travels and they end up cutting their hair and wearing the robes, until five years later Buddha agrees to the ordination of female nuns, since he thought that men and women could have the same ability to reach awakening, although they must follow 8 additional rules called gurudharmas.

After 20 years of teaching, he managed to settle in Sravasti, capital of the Kingdom of Kosala, where he would spend his final years. The sangha continued to grow, so rules developed by the Buddha himself had to be established. These were written in the Pratimoska and recited every two weeks by the community. The Pratimoskas establish all the general ethical precepts or norms, the rules for leading a monastery life, carrying bowls, and carrying robes.

Buddha continued to age but did not stop teaching, he was already beginning to have back pain, and began to relegate his teachings to several disciples, in order to rest, but a cousin and disciple of his called Devadatta wanted to assume the leadership of the Sangha, when he failed to do so, he separated from it with a group of followers and formed his own order.

Already old and sick Buddha decides that he cannot promote a successor for the sangha, but that all of them should lead a life as islands for themselves, that they should be their own refuges. Perhaps he dies of a mesenteric infarction typical of old people. The last disciple of his initiated in his order was Subhadda. After his death he was honored with flowers, music and scents, his body was cremated, his remains were kept as relics and distributed to various parts of India.

For many historians and those interested in Buddha, the understanding of karma and rebirth are part of life itself. Buddha explained that death and rebirth (samsara) are only part of Dukkha, and the primary goal is to break free from the cycle. Karma was a form of mental intention, where all thoughts, words, and actions come from a moral value, whether positive or negative, and that behind them all lies an intention.

Every karmic act that we have in this life affects the rebirth in a good or bad way, that's why I list many of the causes that lead to pain and pleasure, which can be physical or environmental along with karma.

Buddha teaches a transcendent goal that a layman can also achieve worldly happiness.
A lay person behaves through six basic relationships: parents and children, teachers and students, husband and wife, friends and friends, employers and workers, lay followers and religious guides.
Buddha teaches that there are two types of happiness, the visible in life and is achieved by constant effort, protection, good friends and a balanced life; and happiness in the afterlife which is achieved through faith, moral discipline, the precepts, generosity and wisdom.
Buddha said that for a good rebirth it was necessary to cultivate healthy karma or kusala and avoid negative karma or akusala. For good karma three actions must be done, which are donations, moral discipline and meditations.
The development of the mind is essential to achieve the spiritual path and meditation practices must be included in this.
Buddha teaches that one must reflect on the dangers of having sensual pleasures, since these are the origin of conflicts in human beings.
Happiness can be achieved outside of sensual pleasures and by delighting in higher spiritual pleasure.
Dhyana is the fundamental meditation in the teachings of the Buddha, when we train with dhyana all sensory impressions can be withdrawn to achieve the perfect state of equanimity and awareness.

He is named Buddha since this means the awakened one. He managed to travel throughout the Ganges plain, imparting his teachings and forming his new community in which men and women could be included, many of them became monks while others lived as laymen.

In his teachings he sought a middle ground between sensual pleasure and strict asceticism. In the search for his spiritual path certain ethical and meditation practices and trainings had to be done and he was always against the practices of the priests to kill animals to make sacrifices. All his teachings were compiled when he died, among them his speeches or Sutras and the monastic codes or Vinayas, then they were transmitted through Pracritic dialects, and spread throughout India.

Types of Rites of Buddhism

Buddhism is known to have originated in India between the 7th and 500th centuries BC and spread to many parts of Asia, so much so that today it is the fourth most followed religion worldwide. It is estimated that approximately XNUMX percent of the world's population practices Buddhism, or about XNUMX million people.

More than a religion, it is a philosophy of life, since it manages to reach the weak points of people, so that they can overcome them and become stronger through meditation, in order to reach supreme wisdom. It has a series of rules that every individual must do and follow to have his pure soul, following spiritual exercises that make him recognize, accept and change his mistakes.

All the rites of Buddhism are done to promote how to recognize the potential of each human being and that they reach wisdom. For this they must manage to reach Nirvana, which is the way to release desires, achieve individual consciousness and achieve reincarnation. Buddhism is divided into the following branches:

Theravada: Also called the School of the Elders, it began in Sri Lanka and is one of the most conservative branches in terms of doctrines or Dhamma and monastic discipline. His doctrine is centered on the Nikayas contents of the Pali Canon.
Mahayana: Also called the Great Way, this branch is more open as it accepts other texts and teachings as it is not centralized or rigid.
Vajrayana: it is like an appendix of the previous one, in it the use and practices of various techniques called Upaya are made, which are practices of esotericism, mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas, etc.

In each of the branches the rites can be different, since each one of them has different visions and beliefs about how each ritual should be done. Their beliefs are based on all the teachings of Buddha, who although he is not considered a god, is the primordial figure that is worshiped by all Buddhists, monks and laity, and to whom all parties are held. Buddhism focuses on three fundamental aspects:

devotion: this represents more than anything a dedication to become a high, to do it the person must have commitment, transcendence and above all love. The first refers to the fact that the person must be constant and focused on their commitment to transform themselves spiritually through daily work, which must be solid, safe and free.

Transcendence refers to the attitudes we must adopt toward life and the transformation of priorities to reach further and achieve a broader vision of the entire universe, addressing everyday concerns and being able to apply them to all social, political, and environmental aspects.

The third factor that is love, contemplates that this is the one that unites commitment and transcendence, it is through love that relief can be felt in the face of suffering, hence devotion must be done with love since it inspires practice and it consolidates the way in which the heart opens and the path of Bodhisattva or Buddha begins.

Contemplation: by doing the practice of contemplation you can reach the goal of absorbing knowledge and having mental concentration, here meditation is done to achieve wisdom and mental strength.

Experimentation: at this point it is about carrying out the activities and rituals that exist in Buddhism, and being part of each of them in an active way to achieve what you want.

By having many days considered special during the year, rites will always be celebrated that are generally happy and where all people go to local temples, most Buddhists use the Lunar calendar for their festivals, that is why vary from country to country, the Japanese generally use the solar calendar.

Buddhist Religious Rites

These are classified through various activities or actions that Buddhists must do, which are based on their beliefs and religion. Buddhism is fascinating because it is rich in its rituals, it allows all its followers to experience it with energy so that they can achieve their goal, which is wisdom.

Buddhism does not present itself as a religion but rather as a philosophy that seeks only to identify a person's weaknesses and strengthen them through meditation and the pursuit of supreme wisdom. Through this ideology, there are several rules and rituals that allow individuals to purify their souls and follow the Buddhist path of spiritual purification and enlightenment. Over time, this path allows them to directly and personally understand all the mistakes they make and achieve complete transformation.

All the rites pursue a single purpose and that is that the person reaches the understanding of their potential to reach wisdom, that is why they seek to achieve the liberation of desires, achieve individual consciousness and reincarnation, in order to access Nirvana. Within these important rites we can find:

genuflections

It is the way in which one reveres and worships, it is a ritual performed by monks and all those who practice Buddhism to honor the Buddha, it can be done in two ways:

The first is doing the march, in which the person must stop and make the recitation of "On Mani Padme Hum", which is a universal mantra, to do so the hands are placed together at chest level, which are raised to put them on top of the head and then take a step forward. Then the hands are lowered to the face, another step forward is taken, then we bring the hands to the chest and the third step is taken. Later we separate the hands and incline the body towards the ground and on our knees we begin to extend the whole body until our forehead touches the ground, this movement is repeated several times.
The second way is to spread the body out on a mat on the floor, inside a monastery or a holy place, and do the walking movements but in one place. This second form is made by those who make a commitment, those who ask for protection, happiness or to remove some suffering. With this ritual the spirit can be cultivated by making ten thousand reverences where the body touches the ground and bare feet are kept, as a sign of respect.

Prayer wheel

Better known as the prayer wheel, it's a cylinder on an axle made of wood and copper, like a wagon wheel. On the outside is the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, and inside is a piece of paper with the other prayers or mantras. This wheel is turned, and it has great value since you must then recite the prayers or mantras. The more it turns, the more times you should recite the prayers. This allows you to acquire greater wisdom and, in turn, cleanses your karma. Many prayer wheels can be found in Buddhist temples; some have thousands of them.

fire tributes

They are recognized as Joma, Jomam or Javan, and they are rituals that are carried out around a group of people and a consecrated fire is offered. This is based on making fire sacrifices, it is a ritual of thousands of years which in some of the branches is of the utmost importance. When this rite is done, the corresponding Sutras must be recited.

animal liberation

This is done in places near the Buddhist temples of Tibet and the animals that are released are Yaks and sheep. They can walk freely, after they are adorned with various silk threads ranging from three to five different colors, as well as red cloth ribbons.

They are offered as gifts to the images of Buddha and the sacred Mountain, without harming the spaces, no one can harm anyone or make sacrifices, since the animals must die naturally.

peanut stones

These are a series of stones stacked in mounds without any specific order or structure, as they are placed along the banks of roads, rivers or in rural towns and villages. We can find them in sacred places and in the streets of Tibet, where the stones are also carved with different Sutras.

The ritual is that when a Buddhist or practitioner passes by, they must leave a stone in the pile and say the Sutra. It is a practice that has been going on for thousands of years, so there are already piles of stones that are walls, and we find them very close to the monasteries and in the footsteps of people in the mountains. The best known of them for its extension is the Jiana wall, which is already 4 meters high, 300 meters long and more than 80 wide, you can find it in the town of Xinzhai Village in the Tibetan Prefecture of Yushu (in China).

wind horse

In their language they are known as Lung Ta and they are prayer flags, the practitioners of Buddhism call it the symbol of the destiny of man and the five elements of nature. Its name derives from the wind and the horse, which are the way nature serves as a vehicle. The horse can transport everything that is tangible and material, and the wind is ethereal, therefore the prayers that are made will be carried by the wind.

The flags are made in the shape of a rectangle, either on cloth or paper and are organized in groups and by colors, which interprets the cosmogony of Tibet, they can have figures such as animals which are the representation of the five elements: metals, wood , water, fire and earth. These have an order from left to right and a specific way to place them:

The blue color that is related to and symbolizes the sky and space
The white color symbolizing air and wind
The red color that is fire
The green color that is water
The yellow color that is the representation of the earth.

They should be hung in a diagonal line starting from the highest place to the lowest and tied in the center of two objects. They can be seen in temples, stupas, mountain passes and in monasteries.

Mo

This ritual is to make inquiries through the use of dice, the person who throws them or teacher must first make the call to his tutelary deity (which would be his guardian angel for Catholics) and throws the dice Tibetans, depending on what comes out, interpretations are made that are the answers to the questions that the person being consulted has.

These are made up of two dice and a Tibetan diagram that looks like a mandala, in it there are eight symbols, where the dice are allowed to fall. The number that comes out is taken to a syllable of the Tibetan diagram and its symbol.

turns to the right

This rite of Buddhism is done by people in order to fall ill, prevent catastrophes or calamities from happening, and also with them the merits are made and gathered. It is done in monasteries, and it is made up of several movements that are done at the same time. The person must recite the sutras while turning the prayer wheels and going around the statue, always in a clockwise direction, that is, to the right.

Purification with Yamantaka

By the name of Yamantaka, Buddha is known as the conqueror of death, the one who can remove and remove anything that hurts. The ritual is performed by a Lama who invokes the Buddha and performs the ritual of energy cleansing through the use of peacock feathers and a herb known as Kusha. In cleaning, use is made of the four elements: water, air, earth and fire, it begins by cleaning the mouth and then the energy field, sealing it and also serving to have protection in the future.

This practice has become common to use since people manage to get out of physical and even depressive illnesses, which has been confirmed.

Christening

It is done to cleanse and purify the mind, and they are done as many times as a monk wants to learn a new stage of the esoteric secret. It varies depending on the teacher who does the baptism, the best known is the one where a mandala is seen, holding a bottle in hand. While doing this the person must see or imagine the four dragons filling four bottles with water from their mouths, which are then poured onto the apprentice's head. With him it is wanted that the baptized person have the power of Buddhism and that his mind be purified.

Confinement

With this ritual it is possible to understand Buddhism, but any contact and relationship with the outside world must be removed, the practitioner of Buddhism must recite the mantras, these are done in stages which vary in duration, some can be days but there are others that take years, and during it you cannot leave the monastery. With this activity the person is cultivated, acquires a greater understanding and wisdom, but it is not done only once in life but several times.

This ritual is one of those that are part of the esoteric secret of Buddhism, when the practitioner locks himself up he no longer has contact with any person, the food is brought to the entrance of the cave, by a guardian of the enclosure, who must guard to the practitioner all the time.

lasuosuo

This is a word used by the Tibetans when they go through the mountains or the sacred valleys, its meaning is the God has triumphed. Its use comes from the heritage left since ancient times by those who made sacrifices to these divinities. Of the mountain and those of the war.

Heart Sutra Puja

This ritual seeks to obtain the blessings of the Buddhas, it is an intense and long ritual of more than an hour. In it, sacred music should be sung and drums played, while praying and reciting the mantra of the Heart Sutra.

This mantra or Heart Sutra is also called the Essence of Wisdom Sutra, and it is written in the Buddhist religion, it is used in the Mahayana school, it has fourteen verses that are in the Sanskrit language or Shlokas, and it must include A mantra that is recited in all Mahayana schools, called the Devanagari, is written like this:

गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा

Its meaning is to go to the top, wake up, so be it.

religious dance

Since ancient times, art: music, dance and theater have served to transmit culture, spread it and keep customs and religion alive from generation to generation.

In the many monasteries found in Tibet, traditional dances are performed, which are performed on dates that are of importance and that have great value for Buddhism. They tell the stories of the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas or holy beings, the blessings of places, of the day or of the year, to cleanse and remove karmic energies.

At the end of the year many of these religious dances are held, both in monasteries and in cities, the monks usually dress and wear masks in honor of the Yaks which are considered deities, and follow their parade around the monastery. With them they remove or drive away the bad spirits that the year that is ending has left behind so that the next one can be received already purified and clean.

Khaw Pansa and Ok Pansa

This ritual is from Thailand and of those who practice Theravada Buddhism, in it the monks make a three-month spiritual retreat, in the rainy season (July to October), it is known as the Wassa in the Pali language or Pansa Sanskrit. The monks must be kept in a monastery and during that time they do meditations to grow spiritually and do constant studies. Khae Pansá means the beginning of the retreat, and Ok Pansá means the end of the retreat.

This ritual is very old, it is believed that it comes from the time when Buddha lived, it was adopted by the ascetics of India, that is, those people who moved away from the pleasures of life, live in abstinence and only live from the alms that people give him, these trips began in the season of intense rains.

Pilgrimage

It is a trip that is made to the sacred mountain and a tour is made all around the lake, it is made to ask for protection, for wisdom and for more energy, since the mountains and the sacred places make them earn more merits.

Cults and Rituals of Buddhism

Buddhism is a culture rich in religious rituals and ceremonies, some come from ancient traditions and with them they seek to achieve and experience their beliefs, gain wisdom and a greater understanding of Buddhism.

Initiation Ritual

This ritual will depend on the school of Buddhism to which the believer belongs, the most common is the one that is done in two stages or phases. The first of them is the stage of Pabbajja, it begins when the believer is 8 years old, the child is taken to the monastery on a date which is indicated by the horoscope to do the initiation. There the monks receive him and they will give him three jewels of the Buddhist religion:

Buddha, the enlightened being whom you must recognize as your teacher
Dharma or teachings and understanding of what the Buddha taught
Sangha or the Buddhist community to which it is going to be integrated.

Later he is stripped of his clothing and given a yellow robe, his head is completely shaved, and all his positions are handed over to the Buddhist monks: three pieces of clothing, a belt, a needle, a razor, a filter, a fan and a bowl to receive alms.

They teach you the five main rules of Buddhist morality, which will be part of your life and that you must follow to the letter with great responsibility:

They must not take or destroy any kind of human or animal life.
They should not take other people's things, that is, they should not steal, cheat or commit fraud.
They must avoid misconduct that will harm themselves or others.
They must not lie, slander, gossip, swear.
They cannot consume any type of drugs, even if they are legal, nor alcohol or coffee.

The second stage or phase is called Upasampada, and it begins just when the Pabbajja ends, in which a senior Buddhist monk is assigned who must teach him all the precepts that the initiate must respect. Likewise, everything is taught so that they may acquire wisdom, compassion and security in what they are believing. Before they reach the age of 20, they must be convinced to continue and that is when the ritual to name him a monk is performed.

It is also known as the Rite of Chod, it is definitely an esoteric ritual and typical of Tibetan Buddhism, but it is a closely guarded secret between the master and the apprentice.

ritual of death

In Buddhism, death is an essential step for the soul to reach nirvana, this process is not painful or bad. A Buddhist thinks that the best way to die is in which the person is aware of what is going to happen to him, and that is why the closest people are needed, this is a step to start a new life closer to nirvana.

Death is transformed into something that is part of the cycle of life and that should not be feared, since it is not the end of the road but a natural process, which is universal and cannot be avoided. In this ritual, it is not well seen for people to cry or lament.

It is through death that one can begin a new life, which will be repeated many times until Nirvana is reached. In this case, the person has already learned and acquired enough wisdom in their spirit to be able to see the truth, what is real. There is no complete explanation of what Nirvana is, since it is difficult to understand, just as it is difficult to understand the truth.

The death ritual or the Buddhist funeral rite begins with the rite of passage, which consists of reading the Bar-do´i-thos-grol, the book of the dead, is done when the person is about to die or who just passed away. When doing the reading, you are given the guiding keys for the Bardo, which is nothing more than an intermediate stage between the two lives, in this period a funeral is made that lasts 49 days and where family and friends give you food and drinks. offerings to the spirit of the deceased.

Bodies are usually cremated, but in some cases, burials are carried out in water or the body is simply left in nature to decompose naturally. Forty-nine days after the burial, the funeral rites begin with the preparation of the body in formaldehyde, allowing it to remain in the house where it lived for seven days before cremation. This step is called Gnan Sop.

The coffin must bear a photo of the deceased, candles and those who attend the funeral must wear a white shirt or dark clothing. When the established days pass, Buddha is prayed and a shroud is placed on the face of the deceased, then the body is placed in a coffin to make the wake.

Before the cremation several ceremonies are made, the house of the deceased must remain open so that the relatives meet. The monks chant at several of these ceremonies. As a way of honoring the deceased, a man is chosen to be a monk or a woman to become a white mother. The man who is chosen must shave his head and wear a traditional dress, but the woman who is chosen only dresses in white, she must not speak or touch men so that she remains pure.

These people must be in the back of the coffin and in their hand they must carry a white thread, which is the path that the deceased's mistress must follow. A week after being cremated or incinerated, another ceremony is held in honor of the deceased and 49 days later a final farewell is made. A year after the death, another ceremony is held and then on the third anniversary of death, which is when the mourning period is completed.

There are towns that hold a celebration every year for seven years and others where one is held every seven years for 49 years. During the first year of the death, no family member should participate in celebrations where they will have celebrations or pleasure.

Buddhism rites for the new year

In the new year, which in most countries is the first of January of each year, in Asian countries it is different according to customs and traditions and also because of their beliefs. For the Tibetans this rite is called Losar and it is done between January and February, but the important thing is not on what date it is done, but how the festival is going to be done and what rituals will be done in it.

The parties are held in the family, and therefore the ritual can vary, for that reason they are held in privacy and those closest to them, visits to temples are made, gifts are given and some religious ceremonies are performed. One of these rituals is the so-called Water Battle that takes place in the streets, all the people get wet with water of different colors to cleanse themselves and purify themselves of their sins.

All Buddha images must be cleaned, whether they are in monasteries or in houses, they are washed with water and essences so that good luck arrives in the coming year. Another of these rituals is to take sand in small pieces or in the hands to the monasteries, this is the symbol of the dirt that they have had on their feet in the year that ended.

These handfuls are carved on the stacked stupas and colored flags are also placed as decoration. The Buddhas of the monasteries must also be carried in procession to the nearest town, so that the people sprinkle water on them.

The Nyi-Shu-Gu and the Losar

For the Tibetans, the New Year celebrations have two components that differ, but are totally related, one is the closing of the year that ended to remove all the negative that was in them, and that the following year can be started in a new way. new way and in abundance.

The Losar is a part of the tradition for the new year to arrive. It means year and Sar is new, we also find the Nyi-Shu which is the last day of the year that has ended.

Nyi-Shu-Gu

It is called the twenty-ninth day, and on this day there is a purification of the houses and the body to remove the negativity, the barriers, everything impure, discomforts and diseases that are found in them. On this day a series of rites are carried out to celebrate the coming new year, the day before the new year begins, cleaning and purification must be carried out.

The houses must be completely cleaned, then the person takes a bath and washes their hair, everyone must take care of themselves and be clean to receive the year. After cleaning, they can have fun, eat Guthuk and the ritual is done to unearth the evil spirits and the evil that are in the houses.

The Guthuk

It is a noodle soup that is also known as Thukpa Bhatuk, it is accompanied by various ingredients and special spices to be eaten on the night of Nyi-shu-gu. The noodles are small and shell-shaped, which are made by hand, the other ingredients are: Labu or Asian radish, dry cheese, chilies, peas.

In order for it to become Guthuk, something special must be added to each plate, such as the ball of dough that has something special inside it, such as an object or a piece of paper with names or a drawing. This dumpling should be large so that it looks different from noodles or Bhatsa, to avoid eating it by mistake with what is inside.

These objects that are inside the mass are intentionally placed to play a joke on the person who is being served, that is why each mass has something different inside. Some of these objects or drawings are good as pieces of wool to signify kindness, or a piece of charcoal to tell the person that their heart is black. The objects change depending on the house in which it is made, the region where it is being made and even depending on the year.

The rite that is done to remove negativity serves in such a way to remove bad spirits and bad energies not only from people but also from houses, this rite is known as Lue and Trilue. The first of them is a small statue of a man that is made with Tsampa (roasted wheat, barley or rice flour) and water and tea. This is the representation of what you want to have in the home.

The Trilue is composed of two pieces made of the same material, and is given to each person invited to eat so that diseases are removed, both rites are done before or after the Guthuk soup is cooked and kept stored.

The dough balls and the figures are made and placed in a large plate that will no longer be used since it must be thrown away after that night, these are reserved and delivered after the Guthuk is used to open the balls, each person should leave a bit of the guthuk to join the remains of the dumplings.

At the end of eating, the pieces of lue and trilue are given to the people who are sitting eating, which must be pressed so that the shape of the hands is fixed to the dough. The trilue is then rubbed on the part of the body that is sick or weak and it is desired that the ill health be expelled from the body. While doing this they should say phrases like:

Lo chik dawa chu-nyi, Shama sum-gya-druk-chu, Gewang parchey thamchey dokpa sho!

This translates as twelve months has a year, 360 days, to the negative and the obstacles, go away. That day in the night there can be joys and sorrows, until the dumplings are opened, but the greatest wish of all is that the new year is free from disease and pain.

The pieces of pieces of dough from the trilue are added to the lue, and all of this is taken along with the rest of the soup in the same plate, there are those who light a candle, although it is not done in all places. Straw torches are also often lit to go around the house saying out loud “Thonsho ma!” which is to say Exit, so that the bad energies and the evil spirits go away. In many homes they make prayers and prayers while walking through the rooms of the house with the torch.

After making the tour of the house, take the plate and the torch and leave it in a nearby intersection, without looking towards the house. This ritual is the most performed in Tibetan Buddhism. After taking all the remains away from home, it is assumed that the bad spirits leave it and then there is no way to return home, so they have a healthier and cleaner home and they can receive the new year in the best conditions.

The Losar

This celebration is for the victory of good over evil and is a very important day in Buddhism. Before celebrating, cakes, breads, many fruits and sweets are placed on each family altar, which is decorated for the occasion with Dergas or cookies, chang which is a barley beer drink, loboe a bush of wheat that is sown in a glass and the bow that is where the barley seeds with flour go.

This altar must remain in this way for two weeks so that prosperity enters the home in this new year. The first three days are the most important in which these rituals must be done:

First day: Chankol is made, Koenden a drink that is made with chhaanga in the form of Tibetan beer, Khapse is also made, dri butter, a kind of butter made with the milk of the female Yak, cane sugar, churras ( dry cheese made with the milk of dri or female Yak, water and eggs.

Donuts called Karsai, different foods with pig, Tibetan yak and sheep are also fried, various offerings are made to the gods and the food is put in containers or wooden plates that are painted in different colors or Qemar. The celebrations are with the family, but visits from friends and neighbors are received to receive the water of the year from the river.

The water is carried into the houses, it is put on the altars, incense is lit and butter lamps are put up, prayers are made for peace in the year, children are required to wear new clothes, and New Year's greetings are exchanged. or Tashi Delek to give blessings and good luck.

Second day: Known as Gyalpo Losar or Losar Rey, this day meetings are held for the Dalai Lama and the different local leaders in the Samsara and Nirvana Hall of Excellence.

Third day: it is called the protective Losar, visits are made to the monasteries, to make offerings to the altars and to the beings of protection of the Dharma, the prayer flags and the wind horses are placed. From this day is when the people and the monks do the Losar celebrations.

Buddhism rites for prosperity

For people who follow the Buddhist religion, it is normal that they are always doing rituals and ceremonies, since they have been bequeathed to them since ancient times.

For prosperity and wealth they also have a series of rituals, the most common being placing a golden Buddha or Money Buddha, which consists of a Buddha figure with a gold ingot in one hand and a bag of gold in the other. This serves to increase the ability to give and receive, to attract new energies that move money and wealth in the person.

Money Buddha Ritual

In this ritual, the Buddha of Money is placed in the house, towards the left side and rice, fruits and coins are offered to it to attract abundance, then a series of prayers are made.

prayers for prosperity

For Buddhists, reciting this prayer makes the person imagine themselves as a prosperous person with an abundance of goods, others make offerings to Buddha outside the houses, so that the abundance can be shared.

“Oh powerful and great Buddha!, today you come to me, thanks to your great power, so that my luck improves, and you remove all the obstacles that come my way, I know that you are going to help me in everything I ask of you, that you are going to see for me, that you will protect me and give me fortune, in the name of God, thanks to his great goodness and his mercy. Great Buddha spirit of elevation and purity, send your enlightenment from the infinite universe, where you live, please give us what we ask and illuminate our path.

Other variations can be obtained from this prayer, which are also used to ask for wealth. The Buddha image must be placed taking into account where the entrance door of the house is located, place a table in the background on the left and around it the representatives of the five elements are placed:

Fire: you can place a lighted candle and an incense stick, if it is made of sandalwood better.
Earth: You can place a quartz stone of any thickness.
Metal: place three Chinese coins that are tied with a red ribbon, you have to put all the coins with the yang side up, you can recognize it because that side has four Chinese characters.
Water: put a glass of water or a cup, this must be changed daily, the one that is changed is not thrown away but can be taken or placed in a fish tank or a fountain.
Wood: place a piece of Chinese bamboo or a flower.

Additionally, you must place a cup with rice and another with two pieces of bread, this is only placed one day as an offering, and the next day they are scattered throughout the exterior of the house so that the abundance is shared, you also have the option of eating and more if your health is not good.

When you have everything assembled with the five elements and the offerings, make the requests you want, writing them on a red piece of paper, this can be done following this example:

“I am grateful for (write all the positive things you have received and that you want), everything has been perfect for me, that or something better I hope to receive before (state the date). Thanks, Dad".

Then you must sign this petition, this ritual can be done by the other people who are in the house, on your own sheet and the sheets must be placed under the feet of the Buddha image.

Laughing Buddha Ritual

The Laughing Buddha, better known as the Fat Buddha, is used to activate prosperity, as well as happiness, since happiness attracts more happiness. This image is used in homes, businesses, and even offices, as it is a very pleasing statue, in addition to being the most well-known and popular Buddha, as it attracts good luck.

With the ritual that we are going to give you, you have two options to do it in the same month, when there is a new moon or when there is a full moon. The reason to do it is that prosperity is activated, as well as health and love, the most important thing is that you decide what you want at that moment so that it is activated, and therefore depending on what you want you must have the essences and the right candles:

Prosperity: if this is what you want most, then you should have essences of tangerine, cinnamon and coconut, the candles to be used are orange or yellow.
Health: if this is your primary theme you should use eucalyptus, lemon, mint or pine essences and use green or white candles.
Love: in this case you should use essences of cinnamon, orange blossom, cloves, jasmine or roses and red or pink candles should be used.

What elements should you have on hand to do the ritual: an image of the smiling Buddha, three candles, and the appropriate essences for what you want to activate, when you have everything, wait for the new or full moon and write a letter on a piece of paper to be grateful for everything you want to attract into your life, if it is for love, write which partner you want, if it is prosperity, indicate how much you want to have and when you should have it. If you are a healthy person, give thanks for your good health and the good energy you have every day.

What you should keep in mind is that these are just examples of what you can ask for; in your letter, you ask for whatever you want, as long as it's for good things. Once you finish writing it, rub the candles and Buddha's belly with the essence you've chosen, light the candles, thank Buddha for everything, and burn the letter. Take the ashes and bury them in a flowerpot or in the garden, and let all the candles burn completely. You can do this ritual every month or whenever you want to ask for something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Q123T5nNc

Buddhism Festivals

Due to the many traditions that Buddhism has, there are obviously a large number of festivals to celebrate or commemorate, many of which are very striking, as well as full of mystery and visual appeal. Each one has a distinct ritual, including the Buddhist New Year, Magha Puja, Pii Mai (the lunar new year celebration), Vesak, Ewk Phansas, and Khao Phansas, the Asala celebration, among others.

buddhist new year

We already talked about this, it is known as Losar and depending on the country where the person is, its celebration is done on different dates, this is done between the end of January and the beginning of February, it begins to be celebrated one day before the new year with a series of rituals and usually lasts two weeks.

Vesak or Buddha Day

It is the most important day for Buddhists and those who practice this religion, it should be done when there is a full moon in the month of May. It celebrates three important moments of the Buddha: his birthday, his enlightenment and the death of Siddharta Gautama (Buddha), since they all occurred on a full moon.

It is celebrated by all branches of Buddhism and has been a worldwide holiday since 1950, decided by the World Fellowship of Buddhists. This holiday renews the commitment to maintain a simple and noble life, to continue developing the mind, to practice kindness and love, and to achieve peace and harmony for all humanity.

Magha Puja Day

It is to celebrate the first sermon that Buddha gave before 1200 of his disciples, which is when he announces the principles of Buddhism and its establishment as a religion, in addition to establishing his final goal, which is to be able to reach Nirvana. This celebration is important, and it takes place on the full moon day of the third lunar month, and seeks to cleanse the mind, do good and avoid falling into sin. It is a holiday in countries such as Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, and in countries throughout Southeast Asia. In Tibet it is called Chotrul Duchen festival.

uposatha

It is a special of Buddhism and it is done while there is a full moon, so there can be several celebrations of it in a lunar month, Uposatha means fasting day. Buddhist monks fast in the following way: they eat from sunrise to noon, then eat absolutely nothing until the next day. Both lay people and monks must feel that their devotion grows and also that they must make a renewal of the practice of the Dhamma.

kathina

This festival is held at the end of the retreat of the monks the Khaw Pansá and Ok Pansá, its realization is after the full moon of October and is done for 30 days, in it the Buddhist monks are thanked and offerings and donations are made. of clothing and food which is taken to different temples of the community by the lay people of the same.

Songkran

It is the Thai New Year party, it takes place between April 13 and 15 of each year, its meaning is an astrological passage, which indicates that it is a time of many changes. Festivals are held and the traditional water battle is celebrated in the streets, it is thrown for three consecutive days, families also gather and family ties and ties are renewed, the elderly are honored through various cultural ceremonies and rites dating from ancient times. Most of them are based on:

Purify, clean and decorate the temples.
Make offerings and donations to Buddhist monks.
Doing ceremonies to show respect to Buddha and doing scented water anointing.
Place water in the hands of the elderly to show respect and gratitude.

Loy Krathong

It is the Floating Fountain Bowls Festival, it takes place on the full moon of November and lasts depending on the place where the festival is held, in itself there are several days of celebration, on the first night the celebration is held that the rainy season has ended and it is done in honor of Mae Khongkha, the Hindu goddess of the waters.

Its celebration is ancestral in the brahmana tradition, from there it passes to the traditional Buddhist celebrations, but most schools say that this celebration is done to show respect and worship to the Sacred Footprint of Buddha, which is found on the bank of the Nammadhammahantee river. .

For those who participate in the festival, it is customary to bring incense, cups with leaves, coins, lots of colored paper, candles, and everything is placed in baskets made from the leaves of banana trees, which are called Krathong. Then these are placed in the water to make the offering and all the positive received is appreciated, it is asked to drive away bad luck and to bring good luck.

Thousands of krathongs can be seen floating down the river with candles lit inside. These form a serpentine figure that moves through the water in the light of the full moon. Dances are held, music is played, parades are held, fireworks are launched, and local food is prepared.

The Elephant Festival

Jaipur is a city in the state of Rajasthan in India, when the Holi festival is held in the month of March. The elephant is a figure that is present in many mythologies, and is associated with royalty, deities and the figure of Buddha. There is a parade with painted elephants, fabrics of different colors are placed on them, velvet with embroidery and many jewels, behind them there are some dancers who must dance with great energy, followed by horses, chariots, camels, cannons and palanquins.

Traditional games such as tug-of-war are also held with the elephants, as well as polo. This festival is dedicated to elephants, so at the end, the best-decorated elephant is chosen. You can also see the Gaj Shringar, where various elephant-related items are displayed, including many ornaments, fabrics called Jhoo, howdahs (chairs placed on elephant backs), various carriages, numerous paintings, as well as medicinal products and food.

Despite the fact that this festivity is held in their honor, the treatment that elephants receive has come under much discussion, since many of the paintings that are placed on them cause damage to their skin, apart from the fact that they are forced to do activities and exhibitions. where they are not treated with respect and justice, therefore many animal protection societies have made pronouncements in this regard.

esala perahera

This festival is very old in Sri Lanka, it is held between July and August whenever it coincides with the full moon of summer, it is held for about two weeks or so, the best known is that of the city of Kandy where you can see a lot of joy, music and color. The main relic of this celebration is the tooth of Buddha. As a national holiday of the union of two very old celebrations:

The festival of the victory of the God Indra over Vrita, the demon and the invocation of the rains when this is the dry season.
The processions that are held in honor of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha, the most revered in Sri Lanka and where the relic is kept, which is always in the custody of the monks, inside a reliquary made of gold and many precious stones .

In the temples where the celebration takes place, you can see beautiful exhibitions where drum music accompanies them, as well as fakirs, music bands and many elephants with beautiful adornment clothes. At the beginning of the procession must go the elephant Maligawa, which carries the reliquary with the tooth of Buddha.

On day six of the celebration at night, parades called Randoli Perahera are held, where the palanquins that carried the queens in ancient times are remembered. In the last of the processions, which takes place on the day, the closing of the ceremony is done with the cutting off of the water in the Mahaweli River outside the city of Kandy.

This ritual is in charge of the Kapuralas, who have responsibility in the temples and are the ones who cut the water with a saber made of gold and recite the prayers. Many take water in various chalices to take to the temple, where they will stay until the next year's festival begins.

O Bon

O-bon is a ritual originating in Japan and always held depending on the lunar calendar, in mid-August, or the solar calendar, in July. It is celebrated for three consecutive days. It is believed to be a purely Buddhist festival, as there is a story about an old disciple of Buddha who saw his mother's soul and, in order to alleviate her suffering and lead her to the path of peace, followed the teachings and was able to allow her soul to rest in peace.

The celebration seeks to welcome all the spirits who want to reunite with their loved ones on earth and that this moment is abundant with joy, that it has music, dance, and that there is no lack of food or drinks. Honor is given to all the ancestors of those who attend the celebration, the Bon-Odori dance is performed, altars or butsadan must be placed in all the houses and lanterns are lit on all the doors of the house that serve as a guide to the spirits that come to visit them.

Although it is of Buddhist origin, it gradually became part of Japanese culture and tradition, gradually becoming separated from Buddhist tradition. This tradition has been celebrated for over 500 years, becoming rooted not only in a religion but also in a nation, to which other activities and customs have been added.

Bodhi

This celebration is held every December 8, and is called the day of Enlightenment of Siddartha Gautama or Buddha. On this day Buddha reached full enlightenment in the year 589 BC and that is when he becomes Buddha. They also often refer to this day as the awakening of the Buddha and the beginning of Buddhism, which begins with the idea that all human beings have the power to reach Nirvana and end suffering.

Before the Bodhi, the monks do multiple activities, to prepare for this day, a week before in the monasteries retreats are made, where they can only sleep 2 hours a day and on the last night of their retreat a vigil is held, just as Buddha did without sleeping.

Buddhism customs

Because Buddhism encompasses many celebrations, festivals, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions that differ depending on the branch of Buddhism in which they are practiced, there are notable variations in their practices within each branch, so it is impossible to list them all. However, there are two customs that are practiced by all Buddhist believers and lay people around the world:

The meditation: which is important for all Buddhists since it is a practice of religion in general, with it the mind is cultivated, wisdom can be acquired and you learn to understand better. All practitioners of Buddhism do this practice to cultivate, and better understand everything that is in our reality, nature and also to free themselves from all kinds of suffering.

Meditation can vary depending on the Buddhist school, these variations are in techniques that are used to do meditation and have generally become customary through the Buddhist tradition, so according to the techniques they use, it can be said that :

Theravada Buddhism: the practice is done to have progress and that the practitioner can be polished, they must analyze the states they go through while in meditation.
zen buddhism: It is done to acquire more wisdom, but it is focused on being spontaneous and making use of intuition, to find a natural harmony, with this dualism is avoided and a perfect Zen meditation is achieved.
Tibetan Buddhism: in this, more weight is given to the symbolic aspect and the unconscious of the mind, more ritual practices are carried out so that the mind can be transformed.

The adoration: it is the second practice of all the Buddhist slopes, in them the adoration of Buddha is sought both in the altars of the houses, as well as in the temples and monasteries. Here mantras, prayers are used and offerings and gifts must be made.

Buddhism beliefs

The beliefs of Buddhism are based on all the teachings of Siddartha Gautama or Buddha, this was an exceptional being, a human being who achieved his own transformation and became the enlightened one, making the foundation of Buddhism. He became a very wise man who managed to make a true spiritual revolution through the teachings he gave. He named his teachings as the four noble truths:

Duhkha

Its meaning is very broad and can encompass discontent, disappointment, suffering, restlessness, pain, sorrow, etc. So it can be summarized that it deals with the suffering and pain of the universe in the face of an existence that has no