What is the purpose of rituals? Are they necessary?Rituals are designed to help us counteract our afflictions and destructive actions and to develop our good qualities and positive actions. Rituals are a means, not an end in themselves. Because we are beginners and often have difficulty in distinguishing what to practice and what to abandon on the path, prayers written by advanced practitioners give us guidelines to follow. Saying the prayers can help us tune into the meanings they express. While we read or recite them, we should simultaneously try to meditate and transform our minds into the mental states described in the rituals. When we do a ritual alone, we can pause to concentrate on particular points that touch us deeply.
We do not need to limit our prayers to those composed by other people. As we study the Dharma and become familiar with the path to enlightenment, prayers may spontaneously arise in our minds. Events that evoke prayers may occur in our lives, and these can be very helpful in deepening our experience of the Dharma.
Some people like rituals and find them useful for their practice. Other people find them distracting. A person may want to do more rituals at certain times and fewer at others. Everyone is unique, and there are no hard and fast rules. We must do what feels comfortable to us and not do rituals simply because everyone else is doing them.
What are some common Buddhist rituals?Rituals found in all Buddhist traditions include turning for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, taking precepts to avoid harmful behavior, praising the qualities of the Three Jewels, making offerings to them, generating loving-kindness toward others, revealing our own mistakes, and rejoicing in the happiness and good qualities of others. In addition to these, each tradition has unique prayers reflecting those aspects of the path it emphasizes.
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