Buddhism
The Three Chapters " A Hymn of Praise to the Buddha's Good Qualities," "Consecrating the Buddha," and "Sutra on the Merit of Bathing the Buddha, are descriptions of the lifestyle and practices of the Buddha. Here, the three texts work well together, acting as a brief overview of Buddha and his characteristics, as well as how Buddhism has been practiced over the years and now. They also share the common characteristic of being part of the verbal practice and expression of Buddhism exhibited in some sort of ritualistic context. Text one allows us to understand why Buddha has been an object of devotion from the beginning of Buddhist history by translating this hymn of praise and showing the reader, or listener as it may be, detailed pictures of Buddha's good qualities and why the Buddha is worthy of praise. Text two takes our understanding to yet another level by recounting the story of Prince Siddhartha and his journey towards enlightenment and how this story is chanted or sung in a ritual context thus "infusing these elements into the Buddha image, a material object representing the story, wisdom, and the power of the person of the Buddha". 1 Once the material Buddha image is infu
Here, the Buddha is revered, and ultimately praised, for his mastery of the six perfections while at the same time, the inherent and undeniable complexities that are associated with perfection, are reduced to two short yet powerful sentences for the reader. The text is written in such a way that when read, it is as though the reader is speaking directly to Buddha, acknowledging that he, the reader, has an understanding of who the Buddha is and what he embodies. It reads almost as a contemporary love poem, flattering the Buddha, making light of the wonderful traits comprising him. This is not to say that the text is par with a flighty romantic tale, but rather to accentuate the fact that the devotional scholar of Buddhism reciting the text, trying to understand the text, and worshiping the Buddha and Buddha's good characteristics, carries within him unequivocal devotion and reverence. The texts discussed so far have been preoccupied primarily with recounting the life of Buddha, whereas this third text cultivates a foundation of devotion through the practice of actually cleansing the Buddha icon. It is a method for Buddhists to worship the now deceased Buddha. By reading this text, one can clearly understand the importance of every small detail of Prince Siddhartha's path towards enlightenment and the role it plays within the ritual of consecrating the Buddha image. It's almost as though those performing the ritual want to make sure that nothing is forgotten and everything is validated through repetition and precision. This text, similar to the first, and as we shall see in the third also inspires a sense of awe, as it well should since the image of the Buddha being consecrated will be one which people will then revere as though Buddha himself where standing in front of them. Together and individually, these texts teach us much about Buddhist practices and their basis', and the ways in which Buddhism is a religion truly for every person. Although there appears to be a variety of tales and interpretations of Buddhahood, each tradition and culture espouses the same fundamentals. Some of these being compassion, goodness, happiness, liberation, well-being, purification, immateriality, ultimate awareness, and so many other positive forces, that it is not only a celebration of Buddha's life, but one ultimately, of the fundamental desires and aspirations of all men. One can see clearly, through these texts, that Buddhism is a religion of ultimate peacefulness and perhaps even an odd understatedness, not attempting to impose itself on those unwilling to accept it. This is incre
Some common words found in the essay are:
Prince Siddhartha, Bathing Buddha, Tathagata Buddha, Buddha's Qualities, Praise Catholic, Buddha Buddha, Prince Siddhartha's, Northern Thai, India Sanskrit, Buddha Abhiseka, buddha image, buddha's qualities, hymn praise, bathing buddha, hymn praise buddha's, merit bathing, sense awe, sutra merit, consecrating buddha, elements buddha, merit bathing buddha, sutra merit bathing, praise buddha's qualities, attainment enlightenment, representing story wisdom,
Approximate Word count = 1761
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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