159-Ceremonies - Buddhism in daily life

Ceremonies


An integral part of my new life (as a budding monk) at the time
was attending Buddhist ceremonies at Shaolin Temple.


These ceremonies always took place either very early, long before
the temple door was opened for the crowds of visitors, or after
dinner, when peace had returned to the monastery.


During the ceremonies, people prayed (and still do), chanted and
meditate. Since I understood little Chinese at that time, I could
hardly participate, standing (mostly sleepy) next to my master,
doing the prostrations when he prostrated himself, murmuring the
parts of the prayers I was familiar with, otherwise trying to
keep a low profile.


The center of a Buddhist ceremony is the "altar". Similar to a
Christian structure, there are devotional objects, figures and
statues of the great teacher and also of Bodhidharma, but also
candles, baskets with donations or offerings, containers with
incense, flowers and jewelry. The big drum Yu (the fish) is
sounded with a mallet during the prayers (it is also used as a
signal to start and end the meditation), besides sometimes bells
and instruments are used.


The monks were (and still are, of course) dressed in a special
regalia, Shaolin wearing an orange robe with a brown overcoat
that leaves out the right arm and hand (the tradition here is
that the cloak is wrapped around the body in such a way that the
left shoulder is covered and the right remains free, which is
said to go back to the monk Huihe, who cut off his right arm in
order to better understand the essence of Chan (Zen) Buddhism).
The abbot is the only one to wear a red and gold-colored robe,
which clearly sets him apart from the other monks.


Today, there are hardly any non-ordained people at ceremonies,
but occasionally guests or film crews get the opportunity to
witness the spiritual acts.


In general, there are Buddhist ceremonies for weddings, for the
so-called taking of refuge, for entering adulthood, for house
blessings, funerals, remembrance of the deceased (celebration of
the dead), and, of course, for all kinds of Buddhist festivals,
such as Buddha's birthday.


The life of mortal beings comes and goes, that is the basic idea
of all ceremonies, until enlightenment is reached the Buddha is
supposed to be a refuge.


As in Europe, ceremonies in Buddhism are an accumulation of rites
and customs that have developed over thousands of years,
depending on the Buddhist country and its language.


The central thesis in Buddhism was and is that every human being
can reach enlightenment.


The way is the goal!


Let us visualize the seven limbs of insight that are helpful on
the path of our endeavor


- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before
the year zero


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