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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