A prostration (Pali: ''panipāta'', Skt.: ''namas-kara'', Ch.: , ', Jp.: ''raihai'') is a gesture used in

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

practice to show reverence to the

Triple Gem In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice, which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Since the period of Early Buddhism until present time, all Theravada ...

(comprising the Buddha, his teachings, and the spiritual community) and other objects of veneration. Among Buddhists prostration is believed to be beneficial for practitioners for several reasons, including: *an experience of

giving Giving may refer to: * Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return * Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return * Charity (practice), the giving of help to those in need ...

or veneration *an act to purify defilements, especially conceit *a preparatory act for

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

*an act that accumulates

merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...

(see

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

) In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself, while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

ritual, ancillary to

Theravada Buddhism

In the

Pali canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several suttas. In

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

, as part of daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

and

. On these occasions, one typically prostrates three times: once to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, once to the

Dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...

, and once to the

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

. More generally, one can also prostrate before "any sacred object of veneration." Theravada Buddhists execute a type of prostration that is known as "five-point veneration" (Pali: ''patitthitapanca'') or the "five-limbed prostration" (Pali: ''pañc'anga-vandana'') where the two palms and elbows, two sets of toes and knees, and the forehead are placed on the floor. More specifically: In Myanmar (Burma), prostrations are accompanied by the common Buddhist prayer, known as

okāsa An ''Awgatha'' (ဩကာသ; from Pali: ''okāsa''), sometimes known as the ''common Buddhist prayer'' is a formulaic Burmese Buddhist prayer that is recited to initiate acts of Buddhist devotion, including obeisance to the Buddha and Buddhist mon ...

. In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

verses: In Theravadin countries such as Sri Lanka, when one goes before one's teacher, in order to "open one's mind up to receive instructions," one bows and recites the phrase, "Okāsa ahaṃ bhante vandāmi" ("I pay homage to you venerable sir").

Mahayana Buddhism

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

, both half- and full-prostrations are used. Zen master Robert Aitken writes: Roshi

Philip Kapleau Philip Kapleau (August 20, 1912 – May 6, 2004) was an American teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools. He also advocated strongly for Buddhist vegetarianism. Early life Kapleau ...

writes: Zen master Huang Po, of the 9th century, is said to have done prostrations so intensely that he wore a permanent red mark on his forehead.

Vajrayana Buddhism

Vajrayana Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

, prostrations are often performed before meditation or teachings, but can form a separate practice by itself. Prostrations are seen as a means of purifying one's body, speech and mind of

karmic Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

defilements, especially pride. Prostrations are used in tandem with visualization and can be used to express reverence to

Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

and others. For example, in the context of offering homage to Guru Rinpoche, prostrations are to be performed as follows: This type of prostration is often done 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. A prostration mala can be used to facilitate counting.Tromge (1995), p. 95. This form of prostration is used with enlightened beings other than Guru Rinpoche as well. Prostrations done in large numbers (like 100,000) can be part of the preliminary practices to the practice of

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

. Other practices like this can be reciting the Refuge prayer,

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

offerings,

Vajrasattva Vajrasattva ( sa, वज्रसत्त्व, Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ། ''Dorje Sempa'', short form is རྡོར་སེམས། ''Dorsem'', Монгол: Доржсэмбэ) is a bodhisattva in the Maha ...

mantras and other practices called

ngöndro In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro (, sa, pūrvaka) refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines (Sanskrit: sādhanā) common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga. The pre ...

Notes

Bibliography

*Aitken, Robert (1982). ''Taking the Path of Zen''. NY:North Point Press. . *Aitken, Robert (2002). "Formal Practice: Buddhist or Christian" in ''Buddhist-Christian Studies'' (2002), Vol. 22, pp. 63–76. Available on-line at: http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Miscellaneous/FormalPractice.htm *Indaratana Maha Thera, Elgiriye (2002). ''Vandana: The Album of Pali Devotional Chanting and Hymns''. Penang, Malaysia:Mahindarama Dhamma Publication. Available on-line at: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/vandana02.pdf. * Kapleau, Phillip (1989a). ''The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice and Enlightenment''. NY: Anchor Books. . *Kapleau, Philip (1989b). ''Zen: Merging of East and West''. NY:Anchor Book. . *Khantipalo, Bhikkhu (1982). ''Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence'' (The Wheel No. 206/207). Kandy, Sri Lanka:Buddhist Publication Society. Also transcribed (1995) and available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html. *Tromge, Jane (1995). ''Ngondro Commentary: Instructions for the Concise Preliminary Practices of the New Treasure of Dudjom / compiled from the teachings of His Eminence Chagdud Tulku''. Junction City, CA:Padma Publishing. .

External links

A Holy Quest in Tibet: Prostrate, and Miles to GoBuddhism: Prostrations (video)Buddhism: Prostrations Part II (video)
by Ven

Thubten Chodron Thubten Chodron ( — De Lin), born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States. Ch ...