Buddhist Customs

Amber and Max

 Meditation:

- Meditation is used in the Buddhist religion to separate one

from their thoughts. Many do this to have a sense of full
awareness.
- In Buddhism, the person meditating is attempting to take
control of his/her mind.
 Meditation Cont.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it

is founded in our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.

-Dhammapada 1:1-2

These lines from the Buddhist scripture Dhammapada

show how important the mind is to an individual.
Meditation is used to clear the mind, thus allowing
clearer decisions.
 Meditation Cont.
- There are four types of meditation:
Concentrative, Generative, Receptive, and
Reflective.
- Concentrative meditation focuses on on an
object to concentrate ones thoughts, and to
clear the mind.
Meditation
- Generative meditation helps the meditator Practice:
concentrate on love and kindness, and to
eliminate any hate from the body.
- Receptive meditation opens the mind to
whatever arises from the meditation experience,
while Reflective meditation helps the meditator
reflect Buddhas teachings.
 Buddhist Worship:

- At home, Buddhists often set aside a room

or a part of the house as a shrine to
Buddha. A classic shrine would consist of
candles, incense burners, and statues.
- Buddhist Temples are designed to
symbolize the five elements: Fire, Air,
Earth, Water, and Wisdom.
- Worshippers may sit on the floor, while
facing an image of Buddha and chanting.
They will listen to monks chanting from
religious texts also.
Buddhist Worship Video:

How Buddhists Worship:

 Sacred Mandala:

- One of the riches visual and physical objects in Buddhism is

the Mandala.
- A mandala is a symbolic picture of the universe, and can be a
painting on a wall or scroll.
- The mandala represents a palace envisioned during meditation,
and each object inside of the palace holds significance
 Venerating The Buddha:

- Venerating the Buddha can take on many forms such as:

meditating on the qualities of Buddha, and honoring
Buddha, or a Buddha figure.
- A person could honor Buddha by making offerings to
relics, or images of Buddha.
 Exchanging Of Gifts During Veneration:

- During the process of Veneration, many Buddhists

exchange gifts.
- In Theravada Buddhism, monks embody the Buddhists
practices
- Many Buddhists in this sector of Buddhism, people give
monks gift baskets and good wishes. Karma is seen as the
reward.
 Pilgrimage

- The purpose of pilgrimage is to foster spiritual discipline,

to fulfill a vow, or to simply travel.
- Buddhists travel to many important places in Buddhas
life. There are more than 10 around the world.
- Pilgrimage helps the traveler connect with the figure the
center is devoted to.
 Ordination:

- Ordination is the ceremony where a person becomes a

monk.
- Ordination is an important ceremony in all traditions.
- To become a Theravada monk,, a postulate shaves his
head and beard and adopts the traditional yellow robe
of a monk.