Ceremony and Ritual

 

 

Reading the chapter in Surangama Sutra  'Establishing a Place for Awakening", I am struck by the way the passage describes the kinds of preparations that practitioners need to make to purify their minds, particularly in what is known as "Dharma Ending Age". Here is one particular passage:

 

A lotus made of gold, silver, copper, or wood should be placed in the center of the place for awakening, and a bowl filled with dew collected during the eighth lunar month should be placed in the center of the flower. An abundance of flower petals should be made to float upon the water in the bowl. Eight round mirrors should be arranged around the flower and bowl so that the mirrors face outward in each of the eight directions. (p.283)

 

This passage goes on to suggest the kinds of rituals that would be used in a Buddhist style ceremony to establish a 'place for awakening'. As I was reading the passage, I started to wonder, why are these complex procedures done, and how might they be sustained over time? Is there a particular value or significance in the eight round mirrors, eighth lunar month, and so on?

 

 From my own experiences in reading Buddhist texts, I notice how numbers often signify and remind people of specific levels of awareness: eight consciousnesses, six forms of giving, six senses, eighteen constituents, and so on. I wonder if the procedure that Buddha is describing is meant as a codified way of reminding a spiritual practitioner to be mindful of specific layers of the mind or teachings. There is really no accident that certain numbers are used in the services, because they relate to specific doctrines in Buddhism that are meaningful. I wonder if the visual effect is to trigger memories of previous teachings, or at least to trigger an unconscious awareness.

 

But another point is the actual procedure itself. I am not well-versed in putting together ceremonies, but I do notice the calming effects of observing a ceremony. Just yesterday, during the Buddha Bathing Ceremony, I had observed how the meticulous design of the altar and bathing stations had a calming and dignified effect on the mind. I could almost detect the state of mind that went into designing the ceremony details. Each part did not point to itself, but was meant to point to a deeper layer of mind that is often lost in the everyday, mundane details of life. 

 

The simplicity of the ceremony often helps people to focus on specific meaningful details, which is also settling to the mind.  In this way, the actual details of the ritual are not accidental, and nor do they have magical powers in and of themselves. Rather, I think the detail that goes into the ceremony relates more to the state of reverence of the practitioner, and how it helps the practitioner to go outside her or himself to respect the mind. If Buddha had merely said, "just worship in whatever way you wish", there wouldn't be that sense of humility and reverence which is often required to get out of one's self or desires.

 

Surangama Sutra: A New Translation (2009), Buddhist Text Translation Society.