Important Buddhist practices and concepts

No Self:

Because Buddhists believe that life revolves within a continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, one finds within the tradition the basic doctrine of reincarnation. This is not a doctrine that posits the reincarnation of the self or Atman, as the Indian traditions called it, since Anatta, or no-self, is the characteristic truth of the path of Dharma in Buddhism. There are however, basic components that constitute what we might refer to as "self." These components, or aggregates of being called "skandhas," are not fixed entities. They are contingent upon one another and the forces with which they interact. Body, consciousness, feelings, and mind compose the Buddhist "self." Upon death, something that is related to these aspects is passed on through the karmic energy that continues to knit these components together. Only as one becomes absolutely freed from karma can one become free of the samsaric cycle of birth and rebirth.

Karma:

Karma is the energy of the will that continues the cycle of birth and rebirth. Karma means cause and effect. Every action has a cause and every cause has an effect. There are some who would say that the Thai Buddhist notion of karma works to insure one's destiny in society. Because of actions in previous moments, previous lives even, one's current and future state of being is determined. With the emphasis of karma on destiny, a certain calmness, compromise, consensus and conciliation becomes characteristic of Thai Buddhism. (Kalick and Wilson, 1992) Other, more reformist oriented Buddhists, wish to emphasize that karma is more about responsibility than it is about destiny. If all of our actions have a definite effect, then we would pay more attention to what we do. Ajaan Saeng described karma this way, during our meeting with him in Chaingmai:

1. Mental drives and emotional impulses: greed, hatred, anger and their opposites of charity, equanimity, and wisdom.
2. Volition/intention: involves awareness and specific purposes
3. The act itself, through three channels: thinking (mental); speaking (verbal); doing (bodily).
4. Result: Karmic energy is created and stored in the mind. It encourages you to repeat and thus increase karmic energy to become an innate part of your character for the purpose of preserving your life stream. The combination of karmic energy and desire for existence is especially strong just before you die. This psychic energy, or rebirth consciousness, will contain all the character of the dying one. It will thus be attracted to a fertilized egg in the womb of the mother.

Merit-Making, Dana, and Reincarnation:

In order to make and release karma, Buddhists engage in merit making activities. The Buddha, according to the oldest teachings, taught his followers to find the truth and work it out of their own accord, without the help of any external entities, such as a savior. One way that Buddhists do this is through the making of merit. The primary means of making merit are: having a son who becomes a monk, building or supporting a temple or giving to a monk (dana), particularly one such as a forest monk who is well known for his prowess in meditation, releasing birds, giving food to monks in morning alms. As one accrues positive merit, one gains a better rebirth in one of the various "realms" of existence: human realm, god realm, ghost realm, hell realm, animal realm, etc. The various realms, with the exception of the human realm, are realms through which one can live out and exhaust negative karma and accrue positive karma for a better rebirth, particularly as a human. It is believed that the human realm is the only realm in which a person can actually break the cycle of samsara and karma all together. Yet the human realm is a very difficult realm into which to be born.

Pilgrimage to the Stupas:

Stupas, also known in Thailand as Chedis and Pagodas, contain relics of the Buddha. They have a kind of symbolic meaning as the cosmic mountain, the navel of the universe, the mandala field from which demon forces have been expelled, the generative womb, and the pathway to liberation. (Swearer, 1995)These are among the most highly venerated sites and are places to which many Buddhists make regular pilgrimage. When I traveled to Chiangmai during the interval between Christmas and New Year's, I was able to witness hundreds of Thai people who were circumbulating the Stupa at Wat Doi Suthep. They would travel around the stupa, stoop to leave flowers, and candles and incense burning at its base, ring bells, and receive blessings form the monks.

Buddha Images and Relics:

Inside each temple there are numerous Buddha images. These images, which are made from a variety of materials, are created and then undergo a certain ritual with the monks present that transforms the image from the base materials from which it is derived to the actual presence of the Buddha. The ceremony for the consecration of the Buddha image utilizes monks who hold a sacred thread attached to the image while they chant. They are, according to Donald Swearer, bringing the image to life, training it, charging it with power. Nine monks chant all night before the image which is covered with cloth, its eyes sealed with bees wax, for it has yet to be taught its personal power. Once the monks conclude the chanting, the cover is removed, the eyes are opened and three small mirrors, which had been placed in front of the image are then turned outward (Swearer, 1995). Thus, once the image is consecrated, to walk in the presence of a Buddha image, one must show the same kind of homage as they would to the Buddha himself or to a monk. Devotees are to kneel down, cup their hands together as if holding a lotus blossom between their palms, place their foreheads on the ground and then sit back up. This is repeated two more times. Devotees gain merit from making offerings of gold plate to cover a new image or one that has been worn down by time.

Relics are also important parts of Buddhist piety. Relics of other great Buddhist leaders besides the Buddha are often placed in a temple compound. Previous abbots and other influential monks have enshrined parts of their bodies that remained intact upon cremation. This can include finger bones, teeth, etc. While I was in Chiangmai, I had the opportunity to witness the enshrining of the relics of that wat's former Abbot, Achan Mun, a great meditation master. Phra Bua brought Achan Man's teeth with him for placement in the pusabot that would contain them from henceforth.

Chanting of Blessings by the Monks and Morning Alms:

Buddhism is a mendicant order and in Thailand, as in other Theravadin nations, the central focus of the faith is the monastic life. The monks live from the gifts of the people. Each morning, except for Sundays, a particular monastery will send out representatives from the temple (usually the younger monks) to provide opportunities for the people to make merit through the giving of food. As the sun rises, you can see barefoot, robed monks walking through the streets of Bangkok or on a rural road or field, carrying their alms bowls. Families will come out from their homes, offer food to the monks by putting it directly into their begging bowl or handing them bags of groceries to carry with them. After the giving of the alms, the families will kneel down, with the father or head of the household directly in front of the monk. Other members of the family will place their hands on the shoulders of the household head or on each other, while the monks chant a blessing to the devotees. The monk or monks will then continue their route. In the cities, now that not all of the monks go out themselves but, instead, send the younger monks to undertake alms for the whole community, the food has to be brought back home on the back of trucks if there is more than the individual monks can carry. Because the monks are required to take whatever is offered to them and because they did not kill any animals themselves to prepare the food, most Thai Buddhists monks are omnivores, because most of the Thai people eat meat. This differs, for instance, from China where the monks are strictly vegetarian.

While I was in Thailand in January of 2002, I had the opportunity to join with Samaneri Dhammananda, a novice, female Theravadin monk (the first one in Thai history) as she went about her morning alms. She chooses to go out on Sundays, so as to avoid any conflict over territory with the monks. On the morning I joined her, she had only been undertaking this ritual for about eight weeks. That morning eight families came out of their homes to give alms and receive a blessing. By the looks on their faces, there was not doubt but that she was a "real" monk. It was one of the more moving experiences I had while in Thailand. (click here to learn more about Samaneri Dhammananda)