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Rites and rituals are an essential part of Tibetan Buddhism and reflect its practical side. Not restricted to temples alone, they are performed in a variety of places and circumstances, including individual homes, for a myriad of purposes. Daily ceremonies are conducted in temples, although they are perhaps not so elaborate as those that take place in Hindu temples in India and Nepal.
Throughout the year, too, special rituals are performed to propitiate deities, to precipitate rain, to avert hailstorms, diseases, and death, to ensure good harvests, to exorcise demons and evil spirits, and of course to destroy the passions of the mind and, ultimately, the ego.
All these practices-whether occult, magical, or shamanistic, require various implements which are as important as the images of the deities in whose service they are employed. Each such object is pregnant with symbolic meaning and is frequently imbued with magical power and potency.
Some of the important ritual items in Tibetan Buddhism are:
☛ The Vajra or Thunderbolt, also known in Tibetan as dorje
☛ The Bell, known in Sanskrit as the Ghanta, and in Tibetan as dril bu
☛ The Phurpa (Ritual Dagger)
☛ The Skull Cup, known as kapala in Sanskrit
☛ The Curved Knife or Chopper
☛ Bowls
☛ Kettles to Hold Sacred Waters
☛ Butter Lamps for Offering
☛ Skulls for Esoteric Tantric Practices
☛ Incense Holders
☛ Prayer Wheels (Hand-held and for the Altar)
☛ Gaus (Portable Shrines)
☛ Trumpets
☛ Damaru (Double Drum)
Objects used in or during the performance of rituals are the instruments of our communication with God. This is why they are considered sacred. There are many sacred objects used in Buddhism such as Prayer beads, Mandalas, Buddha or Bodhisattva images, Incense burner, Bells, Stupas (the remains of Buddhist monks), Begging bowl, Monks’ robes, etc. These objects or items are considered holy and are treated with great reverence.
Tibetan mala, like the prayer beads in other religions, is used to keep count of repetitions of a sacred mantra. It has 108 small beads and a three-holed head bead known as the “Guru” or “Buddha” bead. The chanter holds the mala in his left hand and begins to recite from the Guru bead.
To hold the bead, the index finger and thumb are used. One recitation of the mantra is counted on each bead, and in this way, repetitions are done by moving to other beads. Once the Guru bead is reached again, it signifies the completion of one round.
Similar to the followers of the Vedic culture, Tibetan Buddhists also use various ritual objects during their worship that play an important role. These include Prayer Beads (Mala), Buddhist Prayer Bell, Dorje (in the shape of a thunderbolt), Damaru or Tibetan Drum, Tibetan Butter Lamp, Tibetan Prayer Wheel, Shankha or Conch Shell, and the Ghau Box. Each of these ritual items symbolizes or represents a certain aspect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Rituals play an important role in Buddhism and more than that, the consciousness with which they are performed is also essential. When a ritual is performed with love, devotion, faith, and commitment, it becomes spiritual and the result is the purification of our hearts. The main rituals performed by the followers of Buddhism are:
☛ Receiving blessings from an enlightened monk
☛ Taking a vow to walk the path of enlightenment and to be kind and compassionate toward all living beings
☛ Making merit (performing charity, and following the instructions of Lord Buddha)
☛ Bowing down before the Buddha
☛ Reciting Buddhist scriptures
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