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Buddhists/Prayer Hands

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Expert: - 4/15/2008


Question
Can you tell me how a Buddhist would hold their hands during prayer? For example what would be the Buddhist equivalent of the palm-to-palm, fingers pointing up attitude of the hands during Christian prayer?
Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Keith,
Some Buddhist practices use a wide range of gestures to express various parts of the ritual, such as offering water, flowers, incense, lights, perfume, food and so on - it's practically a little dance with the hands. But I think the one you mean is the one used as a gesture of reverence. It's quite similar to the Christian gesture, but the hands are a little cupped rather than strictly palm-to-palm, because they are supposed to represent a lotus bud - that pure, beautiful flower that grows up out of the mud!
The other difference is that they are usually held for this purpose at around the level of the heart, whereas Christians often bring their hands rather higher, even up to the level of the mouth.
I hope that helps!

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Alex Wilding

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I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life. I am also available to provide background information for journalists.

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I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice. I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.

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My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.

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