Expert: Anandapanyo Bhikkhu - 2/7/2010

Question
I was wondering as to whether or not with a Buddhism baby blessing do they have god parents?  If they don't what do they have instead.

Thanks

Answer
Dear Simone,

Thank you for the opportunity to answer your questions.

When a new baby is born into this world, some parents would already consider that a blessing. Traditionally, Buddhist do not have god parents. However, this does not mean that you cannot give a baby god parents. If we explore the concept of god parents, we will see that it is merely someone other than the biological birth mother and father who will take care of this baby if anything were to happen to him/her. In addition, the baby is raised to love his/her god parents as extensions of his/her family.

We, as Buddhists, do not need to formally declare someone a god parent. The reason is simple enough - through the many rounds of rebirth we have had many parents, many siblings, many close relatives and friends. The feelings we have developed for certain people have spanned countless rebirths. Therefore, it does not care whether or not you give that strong feeling a title. No matter what, if there is a past connection, there will be a present connection in this life.

So, to answer your question, instead of god parents, we just have our natural connections with the people in our lives. There are certain people we especially care for and are fond of, and there are people that we are not. There are people our parents are close to, and there are people that they are not. When the time comes, and there is no one to care for a child, their past karma will help guide them to where they are meant to be. The declaring of a god parent is merely a formality - a worldly convention.

In addition, I would like to explain the importance of a blessing for a baby. The blessing is not actually directly for the baby. It is only for the baby in an indirect sense. If they parents hear the blessing and feel happy and therefore practice well, they will raise the baby based on Dhamma truths and the baby will reap the bountiful benefits. If the parents hear the Dhamma blessing and still cling to old delusions, ignorance and greed, the baby will reap the
results of these actions. So, even though it seems like the blessing is for the baby, it is actually for all people.


I hope I have answered your questions.

Sincerely,

Phra Anandapanyo
www.watsanfran.org
www.kpyusa.org