Expert: Bodhicitta - 9/22/2005

Question
hi i'm rob and looking to become a buddhist.
before i do make the step i need to ask 3 questions in order to choose, i'm 13 years old
and i'm at stowe buckingham

what the buddhist do in order to pray
where do they go to pray
and what would a normal buddhist wear and why,
all this is just questions referring to these questions

thanks

Answer
Dear Robert
Thank you for your well worded three questions.

I myself connected with Buddhism when I was about your age. I remember reading a story in a book about Lama's  living high in the Himalayas who lived a life that made me sit up and pay attention. They seemed to understand the
way the mind worked, and the world works in ways that people in the West would never be able to understand. So I resolved to find out for myself what they knew.

Years later I met my first meditation teacher and started
to find out that here in Britain there were teachers,
and it was possible to find our the secrets of the mind.

Buddha - means "Awake" and Buddhists seek to Awake to the truth of the mind and world. We all go around like people
in a dream or like Neo in the Matrix or like a magician has put a spell on everyone so they live in an illusion.
Meditation is the way of untapping the power of the mind and heart and escaping from illusion.

You ask about prayer in the context of Buddhism. Buddhism does have something akin to prayer but it isnt at all
like Christian prayer. There is no belief in some God who created reality and sits on a cloud enjoying
it all. Therefore praying to such a being doesnt enter into Buddhism.

In Buddhism there is prayer but it is very different from the idea of praying to an external God somewhere.It is a little more like a finding how to use your mind in clear and strong and one could even say somewhat  magical ways.
It is said that awakened beings - such as Buddhas can benefit other beings in vast and wonderful ways through Pranidharna.

The Indian (Sanskrit) word for this type of Prayer is Pranidhana. A pranidharna is a powerful wish that can be made by anyone when they truly align with their own hearts in an unconfused way. To really work with our minds like this we first need to train ourselves through meditation.

As trainee meditators or Buddhists we could start with simple and clear Pranidharnas. Such as we will use all our
energy to realise the deepest truth of our minds and so help all beings who are suffering using the wisdom and compassion in our hearts.

To answer your questions specifally.

what the buddhist do in order to pray ?
- they create Pranidharnas

where do they go to pray ?
- they can pray anywhere - as they pray in their hearts.

and what would a normal buddhist wear and why,
- Buddhists could wear anything at all as anyone can be
a Buddhist. A monk or nun might wear a robe to say they
have renounced the world similar to a christian monk
or nun.

Hope this gives you an idea Rob. I wish you well with your search for truth. Maybe your school should ask a Buddhist
to visit and give a talk and answer questions. I have done
things like that in schools in Britain and I always find
young people grasp the ideas very readily.

Best wishes
Bodhicitta