Puja: The FWBO Book of Buddhist Devotional Texts

All Buddhist traditions have given a central place to ritual and devotional chanting, often in a mixture of the local language and the inherited Buddhist languages, Pali and Sanskrit. Chanting in the local language ensures that some aspects of the ritual are a readily accessible focus for devotion, whilst chanting in Pali and Sanskrit provides a link with other Buddhists throughout history and across the world. Ritual practices within the Buddhist tradition are referred to as Puja, which means "devotional worship". This book contains a number of such practices in the form of chants, ceremonies and rituals, which are recited at various times. A period of mediatation may be preceded by either chanting the "Tiratanavandana" or reciting the Threefold Puja. Both of these express devotional feelings towards the highest ideals of Buddhism. The most important ritual in the book is the "Seven-fold Puja". The words are drawn from the Mahayana tradition and the ritual itself brings about a series of devotional moods which express the most sublime ideal of Buddhism - the desire to gain Enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.