christian prayer from a buddhist

8/12/2019 Christian Prayer From a Buddhist

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Christian Prayer Seen from the Eye of a BuddhistAuthor(s): Kenneth K. Tanaka

Source: Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 22 (2002), pp. 87-92Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1390564.

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BUDDHIST RESPONSESTOCHRISTIAN SPIRITUALPRACTICE

ChristianPrayerSeen from theEyeof a BuddhistKennethK.TanakaMusashinoWomen's niversity, okyo

WhenI thinkabout Christianprayer,he imageI get is that of ayounggirlof abouteightyearsold with long brownhair.Wearinga nightgown, he is kneelingnext toher bed with her handsclaspedand her head bowed.I have often queriedmyselfabout the sourceof this image.This is an interestingquestion n itself.I personallydon'tknowof anyonewho fits thatdescription rwho hasactuallywitnessed ome-one like her in prayer.Nevertheless,t is interestinghow a Buddhistraised n a pre-dominatelyChristian ocietycomes to formhis imageof Christianprayer.Workingfurtherwith this image, I see this little girl-let's call her Megan-doing two thingsin hereveningprayer.One is thatshe is givingthanks o God forthe benefits he has received. he thankshimfor herfood,clothing, riends,andfam-ily.Then, she alsomakesa request. n this petitionary lementof herprayer,he isaskingGodto makeher sickfathergetwell soon.Asshe doesso,herexpressionurnsmoreserious,and she claspsher hands morefirmlyand bringsthem closer to herchest. She then looks up towardthe ceiling, expressingher heartfeltwish for herfather'searlyrecovery.What is noteworthys thatMegan's rayers respokenaloudas in a humanconversation.I realize hat thisimagedoes not do justiceto a topicasenormousas "Christianprayer," ut I believe hat it providesa glimpse nto how one Buddhistimagines hetopic. I have a numberof questionsaboutMegan'sprayer,particularly s I try tounderstandwhatmaybe going on insideof her.I wonder firstandforemost,whatGod looks liketo her.IsGod a male or a female,or neither? wouldthinkthat evenfor her (in this gender-sensitivege),God is still a male.If so, does she see him asanelderlymanwith a longwhitebeard,holdingacaneandsitting n a throne?Next,wheredoes God reside? f he is in heaven,what is heaven ike to her?I wonderifheaven s locatedsomewhere midst helofty,puffyclouds.In regardso herfather'sillness,how does shethink God can makeherfathergetwell?What is the mechanismby which a personifiedGod can heal?Perhaps am beingtoo analytical ndoverlyrigorouswithmyquestionsaboutaspiritual ct,andthat of aneight-year-oldt that.Perhaps should, instead,turn the questionstowardme, askinghow I would

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KENNETH K. TANAKA

answer he samequestionsabout a Buddhistgirl "praying"efore he Buddhaor abodhisattvaor the samekindof wish?The imagethatimmediately ropsup in mymindis of agirlof abouttwelveand her motherwhomI sawat apagodan Rangoon,Burma,anumberof yearsago.Thegirliswearing large,redfresh lower n her hairandhas on traditionalapparel.She sits with hermotheron a marble loor of a spa-cious area n frontof Buddhaimagesthat areseveralmeters n height.She holds abouquetof flowershelduprightbetween hepalmsof hands n agesture f reverence.Shesits with herlegsfoldedbut thrownout to herside,astylecommon n her coun-try as well as in Thailand.Her eyes appearclosed,and her headis slightlyboweddowntoward he Buddhaimages.Shestays n thatposture or whatseems ikesev-eralminutes;her mother does the same.I don'tknow,of course,what is going oninside,but she is certainlynot meditating.I believe his is an importantpointto makehere, orBuddhists restereotypicallyseento only meditate.However, he vastmajority f layBuddhistsn Asiaprimarily"pray"rexpresshemselvesdevotionally,uringwhichtheygivethanksbutalsopeti-tion for one thingor anotherof worldlynature.Whilepanoplyof Bodhisattvasuchas Avalokiteshvarand Kshitigarbhaerve as objectsof these earthlypetitionsinMahayanaBuddhistcountriesof EastAsia,the ShakyamuniBuddha s the primaryobjectof devotion n the Theravadaocietiesof SoutheastAsia.ShakyamuniBuddha, hen, is the objectof herrequest.The huge imagesof theBuddhan hismeditationposesit in frontof her.Supposing hetoo is asking or herfather'sarlyrecoveryrom anillness,I wonderwhat kindof imagesheholdsof theBuddha.Wouldthatimage n hermind be the tranquil,meditativeBuddha,or thehandsome, allantprinceSiddhartha, hoboldlywent off to seektruth,or theimageof some "fatherlyigure" romher life experience?Morethan likely,her imageisamorphous,as an amalgamation f the imagesmentionedabove,and more. How-everwayshemayconceiveof theBuddha, he must feela satisfyingevelof comfortwith the Buddha orsucha deeplypersonalanddevotionalact to hold anysenseofmeaning.While we see similarities etween hese two girls,I believe hat the actof Chris-tian prayerentails one qualitythat is virtuallyabsentin the Buddhistdevotionalform:aninteractionwith theultimate, n otherwords,God.The Christianprayersa two-way ommunication, conversation ith God.Incontrast,here svirtually osenseof the Burmesegirlhavinga conversation ith the Buddha.To herBuddhamayanswerherprayersorbettercroporphysicalhealing,but I wouldbeverysurprisedif sheexpected o interactwith Buddhaon apersonalevel,whereby,orexample, heexperienced spiritual onversation ith him. On the otherhand,Megan theAmer-ican Christiangirl), n herprayerswould talkwith her God in a muchmorepersonalway.Shemayeven barteror negotiatewithhim, offering o be a "goodgirl" f onlyGod can cureherfatherof his illness.Godappearsmorewillingto listento her needsand to respondon an individualbasis.God at this level is morelikea caringunclewho is willingto listenandtalkwith her.Now, this leadsme to anothercharacter f ChristianprayerhatI believeplaysavital rolein makingChristian piritualitymore accessibleo "ordinary" eople.The

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prayer s I havedescribed bovedoesnot involvean inwardapprehensionf themys-tical divinepresence.Mostprayers renot mystical,and it wouldbe goingtoo far toclaimmysticalexperienceor ordinaryprayer.LikeMegan,prayers eek God aboveandnot within.This, in fact,doesdistinguishMegan's rayerromBuddhistmedita-tion,which mostpeopleagree nvolves omeformof "mystical xperience."t is pre-ciselythis point that givessome conservativeBuddhists he necessaryproofof the"superior"atureof Buddhistsoteriologyover thatof Christianity. shall return othisBuddhistclaim ater,but I wish to pointout herethat this is also the reason orthe lessaccessible atureof mainstream uddhistspiritualityo ordinaryolk. In thisrespect,Christianprayer t whateverevel,certainlyncludingMegan's,s moreeffec-tive in beinginclusiveandallowingmorepeopleto be "connected"o mainstreamChristianspirituality.Megan's rayers recarried ut in veryordinary ircumstances(athome beforegoingto bed)withrealhumanconcern father'sllness). believe hisabilityof prayer o affirm he mundaneand to lead the seekers o deeper evels ofChristianspirituality as been a realassetto Christianity.I am afraid hatI cannotsaythe same or meditation. ts aim hasbeen to be muchmoredisengaged rom the mundane,thus lessaccessible o ordinaryBuddhists nAsia(though nterestinglyheoppositemaybe the case n contemporaryWest,wheremeditation,aspresented,s theprimary ppealof Buddhism).One of the reasonsormeditation'sdisengagementrommundaneconcerns(e.g. Megan's oncernfor herfather'sllness) s thattheyareregardedstheverysourceof sufferingattachmentoaperson).Thissamsariccycleof birthsanddeaths) xistenceneeds o betranscendedthroughpersonalcultivation n which meditationplaysa key role.However, uchmeditationpracticeswith extremelyofty mysticalgoalswerenot easilyaccessible oordinaryBuddhists.Thisvacuumhascometo be filledwithsuch "devotionalpractices"s sutrachant-ing, makingofferingsof flowers, anterns,or food, and "prayers"e.g. Burmesegirldescribed bove).However,romthe mainstreammonasticBuddhist iewtheseprac-tices areviewedassecondary r,atbest,provisional.Nevertheless,t is these that themajorityof layBuddhistsengage n on a dailybasis.Allowme hereto elaborate nsomeexamplesof whatI meanby "prayer."It iscustomaryorBuddhist utrachanting o includea"prayerf blessing"alled,"theverse ortransferringf meritto others."Forexample, n myownJodoShinshutradition,virtually verysutrachantingendswith the followingverse:

Ganni shiku do ku(Maythis merit-virtue)Byodo se is-sai(Be sharedequallywith allbeings.)Do hotsuboda-i shin(Maywe togetherawaken he BodhiMind,)Oujouan rakukoku Andbe bornin the realmof SerenityandJoy.)

Thisverse s takenfrom thewritingof a seventh-centuryChinesemaster,Shan-tao.Sinceeveryone,ncludingchildren,participatesn thesutrachantingatreligious er-vices,farmorepeoplethan the small numberof priests akepartin this "prayerfblessing."



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A similarbut even morepopular orm of prayerof blessingcalled the "GoldenChain" onethatwascomposed n Hawaii n theearlypartof thetwentiethcentury)is recited at religiousservices,particularlywhen youths and young adults are inattendance.GoldenChain-III am a link in the Buddha'sgoldenchainof love that stretches round heworld.I mustkeepmy link brightandstrong.I will bekind andgentle o every ivingbeingandprotectallwho areweakerthanmyself.I will try to thinkpureand beautifulthoughts,to saypureand beautifulwords,and to dopureand beautiful eeds,knowingon whatI do nowdependsnot only my happiness,but also thatof others.May every ink in the Buddha'sgoldenchain of love becomebrightandstrong,andmaywe allattainperfectpeace.

Particularlyhe laststanzaexpresseshe Bodhisattvaspiritof wishingall beingstorealize he ultimategoalof allBuddhists, hatis, nirvanaor Buddhahood. person-allyhaveregardedhis last stanzaand the previously ited "verseor merit transfer-ence"asmy Buddhistprayer or all livingbeings.IfwhatI havediscussed bovecan beregarded s"prayersf blessing,"whatI amabout to sharecan be seen as "prayersf petition,"on the same order as that ofMegan'sprayer or her father o get well. Scholarsmayregard hem as self-servingand, technically,not religious,but I doubt we can easilydismissthem, especiallywhen the"petitioners"recarryinghemout withintheirrespective eligiousrame-work (God, Buddha,Bodhisattva, tc.) and at formallyrecognized ettings(Bud-dhisttemples,etc.), as we shall see.As I writethison January here nJapan, he templesare nundatedwithpeoplewho gather orthe annualNew Year's isits(hatsu-mode).t is estimated hat almosthalfof theJapanese opulationof 125 millionpeoplepayvisitsto Buddhist emplesor Shinto shrineson the firstthreedaysof the New Year.What motivates o manypeopleto fightthe hugecrowds o participate, speciallywhen mostof them nevergo to templesor shrines he restof theyear?The primarymotivation anbe catego-rizedas "prayersf petition." n general, heypray or "asafe,healthyandprosper-ous"New Year.Of course, herearenumerousmorespecificprayersuch asfor theirloved onesor themselves o recover romillness, o entera collegeof theirchoice,ornot to lose theirjoborbusinessn the currentbadeconomy.On onelevel hesemoti-vations eem"worldly"ndpetitionary.None is moreso than the common sceneofpeople gatheredaround ncense burnersfanningthe incensesmoke onto partsoftheirbodyneedingfixingor improvement.Some see the needfor "purification"ftheirpersistent ackpain,of theirheadto do betteron examinations, r of theirlegsto look thinner or cosmeticpurpose.Perhapsormanytheseactionsaredone withalight-heartedxpectation,orthey"really"on't hinkthattheywork,but do it out of customandjustin case t worksHowever, hereareotherswhose motivationsareseriousandcompelling.A woman

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in her late seventiessuffering romcancerstands n front of the imageof Kannon-sama(Avalokiteshvara).ll medicaltreatmentshave failed and she is told that shehasperhaps ne year o live.Sheplacesherpalmstogetherout of genuinefeelingofreverence o the Kannon. She expresses erdeeplyfelt gratitude or the wonderfulfamilyshe feelsshehas beenblessedwith-a caringand devotedhusband,andthreegrownchildrenwithwonderful amiliesof theirown. Sheis gratefulorthe factthatshe was ableto work at a meaningfulob fortwentyyearsat a timewhen it wasnotfashionableorwomen with families o do so. She has no regrets.However, hewantsto live a littlelonger.She wouldlike to be able to see all herfamilyagainat the nextNew Year'samilygathering.So, afterherexpressions f appreciation boutherlife,shepetitionsKannon-sama or her cancer o slowdownso as to be able to visit thesametemplenext New Year.Then, adding o hergrateful ndpetitionary houghts,she also asksfor the compassionof Kannon-samao that when she has to go, shewouldbe embraced ndprotected.She has not arrived tadoctrinalBuddhistunder-standingof whathappens o her afterdeath,butshewouldbesatisfied slongassheis assured hat she"wouldbealright." hisanxietyabout"beingallright"s partiallyconsoled becauseshe is confidentthat her familywould regularly ayvisitsto hergrave,whereherasheswould be interred.Shealsoknows thatherfamilywouldalsotakegood careof the Buddhistaltarat home (whereherBuddhistnamewouldbedisplayedalongwith herphoto) by regularlyightingthe incenseandcandleswithofferingsof flowersand,at times,her favorite ood.This elderly adyis actuallymy projectionof whatprobablywasgoingon in themind of someoneI havecome to knowintimately,my mother-in-law. hewent tothe templetoday,and I surmisedwhatprobablyookplace.I chose to talkaboutherbecause t is real(andpersonal orme) andrepresentativef whatactuallyhappens.Thereare housands f people ike her(andmillions ike theordinary atsu-modeis-itors discussed bove)at Buddhisttemples hroughout he world.And theyequallyrepresenthe livingBuddhist raditionsof todayalongwith the meditatingmonksandnuns.Perhaps,herefore,meditation hould not readilybe considered he Bud-dhistcounterparto Christianprayer,or,as seenabove,"prayer"n its manyformsis verymuch carried ut andby a majority f peoplewho regardhemselves s Bud-dhists.I must atthispointqualifymysomewhat ritical ommentsconcerningBuddhistmediation(especially ivenmyJapanesePureLandbackground, nownfor its anti-meditation tance).I am in no waycategoricallyondemningmeditation, or I toopracticean elementaryorm of Theravadavipassanameditation earnedduringmymonastic tintin a Thaimonasteryn 1970.What I object o is theattitude hatpriv-ilegesmeditationat theexpenseof otherformsof practices,huscontributingo theview thatexcludesa largenumberof peoplefrom"authentic" uddhistspirituality.In starkcontrast,Christianprayer atleast n its contemporaryorm)hashelpedtoavoidthis Buddhistpitfall.Now,let me turnto coupleof othercomments haveaboutChristianprayer, ar-ticularlyn itspublicforms(asopposed o the privateones discussed o far).I couldnot helpbut take note of the invocationat the U.S. president'snaugural eremony,



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where he ChristianministersoughtGod'sguidance n helpingPresidentGeorgeWBush to carryout his duties and responsibilities s president.Then the ministerinvokedGod'shelpforVice-PresidentDick Cheneyas well as for the wivesof thesenewleaders. wonderedwhetherGod is able to renderhelpto suchspecificpeoplewhen therewere oversix billionpeoplein theworld I don'tmean to makelightofthis, for I realize hat such an invocationholds profoundspiritualand theologicalmeaning or thoseinvolvedandthatthis has becomean indeliblepartof ourpolit-icalliturgy.But on a gut-levelreaction or thisBuddhist, seea tingeof self-servingqualityabout thewayin which God wasbeingsolicited.It seemsto me that God isconcernedwith allpeople(andfroma Buddhistperspective, llbeings)andis, thus,beyondbeingconnected o a specificnation or individuals.Perhapsmy uneasinesswastriggeredby the obvious manifestation f "civilreli-gion" n actionandtheseeminglyundermining f theprincipleof separation f stateandreligionat thispresidentialnauguration s well as those that havepreceded t.The self-serving atureof publicprayers not confined o importantpoliticaleventsbutis especially laringn athleticgameswhereprayersintheformsof thanksgivingandinvocation)oftenserveone'sown team at theexpenseof theother.I oftenwon-der,"Does God really ake sides?"The secondobservation hat I have of public prayers, speciallyof the thanks-

givingvariety,s God'smonopolyon thecredits.Everything orthbeingthankfuloris attributedo God. I canunderstandhis,giventhe role of God as the makerof allthingsseen andunseen,but froma Buddhist iewit seems hat morecreditsarewar-rantedfor the deservingpeople,otherliving beings,plants,or unseen conditions.Whenone givesthanks o God forthe foodwe areaboutto partake, houldn'therebe thanksgivenalsoto thecow, fish,or broccoliwhose iveswe took for our benefit?Yes,Godcreated hem,buttheymadethe real acrifice. realize hatfor someChris-tians Godrepresents ll,so thatin givingthanks o God, one is inherentlyhankingall the creatures ndlivingthings.MyreticencewithacknowledgingnlyGodstemsfrom the Buddhistview that does not see Buddhaas a creator.We thereforegivethanks o him forshowingus thewayto liberation utnot necessarilyor thebountybestowedus.I regret hat the pressures f time havepermittedme to presentonly an impres-sionisticessay,not a researched rticleasI hadhoped.Butperhaps uchan impres-sionisticessaymaybe a moreaccurate nd honestrepresentationf myviewson thetopicof Christianprayer inacomparativerameworkhat ncludesBuddhistprayerandmeditation). n reflecting gainon whatI have learned romjottingdownmythoughtson thistopic,I amleftwiththe imageof Megan,whichI would still liketoholdupasmyparadigmatic hristianprayer:onversational,ersonal,andhopeful.

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