LILI LAURITANO GRADY | Zen Wisdom

When you prostrate, you are symbolically putting your head at the feet of whomever or whatever you are prostrating to, and the upright palms symbolize holding the feet of the other.

In this position and state of mind, one’s attachment to self is lessened. The mind tends to be clearer, problems come more sharply into focus and they fade away more quickly. When such sentiments arise it is also easier for humans to come in contact with deities. Whether such deities really exist is not the issue. Still, we cannot say that religion is merely superstition and dismiss or deny the existence of a spirit realm. There are indeed other realms and humans do interact with beings of these realms, whether we are aware of it or not. For this reason alone, prostrations are useful. It is a way of transcending our human limitations and getting in touch with a spiritual reality.

In the Buddha’s time, people became disciples by doing two things. First, they took refuge in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha); second, they showed courtesy and respect to the Buddha. Courtesy involves a ritualistic gesture or action, whereas respect is more of a mental attitude.

Taking refuge in or showing gratitude to the Three Jewels is a symbolic action most Buddhists are familiar with. It is done through courtesy and respect in two distinct ways. One is by making offerings and the other is through ritual. Ritual respect can be shown in any number of ways, but the simplest is to join palms, gaze at the forefingers and bow. A more profound gesture than this is prostration.

There are two main ways to prostrate. One is to touch the floor with knees, elbows and forehead with palms extended and upturned. This is the way we do it. Another is to have the entire front of the body outstretched and touching the ground in full prostration. When doing prostrations, it is important that you maintain head and body in a straight line when you bend down. If you don’t it can cause headaches.

STUDENT:
What do you mean by making offerings?

SHIH-FU:
Just what it sounds like. You offer something of yourself to the Three Jewels. You do the best you can and give what you can. If you can afford it, then offerings may include money. But money is not the only form of offering. You can offer water, food, or flowers. You can also offer your services. Remember, it is your mind and your intention that count.

Prostration is like making an offering with the body. According to the sutras, there are six ways to practice. First is to read the sutras; second is to copy the holy texts; third is to prostrate; fourth is to make offerings; fifth is to repent; sixth is to expound the Dharma. Meditation and contemplation are part of a more specialized practice. In ancient times, when people cultivated the Dharma, they always began with the first six practices.

Many people when meditating have physical and psychological obstructions, which are manifestations of previous karma. They may complain that they are either drowsy or scattered, and cannot even read sutras for very long. If they read aloud they get tired; if they read silently, their minds wander. At such times prostration is a good practice.

In Buddhism, great emphasis is placed on courtesy, respect and repentance, especially for people who have difficulty meditating. Repentance prostration is often useful. In the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, new devotees begin spiritual life with the four preliminary practices. The first of these is 100, 000 full prostrations. When finished, a person’s physiological and psychological conditions will have changed and it will be much easier to practice meditation.

In China, from the time of the Sui dynasty (581-618 A.D.), especially in the T’ien-tai (Jap: Tendai) sect, prostration practice has been encouraged. Various procedures have been compiled for people to practice repentance. One is called the repentance of the Dharma Lotus Sutra. Others are based on writings in other sutras. For most people, samadhi is not easy to attain, so it is important and useful to do repentance prostrations.

I have explained the different kinds of movement in prostrating. In addition, prostrations can be done slowly or quickly. It can be done in front of a statue of a Buddha or with an image of the Three Jewels in your mind; or it can be done without such artifacts. One can just be aware of one’s movements. The goal of being aware of movement while prostrating is to eventually forget the body and mind ─ in essence they disappear ─ and to allow the prostrations to flow by themselves.

There are four levels of mental absorption that can be attained while prostrating with the mind focused on movement. The first is to pay attention to all aspects of motion of the body, each and every detail, while directing that motion. At the second level you do not pay attention to all the details, but you are aware of directing the body. Third, you do not direct the body or think of the body as being yours, yet you still watch it prostrate. Fourth, you are not aware of a body or a being moving; nonetheless, prostrations continue. There are two variations of the fourth level. One is when a person freezes, either motionless in an up or down position. The body and mind have separated so the person cannot move, but it is not true samadhi. The better variation is when the body continues to make prostrations even though the mind has stopped moving. This is true samadhi.

The samadhi level is not easy to get to. Here at the Ch’an Center, I’ve only seen a few people get even to the lesser version of the fourth level. I have also seen a few people get to the third level, where they say that it seemed as if they were watching someone else.

So far I’ve been talking about making slow prostrations. Even when prostrating slowly you may still have a lot of wandering thoughts. If you cannot calm your thoughts, then you can do fast prostrations. This usually lessens wandering thoughts, especially when coupled with reciting the Buddha’s name.

I’ve talked about at least four varieties of prostrations: prostrations of respect, prostrations of gratitude, prostrations of repentance, and prostrations as samadhi practice. Regarding the first three kinds of practice, you cannot do prostrations and maintain those mental attitudes for a long time. You can make a few prostrations with gratitude but then that mental state fades and disappears. The same is true for attitudes of respect and repentance.

Repentance prostrations usually include some type of liturgy that is recited before or after the prostration session. The liturgy expresses sentiments of repentance. The main part of the practice, however, is prostration. while prostrating, do not accuse or blame yourself or indulge in self-pity. Do not maintain those sentiments in your heart. Once you repent, put it aside and prostrate.

STUDENT:
If a person puts repentance aside, doesn’t the session become samadhi practice?

SHIH-FU:
There is a difference. First there is the recitation of the liturgy before or after the session. Also, in this type of practice, the person recites the name of a different Buddha or bodhisattva during each prostration. Because of this added recitation, it is not possible to enter samadhi. Nonetheless, when a person does this for a sufficient length of time, the mind will calm down and sitting meditation will be easier.

Also, there are people who do repentance prostrations without following a liturgy. Usually, however, they follow a pattern. For instance, every day they may do 500 prostrations with a mind of repentance. Again, it does not mean that they are forcing repentance; they just remind themselves before beginning that these are repentance prostrations. It is a useful practice. I did it when I was a young monk and after a while I got a special response from the practice. I got a cool sensation in my head and afterwards I was clear-minded. I did these prostrations because my master told me if I wanted to be smarter I had to prostrate to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kuan-yin). I was concerned my master would kick me out, so I did 500 prostrations a day. After a while, I did not do them to gain anything. I did them because it felt good and right. I just did them with a mind of repentance. Eventually my mind cleared.

STUDENT:
Would you recommend doing prostrations as a substitute for meditation once or twice a week?

SHIH-FU:
If prostration becomes part of your practice schedule it is very good, but it shouldn’t substitute for meditation. You should prostrate in addition to meditating. However, when you try to sit and just feel too uncomfortable, either in body or mind, then it is okay to prostrate instead.

STUDENT:
During retreats, sometimes you say we should reflect on our imperfections and then forget about them and concentrate on the movements of the prostrations. What is the purpose of this?

SHIH-FU:
When I have you do prostrations, I sometimes ask you to reflect on your inadequacies, and other times I ask you to prostrate with gratitude to the Three Jewels. The purpose is to call up this sentiment of repentance or gratitude within yourself. When we have this kind of sentiment, it is easier for the mind to calm down and for our energy to settle. That is good for meditation.

STUDENT:
I find it difficult knowing how to do it. During retreats I find myself forcefully trying to call up these feelings of repentance and gratitude. I’m not sure if that is where all my concentration should go, or if I should say it kind of loosely in the beginning and then leave it in the back of my mind and just concentrate on movements. I get confused and become tense.

SHIH-FU:
If you can give rise to a sentiment of repentance or gratitude, that is good. If you cannot genuinely feel it, just say a few things and then leave it behind and go on to concentrate on your movements. Don’t force the issue.

Some people do prostrations during retreats and they want to have tears; they want to cry with remorse. if it doesn’t happen, they ask me why I won’t let them cry. I don’t have much to do with it. So I tell them either it’s not time for them to cry or that they are not the type of person who cries.

STUDENT:
What about prostrating to Dharma teachers? During retreat we prostrate to Shih-fu before interview, and also during various services and ceremonies. Furthermore, some people prostrate to teachers, monks and nuns when they greet them. I imagine this is part of the Oriental tradition, but many Westerners find this practice uncomfortable. Is there a certain attitude a person should have in such instances?

SHIH-FU:
We pay respect to the Three Jewels by prostrating. We prostrate to all Buddhas of the past, present and future. It is the Buddhas who bring the Dharma to the world. We prostrate to the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha. We prostrate to the Sangha, the community of monks, nuns and spiritual teachers who embody the teachings of the Buddha. Thus, monks, nuns and spiritual teachers are physical representations of the Three Jewels.

Therefore, if and when you prostrate to a Sangha member, you should do so with the attitude that you are paying respect to the Three Jewels which that individual represents. You are not bowing down, or worshipping, the individual. Likewise, monks and nuns should not see themselves as something special when people prostrate to them. They should view themselves as if they were Buddha statues.

Lay people do not have to prostrate to monks, nuns and masters when they meet them in informal situations, but they can if they want to. There are special circumstances, such as on retreats, when prostrations become part of the practice and daily ritual; and after morning services, it is accepted practice to prostrate to the teacher out of gratitude for his or her teachings. This is the Chinese Buddhist tradition. Whether this tradition continues in the West depends on causes and conditions.

Monks and nuns prostrate to each other on special occasions; or when meeting one another for the first time or after a long absence. If Sangha members see each other every day, it is not necessary to prostrate. Also, if monks and nuns see their teacher every day, it is not necessary to prostrate. However, if they have an important question relating to practice, then they should prostrate to the teacher. At other times, a simple bow will suffice

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