Prostration (Buddhism)


A prostration is a gesture used in Buddhist practice to show reverence to the Triple Gem and other objects of veneration.
Among Buddhists prostration is believed to be beneficial for practitioners for several reasons, including:
In contemporary Western Buddhism, some teachers use prostrations as a practice unto itself, while other teachers relegate prostrations to customary liturgical ritual, ancillary to meditation.

Theravada Buddhism

In the Pali canon, laypersons prostrating before the then-living Buddha is mentioned in several suttas. In Theravada Buddhism, as part of daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting and meditation. On these occasions, one typically prostrates three times: once to the Buddha, once to the Dhamma, and once to the Sangha. More generally, one can also prostrate before "any sacred object of veneration."
Theravada Buddhists execute a type of prostration that is known as "five-point veneration" or the "five-limbed prostration" where the two palms and elbows, two sets of toes and knees, and the forehead are placed on the floor. More specifically:
In Myanmar, prostrations are accompanied by the common Buddhist prayer, known as okāsa.
In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following Pali verses:
In Theravadin countries such as Sri Lanka, when one goes before one's teacher, in order to "open one's mind up to receive instructions," one bows and recites the phrase, "Okāsa ahaṃ bhante vandāmi".

Mahayana Buddhism

In Zen Buddhism, both half- and full-prostrations are used. Zen master Robert Aitken writes:
Roshi Philip Kapleau writes:
Zen master Huang Po, of the 9th century, is said to have done prostrations so intensely that he wore a permanent red mark on his forehead.

Vajrayana Buddhism

In Vajrayana Buddhism, prostrations are often performed before meditation or teachings, but can form a separate practice by itself. Prostrations are seen as a means of purifying one's body, speech and mind of karmic defilements, especially pride. Prostrations are used in tandem with visualization and can be used to express reverence to Guru Rinpoche and others.
For example, in the context of offering homage to Guru Rinpoche, prostrations are to be performed as follows:
This type of prostration is often done 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. A prostration mala can be used to facilitate counting.
This form of prostration is used with enlightened beings other than Guru Rinpoche as well.
Prostrations done in large numbers can be part of the preliminary practices to the practice of tantra. Other practices like this can be reciting the Refuge prayer, mandala offerings, Vajrasattva mantras and other practices called ngöndro.