In every religion, we can find aspects of paying respect to our gods or spiritual leaders. There can be in many ways through which people are seen to respect their faith and beliefs. Just like how many people must have seen the buddhist shrine where big buddha statues are present. We must have seen monks meditating in front of the Lord Buddha statue. Many people believe that monks are praying to the statue of lord buddha but that’s not the case.
We will talk about this in our article which is about the significance of worshipping a buddha statue. In this article we will talk about the reason why the buddhist pray to the Buddha statue along with the correct way to pay respect to them if you have one at home. At last we will talk about the benefits of worshipping the Buddha statue.
Why do Buddhists pray to the Lord Buddha Statue?
When we talk about Buddhism we must know a little about its history. This religion originated in South Asia in the Country named India and the oldest statues of buddhism can be traced back to the first century BC.
The founder of buddhism is Lord Gautam Buddha, who was born in a royal family but left all of that in search of truth and found enlightenment. He was 29 when he left his wife and son, after six years of following asceticism, he thought if it was the right way to reach the truth. After all those years he meditated for 49 days without eating and drinking water. After which he finally found enlightenment.
Lord Buddha found enlightenment at the age of 35. After which he started teaching students all the things that he knew about the truth. Later his disciples made sure to spread their religion to other parts of the world so that others could benefit from the teaching of lord buddha as well. Now, Buddhism has become one of the most popular religions on Earth.
Due to its global recognition, it soon became very popular and developed into a more complex system. These days, Buddhism has three branches named Vajyrayana, Mahayana and Theravada. Out of which Mahayana is the branch with the most number of followers and Theravada being the oldest.
After so many years of Buddhism, its branches have grown with some differences among each other. When we talk about the worshipping of Lord Buddha statue, we are majorly talking about Mahayana Buddhism. In this Buddhism, devotees and monks pray in front of Lord Buddha Statue. The Lord Buddha statue is seen as a symbol of respect for a man who has shown them a way back to godhood with his teaching, wisdom, and knowledge.
So when they worship or pray in front of the brass buddha statue in the shines or their home. They do not pray to the statue as a god but more like they pray to the quality of a man who founded buddhism and have taught them a way to live life in a right path.
What can you offer to the statue of Lord Buddha ?
In the above section, you know about buddhism, its origin and branches as well as their sentiment while praying to the brass buddha statue. Now, in this section, we will talk about how you can worship the brass buddha statue respectfully. As well as the things that you can offer him to show your respect, love and appreciation towards him.
If you have a buddha statue yourself and do not know how to offer homage to him so that he may bless your soul. We will talk about a few things that you can give to him, down below we have a list of those things :
- Water – Water is the most important resource, this sole component is the reason that makes our Earth habitable for humans. If someone asks us to define water it will be defined as a formless, tasteless, clear liquid.
When we offer water to the Lord Buddha statue, it is believed that offering water to Buddha, blesses you with a clear mind and pure soul.
- Fruits – When we offer fruits to lord buddha, we are making an offering to his sense of taste. This offering to Lord buddha will result in better concentration and focus in life gradually. When we talk about what kind of fruits will be right for offering, there are a lot of options like any kind of fresh fruits which can be later eaten as sacred food.
- Incense – The offerings are made to please the senses of buddha. In the same way, each of the offerings are a way to get his blessing. When we offer incense to the brass buddha statue, it is believed that the person is blessed with a pure mind, patience and many believe that the person who offers perfume to lord buddha will be born in a wealthy household.
- Flower – The flowers signify the sense of sight. Offering flowers to the lord buddha is the way to get enlightenment and wealth. With prosperity comes the blessing of being born as buddha with all the markings in your next life.
- Candle – The candle is the symbol of light. When a candle is offered to Lord Buddha by his devotee, it is believed that offering a source of light will help you to destroy the darkness which is spread due to ignorance.
What are the benefits of worshipping Lord Buddha?
Till now, we have talked about the significance of worshipping Lord Buddha and what can be offered to the brass buddha statue. Now we will talk about the benefits that you will get by worshipping the statue. Down below, we have a list of benefits :
- Having a buddha statue helps you with Infusing positivity in your surroundings.
- When you make an offering of fruits you will be blessed with a healthy body
- When we have a Buddha statue around us we experience positive thinking.
- Many people believe that praying to the Buddha of light will help in the prevention of mishaps and accidents.
- If a person prays to the buddha and offers water to him, then he will be blessed with a calm mind.
To wrap it up
In this article we have talked about the significance of worshipping a buddha statue. We hope that you were able to find the answers that you were looking for.
Thank you for reading till the end.
