Buddhist Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. According to a spokesman of the Sasana Council of Burma, devotion to Buddhist spiritual practices inspires devotion to the Triple Gem. Most Buddhists use ritual in pursuit of their spiritual aspirations.
Examples of devotional practices:
bowing:
to images of the Buddha, and in Mahayana also of other Buddhas and bodhisattvas; such images originated some centuries after the Buddha's time
to religious superiors:
a monk to a monk ordained earlier
a nun to a nun ordained earlier
a nun to a monk, regardless of date of ordination
a lay person to a monk or nun
offering flowers, incense etc. to images
chanting:
the Three Refuges
protective chanting: in the Samyuktagama, the Buddha is portrayed teaching a verse and mantra that monks may chant to protect themselves from snakebite. The verse is mainly about loving-kindness, compassion, and doing no harm to all beings. The mantra is given to trae in Chinese transcription of the Sanskrit. This episode does not occur in the counterpart sutta in the Samyutta-Nikaya, and may have been added after the Sarvastivada/Vibhajjavada split.
mantras and dharanis in Mahayana: includes the Heart Sutra and om mani padme hum
homage to Amitabha in Pure Land Buddhism
homage to the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren Buddhism
pilgrimage:
according to sources recognized by most scholars as early, the Buddha, shortly before his death, recommended pilgrimage to four places:
his birthplace (Lumbini, now Rummindei in Nepal)
the site of his enlightenment (Bodh Gaya)
the site of the preaching of his first sermon (near Benares)
the place of his death (Kusinara)
Other places were later added, particularly in other countries, where pilgrimage to the original sites would be daunting.
A very important form of Buddhist devotion is Pure Land Buddhism, which is practised by most Chinese monks, some combining it with Chan (Zen). It exists as a group of independent denominations in Japan, the most radical, and largest, of which, Jodo Shinshu, holds to a subtle idea of effortless salvation .
