A Question of Image

On occasion, I am asked "Why do you bow/kneel to a Buddha image or something that represents the Buddha when there is no God concept in Buddhism"?

Before I get here, it would be appropriate to elucidate my understanding of God and its place in Buddhism. 

God, as is conventionally understood, is the Supreme and is generally taken to be the Creator from which all forms are derived. In traditional religions, one worships God in various ways in order to seek solace, release or some form of external help, often as prayers or rituals which have their own basis according to the underlying philosophical and religious systems they are contained in. 

In Buddhism, the underlying principle is that of constant impermanence and that all existence is an aggregate of this changing reality. This is self-propagating, the cause being ignorance or delusion and the force mainly being one's karma or intentional actions. There is therefore, no place for a Creator and no Supreme force which governs existence in any way. Worshipping such an entity is pointless. 

Most Buddhists are atheists but obviously the reverse is not true. In fact a "Buddhist atheist" is usually taken as someone who does not subscribe to the doctrine of rebirth, not God. Having said that, I have met many practicing Buddhists who take the Buddha as a God, but even here, it is not as a Creator, but as a Supreme being. This, to my mind, is also incorrect as it is clear from the teachings that what the Buddha achieved is possible for all of us also. The distinction is in the level of attainment, which rises with diligent, skillful and mindful practice of wisdom, morality and concentration. 

In Buddhist cosmology, planes of existence are defined as realms one can be reborn in depending on one's actions in life. Some of these are realms above ours and are populated by "devas" - higher beings who themselves are subject to impermanence but are far higher in their spiritual existence than us mortals. They too want to escape the round of rebirths. But they are not "Gods". 

So, if the Buddha is not God and in fact, there are no "Gods" at all, why do Buddhists perform an elaborate bowing ritual or offer flowers or incense to an image of the Buddha? What do they pray to if not to ask for external help? 

This is my answer. 

The Buddha is a teacher, the highest possible teacher that can exist. It's common to find imagery of the Buddha in homes and other places in India as sculptures and statues, as figures and as paintings. Indeed, our house in India has a number of Buddha images in various poses, mostly the standard meditation pose. Till a few months ago, the image carried little meaning to me, as do all images and in most homes in India, I suspect, there is usually no “reason’ to place such images at home - it is a nice looking piece of decoration for many and they do look serene and peaceful, as they are meant to be. This, I now know is a pity as Buddhism was born in India and unfortunately has been diluted, shredded and merged with Hinduism so as to be almost undistinguishable. Most Hindus think of the Buddha as a form of Vishnu and those who do not, think of the Buddha as someone who represents peace and non-violence, but not much else. 

In fact, a friend of mine in Delhi said that the image he had, in the form of a Buddha head in meditation, “radiated peace and calm" - not surprising and most will agree here, regardless of what they understand or not of Buddhism. These images look universally serene.

So why bow/kneel?

The flowers offered represent impermanence and remind us of our own ultimately transient existence. The flowers fade, ad so do we, one moment at at time. The incense represents purity of conduct and serves as reminder to do good and not be evil. The rituals one sees are based around this - there are more, but personally, for me, these are enough for the time being.

I bow to an image out of the utmost reverence and gratitude to a teacher who pointed out a way I want to follow for life, deepest respect for his teachings and profound gratitude to his followers, lay and ordained, who strive to follow his teachings and from all of whom I have the opportunity to learn so much every day. The teachings encompass the actuality of existence and the way out of it. They are a guide for me to live in the best way possible and the Buddha embodies all the qualities that a teacher is supposed to - teach, guide, encourage questioning, correct. I do not bow to ask but to express gratitude. I bow to acknowledge that I still have a long way to go but I have conviction that if the path is followed, the distance will decrease and the obstacles will go away. I bow with the full acceptance that I am the one responsible for my travels on the path but I bow to the Buddha for showing me that there is a path to walk on.

I bow to the Buddha in all humility. I bow to the Dhamma - the teachings, which I know are deep and barely understood by me and I know that I have the full right to question and affirm or reject them but after testing and with discernment. I know that the Dhamma provides me with guides on how to test the teachings too. The Dhamma makes me believe in the power of me.

I bow to the Sangha - the monastic community and I also bow to the lay people, some of which I have been fortunate enough to have met. I bow to their spirit of togetherness, their desire to help and I learn from their questions, their discussions and also from sharing their confusion. I learn by observing the effects that the practice has had on some of them. I am profoundly grateful to the monks who cajole, encourage, teach, guide and have sacrificed all to propagate the Dhamma to anyone willing to listen. I am in awe, frankly, of what I have seen, observed and heard so far. This is the tip but it is a tip I have seen.

I bow and kneel with a conviction I have never felt before to any image. This is a conviction and a sense of peace, of confidence that only I experience and it is personal, as it is for everyone. When I do so, there is genuine happiness and I am encouraged to keep striving. I also re-affirm that I am responsible for my own thoughts, words and actions, not the Buddha and not anyone else. I build conviction, no one tells me to.

In the words of Walt Whitman

"I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul"

In short, I am like a boat on a rough sea and the Buddha is like the lighthouse. Sometimes, I see him and sometimes I don't, but the Dhamma and the Sangha help me steady the boat.

Even though I have been getting a little deeper into Buddhism recently, I had not thought of getting an image to keep at home. It wasn't necessary really and I didn't think about it too much. I now have one - a small, black and white sketch that I keep at home. When I see the image now, it is never about prayer, for the guide is the Dhamma but I am in awe of a man who found what he did and started a movement or religion that has happiness and peace and the penetration of reality as its overarching goals - a state of mind that every follower I have met seems to embody. "Come and Investigate" -Ehipassiko in Pali is what defines Buddhism and I saw, I investigated enough to know to find and follow more, not coerced or suggested by anyone but wholly by my own initiative. I have not been brought up as a Buddhist and so I start with a clean slate that is sometimes clear and often confused, but I stumble and carry on. I have had a lot help since I started and I am always on the lookout for more. I know now who to approach and in what ways they can help. I have the beginnings of confidence in my own ability to discern this. 

The image inspires me and when I look at it, I find myself staring back at history, at a man who belongs to no nation and to no faith, not even to "Buddhism" for I believe that it is a universal teaching, at a man who I believe can transform me through his teachings and a man who more than anything, wants me to become the man I know I want to be, the person all of us can be.

I am a teacher myself and the Buddha is my greatest teacher.

That is why I bow. With the deepest possible respect.