S E R I E S

    Gateway Talks

    Martin Goodson

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    EPISODE 53

    Why do you worship?

    Worship in Zen is not the worship of a god, a self or even a transcendent self, it is the laying down of 'I'.

    Master Obaku, who was often seen bowing with great devotion, was asked by a disciple: ‘Are you seeking something of the Buddha, or seeking something concerned with the Truth?’ The Master replied: ‘I have nothing to ask of the Buddha or to seek about the Truth.’  ‘Then why do you worship?’ The Master said; ‘I simply worship.’

    [The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl]

    In this podcast:

    •         A devotional practice is to practice the Six Paramitas

    •         Different types of devotion - prayer, chanting sutras, bowing and prostrating, visiting temples and holy sites, pilgrimage.

    •         Awareness of and invisible Principle beyond ‘I’.

    •         Developing a sense of presence

    •         Devotion to a Bodhisattva or particular Buddha

    •         Communion and informing information of a spiritual principle

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