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Common forms of Buddhist practice for lay persons include visiting temples to pray, burn incense, place offerings of fruit or flowers at altars, and observe rituals performed by monks, such as the consecration of new images or the celebration of a Buddhist festival. |
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To the left is a picture showing people praying at a Buddhist temple in Shanghai.
What do you notice about the Buddha image?
Can you tell what it is made of? |
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Can you identify some objects seen in temples? |
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To the left is the image of a wealthy patron about to be enshrined in a temple in Taiwan.
Look closely and try to describe the situation. |
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Lay people are also active at Tibetan Buddhist temples. Here are some more scenes from Taer Temple in Qinghai province. |
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This is a scene from Taer Temple in Qinghai Province.
To what kind of object are these Buddhists bowing?
Notice the position of the bow. What parts of the body are touching the ground? |
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The bowing figures above were engaged in partial prostration. The figures below are engaged in full prostration. |
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What do you think might be the significance of engaging the whole body in this manner? |
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Here lay people observe a religious service at an altar adorned with dough figurines.
What do you notice about the figures? How does the material from which they are made relate to their appearance? |
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At left, lay people watch dancers perform.
Do you think the dance is religious in nature? Why or why not? |
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To the right is a picture showing Buddhist women's association in
Taiwan meeting for worship.
This bow begins by
standing with hands overhead like the figure in red, then after
touching the body at three or four points with the hands, the worshipper
lays on the floor with the whole body in contact with the ground like the figure
in white.
