All in Good Faith

Author(s): Jean Potter, Marcus Braybrooke
Publisher: World Congress of Faiths

Page 43

All in Good Faith
effects, we must create the right causes. This moral law is impersonal, and cannot be swayed by any request made by man.
If the Buddhist does not believe in the existence of an omnipotent deity, then there is no point in making petitionary or intercessory prayers. The Buddha said that neither the repetition of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor the repetition of prayers, penances, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring us real happiness. Instead the Buddha emphasised the importance of making individual effort in order to achieve our spiritual goals. He likened it to a man wanting to cross a river; sitting down and praying will not suffice, but he must make the effort to build a raft or a bridge.
The Buddha once said to one of his prominent lay-disciples, called Anathapindika,
'There are, O householder, five desirable, pleasant and agreeable things which are rare in the world. What are those five? They are long life, beauty, happiness, fame and (rebirth in) the heavens. But of these five things, O householder, I do not teach that they are to be obtained by prayer or by vows. If one could obtain them by prayer or vows, who would not do it?
'For a noble disciple who wishes to have long life, it is not befitting that he should pray for long life or take delight in so doing. He should rather follow a path of life that is conducive to longevity.' (Anguttara Nikaya, v.43)
He goes on to recommend the same course of action in respect of the other four desirable things. The path which should be followed is that of generosity (dana). morality (sila), and mental culture (bhavana). These are the foundations of the Buddhist way of life. If we act rightly, then we shall experience wholesome effects in accordance with the law of kamma.
It is up to each individual to take the appropriate steps to achieve both spiritual (and also material) progress. The Buddha said, 'You yourselves must make the effort. Buddhas do but show the way.' On another occasion he counselled his followers, 'Be ye islands unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves. Take to yourselves no external refuge.' His last words were, 'Work out your salvation with diligence.'
I suggest that it is in this process of spiritual development that we can find another definition of the word 'prayer'. The spiritual path is one of purification, the cleansing of the mind of all negative qualities, such as greed, hatred and ignorance, which cloud our vision and prevent us from seeing the Truth. For the Buddhist, meditation is the primary tool for training the mind to give up its selfish, egotistical desires. In the Dhammapada it is said, 'Empty this boat, O monk. Emptied by you it will move swiftly. Cutting off lust and hatred, to Nibbana you will
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