Rituals

[willy1590]

What rituals do Zen buddhists do?

 

[Dagonet]

The ritual of Zen is life.

 

[DreadFish]

Generally, any ritual only serves as a means of directing attention in a certain way. They are a couple ceremonies that are done including Jukai and Hana-Matsuri. As far as any regular daily type things, there is the reading of the Heart Sutra every morning after first period of zazen and the robe chant done before putting on the Okesa or Rakusu.

Overall, ritual should come second to direct practice.

 

[willy1590]

Do they chant

 

[SageTree]

I attended a Zen meditation group that incorporated a Japanese tea ceremony it's it 1.5 meeting, but like Dreadfish said, this is mostly about directing one awareness to one point.

 

[DreadFish]

Do they chant

Yes, in Soto monasteries, you chant the heart sutra in the morning, along with the robe chant I mentioned, and in the evening they chant the Fukanzazengi (instructions on practicing zazen written by Dogen Zenji).

There are other chants too im sure, including in other schools of Zen (Rinzai and Obaku).

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Generally, Zen downplays the importance or necessity of rituals, chants, etc. However, there are a few which have become generally associated with Zen, mostly the ones mentioned here. Chanting the Heart Sutra is probably the most prominent. Depending on school, or even teacher or center, there may be more added on in a sort of liturgical way, such as chanting the four bodhisattva vows, lighting incense, candles, offering flowers, invoking the bodhisattvas, a few chant nembutsu, etc. But these are few and far between. Some even use mantras, although this is more rare in Zen. By far the most common, and probably only, ritual used in Zen overall is the chanting of the Heart Sutra.

 

[AmerikanZen]

smoking ritual in prayer corner will help with meditative zen prayer