subtle fetters (samyojana). The three lower fetters are
removed upon entering into the stream: (1) wrong
view in the reality of the self (sakkayaditthi); (2)
doubt concerning the Buddha and his teaching; and
(3) attachment to rules and observances (Pali, sllab-
bataparamasa; Sanskrit, s ́llavrataparamars ́a), whether
ritual or ascetic, in the belief that these themselves are
liberative.
During the nineteenth century, modernizing apol-
ogists emphasized the rational and ethical qualities of
Buddhism and, in keeping with assumptions common
to Western religious culture, focused on issues of be-
lief and doctrine. This version of Buddhism interpreted
the elimination of the fetter of attachment to rules and
observances as a comprehensive rejection of ritual
practices. Based on this selective reading of Pali
sources, Buddhism was portrayed as a tradition in
which ritual played no role. Claiming that S ́akyamuni
Buddha rejected all ritual practice, this interpretation
of Buddhism gave privileged position to MEDITATION,
so much so that today Buddhism is often simply iden-
tified with meditation. The distinction of meditation
and ritual as mutually exclusive categories, however, is
an artificial one that has its roots in Western religious
culture rather than in Buddhism.
Rather than rejecting ritual, however, S ́akyamuni
appears to have rejected animal sacrifice, which forms
the core of Vedic ritual and the religious authority of
the brahman priests who perform such sacrifices.
Historically, many Buddhist activities, such as the
pratimoksa recitation, were ritualized early in the his-
tory of the tradition. By the third through sixth cen-
turies C.E. ritual practices were well established among
Indian Buddhist practitioners.
While use of the term ritualseems to indicate a spe-
cific category, such that there ought to be a clear way
in which one can identify what is and what is not a rit-
ual, scholars still do not agree on a general definition
of ritual.It is instead more useful to think in terms of
ritualization,that is, a process by which certain activ-
ities are regularized both in performance and period-
icity. Rather than a bounded category, or a simply
stipulative definition, ritualization suggests a range of
degrees to which activities have been regularized. Over
the course of Buddhist history, important activities, in-
cluding individual religious practices (sadhana), have
been ritualized.
Basic model for Buddhist rituals
Elements of what became known as the unexcelled
worship (anuttarapuja) are found as early as the late
second century C.E. The other name for this is the
seven-limbed puja(saptan ̇gapuja), since rituals of this
kind often employed seven elements. This latter name
is somewhat misleading in that the number of possi-
ble elements was more than seven, and the number of
elements in particular rituals might be more or less
than seven. The standard elements from which ritu-
als could be constructed include: praise (vandana),
WORSHIP(pujana), confession of faults (des ́ana), re-
joicing in the merits of others (modana), requesting
the buddhas to teach (adhyesana), requesting the bud-
dhas to remain in this world (yacana), transfer of
merit (parinamana), arising of bodhicitta(bodhicittot-
pada), taking refuge ( ́arans agamana), making vows
(pranidana), and sacrifice of oneself (atmatyaga).
Another kind of ritual organization is found in
many tantric Buddhist rituals. These rituals are con-
structed symmetrically around the symbolically cen-
tral action of ritualized identification between the
practitioner and the deity evoked; this is called deity
yoga.The five steps of these rituals are:- purification—preparation of the practitioner
- construction—preparation of the ritual site
- encounter—inviting, greeting, and feasting the
deity - identification—meditative union, or ritual iden-
tification - dissociation—recapitulates the first three steps:
- departure of the deity: corollary of encounter
- dissolution of the ritual site: corollary of con-
struction - departure of the practitioner: corollary of purifi-
cation
A number of different categories of ritual practice
are known. Early eighth-century translations into
Chinese by Bodhiruci list three categories: ́asntika,for
protection; paustika, for increase of benefits; and
abhicaraka,for domination. By the end of the ninth
century, an additional two categories are evidenced:
vas ́lkarana,for attraction; and an ̇kus ́a,for acquisition.
These categories inform both the Indo-Tibetan and
East Asian traditions. In Tibetan ritual traditions, a
set of four appears to have become the standard
grouping, while in East Asia the standard grouping
comprises all five. These categories establish a com-
plex set of associations for ritual performance: for ex-RITUAL