worshipAn excellent example of worship is the Hindu practice of pūjā that
embodies ancient Indian notions of hospitality, with its emphasis on greet-
ing a guest and offering food and drink, entertaining stories, possibly a
change of clothing, and water to wash and cool oneself. When pūjā is per-
formed in the home the deity is considered a guest in one’s home, and the
divine being is treated according to traditional rules of hospitality. Pūjā is
also performed daily in the temple by priests who are paid for their ser-
vices. Whether performed in the temple or at home pūjā represents a series
of acts of service or respect. Beginning in the morning with the awakening
of the deity, other activities include washing the divine image, offering
food and drink, clothing the image in a new garment and sacred thread,
anointing it with sandalwood paste or unguents, offering it flowers, incense,
and perfumes, and waving a lighted lamp. Other actions may include a full
prostration before the image of the deity, a circumambulation of the image,
praising the deity, and finally bidding the deity farewell or goodnight.
Hindus draw distinctions between temple and home worship, with the
former type performed for the benefit of the world and the latter form
performed for the welfare of a particular household. Within the context
of a temple, priests play the primary role of performing worship, while
this is performed in the home by a household member or a priest hired
specifically for the task. The temple form of worship is considered effec-
tive whether or not there are observers. At the end of the temple ceremony
a camphor flame, which represents the embodiment of the deity within
the image and its transcendence with the flames rising and disappearing,
is waved by the priest before the image, an act that unifies the worshiper
and deity. This represents a unity that is signified by devotees taking the
flames by waving their hands through them and touching their eyes with
their fingertips and transferring the power of the flames to their bodies.
Within the Pāli Buddhist tradition, worship is directed to either images of
the Buddha or stūpas (memorial mounds), which are considered merit-
making activities. Both types of worship involve certain prohibitions that
are related to not covering one’s head, sitting with legs extended toward
the object of devotion, spitting, or yawning. It is also necessary to purify
oneself with water and remove one’s shoes before worship. The central
act of stūpa worship involves circumambulating the structure in a clock-
wise direction with the right side of one’s body always directed toward
the object. The worship of an image of the Buddha is very similar to
Hindu worship of a divine image.
Other types of religious movements direct their worship at different
types of objects. During the thirteenth century in Japan, the Nichiren
movement, named for its prophet, directs its devotion to the text of the
Lotus Sūtra, a document believed by its adherents to embody the most