Patheos Watermark


Rituals and Worship

Sacred Time

The Mahayana does not hold a consistent idea of sacred time. The bodhisattvas are always present and active in the world, and thus in a sense all time could be understood to be sacred.

Sacred Space

Mahayana temples represent a kind of sacred space. Mandalas, often elaborate diagrams used in meditation, are another kind of sacred space; practitioners can inhabit the spaces that they represent through various meditation practices.

Rites and Ceremonies

Mahayana Buddhists engage in a tremendous range and variety of rituals and ceremonies: complex meditation practices, ritual devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas, visualizations, pilgrimage, and mantra recitation.

Worship and Devotion in Daily Live

Mahayana Buddhists worship a wide range of bodhisattvas and semi-divine beings. The Buddha, the bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Amitabha, and the goddess Tara are among the most popular objects of devotion, providing protection and guidance to their devotees.

