| Description |
Prostration is an act of seeking refuge in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Prostrations are made at sacred sites, structures, before highly learned lamas and statues. It is a submission of one’s body, mind and speech to these entities. Moreover, it is a way of overcoming one’s ego through humility and to be freed of negative karma, one might have accrued in the past and present lives.
In Bhutan, if a person is frequently sick and physically disabled, it is believed that he or she is experiencing the results of past bad karma. In order to get rid of these defilements, a lama advises his followers to do prostrations to help clear off the bad karma. A number of people who have done this have regained their health. There are two types in prostrations – a long stretched prostration (changcha) and a short contracted prostration (kumcha). In changcha, the whole body is laid down flat on the ground stretching both the arms in the front. In the kumcha, the ‘five limbs’ – two knees, two palms, and the forehead touch the ground.
It is also referred to as ‘five-point prostration.’ When one touches the ground with the five limbs, one should be mindful
and visualise that the five poisons or negative emotions are being destroyed and eradicated. The five poisons are ignorance, attachment, anger, jealousy and pride, all resulting from ego. Before prostrating, and while facing the right direction where one is going to prostrate, one needs to take care of several principles and physical gestures:
a. think that one is in the Buddha field and not on the earth;
b. fold hands together in the shape of a lotus bud;
c. put the folded hands on the head, throat and then at the heart and think one is submitting the body, speech and mind to the object;
d. do the prostration with the five limbs touching the ground;
e. recite the refuge mantra all along;
5. when one prostration is done stand upright once, before the next prostration; and
g. think that all sentient beings are prostrating together chanting the mantra filling the universe with the combined voices.
One should envisage receiving blessings from the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities of the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. Similarly, one should also pray that the prostration help cleanse all the defilements and sins committed by body, speech, and mind of oneself and others alike. The mantra for refuge is:
I take refuge in my Guru,
I take refuge in the Buddha,
I take refuge in the Dharma,
I take refuge in the Sangha,
I take refuge in the Triple Gem, the perfect refuge!
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| Social and cultural significance |
Prostration is an act of seeking refuge in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Prostrations are made at sacred sites, structures, before highly learned lamas and statues. It is a submission of one’s body, mind and speech to these entities. Moreover, it is a way of overcoming one’s ego through humility and to be freed of negative karma, one might have accrued in the past and present lives. |
