Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 2 SEPT. 1996

Lasting baptism in any faith requires that the believer wade, metaphorically at least, into the water, out beyond knee deep to where the currents flow and float. Ritual, addressed to the many relatively new, Western adherents of Buddhism, navigates these waters well. It seeks to guide the committed new Buddhist into the practice of puja, or devotional ritual, that leads to the engagement of emotions in spiritual life. Sympathetic, friendly, full of familiar metaphors and examples, this is a gentle guide through the Sevenfold Puja, a poetic sequence of devotional moods that utilizes recitation, offerings and mantras. Sweet stops along the way include such things as the practical mysticism of incense. Sangharakshita cleverly, if ironically, invites practitioners to venture beyond rational knowledge with solidly crafted text very much in the logical, rational style. The result is a useful addition to the canon of Buddhism in the West.