Important Terms
 Alms bowl,
is one of the simplest but most important objects in the daily lives of
Buddhist monks. It is primarily a practical object, used as a bowl in
which to collect alms (food) from lay supporters. Combined with its humble monastic uses, have
made the simple alms bowl a symbol of the Buddha's teachings on
nonattachment.Giving is an act of peace and a basic moral fundamental for anyone who wants to live in this world with kindness and compassion. This belief has been embedded in Lao people’s heart for thousand of years. In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is a sign of respect given by lay Buddhists to Buddhist monks.It is an opportunity for the laypeople to make merits (worth, value, advantage, excellence, goodness, virtue, distinction, ability, honor) Moreover, almsgiving is a stress of inner peace and personal honesty, which is the first step to the purification of the mind that will lead to the higher inner grace which are precepts and meditation.  Holy Water/Blessed Water is used among Buddhists. Water is put in to a new pot and kept near by during a ceremony, a blessing for protection. Blessed Water can be created in a ceremony in which the burning and extinction of a candle above the water represents the elements of earth, fire, and air. Buddhist Blessed String Bracelet In the same way, some Buddhists also go to temples, to collect bottles of holy water and pieces of string over which the sutras have been recited with great concentration. These also give psychological strength and confidence to the user because they remind him/her of the truth which was uttered in the sutras and which recall the words of the Buddha Amulet what it symbolizes is the great qualities of the Buddha who had himself remained calm and unaffected by the attacks made against him by his enemies and it was this symbol that reminds individuals of his/her own strength with which allow them to face adversity calmly. Bless tree is Phaa Bpah Tree (phaa = cloth, bpah = forest)merit making in Buddhism, which offering the robe or to a monk.Brief history, during the time of the Buddha, monks were not allowed to receive the robes directly from any laymen, so they had to use abandoned cloth or a shroud then cut, sew and dye the robes for themselves. The laymen saw this difficulty, so they intentionally left good cloth in the forest for the monks. Without owner, the monks took it to make the robe. This ceremony has been developed and deviated depends upon each areas and convenience. Originally, this ceremony is performed in the temple, having celebration and also raising funds for the temple. Nowadays many people cannot go to the temple often, for convenience, they tend to add this ceremony when making merit at home. Instead of presenting the robe and/or necessities for the monk, some tie only money to the branches. Friends, relatives and guests who want to make merit with the host will tie their bank notes to the branches YAT NAM" is
the action of pouring holy water on the floor. To give strength and
good deeds to spirits, Lao people pour water on the floor to honour the
dead. During Buddhist ceremonies, Thai people pray for dead relatives or
give food to monks in the name of dead relatives. It gives good deeds
to dead spirits and help them to shorten the time to wait for next life. *References -This is based on “Buddhism For The Future, “by Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda. |
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