This first century admonition from the Apostle Paul could just as easily have been written today. With the lingering chaos from the pandemic, war in Ukraine, the new war in the Middle East, persecution of Jesus followers in much of the world, and economic recession, it is easy to just throw up our hands and ask, \u201cwhat can one person do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul gives us the answer. Stay focused on the Word of God, expectant that He will respond, and \u201cpray all the harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this guide we invite you to pray specifically that God will become known to the one billion people across the globe who are at least nominally Buddhist. Each day, beginning January 9, 2025, you will learn something about Buddhist practice and influence in a different place.
\nThis prayer guide is being translated into 30 languages and distributed through over 5,000 prayer networks worldwide. You will be participating with more than 100 million Jesus followers in intercession for our Buddhist neighbors.<\/p>\n
Many of the daily profiles focus on a specific city. This is intentional. The cities that are described are the same cities that prayer teams from the underground church are ministering in on the very days that you are praying! Your intercession over their work on the front lines is critically important.
\nWe welcome you to join with us, to remain \u201ccheerfully expectant,\u201d and to \u201cpray all the harder.\u201d
\nJesus Is Lord!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.110cities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Buddhist-Prayer-Guide-2024_08.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The origin of Buddhism<\/h3>\n
Prince Gautama was born in the southern part of modern-day Nepal in the sixth century BC. A local shaman noticed marks on the child\u2019s body and foretold that he would grow up to be a world ruler and enlightened one. His father, desiring Gautama to be a great ruler, sought to protect him by providing a life of luxury.<\/p>\n
At age 29, however, Gautama was exposed to the suffering outside the palace where he lived. As a result he spent six years as a wandering ascetic in search of a solution to the problem of suffering. In vain he tried various meditation techniques, hoping for insight. Finally, he resolved to sit beneath a bodhi tree until he had attained the enlightenment he sought. Though tempted by Mara (the Evil One), he persisted and eventually achieved what he believed to be a realization of supreme truth.\u00a0From that point on he was considered to be the \u201cBuddha\u201d, which means an \u201cAwakened One\u201d or \u201cEnlightened\u00a0One\u201d.<\/p>\n
The teaching of Buddha (called the Dharma*)<\/h3>\n
The Buddha found his original companions in the search for enlightenment and preached his first sermon to them.\u00a0Unlike most religions there was no supreme deity involved. Instead he outlined the \u201cFour Noble Truths\u201d:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Life is full of suffering.<\/li>\n
- Suffering arises from ignorance and desire.<\/li>\n
- Suffering can only cease by ending ignorance and desire.<\/li>\n
- The way to end ignorance and desire is through the \u201cMiddle Way\u201d or \u201cNoble Eightfold Path\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cSuffering\u201d according to the Buddha arises due to our clinging to and craving for impermanent things that keeps us all caught in an ongoing process of death and rebirth where everything, even one\u2019s very self, is impermanent and an illusion. The only way to get off that endless cycle of rebirths is to walk the \u201cThe Middle Path\u201d, avoiding extremes and living with right understanding, thought, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and finally right concentration. The end-goal is not eternal communion with God, but rather\u2014like the flame of a candle being extinguished\u2014a state where craving is ended.<\/p>\n
Actual Buddhist practice today<\/h3>\n
People see Buddhism as their own folk religion, even though it does not relate to a high deity. As such, it\u2019s like a blanket that falls on existing cultures and conforms to the landscapes underneath. In Tibet, the Bon religion of shamanism was overlaid with Buddhist monasteries for meditation. In Buddhist Thailand, lay people offer monks cigarettes in their alms bowls; in Buddhist Bhutan, however, smoking is a sin. The Thai Buddhist council strictly disallows women\u2019s ordination and forbids women from entering holy places inside temple grounds, yet Nepal and England ordain female monks. Cambodian Buddhists have no discussion in the temple concerning care for the environment, while Western Buddhists incorporate environmental activism into their practice of the dharma.<\/p>\n
* For clarity, this guide follows the Sanskrit spelling of Buddhist terms, rather than the Pali spelling. Dharma is the Sanskrit spelling; the Pali spelling would be dhamma.<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.110cities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Buddhist-Prayer-Guide-2024_06.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere are three major streams of Buddhism:
\nTheravada, Mahayana and Tibetan.<\/h3>\nTheravada Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n
emerged from Sri Lanka, where the Buddha\u2019s sermons and teachings were first canonized. It focuses on the attainment of enlightenment through personal meditation and good deeds. Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos follow this tradition.<\/p>\n
Mahayana Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n
emerged based on texts attributed to Buddha, which taught that a bodhisattva, or enlightened being, could choose to delay entering nirvana (the ultimate spiritual goal of liberation) to deliver other sentient beings from their karmic suffering (based on a person\u2019s past actions). This stream of Buddhism was traditionally practiced in China, Japan, Vietnam and the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
Tibetan Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n
arose in India in AD sixth century, with a focus on accelerating enlightenment through ritual practices and visualizing heavenly bodhisattvas.
\nIn recent years Westerners have adopted various forms of Buddhism that focus primarily on a quest for inner peace. Some have joined Theravada monasteries, seeking spiritual purification through meditation and by following the five basic rules of conduct. Others have committed themselves to a Tibetan lama (monk), study the Tibetan texts and learn chanting. Still others follow a Westernized form that mixes Asian traditions with Western notions of Buddhism. They often continue in their previous occupations and wear everyday clothes, but spend time in meditation and attend retreats.<\/p>\nIn recent years Westerners have adopted various forms of Buddhism that focus primarily on a quest for inner peace. Some have joined Theravada monasteries, seeking spiritual purification through meditation and by following the five basic rules of conduct. Others have committed themselves to a Tibetan lama (monk), study the Tibetan texts and learn chanting. Still others follow a Westernized form that mixes Asian traditions with Western notions of Buddhism. They often continue in their previous occupations and wear everyday clothes, but spend time in meditation and attend retreats.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.110cities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Buddhist-Prayer-Guide-2024_03-6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n"},{"key":"video_link","label":"Video Link","value":""},{"key":"ways_to_pray","label":"Ways To Pray","value":"N\/A<\/p>\n"},{"key":"bottomquote","label":"Quote","value":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/110cities.gopray.world\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/buddhistprayerguide\/2672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/110cities.gopray.world\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/buddhistprayerguide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/110cities.gopray.world\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/buddhistprayerguide"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/110cities.gopray.world\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/110cities.gopray.world\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}