The Core
転読大般若 (Tendoku-Daihannya) is a traditional sutra-chanting ritual performed in Zen Buddhist prayer services. Instead of reading the entire set of six hundred volumes of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (大般若波羅蜜多経), the practitioner flips through the pages of the sutra books to symbolically complete the recitation. While commonly regarded as "a ritual to gain the merit of reading the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra," this dictionary defines it as "an active practice in which the practitioner engages in daily Zazen and observes the precepts, aligns their body, speech, and mind (through mudras, mantras, and visualization), and seeks the protection of the Sixteen Good Deities and the Buddhas through prayer, in order to realize the Buddha's path in the actual world."
Q&A
- Q: Why is it more important to practice by yourself than to request a prayer ritual from others?
- A: Because the Buddhist concept of "加持" (Kaji,empowerment) is only realized when the power of the Buddha meets the power of the practitioner. Requesting a prayer ritual from others is merely a supplementary act; it is only through one's own practice—observing the precepts and engaging in Zazen—that one cultivates the "body, speech, and mind" necessary to truly receive the protection of the Buddhas and guardian deities.
