I like to think that everyone who follows me on my platforms did so since day 1, way before I started the Buddhist practices and learned why I started my Buddhist practices. But of course that is not the case and I believe I owe a more thorough introduction to the practice of Buddhism and in particular, the specific kind of practice that I do: 108 bows.
Bowing is a cultural practice in most of Asia. When you meet people in a formal context you bow your head to say hello. When you meet someone in an important context where you need to demonstrate the respect you have for them, you fully bow down to the ground. It's similar to the French bisous; it's a normal part of the culture when you grow up with it but a little foreign when you didn't grow up with it.
But the French don't do 108 bisous; why do I do 108 bows? And is bowing the only way to practice Buddhism, does it give you some kind of mystic powers? To answer these questions I think it's important to discuss first what practicing a religion actually means.
What Does Practicing a Religion Actually Mean?
To be a Christian you become Christened. Then you go to church and attend service. This is part of being a Christian. Buddhism also has an initiation ceremony where you declare that you seek refuge in the three jewels: The Buddha, The Dharma, The Sangha. Then you accept the five precepts:
- Do not harm another physically
- Do not harm another verbally
- Do not take what is not yours from another
- Do not sexually harass another
- Do not get intoxicated to the point of being inebriated
After accepting these you go to the temple to attend dharma talks, and now you're a Buddhist!
But now we have to think about whether this is it for being religious or not. What if I go to church every week and cheat on my wife? That wouldn't make me that good of a Christian. If I go to the temple every week and regularly scam people online, that wouldn't make me that good of a Buddhist.
This is where the practice of a religion comes in. So you pray and actually follow the code of the religion. But if you're not actually thankful for the meal at all, then all you're doing is just saying some empty words.
Bowing in Buddhism is completely optional and not even a purely Buddhist thing; it's more of a Korean Buddhism thing, bowing in this particular style. But just doing the bow doesn't mean anything unless you're actually following what the bow is supposed to do.
So What Is the Bow Supposed to Do?
Buddhism is all about the liberation from suffering. Suffering primarily comes in 3 forms: greed, foolishness, and anger. What do the 3 have in common? They all have to do with the ego. Greed is the desire to get more for ME. Foolishness is the insistence on MY ideas instead of working with reality. Anger is the reaction to the idea of ME being trespassed by another person. It all has to do with this strong idea of ME.
The body language of the bow is lowering yourself to the ground, which in most cultures signifies the lowering of the ego. When knighthood is bestowed in England people don't proudly stand in front of the queen, chin tucked up, right? They kneel and lower themselves in front of the queen.
And you do that 108 times every day. You let go of this insistence on the idea of you. What also happens a lot is obsession over the 108 number and the 108 bows become a dogma; people start feeling horrible when they miss a day and they suffer because of the 108 bows, which is precisely against the point. To that we advise, one sincere bow to relinquish you is better than 108 bows you do just for the count.
Other Forms of Buddhist Practice
Bowing is but one form of Buddhist practices. Many styles of practices, most notably Tibetan, include mantra recital. The famous "Om mani padme hum", mantra of light, mantra of Avalokiteshvara — these are all prayers you can recite with the mala but even these are empty if you're just doing it for the sake of doing it. Each mantra has an associated meaning with it, and as you are reciting it you sincerely pray on the meaning of the mantra. For example "Om mani padme hum" is meant to be the treasure found within the lotus; you keep the lotus in mind as you recite this mantra and gaze into it to find the treasure within.
Another type of practice is meditation. And even that comes with a lot of different flavors.
Why We Recommend 108 Bows Over Everything Else
Why we recommend the bows the most in our order is, it has the quickest effect in changing people's lives simply because it is the most accessible challenging activity.
A practice is meaningful in overcoming karma when it is voluntary, challenging, and humanly possible. To make meditation challenging you need a lot of time. To make mantras challenging you again need a lot of time and focus. But 108 bows, all you need is around 20 minutes and I guarantee you you'll be challenged a lot.
In that challenge lies your ego. Surprisingly everybody has a different reaction to why they don't want to do the 108 bows. When I do it together with them some people get sad, some people get angry, some people actually give up; but I've never seen a completely duplicate reaction to 108 bows. It does such a great job of revealing who you are.
And when you want to stop, it's that insistence on YOU that wants to stop. It feels the threat of a new identity, a new life, a new way of living that doesn't depend on it so it fights with everything it's got.
What My Clients Say
As of today I have many of my clients having tried it at least once. Many did it for a prolonged amount of time, though I'm skeptical that they are doing it like me: every morning 5AM, start the day with the bows.
But from what I've experienced, nobody told me they regretted doing it. They always say the days where they do it they feel noticeably different, but the next day the desire to sleep and be comfortable wins. And that's how karma overtakes you again, but that's okay.
There is always tomorrow, and I think that's the most beautiful thing about life.