How to worship Buddha correctly? How to ask for favors and bow?

In many areas, people burn incense and worship Buddha on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month to pray for their own or their family's safety and health. However, burning incense and worshipping Buddha cannot be done casually. There are many rules that everyone needs to know. So what is the correct way to worship Buddha?

How to worship Buddha correctly

1. When you worship in front of the Buddha, stand in front of the cushion with your body straight. Gently bring your palms together and bend your elbows in front of your chest. At this time, your eyes should be fixed on the fingertips of your closed palms, eliminating distracting thoughts and concentrating your mind. Your feet should be in a figure eight position, with your heels closer than your toes.

2. First, lower your right palm and press it in the middle of the cushion, while keeping your left palm together without moving. Kneel on the cushion with your knees naturally spread apart.

3. At this time, the body is bent over and the turntable is turned. Slowly press the left palm on the left side of the front of the cushion;

4. After placing your left palm, move your right palm from the middle of the cushion to the front right position, with your palms about six inches apart, and then place your head on the cushion between your palms.

5. Turn your palms 180 degrees from the inside to the outside, with your palms facing up. In Buddhism, this is a ritual of supporting the Buddha's feet with both hands and touching the head to the Buddha's feet.

6. Bend the fingers of both hands toward the palms, making a loose fist, then turn them over, and then unfold them and press them on the cushion; slowly lift the head away from the cushion, reverse the previous steps, and move the right palm back to the middle of the cushion.

7. Keep your body bent, and remove your left palm from the cushion and bring it to your chest; finally, support your body with your right palm, lift both knees off the cushion at the same time, bring both hands together in front of your chest, and straighten your body again. This counts as a correct and complete rak’ah.

8. The complete process of worshiping Buddha is three bows and one inquiry. After the worship, there will be another inquiry, which is commonly known as a bow.

How to do the bow?

When greeting someone, gently put your palms together, then look at the tips of your middle fingers, bend over 90 degrees and bow once, then straighten up and change posture. The tips of the ten thumbs of both hands should lightly touch each other, and the tips of the index fingers should also lightly touch each other, so that the index finger and thumb should just form a slight triangle shape. This posture is like a lotus flower, representing offering flowers to the Buddha, and is a sign of respect and peace. After completing this posture, raise both hands across your chest to the center of your eyebrows. This means offering the Buddha to the top of your head, showing a respectful and pious attitude. Then gently lower your hands to the chest and return them to the position of joining your palms together. It is best to put down both palms. If there is no mistake in any of the above steps, it is the correct posture for worshiping Buddha.