In Zen Buddhism there’s a lot of bowing. The idea of bowing to an image, idol, or godhead, to many brings up a lot of resistance and hesitation. When bowing, however, you aren’t bowing to a Thing. You bow to yourself, the world, the ideas, the concepts, nothing fixed.
There’s something about bowing, that seems a bit off to you. Everyone around you constantly seems to be bowing at walls, at each other, at random times, at meal times, at statues. Occasionally you follow them, feeling your own way, seeing if it feels right for you. Sometimes it feels interesting, and sometimes you feel a bit weird about it.
Whilst staying in the monastery you have plenty of time to talk to people, to understand the what’s and why’s. You start seeing through the cult like-constant-action of bowing, and begin to see it as something alive, something designed for your investigation.
When you bow to another, you say thanks to them, you honour them, you also bow to their inherent perfect nature. This is the same nature that you yourself also have. In this way, when bowing to another, you bow to yourself. They bow back to you, completing the symmetry. It’s in this moment of reciprocal bowing, you forget the concept of self. You become enveloped in a mutual interaction of stillness, gratitude, and compassion.
When you bow to a Buddha, you begin to ask what your really bowing to. There’s no inherent thing, and Buddha is no mystical being. Bowing to a statue of Buddha becomes a form of representation, a form for that which is uncontainable, for that which is beyond.
You bow to the practice, to the virtues, to the qualities, to the states, to the understanding. You bow to buddha-nature and buddha-dharma, you bow to self and Sangha, in this way you bow to the whole universe by bowing to a guy sitting cross legged on an alter.
Bowing, is part of liturgy, which is considered one of the 8 gates of zen. What this means, is that this starts as a closed door, but a is remains path of developing your direct experience, or wisdom. By ‘entering into the practice’ by doing without thinking, this door begins to open to us. By accepting our fears, and feeling weird about doing it, we enable ourselves to do it, and work with it. You begin to investigate the bows, and what is being bowed to. The distinctions of the time of bowing and the time before the bowing. Please feel free to leave a comment with your experiences of bowing.
“May we exist in muddy water with purity like a lotus, thus we bow to Buddha.”
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Thank You for today’s message. Yes, it feels different or odd to bow to others. But, knowing that were all equal and connected, it gives a unique quality to each other!
If it is really not bowing to a statue then don’t. Bow to one side of it. Take away the statues. Otherwise it is bowing to a statue. Or do away with bowing altogether.
There are other ways to show respect – although they don’t lead to developing sensitivity on the top of your head (an interesting consequence of bowing).
@Terry, my pleasure
@Evan, Look beyond the forms, there you will see what is being bowed to. We don’t need to wear robes, chant, meditate, drink tea, draw, or use any of the gates of practice either, none of them are for their own purpose. We use the gates as a way of investigating what we can’t directly access.
Gassho,
Wade
Bowing is a sign of humility, a sign of respect. Without humility, a person is a dense as the stone he refuses to recognize the heavenly symbolism in. Without respect, a person will block his ability to learn and grow.
This is a subject I could wax eloquent on, as I have seen an abundance of foundationless arrogance in some who profess spirituality, yet get tied up in knots when it comes to showing respect in any way, such as bowing.
Congratulations on such a successful Spread the Love NOW! Group Writing Project! It required quite a bit of dedication for you, Albert and Kenton to read through and judge all those entries. Thanks for all your work.
Hey chief! This is a very relevant post – I was thinking on the difference between self-depreciation and showing humility, and this shed a lot of light.
Hey Wade, nice insightful post. Bowing is a practice that usually for me is first performed as an act of gratefulness for something (e.g. the utility of the toilet, the teachings of the Buddha) however afterwards I find it brings humbleness and deep senses of appreciation – warm fuzzy good stuff.
@ReddyK, I’d like to read more of your waxing, feel free to write here or pingback
@Chief, thanks, as always
@Dan, you’re right on there about it bring humbleness and appreciation, the good fuzzy stuff
I’ve continued to bow back ‘in the world’, for meals, always, as well as many other places as a form of gratitude, it always brings humility. PS great to see you on here, didn’t know you were reading 
May all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful.
Gassho,
Wade
Or it could be another way of “Art”. The Art of Bowing. Our basic mind is like space, a mystical consciousness! When was the last time you bowed?
And who did you bow to?
Namaste
I enjoy bowing and prostrations there is something very liberating about it, I think it helps train us to face life with reverence and humility.
I find that chanting a few verses and bowing before meditation helps to prepare me for the work ahead settling the mind and bringing me out of my shell a bit.
Gassho,
Greg