A liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship. The Buddhist liturgy refers to a formalized service performed by the four-fold sangha and by nearly every denomination and sect in the Buddhist world. It is often done once or more times a day and can vary amongst the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana sects. The liturgy mainly consists of reciting a sutra or passages from a sutras, a mantra (especially in Vajrayana), and several gathas. Depending on what practice the practitioner wishes to undertake, it can be done at a temple or at home. The liturgy is almost always performed in front of an object or objects of veneration and accompanied by offerings of light, incense, and food.
Read more about Buddhist Liturgy: Chinese Buddhist Liturgy, Japanese Buddhist Liturgy (gongyō)
Famous quotes containing the word liturgy:
“You never see animals going through the absurd and often horrible fooleries of magic and religion.... Dogs do not ritually urinate in the hope of persuading heaven to do the same and send down rain. Asses do not bray a liturgy to cloudless skies. Nor do cats attempt, by abstinence from cat’s meat, to wheedle the feline spirits into benevolence. Only man behaves with such gratuitous folly. It is the price he has to pay for being intelligent but not, as yet, quite intelligent enough.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)