The historical Buddha lived 25 or so centuries ago, in a time before history had been separated from myth. For this reason, the Buddha's life story handed down to us is more legend than biography. And after all this time it is impossible to confirm what parts of the legend might describe something that actually happened.
Historian Karen Armstrong wrote, "Today, many readers will find aspects of this legend incredible; stories of gods and miracles are interspersed with the more mundane and historically probable events in Gotama's life. . . . We cannot be certain that the more normal incidents are any more original to the legend than these so-called signs and wonders." (Buddha [Penguin, 2001], p. xxi)
Many of these myths were created to conform to ancient ideas about what a holy person should be like. Here in the 21st century, we may believe that we have evolved beyond myth-making. But in fact, today new myths are being created to make the Buddha more palatable to our postmodern sensibilities.
For example, it is widely believed in the West that the Buddha was opposed to all rituals and ceremonies, and that rituals and ceremonies performed by Buddhists today are a corruption of the original teaching. Is that true?
The Buddha's Objection to Rituals
First, let's define "ritual." A ritual can be the prescribed order of any ceremony, religious or otherwise. A ritual could be any procedure carried out in a prescribed way. Rituals can have a supernatural purpose, such as evoking a spirit; or, they can also be intended to mark a change in someone's life -- marriage; high school graduation, fraternal initiation. It is unlikely any human society has ever been without rituals.
The Buddha disparaged rituals in several of his sermons. He was critical of the Brahmins of his day, whose chief function was performing rituals. The path is better walked with mental discipline and ethical living than with rituals, he said.
Yet according to the Vinaya-pitaka, he initiated some rituals and ceremonies himself. There was a specific ceremony that marked a disciple's admission into the sangha, for example. Requirements for the ordination ceremony are found a section of the Vinaya called the Khandhakas.
According to Theravadin monk and scholar Thanissaro Bhikkhu, at first the ordination consisted of a simple acknowledgment by the Buddha, who would say "Come, bhikkhu" ("mendicant"). As the community grew and required a more formal structure, the ordination ceremony became more elaborate and formal also. Other ceremonies believed to date to the Buddha's time include Kathina (the robe ceremony) and the observances at the beginning and end of Vassa, the rains retreat.
In the Vedic religions that pre-date Buddhism, the times of the full and new moons had long been set aside as holy days and observed with rituals and teaching. The Buddha and his disciples adapted this practice by making full and new moon days a time for public confession and atonement.
The Vinaya also spells out how to bow (and whom to bow to) and the proper way to fold one's robe and put away one's bowl. It even explains in detail the correct way to manage one's robe while using a latrine. The disciples' lives were ruled by protocols and rituals, it seems.
Is it possible some of these protocols and rituals were added after the Buddha's life? Yes, that is possible. In the case of the eight Garudhammas -- restrictive rules that applied only to nuns -- I think it is probable. But it's impossible to know for certain. And if we toss out the entire Vinaya, we're tossing out much of what we think we know about the Buddha.
It's tempting to declare the parts of the old scriptures that conform to our views as "original" and discard the other stuff as something added later. But without objective evidence, that's not an honest way to read the old scriptures. As Karen Armstrong said, we cannot be certain that what strikes us as "normal" is any more original than what strikes us as supernatural.
No Magic, No Attachment
One distinction about the Buddha's rituals and protocols is that they have practical purposes. An initiate's vows to keep the Precepts; bowing to one's seniors; the ritual handling of Kathina cloth all functioned to maintain commitment and promote group harmony. Unlike the rituals of the Brahmins, these rituals were not based on magical thinking or meant to bring about a supernatural resullt.
In the many centuries since the time of the Buddha, it's certainly true that many rituals have been performed by self-identified Buddhists that were and are based on magical thinking and meant to bring about a supernatural result. The intelligent response to this is not to avoid rituals entirely but to discern which rituals may be useful and which are not.
For more on what makes a ritual useful, see "Ritual and Buddhism."
And finally, a word about attachment. Here and there in the Pali Canon, the Buddha warns against attachment to rituals. Doesn't this mean we should avoid rituals?
Not necessarily. In fact, in Buddhism, avoidance and aversion are just other forms of attachment. Attachment is something marked by self-reference; in order to attach, you must perceive yourself as separate from something. (See "Why Do Buddhists Avoid Attachment?") Once you perceive nothing is separate, attachment is not possible.
The Buddha also advised his monks to not become attached to the taste of food. He was not telling them not to eat.
In short, there are rituals, and then there are other rituals. The dharma does not depend on rituals, but often rituals can be a skillful means for realizing dharma.
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