Pūjā = Worship?

[kendali]

So I was reading a PDF titled "Vandanā, The Album of Pāli Devotional Chanting and Hymns" and came across pūjā for lighting incense (what I was looking for). However, I'm confused by the translation.

10. Sugandha Pūjā
Ghandha-sambhāra-yuttena
Dhūpenāhaṃ sugandhinā
Pūjaye pūjaneyyaṃ taṃ
Pūjābhajanamuttamaṃ

10. Offering of Incense
With perfumed incense
And fragrant smoke
I worship the Exalted One,
Who is great and worthy of worship.

The translation made me feel uncomfortable. Is there a different word that means worship proper? Admittedly my Pāli is severely lacking.

[Khalil Bodhi]

Why not just use revere and reverence instead?

[kendali]

I did change the English to "pay homage to" but I was wondering if the Pāli word for worship is 1) a different one and if 2) do people in parts of the world worship Buddha as a deity? This pūjā uses the translation "offering" in its title. Does "worship" come from the same root?

Thanks.

[kendali]

Why not just use revere and reverence instead?

I found another one by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana that uses a more sensible translation like yours. I'll try some other Pāli dictionaries to find "worship" as defined by theistic religions.

[Kim OHara]

That's a good idea, but you could also look at the English term more carefully.

worship (n.) Look up worship at Dictionary.com
Old English worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (West Saxon) "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see worth) + -scipe (see -ship). Sense of "reverence paid to a supernatural or divine being" is first recorded c. 1300. The original sense is preserved in the title worshipful "honorable" (c. 1300).

(That's from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worship and it's similar to many other sources.)
So "worship" isn't necessarily theistic at all, although it has (naturally enough) been used almost exclusively in a theistic setting in Christian countries.

"Pay homage to" is actually less appropriate if we look at its origins. The same dictionary gives us:

c. 1300, "ceremony or act of acknowledging one's faithfulness to a feudal lord; feudal allegiance," earlier "body of vassals of a feudal king" (early 13c.), from Old French omage, homage "allegiance or respect for one's feudal lord" (12c., Modern French hommage), from homme "man," in Medieval Latin "a vassal," from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man" (see homunculus). Figurative sense of "reverence, honor shown" is from late 14c.

"Reverence" is a bit better:

reverence (v.) Look up reverence at Dictionary.com
late 14c., "treat with respect, honor; venerate, pay pious homage to; esteem, value; bow to (someone); do honor to," from reverence (n.). Related: Reverenced; reverencing.
reverence (n.) Look up reverence at Dictionary.com
late 13c., from Old French reverence "respect, awe," from Latin reverentia "awe, respect," from revereri "to stand in awe of, respect, honor, fear, be afraid of; revere," from re-, intensive prefix (see re-), + vereri "stand in awe of, fear, respect," from PIE *wer-e-, suffixed form of root *wer- (4) "to be or become aware of, perceive, watch out for" (see ward (n.)).

Translations are notoriously tricky but investigating them like this is kinda fun and may enrich our understanding.


Kim

[kendali]

That's a good idea, but you could also look at the English term more carefully.

worship (n.) Look up worship at Dictionary.com
Old English worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (West Saxon) "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see worth) + -scipe (see -ship). Sense of "reverence paid to a supernatural or divine being" is first recorded c. 1300. The original sense is preserved in the title worshipful "honorable" (c. 1300).

(That's from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worship and it's similar to many other sources.)
So "worship" isn't necessarily theistic at all, although it has (naturally enough) been used almost exclusively in a theistic setting in Christian countries.

1. I love etymology. It's a hobby of mine and, yes, people think I'm weird. But you're right; it is fun!
2. Of course, we know current usage isn't dictated by etymology. What I quoted was written in the 20th/21st century (not sure of the date) and more to an English speaking audience. I was more concerned about the verb. The fine folks at Merriam-Webster tell us,

: to honor or respect (someone or something) as a god
: to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc.
: to love or honor (someone or something) very much or too much

I think who wrote what I find troublesome was using worship in this current "Western" sense and not taking into consideration the etymological history of the word. Most people aren't that thoughtful when writing. Or perhaps they were in this case?

"Pay homage to" is actually less appropriate if we look at its origins. The same dictionary gives us:

c. 1300, "ceremony or act of acknowledging one's faithfulness to a feudal lord; feudal allegiance," earlier "body of vassals of a feudal king" (early 13c.), from Old French omage, homage "allegiance or respect for one's feudal lord" (12c., Modern French hommage), from homme "man," in Medieval Latin "a vassal," from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man" (see homunculus). Figurative sense of "reverence, honor shown" is from late 14c.

Etymology aside, the definition from Merriam-Webster is,

2a : expression of high regard : respect —often used with pay

While not carrying as strong a meaning as worship the way it does in the "West" (mostly associated with a god or gods) it is, in my opinion, closer to pūjā which The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary defines, in part, as -

Pūjā (f.) [fr. pūj, see pūjeti] honour, worship, devotional attention

Darn it, there's that worship word again!

"Reverence" is a bit better:

reverence (v.) Look up reverence at Dictionary.com
late 14c., "treat with respect, honor; venerate, pay pious homage to; esteem, value; bow to (someone); do honor to," from reverence (n.). Related: Reverenced; reverencing.
reverence (n.) Look up reverence at Dictionary.com
late 13c., from Old French reverence "respect, awe," from Latin reverentia "awe, respect," from revereri "to stand in awe of, respect, honor, fear, be afraid of; revere," from re-, intensive prefix (see re-), + vereri "stand in awe of, fear, respect," from PIE *wer-e-, suffixed form of root *wer- (4) "to be or become aware of, perceive, watch out for" (see ward (n.)).

Translations are notoriously tricky but investigating them like this is kinda fun and may enrich our understanding.



Kim

I like reverence. I also like how "pay (pious) homage to" is part of the definition. As I mentioned in my prior post, I found an alternate translation by Bhante Gunaratana. He uses venerate followed by reverence. I have a feeling that choice of words was carefully considered. In any event I'm cool with that.

Thanks, Kim!

[dhammafriend]

I agree that the English term worship is too closely linked to Christian theology to be an accurate reflection of what Buddhists and Hindu's do when they recite suttas, garland statues, and place offerings etc. We don't puja, we do puja to the Triple Gem.

However, I don't think we can have a concise definition of what doing puja is either. If you ask people, they will give you a range of answers as to what they are doing and even why. So if puja is a doing, you could say doing puja involves the performance of a range of activities (bowing, chanting, offering, kneeling, focusing etc) in relation to various persons and ritual objects. But even that won't exhaust the many meanings people continue to ascribe to those actions.

To 'believe in' and to 'worship' only makes sense in a monotheist context. Once you take those ideas out of their context, they lose their intelligibility. It make no sense to say that Hindus 'worship' cows and Buddhists 'worship' Buddha images. They do puja to them.

[srkris]

I agree that the English term worship is too closely linked to Christian theology to be an accurate reflection of what Buddhists and Hindu's do when they recite suttas, garland statues, and place offerings etc. We don't puja, we do puja to the Triple Gem.

Well said. All translations are imperfect and inexorably lead to dukkha.

This problem - of finding the perfect meaning in languages that are foreign to early (Indian) Buddhism - is not going to disappear for those who do not want to move beyond translations - to the original Pali/Sanskrit sources. Once we move to Pali substantively, the judeo-christian worldview changes considerably to the (ancient) Indic worldview, and a much better clarity emerges about what exactly is meant by a Pali/Sanskrit word. The resulting improvement in our understanding of Buddhism is worth it.

do people in parts of the world worship Buddha as a deity?

Yes, most Buddhists in all parts of the world (past and present) - all those who choose to hold-on to the view (diṭṭhi) of the sāsana (Buddhism) as a 'religion' - have worshipped the historical Buddha as a deity (this does not have to mean the buddha is necessarily viewed as a god or mythological entity, but even as some unique larger-than-life person). This is because most buddhists are not (yet) enlightened, and therefore have not yet realized that the buddha's name (nāma) & form (rūpa) are empty (suñña) of any personal identity (attā). They treat the Buddha as a person (a puggala "person" with his own distinct attā "identity/self-essence") and attribute a level of worth to his persona - sufficient to give rise to feelings of reverence/worship.

[Gwi II]

So I was reading a PDF titled "Vandanā, The Album of Pāli Devotional Chanting and Hymns" and came across pūjā for lighting incense (what I was looking for). However, I'm confused by the translation.

10. Sugandha Pūjā
Ghandha-sambhāra-yuttena
Dhūpenāhaṃ sugandhinā
Pūjaye pūjaneyyaṃ taṃ
Pūjābhajanamuttamaṃ

10. Offering of Incense
With perfumed incense
And fragrant smoke
I worship the Exalted One,
Who is great and worthy of worship.

The translation made me feel uncomfortable. Is there a different word that means worship proper? Admittedly my Pāli is severely lacking.

Pūjā ca pūjaneyyānaṁ
(And honour those who are worthy of honour)


Pūjā literally means to honour and when
addressed to The Buddho, it means to
"worship". However, the definition of pūjā
is according to its original meaning: "to honour".