I feel the most comfortable when a puja consists of lighting candles, bowing, chanting for about 15 minutes, and meditating silently for at least a good 45 minutes. I like it when silent meditation gets "place of pride", and not the chanting (in terms of duration). And that's what the Ajahn Chah tradition does at their pujas (at least in the Ajahn-Chah monasteries I've practised in).mikenz66 wrote:I was referring mostly to rituals such a bowing, chanting praise, taking refuges and precepts, and various ceremonies, such as Kathina, all of which appear to me to be firmly grounded in the suttas.
It is indeed a "shared group experience", as you say, which gives a valuable sense of camaraderie.
The mental discomfort I mentioned above was usually just for the duration of the actual food offering. The rest of the time (the other 99% of the time), life in those monasteries was really great, and I'm grateful to have been there. I no longer let the issue stick in my mind (making me upset), now that I've thought it through, and feel I understand it (even if I don't feel particularly inspired by it). I can accept it, without necessarily agreeing with it. I have a much more equanimous attitude towards it now.