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Q-23: Bhante, I have two questions. 1. I have a Christian friend. Very often I see her praying just before she enjoys her meal. Additionally she said she does regular bed time prayers. But I think we Buddhists do not pray like her. Why is it that Buddhists do not pray like this? 2. Is there Resurrection in Buddhism?

Regards,

Cahyono

Q-23: 1. Buddhists and Christians adopt different religious practices. However, we do have different kinds of veneration to the Buddha. For example we offer alms food to the Buddha image. Even in circumstances where the Buddha image is not present, I’ve seen Buddhist monks and lay devotees offer alms food to the Buddha just before they partake their meals. In fact, we also pay homage to the Buddha either regularly or occasionally. Many Buddhist in fact, pay homage to the Buddha just before they go to bed. Their bed time homage is usually made when they are on their bed. They concentrate their mind on the attributes of the Triple Gems while they are making their bed time homage. There is no requirement to do this before a Buddha image.

2. In Buddhism there is no resurrection. According to Buddhism, a being is to be reborn in a new life as soon as he or she dies. These are also different religious belief.

With Metta,

Ashin Acara

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Dhamma Questions are answered by Bhante U Cittara, resident monk of Mangala Vihara, and his assistant monks. Questions and comments on given answers are welcome. Send your questions and comments to resident_monk@mangalavihara.org.sg.