YAJÑA[HOMA] IN BUDDHISM



The Vedas,the oldest text of mankind, also called saṃhitās, contain liturgical verses with which the ancient Riṣis used to address Vedic gods,such as Indra,Varuna,Vayu,Surya,Agni..etc; called as Mantras. Mantra along with ritual offerings as well as Spritual and medicative formulation is called as Yajña in general. The Brāhmaṇas serve as ritual manual. Yajñas are important part of Vedic dharma and it's deep philoshphical connotation is described in some of pre-buddhist Upnishads.

This practice of Yajña is continued from Vedic age to mordern times,Buddhism also accept Yagña & Vedic homa in a different philoshphical model& Reformed some practices.Today we will discuss how different different sects of Buddhism incorporates Vedic Yajña.

In Pali Canon

According to pali canon ,buddha supported Non-violent way of Sacrifices. He opposed Animal killing in the names of Yajña. 

1.Anguttara Nikaya

[Cattukanipata/book of four,39] 

This is very evident from incident discussed in when questions related to Sacrifices were asked by brahmin ujjaya to buddha. 

brahmin Ujjaya : "Does Master Gotama praise sacrifice?"

Buddha: 

"I do not praise all sacrifice, brahmin, nor do I withhold praise from all sacrifice."

(1) I do not praise a violent sacrifice at which
cattle, goats, rams, chickens, and pigs are slain, at which'various creatures are led to slaughter. 
(2) For what reason? Because arahants and those who have entered the path to arahantship
do not attend a violent sacrifice.
(3) "But I praise a nonviolent sacrifice at which cattle, goats,rams, chickens, and pigs are not slain, where various creatures are not slaughtered, that is, a regular giving, a sacrifice offered by family custom.
 (4) For what reason? Because arahants and
those who have entered the path to arahantship attend a non ­violent sacrifice.

He further elaborate & establish Importance of original Sacrifices ( as conducted by Ancient seers-in non violent manner) as follows-
"The horse sacrifice, human sacrifice,
(sammapasa, vajapeyya, niraggala) these grand sacrifices, fraught with violence,do not bring great fruit.

The great seers of right conduct do not attend a sacrifice where goats, rams, cattle,and various creatures are slain. 

But when they regularly offer by family custom sacrifices free from violence,no goats, sheep, and cattle or various creatures are slain.

That is the sacrifice the great seers of right conduct attend.

The wise person should offer this;this sacrifice.is very fruitful.For one who  makes such sacrifice ,it is indeed better, never worse.

Such a sacrifice is truly vast and the deities too are pleased. "


This is clear Cut indication that buddha only opposed wrong Practices in names of Sacrifices,And why I am saying it as wrong practice? Because in words of Buddha only , Ancient Brahmins don't slaughter cattle and yajñas were performed by non violent means,
They lived on handouts and performed sacrifice with rice, butter and oil and when the sacrifice occurred, they did not kill cows. However, motivated by covetousness and desire for wealth,brahmans devised a way to acquire it&started non violent means.     
(ref. Suttanipat,brahmandammika sutta)

Equating Vedic Yajñas as violent(1) & Considering opposition of Buddha towards violence (2) ,leads to conclusions that buddha Rejected yajñas, which is wrong notion as ancient yajñas are performed by non violent means,so Buddha only Reformed & bring back original practice of Yajña

2. Dīgha Nikāya(Kūṭadanta Sutta）

Here,buddha explained the importance of    'Blood-less' Sacrifice.Buddha is approached by the brahman Kūṭadanta who plans to perform a 
great sacrifice. Kūṭadanta asked -“how to conduct successfully the triple sacrifice with its sixteen requisites ?” 
Then, Buddha delivers a discourse on the benefits and meaning of bloodless sacrifice by telling example of king as follows - 
 " And in this sacrifice no bulls were slain… nor were living beings subjected to slaughter…Those who wanted to do something did it, those who did not wish to did not…The sacrifice was carried out with ghee, oil, butter, curds, honey and molasses.  Thus there were the four assenting groups, and King Mahavijita was endowed with eight things, and the chaplain with four things in three modes.  This, Brahmin, is called the sixteen-fold successful sacrifice in three modes"

 Brahmin further asked ："Why, Reverend Gotama, and for what reason is this better?" then Buddha replied:

"Brahmin, no Arahants or those who have attained the Arahant path will attend such a sacrifice.  Why?  Because there they see beatings and throttlings, so they do not attend.  But they will attend the sacrifice at which regular family gifts are given to virtuous ascetics, because there are no beatings or throttlings.  That is why this kind of sacrifice is more fruitful and profitable."

Mahayana & Vajrayana  


Vedic Homas is Accepted as it is  in Mahayan & vajrayana tradition.It is called as GOMA sometimes and regularly performed by Buddhist monk.And ,Infact it is believed that originally Vedas & Vedic Agni rituals are taught by buddha only{ previous buddha}.

1. Buddha Vairocana : Original teacher of Vedas & Vedic Homas & different types of Agni of Vedas 

In Mahāvairocana Sūtra/ Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sutra ,there is story that when  Buddha Vairocana was a bodhisattva, he resided in the 
brahmā-loka. The Brahma asked about the types of fire in Homas ,Lineage of Agni .. Then Buddha 
Vairocana replied:
''Mahābrahmā is called Self-conceited (Abhimānin), the spontaneous
one (svayaṃbhū).
Next, Mahābrahmā’s son was called Pāvaka,
The beginning of mundane fire; his son was called Brahmodana.
His son was called Pitara,
[whose son was] Vaiśvānara;
He further begat Havana, Havyavāhana,Pārśvasaṃvīta, and Atharvaṇa.His sons were Prathita and Puṣkaroda.These fire gods were born from each other in succession.

 

Next, at the time of conception use the fire Māruta;
Later, when wishing to bathe yourself, [use] the fire Vahamāna.
For use when bathing your [pregnant] wife, use the fire Maṅgala;
After the birth of the child use the fire Pragalbha.
For first naming the child use the fire Pārthiva;
You should know that the fire Śuci is to be used at the time of the
[first] feeding.
When making a topknot for the child, you should use the fire Śadbhi,
And next, when he receives the prohibitory precepts, the fire
Samudbhava.
When [the term of] the prohibitory [precepts] comes to an end and a
cow is presented [to the teacher], use the fire Sūrya;
When the boy marries, use the fire Yojaka.

 

"For performing various deeds there is the fire [U]panāyika;
For worshiping heavenly divinities use the fire Pāvaka;
For house-building use the fire Brahmā, and for giving donations
the fire Śānta;
For use when tying up the [sacrificial] sheep, the fire Avahani[ka];
For use when having touched something polluted, use the fire
Viveci;
For use when [offering] cooked food, use the fire Sāhasa;
When worshiping the sun god, use the fire Haviṣya;
When worshiping the moon god, use the fire called Nidhi;
For use with full[-ladle] oblations there is the fire Amṛta;
At times of [rites for] quelling calamities (śāntika) use the fire
Dāruṇa;
When performing rites for increasing benefits (pauṣṭika), [use] thefire Kṛtānta;
When vanquishing foes, you should use the fire Wrathful;
For attracting property, use the fire Kāmada;
If burning forests, you should use the fire Messenger;
For digesting what has been eaten, use the fire Jaṭhara;
When consigning [a corpse] to a fire, [use] the fire called Bhakṣa;
In the sea there is a fire called Vaḍabāmukha;
And the fire at the time of the final conflagration [at the end] of an
eon is called Yugānta. 
Interestingly ,this description of Agni is very similar to that is Vedas and Puranic lineage of Agni.This acknowledgement by Buddhist on
Vedic origins of Agni as well as the (49 forms of Vedic fires,out of which Buddhist text mention only 44) is taken word to word.
Buddha Vairocana further says-
"These Fires which have been explained to you in brief, Noble One,
are called Sons of Brahmā, / by those engaged in the Veda śruti.
These forty four were / taught by me at that time."

2.Tantrik Homas  

•Chakrasamvara Tantra ,an influential tantric tibbeten buddhist text describes Importance of Homas rites Along with description of diff.types of flames. It also discussed results of performing Homas .The Sadhana Method of Attainment for 
the Glorious Chakrasamvara are accomplish(partially) by 
Different procedure/ types of Outer offering along with their Mantras are as follows- 
OM ARGHAM PRATICCHA SVAHA water to drink
OM PADYAM PRATICCHA SVAHA water to wash the feet
OM VAJRA PUSHPE AH HUM SVAHA flowers
OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM SVAHA incense
OM VAJRA DIPE AH HUM SVAHA butter lamp
OM VAJRA GANDHE AH HUM SVAHA cologne water
OM VAJRA NAIVIDYA AH HUM SVAHA food
OM VAJRA SHABHA AH HUM SVAHA music

• There is great Explanation of tantric Homas in  SAMVARODAYA-TANTRA in (chp XXIII.) .First there is description of havan kunda ,then prerequisite ,How to perform?, Mantras & procedures,after that there is prescription for sadhaka and at last fruits of Homas is discussed in followings manner- 

Now, I shall speak of the fruits which result from all the divisions of homa. The (sacrificial) ground increases landed property; the hearth-pit makes the house prosperous (54). 

Clarified butter brings about every (kind of) prosperity; fuel increases splendour; firewood increases heroism; kusa-grass protects everything (55).

 

White mustard pacifies (calamities); grains of rice are considered to increase welfare. Sesamum seed is known to destroy evil; corn brings grain and wealth (56).

 

Beans produce great power; barley causes the velocity of the wind. 2 Durvii-grass increases the duration of life; wheat removes sickness (57).

 

Honey and milk bring about prajiiii-wisdom; coagulated milk and boiled rice grant all kinds of happinesses. Fire makes the desired object fulfilled; one's own guardian-deity grants liberation (58).

 

Other things are known to effect the rites of pacifying and so on according to the (nature of) the rite. The piitri-ladle is prajiiii-wisdom; the sruva-ladle is the means (upiiya) ; the union of them is the practice of non-duality (59).

 

Clarified butter poured from them is considered to be amrta of the great wisdom; with it (the practiser) should satisfy Agni, whose essence is the whole world (60). 

He who in this way carries out hom a brings about fulfilment and good luck (for the donor) (61).'

• Similar things are discussed in  tantras such as cakrasamvara-naamamahaayogini tantraraj.

•Hevajra Tantra discuss some of furious aspects of tantric activities.

3.Other texts : 


• In Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra ,Sakyamuni buddha instruct assembly of god's & other beings lead by Indra about various homa rites &Mantras as follows along with description of offering to other deities - e.g.-
oṃ sarvapāpadahanavajrāya svāhā| iti dakṣiṇahastatale
kṛṣṇatilaiḥ pāpapratikṛtiṃ kṛtvā huṃkāraṃ madhye vicintya| tarjanyaṃguṣṭhābhyāṃ
homayet| tato homakuṇḍān nirgatya jvālākulair vajrais tasya śarīre pāpaṃ dahyamānaṃ

Further, Explanation about different types of results of homakarma & siddhis & offering to gods such as Indra,lokpalas,catur Maharajas..... 

nānābhayaśastrais
tīvrāḥ siddhikarmavidhāriṇaḥ||

te tasya naśyanti nāpi jāyante ca mahottamā||

homakarmavidhānena dhruvam āśu prasiddhayaḥ||

devatāś ca mahātuṣṭīṃ pralabhanti kṣaṇena ca||

ītyupadravadoṣādidūraṃ gurutaraṃ bhṛśam||

naśyanti tatra deśe'smin vyādhijvaragrahādikam||

paracakrā vinaśyanti durbhikṣāś ca sarauravāḥ||

devā nāgā mahotsāhāḥ pālayantī sukhena tu||

caturaś ca mahārājāḥ pālayanti maharddhikāḥ||

lokapālāḥ
sanakṣatrā yakṣāś cāpi grahādikāḥ||

atha
śakrabrahmādayo devāḥ praṇipatya muhuḥ||

 

• buddhacharita by Aswaghosh  describes yajña being conducted during ancient times. Tantric text such as Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa & Tattvasaṃgraha Sūtra describes  how to conduct yajña(Homas) & it's Spritual purpose in length.Homas are intregral part of Buddhist tantric practices , description of size/ dimensions of agnikunda &other details are  completely based on Vedic terminology.Even mantras are chanted in Vedic fashion by ending "swaha".Mahāmāyūrīvidyārajñī Sutra also describes procedure& Importance of Homas ,Mātaṅgisūtra (depicting yajña perfomed by candali women)and other texts are prominent in homa rituals.The Homas described in  Mahavairocana Sutras are still performed regularly by the monks of the Shingon & Tendai schools of Japanese Buddhism.Name "homa" is transformed into"Goma" there.

References:-

1. SARVA TATHAGATA TATTVA SANGRAH
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES LONDON, 2002
COMPENDIUM OF ALL THE TATHAGATAS 
A STUDY OF ITS ORIGIN, STRUCTURE AND TEACHINGS

2.THE VAIROCANĀBHISAṂBODHI SUTRA
Translated from the Chinese
(Taishō Volume 18, Number 848)by Rolf W. Giebel

3. The Buddha-Carita,or The Life of Buddha 
by Aśvaghoṣa edited and translated by
Edward B. Cowell





8. THE SAMVARODAYA -TANTRA ,SELECTED CHAPTERS BY SHINIeRI TSUDA Ph. D. 
Tokyo THE HOKUSEIDO PRESS

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