<p>Yes. The "original tradition" i.e. of the time of the Buddha himself, did not have a lot of the rituals and customs that are practised today.</p>

<p>There was some recitation of the Dhamma and Vinaya, but it did not amount to liturgical chanting in the Buddha's time. Certainly, monks did not chant for blessing, in the Buddha's time. Recitation was just a form of recollection, as it was initially an oral tradition. Recitation of the Dhamma and Vinaya did not have mystical effects.</p>

<p>There were no statues or idols or images in the Buddha's time, and certainly no rituals were performed to those idols or images. There were stupas, as we could find in <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html" rel="noreferrer">DN 16</a>, but those were just memorials for inspiration and not for worship. In fact, the tradition of making <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddharupa" rel="noreferrer">Buddha images</a> originated centuries after the Buddha, influenced by ancient Greek art.</p>

<p>There were no Buddhist temples in those times. Only monasteries and some stupas.</p>

<p>The Buddha strongly criticized astrology, palmistry, divination and such practices in <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html" rel="noreferrer">DN 2</a>.</p>

<p>Prayer beads or rosaries, mandalas, incense etc. all came much later and was not part of the original tradition.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-01T08:11:11.107Z
2020-05-01T08:25:33.713Z
2020-05-01T08:25:33.713Z
ruben2020
<p>Is there, aside from Secular Buddhism, a sect or tradition of Buddhism that does not include rituals and chanting as a part of it's liturgy?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T16:11:34.453Z
For such a minority interest, it sure is done by a majority of Buddhists. Rituals are useful even for the highly attained.
Lowbrow
<rituals><chanting>
Is there a ritual free form of Buddhism?
# Is there a ritual free form of Buddhism?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-01)

Is there, aside from Secular Buddhism, a sect or tradition of Buddhism that does not include rituals and chanting as a part of it's liturgy?

**Tags:** rituals, chanting

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: For such a minority interest, it sure is done by a majority of Buddhists. Rituals are useful even for the highly attained.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-01. Score: 5

Yes. The "original tradition" i.e. of the time of the Buddha himself, did not have a lot of the rituals and customs that are practised today.

There was some recitation of the Dhamma and Vinaya, but it did not amount to liturgical chanting in the Buddha's time. Certainly, monks did not chant for blessing, in the Buddha's time. Recitation was just a form of recollection, as it was initially an oral tradition. Recitation of the Dhamma and Vinaya did not have mystical effects.

There were no statues or idols or images in the Buddha's time, and certainly no rituals were performed to those idols or images. There were stupas, as we could find in [DN 16](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html), but those were just memorials for inspiration and not for worship. In fact, the tradition of making [Buddha images](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddharupa) originated centuries after the Buddha, influenced by ancient Greek art.

There were no Buddhist temples in those times. Only monasteries and some stupas.

The Buddha strongly criticized astrology, palmistry, divination and such practices in [DN 2](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html).

Prayer beads or rosaries, mandalas, incense etc. all came much later and was not part of the original tradition.


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