from Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance Art in Sri Lanka
by Mahinda Deegalle
In Christian preaching, there is a common understanding that the preacher is a vehicle for the words of God: “[A] general understanding that the prompting to speak should come from the Spirit of God.” According to Jean Longere, the author of La predication medievale, preaching is “a public discourse based on divine revelation in the framework of an organized society, aiming toward the beginning of to the development of faith and of religious knowledge, and equally to the conversion or to the spiritual progress of the hearers.” The English word “preach” derives from Latin prae-(pre-)+dicare, which means “to proclaim.” It is an act of foretelling or announcing in public. It conveys “the idea of making a proclamation on behalf of God.” Biblical prophets often urged the acceptance of God’s will. Preaching exhorts God, demands compliance with God’s will, and provides moral instruction for the believer.
In contrast, a Buddhist preacher communicates his or her experience of the Buddha’s words through one’s own words. It is not God or the Buddha that directly speaks from his or her mouth. The Buddhist preacher designs, selects, appropriates, innovates, and applies Buddha’s teachings to be suitable to a particular audience, time, space and needs. Buddhist preachers are often instructed to select a teaching that is appropriate to the occasion. The theme that the preacher chooses may be attributed to the Buddha, but the entire elaboration in the sermon is the preacher’s creation. Here the Buddhist preacher becomes a free-floating speaker. After accepting basic guidelines, the Buddhist preacher has ample opportunity to innovate and create his or her sermon.
In the early Christian church, “[a]t all events the first form of preaching was homilitical, a homily being a running commentary on a passage read.” One can observe this homilitical aspect in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . [I]f one listens to a Buddhist monk’s preaching today, one can observe that the preacher quotes a Pali verse, often from the Dhammapada, or a passage from a sutta and narrates its meaning and shows its significance for [the] lay audience and their practice. This homilitical aspect shows that to a certain extent early Christian preaching is somewhat similar to modern Buddhist preaching in Theravada countries in South and Southeast Asia. In both traditions, scriptures form an essential part of the sermon. The preacher’s sermon is often woven in and around the themes suggested by the scriptural verse. In the Buddhist case, the selected scriptural verse provides the basic structure and foundation for the preacher to deliver an effective sermon. . . .
In terms of topics chosen for preaching, there are certain parallels between Christian and Buddhist preaching. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics records that: “Legendary tales concerning the founder . . . his sanctity . . . combats with devil . . . the horrors of purgatory . . . formed the favourite topics of the preachers, and were served up to the people instead of the pure, salutary, and sublime doctrines of the Bible.” One can find similarities of chosen topics in Buddhist preaching, too. . . . On the whole, the emphasis in sermons is on avoiding negative actions and in the inculcation of positive thoughts and deeds.
In the Buddhist case, an invitation from an audience is essential for a Buddhist preacher to deliver a sermon. This makes a clear contrast of the role of the Buddhist preacher and the way he or she functions in society. It stands out as a completely different practice from that of a Christian preacher. We often see evangelical Christian preachers deliver sermons at any place where they can attract followers; they also think that it is their duty to spread the Gospel. This aggressive, missionary zeal for preaching is completely absent in the Buddhist preaching traditions. In contrast, Buddhist preachers do not preach in places where there is no public or private invitation. In any Theravada Buddhist country, one cannot see Buddhists who go from house to house or from street to street to preach the Buddha’s words. However, around the world, on many places and occasions, one can witness various Christian groups who visit houses and interrupt people on the street and marketplace to preach the word of God. In the Buddhist countries, these explicit evangelical elements are not visible. Buddhist preaching sessions are held only with an invitation of a lay or monastic person and on a day appointed and agreed on by both parties. Its primary goal is not [necessarily] to spread the Buddha’s words or to increase the number of Buddhists but rather to lead the lay people to righteous and wholesome living. Thus, when one sees from a comparative perspective the role of preaching and preachers in Buddhist and Christian traditions, there seems to be a great deal of diversity and differentiation.
