It is such a joy to pick up this book, see the stunning painting of Avalokitesvara on its front cover, be reminded of its artist, Aloka, who painted it in 1974/1975, and remember all the art work he has produced both at Padmaloka and the Norwich Buddhist Centre. 

It is a beautiful meeting of minds. Aloka and Bodhidasa. Bodhidasa, after studying English literature, history and performance studies at the University of Sydney, teaches, leads retreats, and facilitates courses at the Sydney Buddhist Centre, emphasizing the role of devotion in the spiritual life. In 2010 he received the coveted international Churchill Fellowship to explore programmes which support compassionate connections for young people in online spaces.

Approaching Enlightenment explores the way rituals such as the Sevenfold Puja supports spiritual development and can lead to deepening insights. (Bodhidasa’s early ideas on the subject of ritual can be found in a talk called ‘Breaking the chains’ given to the Oxford Buddhist Centre, is available at http://bit.ly/Bodhidasa_BreakingTheChains). At the end of Bodhidasa’s Acknowledgements he remembers Sangharakshita’s words, ‘Rest your heart on what brings the most joy.’ And a sense of joy pervades Bodhidasa’s book.

The book opens with a poem of Mary Oliver’s, ‘I happened to be standing’,  from her book A Thousand Mornings: ‘I don’t know where prayers go, / or what they do … Is prayer a gift, or a petition, / or does it matter?’ It’s a question that most of us have asked at one time or another or have been too shy to ask publicly. It is the most perfect opening of any book on ritual, spirituality, or worship.

Bodhidasa writes in his Prologue, ‘Unlike a lot of Buddhist writing on mindfulness, kindness, ethics, or the study of ancient texts and teachings, this book turns to this neglected but powerful and effective area of Buddhist practice – ritual’ (xix). Ritual, the bringing together of symbolic acts, is one of the most beautiful aspects of Buddhism and, as Bodhidasa writes, his book is map, ‘But’ he adds, ‘also remember, at regular intervals, put the map aside and open your eyes to take in the view’ (xx).

Approaching Enlightenment has twelve chapters, each of which has a question as its heading. Some of these questions are standard ones, such as, ‘Where Should Rituals Take Place?’ or ‘Salutation: What Do I Bow To?’, ‘Confession: How Can I Be Better?’ or ‘Rejoicing: What Am I Grateful For?’ But there are also some surprises: ‘Is Buddhism a Form of Magic?’ and ‘What Holds Us Back?’   

Each chapter includes two sections of benefit to those who have studied Buddhist practices for a long time, and those, like me, who are relatively new to them. There is ‘Something to try’ in which we are gently and gradually enabled to participate, first, in the ritual known as the Threefold Puja and then – again gently and gradually – the Sevenfold Puja. 

There is, also, ‘The Chapter in Review’ where the central teachings of each chapter are re-presented as bullet points.

The book is based on The Sevenfold Puja as practised by the Triratna community with teachings from Bhante and his longtime friend Lama Anagarika Govinda, supplemented by the former’s Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism: An Introduction and the latter’s Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, in addition to the talks and writings of Sangharakshita’s teachers, as well as more recent work on ritual, psychology, and cultural studies. 

Far more helpful, however, than a textbook on such matters, weighed down by endless and pretentious footnotes, it is as if Bodhidasa is accompanying his reader, assisting them to practise and experience the essential and transformative liberation that Buddhism offers. And in this is the joy I referred to earlier.

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Luke Penkett is a member of the Norwich Triratna Sangha. He has been writing books and reviews for over two decades. He has lived as a solitary monk for 25 years. Earlier this year (2024) his abbot released him from his monastic vows in order for him to be welcomed as a Mitra. An avid reader, he is making his way through Sangharakshita's work and the Windhorse Publications collection, and will be posting reviews of some of those books in this space. 

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Approaching Enlightenment: A Guidebook for Buddhist Ritual is available to purchase from the Windhorse Publications website in paperback or eBook formats.