To coin a phrase, praying is not what you think. Its etymology is general (while its framing may be rigid): Asking What, from Whom, for Something, by When in Earnest.
To ask for or “please,” may be one of the simplest constructs. Here to the receiver it stands up as a request with an underscore- please, now add an exclamation and it takes on more importance as a reguest of urgency as well: Please! Shouting it, chanting it or other expressions increases the importance of the plea.
I spent a couple of years around eleven and twelve going to a Pentecostal Holiness Church on the Bibb Mill Village in Forsyth Georgia. I learned about prayer. It was loud, frightening- like a point without a pencil. While I also know there were many things I feared and I welcomed the idea of divine or any other intervention that took away my pain. I recall for some time I had repeated out loud “Don’t Find Out About This” if I was in the business of being caught for something I should not do. This is feeling something and expressing it at a visual level. Another good example is “I must/need to get through this.” Praying for others in exaltation and sorrow enables letting it out…exhaleing. This was energizing- Prayer as infinite reach.
The receiver in a prayer (either specific or general) is similar to the one from whom you ask for forgiveness or help, vowing whatever it takes to get what you need. The intensity and heartfelt sincerity of which adds gravitas to beseeching- a wish or hope for trust/faith in this process.
“Please,” followed by “thank-you,” completes the enzo of request and appreciation. If then in this cycle of request and receiving we get some of what we ask for and/or feel better by being honest to the universe we may add this to our way of being. A kind of turning the Dharma Wheel.
I will explore a very good extrapolation of these thoughts from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2006. Please read through this before our session on Tuesday as it will be the basis of my talk and our discussion.
Bowing
Sangaku