Why I Pray

I was trained to be computer scientist/engineer, and even though I emphasise the importance of scientific research, there is a part of me that is both superstitious and pious. I always hoped that prayer would work, and I believed in offering prayers. Whether praying to the Buddhas / Bodhisattvas for divine protection, or simply for goodwill towards one and all, there is something in me that simply stopped asking questions and simply, just believe!

The reason why I pray, is because I believe that there is something / someone higher than me in this world. While I am not a theist, more of an agnostic, prayer is why I would never identify myself as an atheist. If there is nobody in this world more important and more wholesome than the selfish egoistical me, this is a terribly pathetic world to live in.

Prayers lead me to believe that terrible outcomes do befall those who resist or deny the existence of a higher being. Prayers are congruent to striking fear in sentient beings that one would go to lower realms of existence if one fails to honour or believe in the higher being. I pray, because I fear the unknown, there's no rocket science in this, it's just a matter of being ignorant and how to cope with the suffering that comes about from my self-professed delusions.

In a nutshell, actually I also question the efficacy of prayer, but because since I was a child I was taught to fear and respect the higher beings, I grew up accustomed to prayer, and it comes naturally to me without questions asked. I am not in charge of this world, but I imagine that someone might be, and it's nice to fantasise in this direction because it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'm devoted to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and so far prayers haven't gone too far wrong for me. They might seem silly to others, but when I pray, something tells me that it actually works, and it often does when I do prayers properly.

I stop short of mentioning how I spent my university days with a Muslim dorm mate who would pray in the direction of my bed when I was asleep. He prays even more devotedly than I do, I respect him for that.

Someone loves us more deeply than we love ourselves.