Temple Seating

[Nicholas Weeks]

Having read both Walshe's & Story's translations of this passage, (Mahaparinibbana) I am still puzzled:

22. And the Blessed One got ready, and taking his bowl and robe, went to the council hall
together with the company of bhikkhus. After rinsing his feet, the Blessed One entered the
council hall and took his seat close to the middle pillar, facing east. The community of bhikkhus,
after rinsing their feet, also entered the council hall and took seats near the western wall, facing
east, so that the Blessed One was before them. And the devotees of Pāṭaligāma, after rinsing their
feet and entering the council hall, sat down near the eastern wall, facing west, so that the Blessed
One was in front of them.

The lay folk are face to face with Buddha, but the Sangha seems to be either behind the Buddha, seeing his back or they face the lay people, with their backs to Buddha!? Is this really the way it was, long ago??

[JamesTheGiant]

Yeah the monks are looking at the Buddha's back or quarter profile. The talk was aimed primarily at the other people.
The monks will probably have their eyes closed anyway, listening carefully to everything the Buddha says.

[Nicholas Weeks]

Yeah the monks are looking at the Buddha's back or quarter profile. The talk was aimed primarily at the other people.
The monks will probably have their eyes closed anyway, listening carefully to everything the Buddha says.

I wonder if that arrangement is still practiced in some Theravada temples? In China & Tibetan based temples the Guru faces the Sangha members, who are in the first rows & the lay audience sits behind the Sangha. Everybody faces the Guru, representing Buddha.

[JohnK]

I attended a Wat Metta ordination last summer (the formal ceremony was at an urban temple close to Los Angeles vs. at the monastery).
Thanissaro Bhikkhu was at the front facing the lay people (mostly Thai) in attendance; the other monastics were also at the front (behind him I think) facing toward the lay people (or perhaps angled toward Thanissaro, I'm not exactly sure on that). This is consistent with what I have seen in videos of Thai tradition Ajahns giving talks to lay people with monks in attendance.