I came across this phrase playing Sekiro where you have to go up to a Buddha idol, to which you are given the prompt 拝んで祈る.
But as I understand it this translates to… “pray and pray”? I tried looking at it in English but it just says “pray”.
I’m a bit confused with this. Is there a difference in the meanings between 拝 and 祈 that I’m not picking up on? Or is it just a stock phrase for religious purposes?
Thank you to all responces!
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Hmm looking at Jisho 拝む means to assume the physical posture of prayer, stuff like palms together. 祈る means the actual act of prayer. So perhaps a better translation to get the idea across would be something like put your hands together and pray. Though honestly I’d just go with kneel and pray since it’s a bit snappier.
You know how people often put their hands together in front of their bodies when praying? That hand thing is the 拝む part — “[to assume the posture of praying](https://jisho.org/search/%E6%8B%9D%E3%82%80)”, as Jisho puts it. 祈る is the part where people make a plea or request of their god(s).
In Sekiro’s case his 拝む is basically him sitting by the statue. I don’t remember if he actually explicitly makes a plea or request.
It’s more like “sit and pray”, yomichan (a great browser addon you should totally get) tells me
After looking it up, 拝んで comes from 拝む which means to assume a praying stance. 祈る means pray. What’s the difference, you ask? Anybody can assume a praying stance, but it doesn’t mean you’re praying to Jesus, Buddha, Allah, etc. But praying means to offer worship to that deity, which can be done even outside of a praying stance. Put the two together, and you’re doing the motions _and_ offering prayer.
拝 means beseeching/ humbly.
You are not praying to the person you are writing a letter to, you are humbly writing a letter to them.
Simply put, 拝む is an action which can also be seen by others, while 祈る is an inner movement.
You should use Japanese dictionaries for words with precise meanings.
おが・む【拝む】（動五）(１)尊いものの前で，両手を合わせて敬意を表す。「お天道様を―・む」(２)心からお願いする。(３)「見る」の謙譲語。拝顔する。拝見する。「一目―・む」
いの・る【祈る】（動五）(１)神や仏に願う。祈願する。「神に―・る」(２)心から願う。希望する。「御健闘を―・る」
Prayer for kami (spirit of your ancestors) consists of two parts:
1. Greeting to notify them of your presence. (*Clap* *Clap*, “Hi there, your descendant’s coming!”)
2. Prayer with contents
That for Buddhists:
1. A salute by gesture to not interfere their practice
2. Prayer with contents
The manners that represent each first step are what 拝む means.