Namaste all,
thank you for the post, Susma.
i shall attempt to reply as expansively as possible.
perhaps... the first thing that i should say is that there are several extant schools of Buddhism and they emphasize different pratices, as such, you may observe a Pure Land school where they rely upon "other power" rather than "self power". in a Pure Land temple you would see Buddhists prayer for favors and that sort of thing.
in many ways, the Pure Land is analogous with Christian practice.
however... Pure Land is the only school that engages in this practice. Generally speaking, the Sutras (scriptures) of Buddhism teach one to rely upon themselves. they specifically state that even an all compassionate Buddha cannot save anyone else... all they can do is point the way.. the individual must do the work by themselves.
so.. the general answer to the question is "no, Buddhists do not engage in supplicational prayers. There is an exception, however, with the Pure Land school."
this exception exists due to the Buddha Amida (Boundless Light) who claimed that if a practiconer can generate faith in Him, He will ensure that they are reborn in His Pure Land and attain complete and total enlightenment without obstruction.
the Pure Land school is part of the Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma which corresponds to the Mahayana.
depending on the school and tradition that one follows, you will find everything from an spartan Zen temple to a brightly lit and colorful temple filled with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas ala Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism.
i suppose that, in a sense, even the Vajrayana teachings are applicable here, in that there are other things out there which one could call upon for assistance. this would, however, show the mistake in the practiconer rather than a mistake in the teachings. it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a meaningful discussion of Buddhism without all parties having a solid, working understanding of Buddhist philosophy, specifically the teachings on Sunyata.
now.. as for meditation. there are, in essence, two "types" of meditation, analytical and absorbtion. they've got some fancy Sanskrit names, but these should suffice for the purposes of our conversation.
analytical meditation is used when we meditate on a teaching or an application of a teaching. absorbtion meditation is used when we are stilling or calming the mind. depending on the tradition that one follows, there are other "types" employed, such as Tantric visisualizations, Tumo, waterwheel and various others. i shall leave it to a teacher to provide the correct method for the student.
as for the point of meditation.. well... that would really depend on whom you ask... as there are plenty of folks that aren't Buddhists that meditate.
Buddhist meditation is a tool and that tool can be put to many uses with different purposes.
as the Zennist would say... there no point, no goal and no gain. because there is no point, something is done; because there is no goal; something is achieved and because there is no gain, something is accomplished.
