Category: Death

Posted on

O-higan

March 18-24

…when the night and day are equally divided, Buddha appears on earth for a week to save stray souls and lead them to Nirvana.”

http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Festivals/35.html

Thus, in Japan the Sundays prior to the spring equinox (shuubun no hi) and the fall equinox (shunbun no hi) are known as O-higan. Days on which families visit and honor the graves of the departed. Ancestors are said to watch over the family like tutelary, guardian deities. That’s why we give thanks to our ancestors whenever we encounter success or prosperity . (But of course if we fail, it’s our own damn fault.)

Favorite foods are prepared for the departed, such as Ohagi (soft rice balls covered in sweetened bean jam), sushi, and vinegar rice & veggies. On the last day of the week, rice flour dumplings, special fruits and sweets are offered.

In Buddhism, O-higan is a time to focus on the 6 Perfections, or Pāramitā:

1. Dana – generosity

2. Sila – virtue

3. Ksanti – patience

4. Virya – effort

5. Dhyana – meditation (also ‘zen’)

6. Prajna – wisdom

O-higan
O-higan

The O-higan days have been celebrated in Japan since the 8th century. The name Higan literally means, “the other shore” and is short for Tohigan—to arrive at the other shore. The 6 Pāramitā are the bridge that will enable us to cross over to the other shore of Nirvana.

Posted on

Shuubun no hi

…when the night and day are equally divided, Buddha appears on earth for a week to save stray souls and lead them to Nirvana.”

http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Festivals/35.html

…Thus, in Japan, the spring equinox (shunbun no hi) and the fall equinox (shuubun no hi) are known as O-higan. Days on which families visit and honor the graves of the departed. Ancestors are said to watch over the family like tutelary, guardian deities. That’s why the Japanese give thanks to their ancestors whenever they encounter success or prosperity. (But of course if you fail, it’s your own damn fault.)

Favorite foods are prepared for the departed, such as Ohagi (soft rice balls covered in sweetened bean jam), sushi, and vinegar rice & veggies. On the last day of the week, rice flour dumplings, special fruits and sweets are offered.

In Buddhism, O-higan is a time to focus on the 6 Perfections, or Pāramitā:

1. Dana – generosity

2. Sila – virtue

3. Ksanti – patience

4. Virya – effort

5. Dhyana – meditation (also ‘zen’)

6. Prajna – wisdom

The O-higan days have been celebrated in Japan since the 8th century. The name Higan literally means, “the other shore” and is short for Tohigan—to arrive at the other shore. Buddhists believe that the Pāramitā form the bridge that enable humans to cross over to the other shore, to Nirvana.

Posted on

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

30th day of 7th lunar month

Where are you going
My beautiful friend
Is this the road that
You take to the end
And if we break down
All we left behind
Is this the highway
Of all mankind?

Axis spins so round and round we go
Where we’re going no one really knows
Here we here we here we here go
Feel the fire
Way down below…

That’s from Big Audio Dynamite’s spiritual hymn, “The Globe“, but it could very well be the theme for today’s holiday, celebrating the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism–or as he’s sometimes known: the Buddha of Hell…

What does Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva mean? Well, in the immortal words of Big Audio Dynamite, let’s

“Break it on down (bless you)” :

Bodhi means enlightened, wakefulness, absolute consciousness, perhaps even superconsciousness, and refers specifically to the state achieved by Gautama Buddha and his disciples. It’s similar to Nirvana, and indeed, Nirvana and Bodhi used to be used synonymously. But in Mahayana Buddhism, Bodhi is a notch up from Nirvana (No offense to Kurt).

Anyone can attain nirvana (okay, maybe not anybody) while only Buddha can attain Bodhi. In fact, “Buddha” means one who has attained Bodhi.

Now Sattva can mean many things: purity, harmony, truth, goodness, but it basically means “the essence of being”.

The Bodhisattva are those rare beings who can attain complete and pure wakefulness, the most enlightened state.

Ksitigarbha was a special Bodhisattva. Ksiti means “womb” or “matrix”. Garbha means “earth”. His name literally translates to “Womb of the Earth,” “Treasury of the Earth” or, “Earth Store”.

Though capable of achieving Bodhi, Ksitigarbha refused to do, as he considered it his duty to help others. Ksitigarbha vowed not to achieve Bodhi until “all the hells are empty.”

Put it all together and you have the Buddha of Hell. That’s his nickname, since he aimed to vacate the Hells on earth. He’s also called Dizang in China, Jizo in Japan.

This year Ksitigarbha’s birthday falls one day after the remembrance of the beheading of St. John the Baptist in the Christian religion. John the Baptist was believed to have gone to hell after the beheading, where he preached to the inhabitants there that the Messiah had arrived on earth.

Posted on

Hungry Ghost Festival

August 14, 2011
August 30, 2012
August 20, 2013

No, not those kind of ghosts.

The period of Ghost Month–the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar–comes to a climax on Zhong Yuan, the Hungry Ghost Festival, on the eve of the fifteenth day. During Ghost Month the gates of the afterworld open to allow the dead to walk the earth and seek food.

Families prepare meals for the departed on Zhong Yuan. Many say prayers and burn special incense. Also, it is said these ghosts can enact revenge on those who wronged them in life.

There is a superstition against doing all sorts of activities during Ghost Month, including swimming–kind of unfortunately, as the Olympic swimming events occur smack in the middle this year.

In China the festival bears some similarity to Qingming–Tombsweeping Day–except the Ghost Festival focuses solely on the departed of previous generations.

Other traditions include the placement of a chair and alter outdoors in a prominent location for priests. Dishes of peaches and special flour-made rice are placed underneath the alter and spread by the priest to the souls of the dead. Atop the alter are symbolic sacrifices, including food and cakes, meant to invoke the gods for better weather and healthy crops. Families also make and burn fake paper money in tribute to the dead.

Zhongyuan Festival china.org.cn

Links:

http://shuangxingfu.blogspot.com/2009/08/hungry-ghost-festivalof-seventh-lunar.html

Posted on

Obon – Japan

July or August
July 13-15 (Gregorian calendar)
15th day of 7th month (lunar calendar)

“In the time of Shaka; one of his fellows Mokuren saw the image of his dead mother suffering in hell. Mokuren was desperate to relieve her pain and asked Shaka for help. Shaka answered, “On 15th of July, provide a big feast for the past seven generations of dead.”‘— Japan 101

OK, Buddha may not have actually said “15th of July”, since he lived 300 years before Julius Caesar. But he did say “15th day of the seventh month.” Whether that’s according to the lunar or solar calendar depends on who you ask.

In the lunar calendar the Festival of Obon—the Japanese festival of the dead—tends to fall in August. But in Tokyo and the east of Japan, many temples observe Obon according to the solar calendar—on July 13th through the 15th. The result is that anywhere you look between mid-July and August there’s bound to be Obon festivities happening somewhere.

Obon is one of the most important holidays in the Japanese calendar, second only to New Year’s Day in most communities. Japanese usually return home to be with their families during the Obon season to carry on a tradition that has been celebrated for over 500 years in Japan.

Families enjoy time together, partake in Obon rituals and tidy up the graves of their ancestors.

obon_albuquerqe_bridge
Lantern floating ritual, 2004

One tradition is to release floating paper lanterns on the water on the last night of Obon, in order to guide the departed spirits to the after world.

Another is the age-old Bon Odori, or Bon Dance, which emulates the dance of joy and gratitude that Mokuren did when his mother was released from hell.

Obon is a shortened form of the word urabon’e, which means “hanging upside-down and suffering.” The purpose of Obon is relieve the suffering of the Urabon’e.

Posted on

Qing Ming Festival

April 5, 2010
April 5, 2011
April 4, 2012

Two weeks after the spring equinox (usually April 5) the Chinese spend this day with their beloved departed. Qing Ming, or Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the few Chinese holidays to follow the solar calendar rather than the lunar.

On this day families travel together to the grave’s of their loved ones to honor their memory. It’s believed that the spirits of family members who have passed on continue to watch over the family.

The holiday has been celebrated for over 2,500 years, originating with a Chinese Emperor who honored the memory of a royal official who sacrificed his life to save the Emperor.

Qingming Festival

Today relatives try to ensure their ancestors’ happiness in many different ways. Some sweep away the underbrush and dirt that has accumulated, and decorate their graves with flowers. Others cook the favorite dish of the departed. It’s traditional to burn ‘fake’ money or paper models of other goods, but this year Chinese officials are concerned about dry conditions conducive to fires, and are encouraging other methods of honoring the dead, such as planting trees.

The cemeteries are swamped with visitors this day. Officials estimate 100,000 people will visit the Babaoshan cemetery in Beijing today.

Meanwhile a new tradition is developing online where relatives can light virtual candles and carry on the traditions of Qing Ming in cyberspace.

The 2008 Tomb Sweeping Day is an historic event in that it has been declared a national public holiday for the first time.