As summer ends, we prepare for Ohigan, the Buddhist holiday that occurs during the week of the equinox. While there are multiple ways to spend this holiday, in general, it is a time for self-reflection and to re-evaluate one’s Buddhist practice. For some, it is also a time to not only pay respect to their ancestors or the deceased, but in a way, join them in practicing Buddhism. This concept may be foreign to many people. For example, someone told me the other day that Buddhism is a religion that exists for times when people need to hold funeral and memorial services. I believe that the reason for this misunderstanding is because the concept of memorial services in Buddhism is difficult to grasp here in the United States.
In order to understand the meaning of spiritual prayer during for example, memorial services and Ohigan, we must consider the purpose behind our existence in this world. In Buddhism, we state that a human being is bound to experience the four sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, and death. The amount of “bad” karma we have accumulated in our past lives dictates which suffering realm we are born into. Even within the same realm, individuals will experience different levels of suffering due to the varying amount of this bad karma that we carry with us at birth.
While our task in this suffering world is to rid ourselves of this bad karma, at times this seems near impossible. We may in fact be accumulating bad karma without even realizing it. This includes unknowingly making a comment that hurts another individual. Some also find it very difficult to fully comprehend their reason for being born into a particular suffering realm. Such souls repetitively return to the different realms of the suffering world. They cannot rest in peace.
However, it is possible for others, including us, to help them break this cycle. I equate this, in a way, to certain types of volunteer work some partake in. For example, there are types of volunteer experiences, which involve sharing hardships with people who are going through difficult circumstances. Our prayers and Buddhist practice during Ohigan also incorporates a similar idea. We never fully know the state of deceased individuals or different spirits. In other words, they may be suffering or having concerns about the realm that they are currently living in because they want to escape it. However, due to the situation of the realm that they currently live in, they may not be able to accumulate “good” karma to escape the suffering world. In order to help them, we, as individuals also living in this suffering world, need to try and connect with these spirits by praying and chanting the sutra. Like volunteer work, there is a need to try and understand their pain and concerns to fully help them, though this may be difficult. This act of volunteer work is also very difficult to understand, especially because we cannot physically see how much we have helped these spirits. Unfortunately, people tend to praise and recognize volunteers if we can physically see these actions or the changes in the individual being helped.
However, I hope that during this month of Ohigan, everyone will take the time to not only self-reflect, but also think about these spirits in the suffering world that are in desperate need of help. Through our prayer, we not only strengthen our own Buddhist faith, but also help others in the process.
Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
September / October 2024