Holidays

[Aucoinj]

I am new to all of this. I’ve found refuge here & sit zazen as will as lending a hand. I’d like to take my practice a little deeper though. Most (if not all) people commentate certain occasions & holidays. What Buddhist holidays are celebrated & what is the best way to celebrate them?

[Jundo]

I am new to all of this. I’ve found refuge here & sit zazen as will as lending a hand. I’d like to take my practice a little deeper though. Most (if not all) people commentate certain occasions & holidays. What Buddhist holidays are celebrated & what is the best way to celebrate them?

Hi Jen,

Do you have kids? A few years ago, we made a special page with some ideas for Rohatsu and, this time of year, Flower Festival/Vesak ...

https://sites.google.com/site/buddhistfamilyholidays/

I am not sure how popular the idea has become in western Buddhism of making such family holidays, but many Sangha are trying (some even merge traditional Japanese "Obon" with Halloween! ). I have never found there was much interest among our members in engaging with these holidays as children's events, but I keep hoping!

Of course, besides activities for kids, we also celebrate with Zazen here at Treeleaf, such as our annual Rohatsu retreat:

TREELEAF SANGHA online 2-DAY ANGO-JUKAI-ROHATSU RETREAT -- 2021

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?19518-Announcement-Parinirvana-Memorial-Zazenkai-2022

We have a week in February when we remember our family and friends who have passed from this world. In our Sangha, we remember together with the Buddha's memorial day. (That is actually not so common in Japan, and the Japanese celebrate Obon. However, for various reasons, Obon is not so commonly celebrated in western Buddhism).

Announcement: Parinirvana Memorial & Zazenkai 2022

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?19518-Announcement-Parinirvana-Memorial-Zazenkai-2022

Did you have some other kinds of holidays in mind?

One might say that, for Zen folks, each moment of each day is its own holiday. Always be giving, always be grateful, always be at peace ... i.e., a holiday.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Kakunen]

I am new to all of this. I’ve found refuge here & sit zazen as will as lending a hand. I’d like to take my practice a little deeper though. Most (if not all) people commentate certain occasions & holidays. What Buddhist holidays are celebrated & what is the best way to celebrate them?

Hi

I suggest diffrent way to think about holiday from Jundo.

Because think of Buddhist holiday is diffrent from their situation.

I answer as Zen monk(Under training).

We have no holiday.This is my answer.Life is go on.Can not stop.

Especially for Zen monk,we do Zazen every moment,Zazen eat chant sleep rest bathing is Zazen.
So we have no holiday.

In my case ,I sit Zazen everymorning from4AM to6PM.And have Sesshin from everymonth.
And when I eat,I keep silence and slow in calm mind.

This is kind of my answer.

But also Jundo said like so,we have some kind of holiday,ex Buddha's and Dharma's Dogen's
birthday.But normally we just do celemony,but no holiday.

I do not know your situations and do not know,how do you think about holiday?
Let me know,if you want to more idea from me.

We Zen monk all is Buddha,this is idea of our Soto sect.
So you are Buddha,Dharma is Buddha,everything is Buddha.

So I recommend you to celebrate about your life,moment by moment.
Brething and breathing.

Is this good answer to you?

Gassho
Sat today
Kakunen

[Nengyoku]

We Zen monk all is Buddha,this is idea of our Soto sect.
So you are Buddha,Dharma is Buddha,everything is Buddha.

So I recommend you to celebrate about your life,moment by moment.
Breathing and breathing.

[Jundo]

Soto-shu publishes a list of holidays that are common in Japan. Here are some that are not so often celebrated in the west. Several are connected closely with ancestor and family remembrances, and are considered times when the "spirits" of the departed return from the "other world." In fact, historically, such traditions are not particularly "Buddhist," but are ancient and existed long before Buddhism in Asian popular culture, but were gradually incorporated into Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, including Zen. It is rather ambiguous in Japanese Buddhism how the spirits can be "reborn" into a new life in Buddhist belief, or attain Buddhahood, yet also come back home for a family visit on the holidays!

Equinox Ceremony (Higan-e) March

This week-long ceremony takes place on the spring and fall equinoxes, the middle of an important week when the weather is usually very good.

Higan is the teaching that leads people from the world of delusion to the world of awakening. There are six components of this teaching: giving, precepts, perseverance, diligence, zazen, and wisdom. It is taught that if we carry out these practices we will be blessed with happiness and good fortune.

On the day before Higan, it is the custom in a Japanese home to clean the Buddha altar, to straighten up the various Buddha implements, and to change the flowers on the altar. It is also customary to make offerings of rice dumplings on the first day of the week. On the equinox (the middle day of this week) rice cakes covered with bean jam called ohagi or botamochi are offered. And once again on the final day of the week, dumplings made from rice flour are offered. During this time, offerings of food, special sweets, and fruit are also made.

Visiting the temple

It is customary at this time to visit the temple to present offerings of pounded-rice cakes (mochi), sweets, fruit, and so on to the principal image of Buddha as well as the family ancestors.

It is also the custom at Higan to visit the family grave to express our gratitude to the family ancestors. For those people living far away from the family grave, it is especially good to visit the temple and family grave during Higan. This is a good way to learn the warm-heartedness customarily expressed during Higan of giving rice cakes covered with bean jam to the neighbors and one’s relatives.

Visiting the family grave

A visit to the family grave first begins with cleaning the grave stone and grave site. It is particularly important to scour places that easily become dirty such as water basins and flower vases. Older wooden stupas are mindfully removed and disposed of according to temple instructions. Once the grave has been cleaned, fresh offerings of water, incense, and favorite delicacies of the deceased ancestors’ are made. The temple priest is then asked to chant a sutra at the grave, at this time, we join our hands in wholehearted prayer.

Following the visit to the gravesite, it is proper to remove the food offerings. No one likes to see spoiled offerings and they are also unsanitary. It is also good to clean up the special gravesite for graves that are no longer tended by family members and offer incense and flowers. In Japan, this is thought to express the beauty of one’s heart and mind.

O-bon
[Celebrated July in some places, August other places in Japan]

The memorial services held at Obon have two meanings. One is to honor the Buddha and show reverence for one’s ancestors and others who have died. The other is to express gratitude to all people to whom we are indebted, including people who are alive such as our parents, relatives, and friends.

The full expression for Obon is Urabon-e which is derived from "Ullabana," an old Indian word. According to the Bussetsu Urabon Sutra, the origin of this tradition goes back to a ceremony performed by Shakyamuni Buddha for the deceased mother of Maudgalyayana, one of the Buddha’s immediate disciples. Ullabana means "hanging upside down" and it was by means of this ceremony that the suffering of that world in which she lived (the suffering was so intense it was like hanging upside down) was removed.

These days, people think that this ceremony will prolong the life of parents and remove all suffering and anguish. This is also one of the traditional holiday periods in Japan when people exchange gifts. The other traditional time is over New Years. Obon is a ceremony to respectfully honor the spirits of the ancestors; it is also to ask for the long life or our parents. In preparation for meeting the spirits, it is customary to thoroughly clean our house and put ourselves in order as if meeting guests.


Greeting Fires (Kadobi)

Greeting Fires (Kadobi)On the evening of the 13th, fires are lit with hemp stalks or pine torches. These lights serve as a guide for the returning ancestors –They are like a voice crying out, "Come this way, Grandpa and Grandma." If these lights are not clearly visible, the spirits will be unsure which way to go.

Sending Off the Spirits (Shoryo Okuri)

The spirits are usually sent back on the 15th or 16th. Once again, hemp stalks are lit and in some places are set out on small boats with offerings to float down rivers or out to sea. Lately, because of the problem of pollution, the boats are collected at temples and other places. People chant "Obon spirits, go away on this boat," and send them off carefully.


Obon Shelf (Bondana)

Obon Shelf (Bondana)Where will the ancestors who have come for the offerings be greeted? A special shelf called an Obon-dana or Tama-dana is made where the family memorial tablet is place along with various offerings. At those houses where this kind of shelf is not set up, the ancestral spirits are greeted at the Buddha-altar. This is where the temple priest chants the tana-gyo, a sutra read for the ancestors. This Obon-shelf is usually erected on the morning of the 13th. In a home where a family member has died within the past year, this shelf is set up between the 1st and the 7th and should be done in an especially mindful way. On these shelves, dumplings are often offered. They are placed on the altar shelf immediately after the family has greeted the spirits at the grave.

On the 14th, it is the custom to make an offering of noodles and on the 15th, rice dumplings covered with bean jam are offered. Also, uncooked rice, mixed with finely chopped raw eggplants and other vegetables, is placed in small piles on lotus or paulownia leaves and used as an offering.

On the 16th, it is said that the ancestral spirits return home riding on cows and carrying luggage on horses. Eggplants and cucumbers, in the shapes of cows and horses, are offered. These are similar to the straw horses which are used as decorations during the Tanabata Festival. In some areas, there is the custom of fixing green cedar or green bamboo to the four corners of the shelf in the same way that pine decorations are used to honor the gods at New Year’s.



At any rate, let’s make respectful offerings of those things that the ancestral spirits like, offerings that have been traditionally cultivated, or items that are familiar to the ancestors, in order to have them come back.

A Ceremony to Comfort the Ancestral Spirits (Sejiki-e) [Also called, "Feeding the Hungry Ghosts"]

The Obon Sejiki-e, a ceremony to comfort the ancestral spirits, is an important ceremony in The Soto Zen School. At every The Soto Zen School temple, this ceremony is performed as a way of making offerings to the family ancestors, to one’s parents, relatives, and spirits of other people we are connected with, as well as for spirits that are no longer connected to any living person.

Equinox Ceremony (Higan-e) September

Similar to Equinox in March, above.

Memorial Service for Dogen Zenji and Keizan Zenji (Ryosoki) September 29th

Memorial Service for Bodhidharma (Darumaki) October 5th

The Founder’s [Dogen's] Birthday (Koso gotan-e) January 26th

At Treeleaf, we usually honor such days with Zazen.

Commemoration ceremony of the Second Patriarch’s cutting off his forearm (Danpi Ho-on Sesshin) December 9th and 10th

This follows right after Rohatsu and, frankly, we give this one a miss.

end-of-year events (O-misoka) December 31st

At Treeleaf, every moment is new! We honor the New Year with Zazen too. At the temples in Japan:

~~~~~~~~~

Eiheiji Head Temple:

On December 27th, the rice-cake pounding ceremony takes place and great quantities of rice-cakes are made [called "Mochi"].



Three types of rice-cakes are prepared on the day. One is rice-cakes in the shape of a traditional mirror, to be offered to the Buddhist statues enshrined in the temple. The second type of rice-cakes is called jubyo (lit. the rice-cake for longevity). These are presented to Zen masters in the monastery with the wish for their good health. The third type of rice-cakes is for the monks to eat during the first three days of the New Year. At six o’clock on the evening on that day, the monks gather at the temple kitchen in the building called Kichijo-kaku. They start pounding the rice-cakes after praying for the good health of their masters as well as for the rest of the temple. They use four large mortars to make more than 500 pieces ranging from very large to small. It is a boisterous event where the normally quiet monks come to life, smiling and shouting, while pounding away in a kitchen covered in white flour. [Jundo: So, I don't think the above photo of everyone in the best Kesa is the actual scene. ;-) )

The end of December sees a series of year-end events. Events such as the rice-cake pounding, cleaning, alms begging for the needy and the striking of the New Year’s Eve bell. The founder, Dogen, once preached at his New Year’s Eve sermon that one should attain mastery of his/her discipline by year end, otherwise the daily practice of the last 360 days would be in vain: a reminder of the importance of each day.

the New Year (Gantan) January 1st

The morning of the New Year’s at Eiheiji starts at 3 a.m. Monks meditate soon after they get up, starting their new year with a lungful of the fresh, cold, almost spring-tinged, air. [Jundo: Which was easier when the New Year under the old Lunar Calendar was in February!]

For the first three days of the New Year, there is a series of New Year ceremonies known as shusho-e (lit. New Year ceremonies). On January 1st, sutras of six hundred Buddhist scrolls are chanted and the monks offer prayers for the flourishing of the Dharma, the peace of the world, the prosperity of the people and the peace of the nation. On January 2nd is a ceremony in which the great prajna-paramita sutra ( Hannya Kyo) is chanted, and on January 3rd, a ceremony praising the Buddha (Tanbutsu-e). Every day, more than ten thousand worshippers come to receive the Buddha’s blessing.

Until the middle of January, such ceremonies as the Jinjitsu-en are held (entertainment by and for the monks who are divided into groups according to dormitory), and the first calligraphy ceremony of the year. The entertainment event in particular sums up the festive New Year atmosphere and is where the personalities of the monks and the mood of each dormitory are displayed.

Sojiji Head Temple:

After the Rohatsu Sesshin (December sesshin) is over, New Year preparations such as year-end cleaning, rice-cake pounding and preparations for the New Year’s ceremony take place. At the end of the year, the monks beg for alms for the needy. The monks make their own footwear, symbolizing a firm foundation for both mind and body, and walk around Tsurumi Town.

On December 31st, the monks must be in bed by 6 p.m. and be up again at 11 p.m. on the same evening to the ringing of a bell ready for the New Year. The Mukai-karamon Chinese style-gate, normally closed, opens at a quarter to midnight and the bell starts to toll. The bell tolls 108 times to symbolize the eradication of worldly desires. On top of that, Sojiji allows each and every visitor a single strike on the bell. Being a time of year when unexpected incidents and disasters are likely to occur, it is a great opportunity for the visitors to strike the bell with the hope that their worldly desires will vanish and that their new year be a good one.

the New Year (Gantan) January 1st

At a quarter past midnight on New Year’s Day, the first ceremony of the year known as the New Year’s Grand Service (Hatsumode-daikitoukai) takes place. At the Founder’s Hall, all of the monks who serve the temple gather, and the ceremony is led by the leading Zen Master with prayers for the safety of the temple, the happiness of the people and the peace of the nation. Following this ceremony, other ceremonies are held in the temple precincts, such places as Koshakudai, where Daikoku, the god of prosperity, is enshrined and Sanpo-den where Sanpo Daikojin, the local god of the temple yard, is enshrined. January 1st is filled with the chanting voices of the monks offering up Buddhist sutras in the temple.

After New Year, comes the coldest season. According to the lunar calendar, Shokan (lit. small coldness) sets in the middle of January. The monks gather winter alms in the coldest season of the year until February 2nd. During this period, after the afternoon service, more than 100 monks set out in straw sandals and traditional gloves for the neighboring town, Tsurumi where they beg for between an hour and a half and two hours.

Maybe we should have a Treeleaf Mochi Rice Cake making group?? :-)

Source: https://www.sotozen.com/eng/practice/event/index.html

Gassho, J

STLah

[Tai Shi]

I too have found refuge here in this place that I love, be it only or especially of words, for words have been my life. I am made happy from these holidays, and now I am smiling, as I offer you all my smiles. I know this is a great and wonderful place, that you all are here for many people, and just by my presence make everyone of us happy, and I as just a guy, as at my favorite place in all of this world, and this fall, and my favorite season in all for, word in the northern hemisphere fall, in the southern spring in the northern hemisphere spring, and in the southern hemisphere fall. This is a miracle. Let is celebrate life, so many here saved in life, so many others, in this world, we dedicate this post to peace everywhere the fortunate teachings and as he brought loving kindness to us let us carry on this as we be Soto Zen Buddhists this teaching from the Buddha of loving kindness.
Gassho
st/lah

[Tai Shi]

Holidays

Kokuu I am so sorry I think I spelled your name wrong. I too am sorry. I have 3 disabilities and I m Ubasoku and will sit metta for you. There’s those much much worse and I will sit metta for them.
Gassho
st/lah


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