On Faith Alfred Bloom |
Equinoxes are a time to
reflect on ancestorsThe spring and fall equinoxes in March and September are occasions for significant religious events in East Asian Buddhism, particularly Japan. The observances highlight the centrality of Buddhist values together with veneration of ancestors, and offer moral guidance to the individual.
In Japan the word for this festival is "higan," and refers to the Sanskrit Buddhist term "paramita," which means fulfillment of a task or "going to the other shore" of enlightenment and truth, or Nirvana. Buddhist teaching is symbolized in tradition as a raft that carries us across the river of births and deaths to the shore of enlightenment.
The raft, in addition to basic Buddhist principles, includes the cultivation of the six paramita or practices of generosity, discipline, endurance, endeavor, concentration and wisdom.
This world, according to Buddhism, is the world of suffering and successive births and deaths, while the "other shore" is that of liberation, fulfillment and enlightenment. While we might have pleasures and enjoyments in life, they are all marked by impermanence and insufficiency. Higan points to the world of completion, perfection, beyond the instabilities and anxieties of this life. It comes to mean the other world where our loved ones have gone -- and, in the course of time, where we will, also.
Through the merit of our practice of Buddhist virtues, our ancestors and deceased loved ones are assisted in their continuing progress toward enlightenment.
Higan observance expresses filial piety and hope. It recalls how we have benefited from the care of our parents and ancestors, enabling us to live our present lives. Whether we may be Buddhist or not, we can appreciate the meaning of an event that binds the generations together and offers direction for meaningful living.
On a deeper level, the division of time into equal segments twice in the year is a powerful expression of the balance and harmony of the universe envisioned by this festival.
We perceive in this harmony the all-embracing, nondiscriminating compassion and wisdom of the Buddha which is the foundation for living in our fractured, strife-ridden world.
The diverse Buddhist traditions of Japan may interpret the meaning of this commemoration differently. As a Shin Buddhist, I understand that the practice of virtue is not done merely through my own self-generated efforts. Rather, through trust in Amida Buddha's universal Vow of Compassion, we become one with the very truth of reality. Despite our personal evils and limitations, Amida Buddha's compassion enfolds and never abandons. It is inseparable in the hidden dimensions of our lives.
The recitation and contemplation of the Buddha's name -- Namu Amida Butsu -- constantly reminds us of the deep truth of our existence.
Namu, as the turbulent reality of our life, our cry for meaning, is bound to Amida Butsu, Amida Buddha, whose name means infinite, revealing that we are more than we appear, that reality is more than the world of the five senses. Our oneness with reality in trust challenges us to manifest that compassion, the source of meaning, in our daily lives. This is the true meaning of higan, going to the other shore.
Alfred Bloom is a retired Honpa Hongwanji Mission minister.
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