It’s that time again: Ohigan

Both the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes mark the Japanese Buddhist holiday of Ohigan (お彼岸), which literally means “The Other Shore”, or rather the crossing of the other shore. The notion of the “other shore” is a very common metaphor in Buddhism to refer to the reaching of Enlightenment by leaving behind ignorance and craving (i.e. this shore we stand on) and crossing over, one way or another.

Buddhism is a broad religion so within it you’ll see a variety of practices and teachings to suit people of different capacities. Some people gravitate toward meditation, some gravitate toward devotional practices, while some prefer to focus on upholding the moral precepts. All Buddhists eventually do all three, but people come from different backgrounds and have different inclinations. What they all have common is this noble intention of leaving behind selfish and petty habits and reach the perfection of Enlightenment.

So, in Japan, when the weather is more mild in Spring and Fall (twice a year in other words), devout Buddhists make a renewed commitment toward the Buddhist path, and particularly the Six Perfections. This is true of Zen, Shingon, Tendai, Nichiren and Pure Land Buddhists, among others. The Six Perfections or Paramita are six attributes that devout Buddhist try to perfect, lifetime after lifetime. Sometimes the list is slightly longer or shorter, but the Six Perfections are typically:

1. Generosity or Dāna (布施波羅蜜)
2. Moral Conduct or Śīla (持戒波羅蜜)
3. Patience, Tolerance or Kṣānti (忍辱波羅蜜)
4. Diligence or Vīrya (精進波羅蜜)
5. Mindfulness or being alert or Dhyāna (禪定波羅蜜)
6. Wisdom, Insight or Prajñā (智慧波羅蜜)

Here I provide the Six Perfections with Sanskrit and Chinese translations. You don’t have to remember that, but I like to throw it in just for reference.

Regardless of what you do specifically as a Buddhist, this is a great time to reflect upon yourself, upon the Buddha’s teachings (the Dharma) and to renew your commitment. I have begun a habit lately of reciting the Amitabha Sutra in English, now and again. I was going to elaborate on this in a later post, by the way. In any case, I will definitely be doing at least that for Ohigan, and maybe recite the nembutsu more, or renew my vow to follow the Five Moral Precepts. I may also decide to go completely vegetarian that day too, as is typical in traditional Buddhist diets, or shōjin-ryōri in Japanese.*

I mention all this to help give ideas to anyone else hoping to figure out what they will do for O-higan. Feel free to do what works in your tradition as well!

In any case, have a happy and wholesome Ohigan!

Namuamidabu

P.S. My Spring Ohigan post can be found here.

* – After a recent post on animal abuse in pig farms, I decided to at least forgo pork, lamb and beef, hoping that at least someday I can become completely vegetarian. That was 3 days ago, and so far so good, but I’ve been down this road before and didn’t last long. I decided that the slow-and-steady approach (based on advice here and outside the blog) is a much more reliable way to become vegetarian though, so hopefully I can at least manage life without pork, lamb and beef over the long-term.