Obon Season

Yikes, I’ve been so busy lately, I failed to notice that I hadn’t written about Obon yet. Thanks to Arunlikhati for the helpful reminder. Obon is one of the most important Buddhist holidays in Japan, and according to my little Japanese calendar at home falls under both mid-July and mid-August. Why the discrepancy?

Obon is not a fixed holiday as such, but is more of a seasonal one. In Japanese it’s often called お盆休み (obon yasumi) as it’s a time of rest, and returning back home to visit family. This not unlike the New Year’s season in Japan, so most Japanese can expect to take a vacation and see family at least two times a year. As for the dates, it’s based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and different regions in Japan interpreted the times differently, so some regions celebrate in July and some in August.

As for Obon itself, the full religious name is 盂蘭盆会 (urabon-e), and is originally based on a Buddhist story regarding one of the Buddha’s closest disciples, Maudgalyayana (also called Mogallāna).¹ In the story, Maudgalyayana discovered through deep meditation that his mother had been reborn in one of the Buddhist hell realms. While she was alive, she was very protective of her son, but did a lot of disreputable things to raise him. So, Maudgalyayana was shocked to see this and asked the Buddha what to do. The Buddha stated that if Maudgalyayana would unselfishly make food offerings to the Buddhist community on the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, then the good merit from this act would release his mother. Maudgalyayana did as was instructed, and indeed his mother was released from Hell.

In practice, Obon is a time to remember one’s own ancestors, as well as the dead in general. Maudgalyayana could be who he was through the sacrifices of his mother, however bad they were, so he sought to express his gratitude by helping her get out of Hell. In modern Obon, the family gathers and expresses gratitude to the ancestors for their past efforts as well. This is inaccurately described as “ancestor worship” which sounds primitive and superstitious in Western cultures, but I feel is more like “ancestor appreciation”. Even us Westerners, if we stop to appreciate the efforts past ancestors made so we can be who we are, one can’t help but feel grateful for their sacrifices.

Obon has two or three main components:

• A solemn 3-day memorial to one’s ancestors, who are invited to the house with a candle. Food and incense are offered for these “hungry” spirits, and people pray and give thanks. At the end, the spirits are sent away again to find rest. In the city of Kyoto, the celebration is quite traditional, and the hills surrounding the old city are lit with famous bon-fires called 五山送り火 (gozan no okuribi). These are meant to guide the spirits to and from Kyoto during the celebration.
• On the lighter side of things, Obon is also celebrated with a famous outdoor dance called 盆踊り (bonodori), which is a big social event to celebrate the season, and celebrate the life we enjoy. T his is quite popular on the West Coast of the US in the Jodo Shinshu temples belong to the Buddhist Churches of America. My wife and I were members when we lived back in Seattle, and really liked the Bonodori celebrations. The excellent summer food, family-friendly atmosphere and easy dancing in the late afternoon made for great memories.
• Another observance at this time is 施餓鬼 (Segaki), which is a Buddhist ceremony to feed the hungry ghosts, which in Buddhist cosmology are those who had strong cravings in life, and their cravings keep them alive after death as restless, hungry spirits. Here the intention is to relieve the suffering of all ghosts, not just one’s ancestors, and some Buddhists hold segaki ceremonies at other times too. I’ll talk more about this ceremony in a separate post, as I have some good info on a typical Segaki ceremony.

Of these, I’ve really only participated in the dancing, while the rest is not really observed in Japanese-American communities as much. I’d love to go back to Japan and see more about it, but if any one has good stories, please feel free to share. Thanks!

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha

P.S. The question of whether Obon is really authentically “Buddhist” or not is kind of a pointless question. While it’s origins may lie in the East Asian cultural inclination toward “ancestor veneration”, Buddhism often adapts and revises local cultural traditions to give them a more Buddhist theme. I call this process “Buddhification”. In my post about Shingon Buddhism, many Hindu gods and rituals were “Buddhified”. Same happened in Japan to some Shinto kami, rituals and such. I am certain this will happen to Western cultural traits in time too, such as Christmas.

¹ Also called 目犍連 (Mokuren) in Japanese.