Obon: From upside down to right-side up



Bon Dancers (Photo by MASA)

The Japanese word, Obon (aka Bon), is derived from the Sanskrit word,  Ullambana.  Whereas “Ullambana” means “to hang upside down,” its implications have become more spiritual than literal.

According to the Shingon Buddhist International Institute, the word “Ullambana” implies “the unbearable suffering that one has to bear, whether physical or spiritual, when being hung upside down.”  According to the Urabon Sutra, hell is very real.  It is defined as “the suffering of the three evil paths,” which includes burning by fire, preying upon the weak, and inflicting wounds with swords.  Paradise, on the other hand, is exemplified by the compassion of

Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciple, Mokuren Sonja.

Mokuren Sonja was known for his supernatural powers.  When he used these to see how his deceased mother was faring, he discovered that she was suffering in the realm of Hungry Ghosts – a realm where previously jealous or greedy people are doomed to experience insatiable hunger or thirst (often for something detestable).  Determined to help her, Mokuren Sonja turned to Buddha for guidance.  Shakyamuni instructed him to make offerings to numerous priests.  Buddha’s great disciple did this, and his mother was then released from this hellish realm.

The underlying meaning of Obon is therefore threefold.  It encompasses devotion to ancestors, knowledge of the afterlife, and generosity to spiritual practitioners.  It is believed that during the Japanese Obon festival (which traditionally takes place in the middle of the seventh lunar month), the “ancestors’ spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their families during Obon and pray…”  Shizuko Mishima reports that Obon is therefore “an important family gathering time, and many people return to their hometowns.”  It is therefore also a “peak travel time” during which major hubs are “jammed with travelers.”

During all this coming and going, it is especially important to recall that Buddha’s wisdom and compassion both awakened within stillness.  The strength to turn from upside down to right-side up emerges from that deep well of holy meditation.

Resources

http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/obonfestival.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preta

http://www.taleofgenji.org/shakyamuni.html

Copyright August 13, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved