Showing posts with label dead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dead. Show all posts

Friday, 11 July 2014

Obon means ghosts and remembering the dead

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Japanese-city.com; NHBT

I went into the sanctuary and could feel the ancestors around me (rpv-team/flickr).

What is Obon?
Animist, Buddhist, Pagan, and Catholic Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles may have the Day of the Dead (just after all ironic, nominal Christians celebrate Halloween).

But Japanese Buddhist and Shinto practitioners have much the same thing in this month's Obon Festival, which is being celebrated concurrently with the unrelated Lotus Festival and commencement of the annual Rains Retreat just a few miles apart.

Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives.
 
Traditionally, lanterns are hung in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, Obon dances (bon odori) are performed, graves are visited, and food offerings are made at house altars and temples. 
 
At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to guide the spirits back into their world. The customs followed vary strongly from region to region.

Obon is observed from the 13th to the 15th day of the 7th month of the year, which is July according to the solar calendar. However, since the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Obon is still observed in mid August in many regions of Japan, while it is observed in mid July in other regions. 
 
The Obon week in mid August is one of Japan's three major holiday seasons, accompanied by intensive domestic and international travel activities and increased accommodation rates. In recent years, travel activity in mid August.
  • Event Location: Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
  • 815 First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
  • Obon Festival + Bon Odori Schedule: http://bit.ly/bLkTf
Japanese Obon Festival and Bon Odori Schedule
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    Saturday, 9 November 2013

    ZCLA: Field trip to Zen Center Los Angeles

    The Los Angeles/Mexican Day of the Dead/Japanese Obon Festival, ZCLA, 2012 (filmed and edited by Nicholas Tana and Denise Acosta, posted Oct. 29, 2013).

    ZCLA
    PasaDharma Zen sitting group will carpool from Pasadena (Del Mar at Hudson) at 7:45 am, Nov. 10, 2013, to the Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA, 923 South Normandie Ave., 90006-1301) in the Miracle Mile district just west of downtown to see the British-born Abbot Charles Tenshin Fletcher Roshi (Yokoji Zen Mountain Center, California).
    • 8:30-9:00: Chanting "The Gate of Sweet Nectar" (please bring canned food offerings for hungry ghosts and to benefit needy families in the area)
    • 9:00-9:35: Zazen (silent seated meditation)
    • 9:35-10:20: Kinhin (walking meditation)
    • 10:45-12:00: Dharma Talk by Roshi Fletcher
    • 12:15-12:45: Snack (usually bagels and locks)
    ZMC
    Drive or carpool. Wear dark, loose, comfortable clothing free of distracting colors or logos. Please refrain from wearing excessive perfume, cologne, or jewelry. FREE. No fee for participating but donations to the center are accepted.

    (ZMC.org) Year-round Zen Buddhist training center located in SoCal mountains east of LA

    Tenshin Roshi (zmc.org)
    Zen Center Los Angeles (ZCLA), Buddha Essence Temple, founded 1967 by Taizan Maezumi Roshi, has provided teachings and the opportunity to practice Japanese-style Soto Zen Buddhism in an American context for all who come through the temple's (gateless) gate. The mission of the institution is to know the self, maintain the precepts, and serve others by providing the teaching, training, and transmission of Zen Buddhism with a vision of an enlightened world in which suffering is transcended, all beings live in harmony, everyone has enough, deep wisdom is realized, and compassion flows unhindered. ZCLA honors and actively welcomes diversity with regard to religion, race, gender, age, mental ability, physical ability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. ZCLA programs include introductory classes, sesshin (sitting intensives), workshops, training periods, and face to face meetings (dokusan, interviews) with Abbot Wendy Egyoku Nakao and other center teachers. Zazen and koan training in the Maezumi-(Bernie) Glassman lineage is practiced.

    (ZMC.org) Short film: "Yokoji Zen Mountain Center" day-to-day life prior to the forest fire and flooding at Yokoji ZMC in the San Jacinto Mountains, Southern California.
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    Wednesday, 6 November 2013

    "Heavenly Bodies" - Catholic relics

    Pat Macpherson, Xochitl, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly
    (Thamesandhudson.com) Q&A with LA-based art historian Dr. Koudounaris, expert and author on European ossuaries and charnel houses for both academic and popular journals. Now he is bringing these saints out of the darkness for the first time.
     
    Dr. Paul Koudounaris* signed Heavenly Bodies earlier this month at La Luz de Jesus art gallery. Koudounaris gained unprecedented access to the relics of Catholic "catacomb saints," a rare set of historical artifacts. They were hidden for over a century because Western attitudes toward the worship of holy relics and death itself changed. Some of the ornamented skeletons appear in publication in his book for the first time (105 illustrations, 90 in color). Where did they come from? 
     
    Pope and boy (TIME)
    The 17th- and 18th-century jeweled skeletons photographed for Heavenly Bodies are the finest works of art in bone ever created -- with the exception of Tibetan bone works in Nepalese lamaseries. Unlike the anonymous bone piles photographed for The Empire of Death, these holy skeletons are meant to have distinct identities -- as magnificently glorified holy people. In each case, constructing them from skulls, femurs, ribs, jewels, gold, and silver creating a kind of personality. Sometimes these skeletons are touching and poignant, sometimes bizarre and surreal, even grotesque.
    *Dr. Koudounaris explains: “The closest I can come to bringing the actual Heavenly Bodies to my viewers and readers is this photo show, which presents them in up to live-sized reproductions. This show also provides me with another opportunity: a chance to cull my own personal favorites from among the thousands of photos I took. These are not always the same images shown in the book; rather, it is my own personal selection of what I consider the finest and most expressive decorated skeletons.”
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    Saturday, 2 November 2013

    Mara and the "Day of the Dead" (sutra)

    Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Irma Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly based Ven. Thanissaro (trans.),  Marapasa Sutta, "Death's Influence" (SN 35.115)
    Sugar candy skulls (calaveras) characteristic of Day of the Dead celebrations (ALC)
    Mara, the personification of death and defilements (Dia de los Muertos, Los Angeles 2007)
     
    Drama Queen Gaga (latestwallpapers.net)
    "Meditators, there are forms cognizable by the eye -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire. If one relishes them, welcomes them, and remains clinging to them, one is said to be fettered by forms cognizable by the eye.

    "One has gone over to Mara's camp [the place of death and defilements; one has fallen under Mara's [the Killer's] influence. The 'Evil One' [Namuci] can do with one as he wills.
     
    Demon in Taoism (asiaobcura.com)
    "There are sounds cognizable by the ear... There are fragrances cognizable by the nose... There are flavors cognizable by the tongue... There are tactile sensations cognizable by the body...
     
    "There are ideas cognizable by the mind -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire. If one relishes them, welcomes them, and remains clinging to them, one is said to be fettered by ideas cognizable by the mind. One has gone over to Mara's camp; one has fallen under Mara's influence. The 'Evil One' can do with one as he wills.
     
    We really die. Deceased Nazi soldier in advanced stage of decomposition (Jesse Davis)
     
    Escaping death
    Buddha, Likir Gompa (Fulvio/Ifphotos/flickr)
    "Now [as has just been said], there are forms cognizable by the eye -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire.

    "But if one abandons relishing them, welcoming them, or clinging to them, one is said to be freed from forms cognizable by the eye.

    "One has avoided Mara's camp; one has avoided falling under Mara's influence.
     
     "The 'Evil One' is helpless to do with one as he wills.
     
    "There are sounds cognizable by the ear... fragrances cognizable by the nose... flavors cognizable by the tongue... tactile sensations cognizable by the body... There are ideas cognizable by the mind -- enticing, agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, giving rise to desire.
     
    "If one abandons relishing them, welcoming them, or clinging to them, one is said to be freed of ideas cognizable by the mind. One has avoided Mara's camp; one has avoided falling under Mara's influence.

    "The 'Evil One' is helpless to do with one as he wills."

    10 Defilements
    Kilesas from Abhidharma and Path of Purification
    1. Greed
    2. Hate
    3. Delusion
    4. Conceit
    5. Wrong views
    6. Doubt
    7. Torpor 
    8. Restlessness
    9. Shamelessness 
    10. Recklessness
    Mara's Army
    Ven. Nyanamoli (trans), Life of the Buddha, p. 20 (Sutta Nipata III, 2).
    Yama: Lord of Death
    Mara, your first squadron is Sensual-Desires, your second is called Boredom, then Hunger and Thirst compose the third, and Craving is the fourth in rank, the fifth is Sloth and Torpor, while Cowardice lines up as sixth, Uncertainty is seventh, the eighth is Malice paired with Obstinacy; Gain, Honor, and Renown, besides, and ill-won Notoriety, Self-Praise and Denigrating Others -- these are your squadrons, Namuci; these are the Evil One's fighting squadrons; none but the brave will conquer them to gain bliss by the victory [nirvana].
    What is "Mara"?
    Prof. Ananda W.P. Guruge, The Buddha's Encounters with Mara the Tempter: Their Representation in Literature and Art (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)
    Mexico: skulls celebrating the festival Day of the Dead (diarioelamanecer.com)
     
    In the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G.P. Malalasekera explains: Mara in the commentarial literature becomes much more than a living individual:
    1. "Mention is made of five maras: Khandha-mara [Five Aggregates], Kilesa-mara [defilements], Abhisankhara-mara [karmic constructions], Maccu-mara [Death], and Devaputta-mara [a young deity]. Elsewhere Mara is spoken of as one, three, or four."
    2. "The term Mara, in the older books, is applied to the whole of worldly existence, the Five Aggregates, or the realm of rebirth, as opposed to nirvana."
    3. Commentaries speaking of three maras specify them as Devaputta-mara, Maccu-mara, and Kilesa-mara. When four maras are referred to, they appear to be the five maras mentioned in (i) above minus Devaputta Mara.
    Malalasekera proceeds to attempt "a theory of Mara in Buddhism," which he formulates in the following manner:
     
    "The commonest use of the word was evidently in the sense of Death. From this it was extended to mean 'the world under the sway of death' (also called Maradheyya, e.g. AN IV 228) and the beings therein. Then, the defilements (kilesas) also came to be called Mara in that they were instruments of Death, the causes enabling Death to hold sway over the world. All temptations brought about by the defilements were likewise regarded as the work of Death. There was also evidently a legend of a deva [devaputta, literally "son or offspring of the devas"] of the Vasavatti World called Mara, who considered himself the head of the Kama-vacara world [the Sensual Sphere] and who recognized any attempt to curb the enjoyment of sensual pleasures as a direct challenge to himself and to his authority. As time went on these different conceptions of the word became confused one with the other, but this confusion is not always difficult to unravel." More

    "Day of the Dead"
    Skull face (festivalearth.com)
    DEFINITION: The Day of the Dead is a holiday is a time of family gatherings with friends to remember and pray for friends and family members who have passed. It is celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere. The celebration takes place on October 31st and November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Christian triduum of Hallowmas: All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Activities include building private altars called "offerings" (ofrendas) honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Celebrants also leave possessions of the deceased. Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. More

    El Dia de los Muertos
    Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Irma Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly
    Dia de Los Muertos skull sugar candy for the dead (paintersoflouisville.com)
     
    Tutorial (fromdahliastodoxies)
    The USA is eagerly embracing a second Mexican holiday tradition in addition to Cinco de Mayo -- the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos.
     
    This is an ancient practice predating Spanish invasion and conquest, European hegemony, and Catholic domination. The practice, in fact, exists around the world.
     
    Everywhere people remember those who have passed and attempt to help them along in the afterlife. This was the main focus of Egyptian religion and even prehistoric practices, judging by funereal evidence at archeological sites. Why else are the dearly departed dressed, prepared, and buried with valuable object of use only to living beings? Belief in rebirth is the norm -- even if one merely believes in one more life in only one of two planes as is promulgated by Christians.
     
    (individualreisen-mexiko.de)
    Somehow everyone seems to know that "the veil is thin" between the worlds. Ghosts (a catchall for all the shapeshifting oddities of the unfortunate spirit world, the apaya or downfall) are easier to perceive. Hellions (narakas) may get out for a day, not from the lowest worlds of torment perhaps but from the less oppressive levels of "hell."
     
    Creatures, ghouls, goblins, poltergeists, banshees, phantoms, spectres, shadows, ghosts (petas) are all about under ordinary circumstances, their world not being so far off but just a frequency away. The worlds intermingle, laying atop one another, at differing vibrational rates. Mexico is not alone in celebrating and honoring "the ancestors" (los muertos, "the dead" central to the holiday).
     
    Pagan or Catholic?
    We rule countries after invasion!
    But in Catholic and Mayan/Aztec-influenced Mexico as well as adjacent Southern California, large communities go en masse to cemeteries to refresh flowers, bring supplies (candy, alcohol, tobacco, etc.), and remember or reestablish connections with departed loved ones.

    Catholicism (and other forms of Christianity like Protestantism, Eastern Orthodox, etc.), with its replacement observances, often usurped ancient holidays and co-oped them to its own ends. Christianity was a Roman psychological operation, one of the most successful propaganda campaigns the world has ever seen. But not all people neglect the indigenous origins of the appropriated celebrations in spite of the imperial killers.

    When Roman psy-ops rule the world
    As for the dead, there are the "grateful dead," who appreciate a favor or a last wish being fulfilled for them. These are ghosts who do not linger but move on to be reborn in proper (rather than intermediary) planes of existence.
     
    A few troublesome or restless spirits are laid to rest and encouraged to move along according to their karma. Who are our "ancestors," our departed "relatives"? The Buddha said that they consist of those extended family members going back seven generations, quite a coincidence since Native American peoples believe the same thing.
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    Monday, 28 October 2013

    "The Ghost Stories" (Petavatthu)

    Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Abbot Karunananda (Bodhi Vihara), Wisdom Quarterly; G.P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names  (Pali Text Society)
    The "Brown Lady" ghost seen manifesting as ecstoplasm on the staircase (answers.com)
     
    Seance, circa 1920 (C2C)
    PETA VATTHU: The seventh book of the Khuddaka Nikāya (The Miscellany) consists of stories of persons born in the peta (preta, ghost) world owing to karma manifesting as various misdeeds motivated by greed, aversion, and/or delusion.
     
    Dhammapāla wrote on it a commentary called the Peta-vatthu-vannanā, or Petavatthu Atthakathā, which forms part of the Vimalavīlāsinī (GV.60), the commentary on the Vimāna Vatthu, which describes the splendor of various space abodes belonging to different devas, obtained by them as a result of meritorious karma performed in previous lives.
     
    The Realm of Hungry Ghosts (peta loka)
    The arhat Mahinda -- the son of the Indian Buddhist emperor Asoka, who together with his enlightened sister Sanghamitta traveled south as missionaries to Sri Lanka with a cutting from the original Bodhi tree the Buddha gained enlightenment under, which is the oldest documented tree in the world and the progenitor of most bodhi trees (Ficus religiosa, sacred fig or pipal) in Buddhist temples today -- preached the Peta Vatthu to Anulā and her companions on the day of his arrival in Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka (according to the island's own history, the Mahavamsa or "Great Chronicle" (Mhv.xiv.58).
     

    What is a peta (Sanskrit preta)? Dr. Gabor Mate, the Canadian drug and addiction specialist, explains that it is a "hungry ghost." This refers to a poltergeist, a German term for a restless, unquiet, or "unclean" spirit, a banshee, a howler, a disturbance.

    There are countless worlds. The Buddha categorized them into 31 general planes of existence. Their diversity is unimaginable. Consider, for example, the Animal Realm (tiracchana), which includes lazy tigers and hungry termites, slimy amoeba and my puppy Rocky, and more than a million other kinds of sentient beings. Such is karma that it leads to this specificity in impersonally doling out results.

    Stories?
    (spiritualia.be)
    The ancient Buddhist book that follows the Vimana-vatthu is the Peta-vatthu. It contains stories of beings in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, which is in this world but mostly goes unseen. Once when the Buddha's male disciple "foremost in psychic powers," corresponding to the chief female disciple with the same designation (Ven. Uppalavanna), Maha Moggallana surveys an area to find how the hungry ghosts there were reborn into that realm. One passage states, "This woman ate meat and deceived with a lying word" (Petavatthu 3.4). 
     
    In another passage, a hunter kills deer and shares the meat with children every time he arrives back in town. In spite of his generosity, which when it comes to fruition will lead to fortunate and welcome results, the hunter is reborn as a hungry ghost because of murder -- killing of deer and butchering and distributing flesh (Petavatthu 3.1). 

    Ghost of Borobudur (Winterlicht/flickr.com)
    This happens not because killing animals leads merely to rebirth as a ghost -- it generally leads to far worse -- but because destination depends on when karma ripens. If it should ripen right at the moment of death/rebirth during what is technically called the "rebirth linking consciousness," it is a course of conduct that can lead to a miserable plane of existence, a world of torment far worse than the moderate "plane of deprivation" (apaya) ghosts exist on. The book also contains verses showing that the Buddha was offered vegetarian foods gathered and given out of compassion. Does this mean eating flesh (Dhamma Wheel) thereby causing and encouraging the captivity, cruelty toward, and killing of animals is unwholesome, unskillful behavior? Who can say?

    What leads to rebirth in this miserable destination among ghosts? Missing the mark of upholding The Five Precepts:
    1. to abstain from taking the lives of living beings or encouraging others to harm,
    2. to abstain from taking what is not given or encouraging others to steal,
    3. to abstain from sexual misconduct or encouraging others to violate this precept (which Wisdom Quarterly spells out elsewhere from the sutras as having sex with people who are off limits and not as being what we might imagine in our guilt-ridden Christian-Catholic-Jewish context but rather, more generally, as harming others motivated by our sensual lust),
    4. to abstain from false speech (perjury, slander, harshness, babble) or encouraging others to speak falsely,
    5. to abstain from intoxicants that lead one to violate these precepts or encouraging others to become intoxicated occasioning heedlessness.
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