The midsummer Buddhist holiday the Obon Festival & Bazaar is scheduled for 4 to 10 p.m. July 15 and noon to 9 p.m. July 16 at the Mtn. View Buddhist Temple, 575 North Shoreline Blvd., across from the Safeway Bailey Park Shopping Center.
Although often viewed as a Japanese cultural festival, Obon is actually a deeply religious tradition.
“Obon is a time to honor those who have passed on before us, appreciate all that they have done for us and recognize the continuing influence of their deeds on our lives,” said the Rev. Dean Koyama. “Obon is a time for self-reflection, an important Buddhist practice, for it is only when we become aware of our imperfections and insufficiency, and think of others that we are able to fully appreciate a deeper meaning of life.”
The annual Kangi-e Obon Service and the First Obon Memorial Service called Hatsubon will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday. This service is important to those who have lost a loved one since the last Obon.
Admission and parking for the festival are free. There will be games, cultural exhibits and Japanese and Western foods, such as tempura, beef and chicken teriyaki, udon, yaki manju (grilled bean-jam bun), chicken salad, corndog, French fries, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake.
The Temple Taiko group will entertain at 4:20 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
From 1-3 p.m. Sunday there will be hands-on activities for children, including hachi-maki headbands and sushi magnets, calligraphy names, origami, face painting, shamisen and Japanese songs, balloon art, taiko and, at 2 p.m., a children’s flower-arranging demonstration.
Also Sunday, Koyama will conduct a special “Obon Dance Service” at 6:30 p.m. in the temple. Immediately after the service, at 7 p.m., the coordinator, Richard Fujikawa, will lead the Bon Odori folk dancers to the yagura dance area and dance to the music of the Chidori Band, led by Shigeru Tashiro.
Community guests are welcome to join in.
For more information on the Obon festival, call the temple office at 964-9426 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you have any questions please contact
Margaret Abe at:
650) 814-7680 or 650) 941-9466
*The following is the story about the “Obon” by Rev. Dean Koyama. Thought that if you have room, you may want to include this. A few sentences are used in my “press release.”
OBON
Although Often looked upon as a Japanese Cultural Festival, Obon is actually a deeply religious tradition. The origins of Obon can be traced to the Ullambana Sutra. ‘Ulla’ literally means “to hand upside down.” If we look at the world while hanging upside down, we are not seeing things as they truly are. We have an inverted view of the world and because of this, Ulla refers to the unbearable suffering that one has to bear, whether mentally, spiritually or physically, when being hung upside down. ‘Bana’ refers to a bowl. In ancient India, monks used bowls to beg for food as part of their religious practice to deflate one’s ego and pride. It also was used to help signify that one’s existence is dependent upon an infinite number of lives. Thus the bowl symbolizes salvation. Combined, the word ‘Ullambana’ can
then mean to rescue those who are suffering because they hang upside down.
In this sutra, Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, tells the story of one of his most gifted disciples, Mogallana who was most talented in the area of meditation. Most people today look at meditation as a source of peace of mind and happiness. In Buddhism, meditation is looked upon as the method of attaining wisdom and spiritual powers. In certain traditions a skilled mediator can gain supernormal powers such as the ability to see past lives and know the future.
One day, Mogallana used his extraordinary psychic powers and
discovered that his deceased mother was suffering the realm of
hungry ghosts. The realm of Hungry Ghost represents the sufferings due to greed and cravings. In this realm, all the inhabitants have large wide mouths and tiny narrow throats. Their arms are short and stubby and do not even reach to the level of their mouths thus making it nearly impossible for them to eat any food. Thus they are constantly hungry and craving anything to eat or drink. Mogallana was moved with his great compassionate heart and again using his extraordinary powers he filled a bowl with rice and food for his mother to eat. The first thing his mother did upon receiving the bowl was to use her left hand to hide the bowl so that all the other hungry ghosts did not know she had it and therefore she wouldn’t have to share it with anyone else. However, just as she was about to put the food to her mouth, it suddenly burst into flames leaving only charcoal ashes. Finding himself helpless, Mogallana ran to seek advice from the Buddha.
Upon finding the Buddha, Mogallana explained about the situation of his mother. “Why is she in such torment and suffering?” asked Mogallana. The Buddha explained that although his mother appeared to be kind, generous and devoted to her child, in reality she did so forsaking all other people who needed help. As a result, she had to pay for the consequences of her past actions by suffering in the realm of the hungry ghosts. Mogallana then asked, how can he help end the sufferings for his mother.
The Buddha told him that it would be impossible to save his mother by himself for her offenses were very great and serious. However, with the combined help of all beings, it would be possible to help
his mother. He was told to make offerings in a bowl containing rice, fruit, and other delicacies to the monks finishing their retreat on the 15th day of the 7th month. After doing so, his mother was immediately
freed from her suffering as well as 7 generations of ancestors.
Mogallana was so very grateful to the Buddha that he clapped his hands and danced for joy. This is said to be the beginning of Obon.
This tale was transmitted into China and was combined with Taoist and Confucian influence, especially that of filial piety. Later it was carried into Japan and was combined with the custom of welcoming and sending off lanterns that were lit for the spirits of ones ancestors. It seems that it is this last custom that Obon is particularly associated with.
In our Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition, we do not look upon Obon as the time when the “souls” of our ancestors return, and that the services, offerings, dancing, and lanterns are for the benefit of one’s dead relatives. However, in actuality, our ancestors, parents and loved ones have never left. In this story, it is through the actions of Mogallana that he has liberated his mother from the realm of suffering. But according to our Shin Buddhist understanding, it is rather that our ancestors in reality are liberating us from our sufferings through their love and compassion in life. Obon is a time to remember and honor all those who have passed on before us, appreciated all that they have done for us, and recognize the continuation of their deeds upon our lives. In other words, Obon is a time for self-reflection, an important Buddhist practice, for it is only when we become aware of our imperfections and insufficiency, and think of others instead of our ego-pride-filled selves that we are able to fully appreciate a deeper meaning of Life. It allows us this opportunity to realize and awaken to the true nature and ultimate potential of our lives.
