Namu Amida Butsu

Every year around this time, I accompany my in-laws to their annual obon festival service, wherein Buddhists pay their respects to their ancestors … in my in-laws’ case, the wife’s father and grandfather. We went last night.

The ceremony is somewhat formulaic: It begins with an introductory address, followed by prayer, then chanting, at which time each family member offers incense to the departed. There is a certain order to this. My mother-in-law, being the oldest, goes first, followed by her eldest son.

He in turn is followed by his younger brother, then his brother’s wife, then his brother’s son. My wife, being the youngest of three children and a woman, goes last, followed by her family (me, my eldest son, and if he’s here, his younger brother). It’s kind of like oldest first, with the protocol being males first.

The incense offering is followed by a prayer, then an address by the bonsan (priest), then the Nembutsu.

The practice of obon began more than five centuries ago, and (in Hawaii, at least) includes a bon odori, or dance by dozens of participants.

I rather enjoy attending the services, as I learn something every time I go – customs, traditions, respect for one’s elders, and this year,  how everybody is connected, which fits in nicely with some of the programs I’ve been seeing on the Science Channel, re life and cosmic matter.

Being a Christian, I don’t participate fully. For example, although I fold my hands palms together, I do not bow my head. Instead, I focus on something in the shrine and talk to my father (who was raised a Buddhist but converted during World War II), my grandmother (who was a lifelong Buddhist), and my father-in-law (also a Buddhist).

I think both my God and Buddha would understand.

Each year, there’s something I take away, some saying or observation that makes sense of my life. Last night’s bonsan talked about connectivity and how even the smallest of contacts can affect one’s life: “The simple brushing of sleeves when strangers pass each other leads to a connection between the two.”

The ceremony ends with the recitation of the Nembutsu with three words repeated many times: Namu Amida Butsu (roughly translated, “Absolute reliance on the compassion of Amida Buddha.”)

Namu Amida Butsu.