Hello,
I hope everyone is having a great summer. This Sunday a friend who is
also a member here on SHQ dragged me out of the monotony of my daily
life to attend Obon (Bon) at
http://www.nishihongwanji-la.org/.
You can get a general idea of Bon from reading this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obon
People who are familiar with the Day of the Dead or the Chinese feast
for ghosts will find a similar sentiment in Bon.
Here is a collage of a few photos we took:
http://1happyturtle.com/Hosting/collage.jpg
(can you find a familiar kamon, family crest?)
The temple has been part of the Japanese-American community in LA for
many decades. I found some of the innovations inside the table to be
very fascinating! Notice the pews in the main worship hall. The
apsaras or devadas (heavenly beings/maidens) which are part of the
ornamentation above the main alter have wings which make them look
like cherubs or western angels, whereas in traditional Japanese (or
generally E. Asian art) they would never have birdlike wings.
During the service for the souls of the deceased, the reverend
presiding over the ceremony emphasized how at one point, many
generations back we were all relatives of one another and therefore we
are still presently connected.
Like other Bon ceremonies everyone was asked to dance in a circle.
The center is also the central axis in which the lanterns with the
names of the deceased written on them are united. The dancers move
around the axis to the tune of various music however I noted that the
first dance resembled the movements of a fish. People press their
hands together in front of them and assume the swimming gesture as if
to swim through the sea/river of life around a center.
The symbolism may be connected with the movement of people through a
mandala to reach the center, which is also related to Buddhist
cosmology where the center is Mt. Meru which is also the object people
circumambulate (Buddhists are big on circumambulating temples,
stupas/chedis etc). Unlike the living, the dead can traverse from the
center to the outermost realms as they "hang" above us (the lanterns).
I was really happy, if not completely shocked to meet this individual
who shares an interest in Fujita-sama. We both prayed for his
happiness at this ceremony and hoped that his comrades are also at
rest. It was really great to be able to make a small contribution to
the temple on behalf of these long dead figures who have become
outstanding teachers to us not only in studying history but other
aspects of our lives too.
Changing topics, the upcoming Shinsengumi e-book written by and for
fans or the general public will be completed on a laptop contributed
by this person. I also learned that fellow Shinsengumi enthusiasts
will also feed another (thank you, you saw through my lie about being
on a diet and all that).
Here is a pic of the donated laptop and router (it's on the floor due
to some reorganizing I had to do):
http://1happyturtle.com/KCCat/CatandLaptop.jpg
The cat has inspected it and certified that it is safe to use after
sleeping and "guarding" over it for a day now.
So it looks like we have to get moving on that first draft!
Take care everybody,
secretarytocapt3