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Memorial Service for Deceased - Urabon
Since the early days of Buddhism, the Urabon Ceremony is a time set aside for people to pray for the
peace and happiness of the deceased. "Ura" (Sansksrit: ullam) of Urabon means "the agony of being hung
upside down." It is a metaphor for the suffering of starvation and thirst one undergoes in the world of
hunger. The misery of the life-condition of hunger is likened to being hung upside down. When one is hung
upside down, it is impossible to help oneself. One's thirst cannot be quenched and one's horrible frustration
is never completely satisfied in this position. "Bon" (Sanskrit: bana) means a tray or vessel of food to ease
the pain of suffering. In other words, Urabon is the ceremony for those who can
no longer help themselves, but who can be assistance by a priest, who makes an
offering to the Buddha on their behalf to relieve their suffering.
The traditional dates for observing the Urabon Ceremony are July 15 and August 15. In Nichiren
Shoshu, we offer daily prayers for the deceased during the fifth prayer of Gongyo. Thus in a sense, we are
performing a daily memorial service for those who have passed on. It is very significant, however, that we
also observe the Urabon Ceremony.
The origin of this ceremony is found in the Sutra of the Festival of the
Dead. This sutra tells about the experience of Maudgalyayana (Japanese: Mokuren), one of Shakyamuni's
major disciples. Among Shakyamuni's ten major disciples, he was known as the one foremost in occult
power. According to this story, Maudgalyayana's mother died when he was very young, and he regretted
that he had not shown greater devotion to her while she was alive.
Maudgalyayana
wondered about his deceased mother's state. Using the occult power he had gained
from his austere Buddhist practice, he searched the entire universe for her. To
his astonishment, he found her in the world of hunger. This was the effect of
having failed to give the Buddha an offering
while she was alive. Therefore, she was in total agony. Maudgalyayana immediately tried to use his occult
power to send her food. Each time he did, the food changed into flames as soon as she put it in her mouth.
More concerned, he sent her water to put out the flames. But the water immediately turned to oil so
that the flames only blazed more furiously. As a result, his mother now totally on fire, suffered even more
than before. She could only cry for help.
Maudgalyayana then realized that, even with occult powers, he could do nothing to help her. He
went to see Shakyamuni Buddha for guidance. Shakyamuni gently said:
Maudgalyayana, if you always do good, you will be able to receive benefits from your deeds.
But if you sow the seed of evil, you will harvest evil grain. Your mother was blinded by her
selfish interest in the past. She was not aware of how great it is to benefit others.
Unfortunately, she is still dominated by her selfish interest and will have to continue to suffer. This is the
concept of the law of causality, of karmic retribution. The most important thing for your mother is that first
you attain enlightenment in accordance with the correct teaching of the Buddha. If you do so, your mother's
greedy nature will also be transformed. In any case, however, on July 15 of this year, invite priests from the
ten directions and sincerely offer abundant food and drink to them. By doing so, you will save your mother
from the incessant hell of hunger.
Maudgalyayana faithfully followed Shakyamuni's guidance. Through his offerings to the priests on July 15,
Maudgalyayana relieved the sufferings of his mother for one kalpa, an immeasurably long, yet limited
period of time. He was delighted with this accomplishment and asked Shakyamuni how he could help others
benefit not only their deceased parents but seven generations into the past. Shakyamuni replied that they
should carry out this Buddhist ceremony for the deceased each year. This is the origin of the Urabon
Ceremony.
When we participate in this, there are some important points to remember. Maudgalyayana could not save
his mother through his occult powers because they were based upon Hinayana Buddhism (literally, the
"lesser vehicle"). He could only help her by following the Buddha's guidance to make sincere offerings to
the priests whose prayers were based upon the Lotus Sutra. Even so, Maudgalyayana succeeded in
relieving her sufferings for only one kalpa, not for eternity. Further, Shakyamuni told Maudgalyayana that
he must first attain enlightenment through the correct teachings, and then his mother's enlightenment would
be guaranteed. In the Urabon Gosho, Nichiren Daishonin writes:
Maudgalyayana's deceased parents live on in him. When Maudgalyayana's life attains
Buddhahood, so will the lives of his parents. (Shinpen, p. 1376)
Eventually, Maudgalyayana did practice the supreme teaching of the Lotus Sutra and, as the Buddha
Tamalapattra or "Sandalwood Fragrance" (Japanese: Tamaraba Sendanko), his supreme enlightenment
enabled both his parents to attain enlightenment.
Now, however, in the Latter Day of the Law, the Lotus Sutra that Maudgalyayana practiced to help
his mother is of no use. He practiced the teachings of Shakyamuni's "Buddhism of the Harvest" a transient
teaching that benefited only those who enjoyed a past bond with Shakyamuni Buddha. If we practice these
transient teachings, we cannot help ourselves or our deceased relatives. It might even harm the deceased
in the same way Maudgalyayana's well-meaning occult practice further tortured his mother.
By
contrast, the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law is the Gohonzon,
inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha. Only the Gohonzon of
Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo enables all human beings in the Latter Day of the Law to
attain enlightenment. Anyone who chants Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon and
fuses his life to it through correct practice can attain Buddhahood. One of the
benefits of enlightenment is that it can be shared with others, including our deceased relatives, with
whom we share a karmic bond.
We must understand, however, that the spirit and purpose
of this ceremony go beyond simple remembrance of the deceased. It recognizes the
eternally profound meaning of life and death in the light of
Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. This we do not only for those who remain among the living,
including ourselves, but also for the sake of those who have passed on and those
who are yet to come. We can then validate the truth of Nichiren Daishonin's
teachings and, through propagation, begin to relieve the suffering of those who
needlessly grieve because they do not understand that, even in the face of
apparent death, life is eternal.
The most important factor for our practice is to
attain enlightenment through our practice to the Gohonzon, so as to remove the delusions afflicting us in
the Latter Day of the Law. At the same time, since no single part of the universe is separate from
the rest, Buddhism teaches that we must help the insentient world achieve
enlightenment, also. Last, but not least, we send the benefits of enlightenment
to the deceased to ease their present suffering and ensure that they will be reborn in a higher life condition. This is the significance of the Urabon
Ceremony.
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