All times in this Newsletter are Rome time zone
PREPARE FOR OBON
This year Global Sangha will celebrate the Day of Obon on Saturday 5th August. There will be early nembutsu chanting as usual at 06:30 & some events online during the day. Those who are at Eleusis can join in in-person with nembutsu; chanting; readings; meditation; offerings to the ancestors and
spirits; odori dancing and other celebratory activities. Those who are at home can celebrate in your own way. More information will follow in the next Newsletter.
Obon is a time to celebrate family and remember ancestors. Ancestors include our physical forebears (parents, grand parents, great grandparents and so on), spiritual ancestors (Shakyamuni, Shan Tao, Honen Shonin, and all great saints, especially, but not limited to, our own tradition) & also lost spirits (gaki: those who have no descendants to remember them or who are caught in the realm of hungry ghosts for whatever reason). It is a joyful occasion for revering the ancestors, welcoming and feeding the lost souls and celebrating family and friendship.
In Japan, Obon is celebrated over several days in mid-summer at slightly different dates in different parts of the country.
In preparation you can, if you wish,
(1) Set up an altar for the ancestors in your house with representation of Buddha & Dharma, and place on it mementos such as photographs of ancestors and offerings (incense, water, candles, food items, flowers, etc). Many people include a figure of Quan Shi Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion. You can make the altar in your own way.
(2) Make stele. A stele is a piece of wood on which is written the name of a person to be remembered. It is best if the stele are made so that they can stand on end, so might have a flat bottom at one end, or a small base. In the home, stele can be about a foot high (one third of a meter), but smaller or larger as suits your space. In a temple they can be bigger, on a small home altar, smaller. The stele are placed on the ancestor altar for Obon and at other times the stele can be placed on a main altar on the memorial day of the person..
(3) Make a spirit house in your garden to welcome the lost spirits. This should be distant from any other Buddha figure in your garden as the spirits are wary of coming too close. It can be big or small depending on what space and materials you have (as small as a nesting box or as big as a tent). Use your imagination. The idea is to make the spirits welcome.
(4)
Research Obon, including Obon Odori (dancing) on the internet.
BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY SEMINARS
This Saturday, for enrolled and prospective students. Codes separately circulated.
BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY ONLINE
If you are interested in learning about or studying Buddhist Psychology or are seeking Buddhist based therapy, you may like to join the BP site. Optionally, this can also be a first step toward joining the BP Diploma programme at a future date.
https://buddhistpsychology.ning.comPERSONAL NEWS
Sunshine and storms. Typical summer weather here. It gets hot, then hotter, then eventually it breaks, clouds roll in, thunder growls and roars, lightning flashes and then the rain tumbles down. For a couple of days there is no need to water the garden. Then the heat starts all over again, sometimes, three days, sometimes a week. As summer mounts the hot periods get longer and longer.
The grounds around the house are looking particularly good at the moment. Some big areas of grass have been cut and some of the bramble cleared. It is now possible to sit in the shade on both sides of the house. On Monday it was so hot I worked in the forest where there is some shade, but still came back to the house repeatedly for re-hydration.
I'm reading a novel in French at the moment which is stretching my vocabulary considerably. I've also been reading Freud's book on Jokes in Relation to the Unconscious. It is by no means his best opus, but it does have some interesting ideas, especially about the similarity of jokes and dreams. Dreams are not always so serious
- DB