Obon grief celebrations 2008
in [Grief]
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From: Daniel on 1 Aug 2008 11:07 Obon is a social institution that openly "celebrates" (if you will allow me to use that term) grief. It is a time of honoring and remembering departed friends and family. I find this interesting because Western culture seems to want to forget about death. We're all about youth and wealth and health. Oh, we have our "Remembrance Day" or "Memorial Day", but we have no tradition of the social working-out of "good grief" through customs or rituals. (The "dia de los muertos" or "day of the dead" around All Souls Day in Mexico might be close.) The reason for this post is not to push or bash any religion, but to point out that in some places, some aspects of grief are less isolated and more public than they are for most of us. Most of us find that the realities of death and grief are pushed to the background, hidden, even ridiculed. Back in 2002 when my oldest son was studying the Japanese language, our entire family learned a lot about Japanese culture. That is how I learned about the celebration known as Obon. The celebrations of Obon strike me as "good grief" -- the working out, in action and ritual, of feelings and beliefs about death. Here are some descriptions and links: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html A short description of festival: "Obon is a Buddhist festival during which memorial services are held for the deceased ancestors. It is said that on Obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world and visit their relatives. People traditionally hang lanterns in front of their houses in order to guide their ancestors' spirits. Food offerings are made at house altars and at temples, and special dances (bon-odori) are performed. At the end of the festival, floating lanterns are put into rivers and seas to guide the spirits back into their world." http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html Site describes origins of Buddhist festival. "We can share in the mind of Mokuren Sonja in which he yearned for his mother even after she died, and wanted to repay the obligation and gratitude he felt toward his parents. There is an old saying: "If by the time you want to practice filial piety your parents are gone, you cannot lay a quilt over their graves." http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=5303 A citizen of Japan describes how the festival is celebrated in Okinawa in this article, "Obon - a spiritual homecoming for all the family", by Kotoko Chinen (1999). "Obon is an important event for Okinawans because it presents an opportunity to remember our blessings and show our appreciation not only to our ancestors but also to our immediate family." The exact time of celebration of Obon differs by region, depending on whether the local people follow the solar year, where "seventh month" is counted from January 1 (meaning Obon is July 15); or the strict lunar year, mainly in northern Japan and some of the southern islands, where Obon coincides with the full moon of the seventh month after "Chinese New Year"; or a compromise centered around August 15 every year, such as in Tokyo. In 2008, the Obon travel season is mainly between August 9 and 17. Get-togethers, food, music. Sounds healthy to me. Peace, -- Daniel ( deltaechomike(a)usa.net )
From: Daisy on 1 Aug 2008 16:00 I'm glad you posted this Daniel because my religious beliefs are based alot upon that theory as well. Thank you dear friend :) -- Daisy "Daniel" <deltaechomike(a)usa.net> wrote in message news:o386945t7d9934l6s66ab7mq4phqensefs(a)4ax.com... > Obon is a social institution that openly "celebrates" (if you will > allow me to use that term) grief. It is a time of honoring and > remembering departed friends and family. > > I find this interesting because Western culture seems to want to > forget about death. We're all about youth and wealth and health. Oh, > we have our "Remembrance Day" or "Memorial Day", but we have no > tradition of the social working-out of "good grief" through customs or > rituals. (The "dia de los muertos" or "day of the dead" around All > Souls Day in Mexico might be close.) > > The reason for this post is not to push or bash any religion, but to > point out that in some places, some aspects of grief are less isolated > and more public than they are for most of us. Most of us find that > the realities of death and grief are pushed to the background, > hidden, even ridiculed. > > Back in 2002 when my oldest son was studying the Japanese language, > our entire family learned a lot about Japanese culture. That is how I > learned about the celebration known as Obon. > > The celebrations of Obon strike me as "good grief" -- the working out, > in action and ritual, of feelings and beliefs about death. > > Here are some descriptions and links: > > http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html > A short description of festival: > "Obon is a Buddhist festival during which memorial services are held > for the deceased ancestors. It is said that on Obon, the ancestors' > spirits return to this world and visit their relatives. People > traditionally hang lanterns in front of their houses in order to guide > their ancestors' spirits. Food offerings are made at house altars and > at temples, and special dances (bon-odori) are performed. At the end > of the festival, floating lanterns are put into rivers and seas to > guide the spirits back into their world." > > http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html > Site describes origins of Buddhist festival. > "We can share in the mind of Mokuren Sonja in which he yearned for his > mother even after she died, and wanted to repay the obligation and > gratitude he felt toward his parents. There is an old saying: "If by > the time you want to practice filial piety your parents are gone, you > cannot lay a quilt over their graves." > > http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=5303 > A citizen of Japan describes how the festival is celebrated in Okinawa > in this article, "Obon - a spiritual homecoming for all the family", > by Kotoko Chinen (1999). "Obon is an important event for Okinawans > because it presents an opportunity to remember our blessings and show > our appreciation not only to our ancestors but also to our immediate > family." > > The exact time of celebration of Obon differs by region, depending on > whether the local people follow the solar year, where "seventh month" > is counted from January 1 (meaning Obon is July 15); or the strict > lunar year, mainly in northern Japan and some of the southern islands, > where Obon coincides with the full moon of the seventh month after > "Chinese New Year"; or a compromise centered around August 15 every > year, such as in Tokyo. In 2008, the Obon travel season is mainly > between August 9 and 17. > > Get-togethers, food, music. Sounds healthy to me. > > Peace, > -- > Daniel ( deltaechomike(a)usa.net )
From: Jo in Ok on 2 Aug 2008 18:43 On Aug 1, 8:07 am, Daniel <deltaechom...(a)usa.net> wrote: > Obon is a social institution that openly "celebrates" (if you will > allow me to use that term) grief. It is a time of honoring and > remembering departed friends and family. > > I find this interesting because Western culture seems to want to > forget about death. We're all about youth and wealth and health. Oh, > we have our "Remembrance Day" or "Memorial Day", but we have no > tradition of the social working-out of "good grief" through customs or > rituals. (The "dia de los muertos" or "day of the dead" around All > Souls Day in Mexico might be close.) > snip< that was interesting Daniel! *thanks* dif cultures def do things dif huh? America has been known to be in denial about certain things so to not remember our deceased like other countries do-is no surprise to me...we do try to remember soldiers that die for our country...we remember our heroes... and of course we remember those we knew well in our own lives... .....Jo....Wally's mom
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