Hello. There's something I'd like you to tell me.
The Obon grave will be visited to coincide with 8/19, the anniversary of his death.
Would it be better to go to Okuribi on 8/19 to match that?
When I looked it up, they said they would welcome you back on the 16th, but if you send it on the 16th
I wonder if visiting graves on the 19th itself will be strange.
I've come up with a question.
I would be happy if you could give me some advice.
I don't know if it's true in Buddhism that the spirits of the dead come back from that world.
In Buddhism, reincarnation is considered, so the dead have already been reborn into new creatures.
For example, let's say my previous life was an old man who died somewhere in Japan decades ago.
So, during the Obon season, will my current spirit escape from my body and return to the town where an old man from my previous life lived?
I feel like it's a little hard to think about.
Well, leave that aside, you can visit graves anytime, regardless of whether or not the spirits of the dead have returned.
Graves are also visited during the spring and autumn equinoxes and New Year's, and there are also people who visit graves every week so that there is no day when the flowers on the graves are dead.
I think it's OK to think that the custom of Obon is performed during the Obon season, and visiting graves on another day (when you can).
I personally think that Obon events should be enjoyed by the family at fixed times, like Christmas, Halloween, and Setsubun.
Graves are monuments to remember the dead.
The dead aren't there. Nor will the spirits of the dead come back there.
However, since it is a place where the remains are enshrined, it is one of the important places to worship (perfect place to remember the dead).
Hello. My name is Kameyama Junshi.
The Jodo Shinshu sect, to which I belong, does not perform customs such as welcome fire or okuribi, but there are families that do Obon grave visits off the Obon period due to work etc.
I myself have introduced the poem several times in my responses on this site, and Nakanishi Tomomi Kazuyoshi wrote the following poem.
“A person leaves, but that person's smile doesn't leave
When a person leaves, that person's words don't go away
When a person leaves, that person's warmth doesn't go away
Even if people leave, they come back into the palm of worship.”
Our ancestors are always coming back. Even if you go back to Okuribi once, they'll come back right away.
Hello.
Obon is an Obon custom. I think it would be best to welcome the fire on the 13th, perform okuribi on the 16th, and visit graves on the anniversary of death, but if it's difficult in terms of distance, I think it's okay to go together.
As is the case with any event, even though there are things that are done early, they don't often do it late.
So, if you put it together, wouldn't it be a good idea to pray okuribi and pray for the anniversary of death on the 16th? I thought.
Of course, if the 16th was not possible due to circumstances and it became the 19th, then the 19th is fine. But huh... it looks like they didn't even have a welcome fire from the question, so I don't think it's necessary to light it.
I read it.
At my temple, the Obon period is from 8/1 to 8/24.
August 1st.
From here, our ancestors will depart here.
I arrived home on the evening of 8/7.
The housekeeper will greet you by putting a hat on the spirit shelf.
It used to be July 7th.
Tanabata (Tanabata) on the evening of the 7th.
There is also a theory that it is the etymology of Tanabata.
August 15 or 16, Okuribi.
I'm sending out my ancestors.
But I can go home slowly, so it will take until 8/24.
August 24 is Jizo Bon.
I'm going home after being seen off by Jizo.
You're going to be set on Okuribi on 8/19, aren't you?
It means saying goodbye to your ancestors when they go home.
However, the customs are probably different between my region and yours.
However, there are words like this at the beginning of the Obon sutras.
The way we see the world is determined by our own mind.
Everyone has their own Obon festival.
It's July, not August.
I wonder if my ancestors etc. are coming back, which is completely different from the original meaning.
If you put your hands together yourself, you don't need to call a monk, that's fine.
I don't know Obon, so I don't know.
Each person's mind creates their own Obon festival.
8/19
It would be nice if you slowly followed Jizo back home and lit an okuribi while feeling the backs of your ancestors.