What is the Segaki fee “5,000 yen for one spirit”?

An entity whose life in this world ends and is separated from the body is called a spirit, soul, spirit, etc. Perhaps Theravada Buddhism denies its existence, but Mahayana Buddhism and the Jodo sect within it do not deny it.
Rather than which one is right, it's about which one you can be satisfied with or feel safe about. This is because people have different ways of thinking, values, and circumstances.
Also, the segaki memorial service is a custom where offering a memorial service to a hungry ghost becomes an ancestral memorial service. This is a memorial service where part of the Gakki Sutra, one of the sutras of primitive Buddhism, was introduced to Japan while slightly changing its content as it passed through China.
Therefore, it is a memorial service for your ancestors or those who have passed away.
However, religion is not something you are forced to do, and the Segaki memorial service is also not enforced, so I don't think you have to force yourself to do something you're not satisfied with.
That's because there are people who worship at my temple, and there are also people who don't.
What is important in the Jodo sect is “I hope you can meet all of your ancestors at the Pure Land of Paradise someday.” With that in mind, it's about chanting “Namu Amida Buddha.”
Also, of course, you are free to change your denomination or religion, so please respect your way of thinking.

It is conventionally counted as 1 spirit, but it is 1 person.
Specifically, for example, it means 5,000 yen per pagoda.
However, depending on the temple, it seems that there are cases where the names of 2 parents (2 spirits) who died by a single pagoda are written side by side.
Also, there may be cases where the name is simply read aloud during the memorial service without writing the pagoda.
Living things are intertwined with five phenomena called gong.
They are five: color, acceptance, thought, action, and wisdom.
Among them, color is matter and body.
The remaining 4 are mental (mind, spirit) phenomena.
So, the four phenomena of acceptance, thought, action, and wisdom are collectively called “names.”
Five colors and names are also called “famous colors (famous colors).”
In Buddhism, they preach selflessness.
Everyone's “individual” is not an entity; in fact, the five elements are intertwined, and it's like a typhoon.
The typhoon's rain and wind are new rain and wind every moment, but they name it “typhoon what number” for the time being and capture it as a series of individuals.
Even when the name is written on a pagoda and a memorial service is held, people who were actually five separate gods moment by moment are recognized as “1 person, 1 spirit” by their collective names (spirits) for the time being.
Incidentally, the pagoda tower was originally built in a place called Stupa where the remains of a great person were stored.
When we worship Stupas, we think of people we should respect, so the hearts of those who worship them are pure.
In Japanese Buddhism, it is thought that everyone who dies will one day become a Buddha (a charismatic leader to be respected), so “1 spirit” is also “1 Buddha.”

There are other denominations, but they say “in Buddhism.”
“Buddhism denies the soul” was probably written in some book, but in fact, this kind of common explanation is pretty rough.

Strictly speaking, Buddhism “denies Atman.” Well, when it comes to what Atman is, it's a concept that doesn't exist in Japan or China, so it's terribly difficult to explain. If I were to pull it from Wikipedia,

> The original meaning was “breathing,” but moving from there, it means life, self, body, the essence of the self, the essence of the self, the essential nature of things in general, and the eternal subject of independence that controls and unifies individuals inherent in the root of everything.

Yes, but it's different from the soul-like soul that Oriental people envision. However, since I can't give difficult explanations in order to write a book for the general public, I ended up with the words “denying spirits” while understanding that there is a misnomer.
There is also a translation of true self, but when you use it, you have to write an explanation of true self...

So, there is a structure where people who want to beat Japanese Buddhism take advantage of such circumstances and hit “Buddha denied spirits, yet Japanese Buddhism Gah, Japanese Buddhism Gah.”

Even in Japanese history textbooks, that was a lie, and this is also a lie, but please be aware that the same thing is actually happening in Buddhist textbooks without anyone knowing.

Now, when it comes to what “one spirit” is in Buddhism, I would be very grateful if you could think of it as an “idiom representing the deceased.”

If that doesn't convince you, take a look here. It's Link's Six Realms or “Seen Yourself.”
https://hasunoha.jp/questions/17875

Or is it easier to understand to write “the influence of the deceased”? Every action has “effects that appear immediately,” “effects that appear in the near future,” and “effects that appear in the distant future.” The effects of actions during life also exist after death.

It is true that this Buddhist worldview plays an important role in the Buddhist system of salvation. If you hold down such places and listen to the puja, the way you hear will change.
However, whether to call it a spirit or call Atman a spirit is a matter of definition of the word. It's only the meaning ① and meaning ② of the dictionary, so in the end, it's a sensitive issue of context and communication. So after all, I think it's safe to just think of it as an idiom.

Kenta

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

Certainly, even at humble temples, people who have passed away are used as spirits (ranks) under the commandment name as pagodas, etc.

On the Sega Kidan, a certain place sign that says “the Three Realms Are or Not Related, etc.,” is enshrined, and this is expressed as “ten thousand spirits” as representing all sentient beings. In this case, everything is expressed as a “spirit,” regardless of whether they are alive or dead.

Even if the body dies, continuous consciousness continues, so it is thought that continuous consciousness has come to be expressed as a “spirit.” In that sense, the present life is after death in a previous life, so if you think of it as continuous consciousness, it can also be used by living people.

Also, after death, those who are “inside” cannot be captured by our rough recognition organs, but since that consciousness becomes a state of “intention body,” forming something like a body, it is also conceivable that it became called a “ghost” due to people who were able to specifically recognize that “intention body” (I can't...).

Recently, due to the rapid installation of surveillance cameras and drive recorders, there are many cameras that record accident sites, and unfortunately images that capture shadows leaving those who died due to the accident have actually been shown.

I watched a few of them on the internet, and I was once again convinced that there is a “meaning body” after all.

“Continuous consciousness” is, well, expressed as “soul,” but even though it is a “sky” that is not formed as an entity, it is something that is possible due to “luck.”

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho