hasunoha

Please give us your opinion.

Currently, I'm thinking about “The Role of Water in Japanese Buddhist Rituals” as my graduation thesis theme.
In particular, we are paying attention to the act of sprinkling water at Buddha ceremonies, visiting graves, hand water, etc., but why is the act of using water linked to purification, memorial services, and prayers in Buddhism?
Also, are not only Buddhist ideas related to these water rituals, but also ancient Japanese ancestral beliefs and folk beliefs?
If there are any sectarian differences or historical backgrounds, please let me know.

4 Zen Responses

Thank you for your question.
I'm not very familiar with it, but it's as shown below in the online Jodo Sect Dictionary, so please refer to it.
https://jodoshuzensho.jp/daijiten/index.php/%E6%B0%B4

Also, it is the opposite of cleansing with water, but in response to people who purify their own misdeeds by bathing every day, the Buddha said, “In order to purify bad karma, it is good to bathe the law. Wise people are bathed in the law, purify their bodies, keep the precepts, and cross over to the equinox.”

Water may be the source of life

I read it.
That's a very interesting idea. As you mentioned, there are various manners. The act of cleansing both mind and body with water is very frequent, isn't it?

It probably has religious and Buddhist connotations, and it probably has traditional customs.
I don't know the details, but it definitely has a big deal to do with it.

It probably has been in Japan since ancient times, and there are probably also in India and China.
The Ganges River in India is a sacred river. When you visit Benares (official name: Varanasi), almost all people enter the river to cleanse themselves.

Or there are places in Japan where you can bathe in various types of water. There are many places where people are struck by waterfalls to practice their mind and body, and they are also ascetic practices and Shugendo in various denominations.

If you don't mind, why don't you go to the site and take a look at the scene.
It will surely have a huge impact on your paper, your thoughts, and the way you live.

I sincerely pray that you will have a wonderful experience, that your research will progress, and that you will grow healthily yourself.

We should find water as a way to save water in the water law of Buddhism

There's nothing that can't be cleaned with water.
Water also washes and cleanses the human body and mind.
Even if you bathe in alcohol, you won't be clean.
Even if I bathe in beer at the baseball championship event, I take a bath later and pour myself in the shower.
Even after entering the rice paddies, I wash my feet at the end.
Most of the body is water.
Without water, life cannot live.
Earth, water, fire, and wind are probably one of the important things that form all living things.
skeleton, moisture, energy, activity.
The merits of water are immeasurable.
When there is water, it becomes rain and clouds, pours into rivers, stays in underground lakes, becomes hot springs, pours into the ocean, and becomes snow, fog, and hail.
What is the true face of water?
“Dharma” and “Buddha's Rationality” are shown there.
Water is not a fixed form of water.
It changes infinitely and works freely.
If you look up, the sky is blue, 🌈 it also becomes a rainbow.
It has become an infinite form, changes infinitely, never stops, washes and cleanses everything, nurtures all living things, and is a blessing. It's about finding that image, seeing it, and watching it through.
The true Hosui Dosui law, which has been penetrated and refined on top of this, purifies and becomes a law, law, and teaching that saves everyone.
Even though people look at water, they don't see the salvation and blessings of that water.
Since water is set to only water and water ONLY, they don't see while watching.
If so, you should get in the water. You should look beyond words to see the true state of water.
Then, you will learn the true reality of water, which is different from the classification of human information.
Then you see water for the first time, and you become a person who can use water.
People who can use water to save people act as Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Nyorai.
Therefore, you should create a Bodhi spirit and write with the intention of using water to conquer many people.
Otherwise, you can only become a person who wants to use water to do what you are good at. You can't be someone who can repay the law of water.
Using water to honor Shinto and Buddha means that water becomes clear only when the mind is cleared so that it reaches the heart of the gods and Buddhas.
When a monk sprinkles water, it's not just pouring water.
The people of this world purify all the hesitation, suffering, dirt, and dirt of all sentient beings, act in such a way that they use it in such a way as to save, purify, and bless, and it is a form of Bodhi Heart that is irrigated with heart.
If the water in the hearts of sentient beings is pure, the light of Bodhi Nirvana will appear in people's hearts.

The four big water sizes

In the book “Abidhamma Lecture Series Buddha's Practical Psychology Volume 1 “Analysis of Matter” by Elder Albomulle Sumanasara and Fujimoto Akishi, there was an explanation about the four major earths, water, fire, and wind.
In Japanese Buddhism, monks in the old days learned the Abhidharma Club theory as basic knowledge.
I haven't investigated how the way of thinking about water size is different between Abidhamma in Southern Buddhism and Abidharma in Hokuden Buddhism, but according to Elder Sumanasara's explanation, it seems that the four major water sizes are not water water, but one type of energy possessed by matter.
Water seems to have the effect of adsorbing and suction things (lick your finger and get it wet, making it easier to flip the paper, etc.).
Thinking about that, I have the image that when water is used in ceremonies, the surrounding power is collected (summed up) there.
It's like the magic of a fantasy novel, so it's interesting.
The size of the fire changes drastically (accelerates?) It seems to have such an effect.
In certain ceremonies performed in the Jodo sect, the Sanskrit character for fire and the Sanskrit character for water are used.
Somehow, it feels like the power amplified by the action of fire is collected and concentrated by the action of water, and it's still magical, isn't it?
(It's my selfish delusion, so I don't know if it's actually a ceremony with such intentions.)
Anyway, it would be interesting to look up Abidhamma (Abidharma).