Editors note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrine’s perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Due to space limitations, submissions are edited.
Editors note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrine’s perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Due to space limitations, submissions are edited. Thoughts or suggestions for future topics are always welcome. Next week’s subject is on creation. The topic at the end of the column is for the following week.
Midori O. Kondo
Minister, Lihu‘e Hongwanji
Perhaps to many westerners, ritual in Buddhist services brings to mind one of sitting in absolute quietude, prostrating before the Buddhist shrine and one of chanting. I’d like to share our Shin Buddhist tradition of the Pure Land School. Our founder is Shinran who practiced the rituals from his youth and onto adulthood. He believed that we are all fellow practitioners as Buddhists and so our ritual tradition grew out of that premise.
Ritual as explained in our “Traditions of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-Ha” speaks of “ritual as an exercise towards awareness with one’s body, speech and mind.” In our services and in one’s daily life it takes the form of chanting, singing, recitations, breathing and calm thought.
When entering the temple, in respect to coming forth to the temple one lightly bows one’s head. Then we stand before the altar and offer incense. Offering incense is to purify one’s mind, clear one’s thoughts and to bring forth the fragrance of the teaching. It is offered with reverence and completed with gassho, (“anjali” in Sanskrit). This is the posture of joining one’s palms together, reciting the name of Amida Buddha in joy and gratitude while lowering one’s head bowing from the waist.
As one awaits the service to begin the sangha await the hitting of the gong which hangs on the outside of the temple. This gong known as “kansho” in Japanese is the “calling-bell.” It is struck a certain number of times to begin the ritual or to call the members of the “sangha” Buddhist community to the temple.
During the Sunday service the opening chant in Hawai‘i is the “Three Treasures” which is in the original Indian language followed by English. Our Sunday service chanting from the sutras has been in Sino-Japanese. There is a simple chant written in English known as “gatha.” All of the sutras of our Shin Buddhist tradition are translated into English; however it is only in the recent ten years that two were translated by the Buddhist Churches of Canada to be chanted in English.
During more than one hundred years in Hawai‘i, it is the deep wish of the Shin Buddhists to make the rituals understandable as well as to remember the true intent of rituals. When you enter the temple may you enter with the intent that it is for the entire mind and body to receive with our senses the calling voice of Amida Buddha, the ultimate reality of infinite wisdom light and boundless compassion Life.
The Baha’is of Kaua‘i
Rituals are a set of actions thought to have symbolic value. They are prescribed by a religion as a form of worship or by traditions of a community. The purpose of rituals includes compliance with religious obligations or to satisfy spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners. They also serve to strengthen social bonds and demonstrate affiliation with a group.
The Baha’i faith, however, has few inflexible rituals, and no sacraments. Baha’is are cautioned against developing rigid rituals that are seen as requirements. This would limit individual choice, stifle creativity and lose personal meaning.
The Baha’i writings provide the following guidance: Baha’i ceremonies are simple and flexible. It is not permissible to develop inflexible rituals that must be adopted for all such occasions. The comparative lack of ritual means that major personal events, such as weddings, can be arranged by Baha’is as they wish. They may wish to incorporate elements of local tradition. This is permissible as long as these do not imply adherence to another religion.
Therefore, Baha’i weddings can be simple or elaborate. They do, however, require the consent of all living parents, regardless of the ages of the bride and groom. This requirement preserves the unity of the family. The Baha’i marriage vow dedicates the couple to God. The couple each recites the vow “We will all, verily, abide by the will of God.” Baha’i marriage is a spiritual union, and therefore the vow does not include the dissolution of the marriage at the time of death.
Likewise, funerals are extremely simple. As the human temple of the soul, the body must be treated with utmost dignity. Cremation is not permitted and burial must take place within an hour’s journey from the place of death. The only ritual is the recitation of a congregational prayer.
Mankind as a whole has reached the “age of maturity.” We now have the capacity and understanding to select our own actions and to give personal meaning to what we do.
Topic for two weeks from today:
• Will you speak to us on creation?
• Spiritual leaders are invited to e-mail responses of three to five paragraphs to pwoolway@kauaipubco.com
• Deadline each week is Tuesday, by 5 p.m.