Opening of the eyes

This past Sunday was a pretty special day for the family. For those few of you actually peeking at this blog once in a while, you might remember a post I wrote up in November about our visits to the Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church. Around September or so of 2008, after about 8 years attending a temple in West Chicago, we started making the journey into the Chicago area instead. A lot of research and examination went into this decision. And it only took a few visits to realize that we had truly found our home. For a little background on that discovery, please read the earlier post.

At any rate, we reached a point as a family where we decided that it was time to actually become members and give up that "guest" status. This decision actually was arrived at sometime in December, but it took nearly 2 more months to make it back to the temple location. January's service was canceled due to extreme cold and the early February make-up date was canceled due to a water pipe issue in the sanctuary. So that brings us to this past Sunday.

The path to membership is actually an easy one. And probably made all that more more so because of the previous years of practice and having already a solid grasp on the teachings of Buddhism. It wasn't like we were thrust into anything altogether new -- just improved! And all it took was a verbal exchange to the priest, Rev. Hosho Higuchi, expressing our wishes.

So on Sunday, we traded in our old Gohonzon and enthusiastically accepted our new Shutei Gohonzon, bestowed on us after an "opening of the eyes" ceremony. The Gohonzon is a calligraphic mandala used by members in their households and they generally are inscribed by Nichiren Shu clergy. The link included here connects to a youtube.com video that displays the remaining undamaged 125 copies of the Gohonzon that Nichiren wrote between 1271 and 1282. Kind of cool. The copy dated the third month of 1280, regarded as the most significant, is now preserved at Myohonji Temple in Kamakura, Japan. The incribed Gohonzon then resides in an altar display at each member's home, where daily practice occurs. Members face the Gohonzon while reciting Lotus Sutra passages and chanting the Odaimoku (Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or "Adoration to the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth").

Anyway... Enough historical background.

In addition to our membership and receiving our Gohonzon, we also participated in the New Year's ceremonies (Setsubun), also postponed earlier due to the weather conditions. The Setsubun ceremony is another important date for Buddhist believers. So it made for a very celebratory day.

Setsubun literally means “seasonal division” but it usually refers to the Spring Setsubun. Close to the Lunar New Year, the Spring Setsubun can be thought of as new year’s eve. Therefore, it has a special ritual of cleansing away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bearing evil spirits for the year to come. This ritual is called MAMEMAKI (bean scattering or bean throwing) and it is performed by those who are born on the corresponding year of the Animal Zodiac (2009 is the Year of the Ox /the cycle runs every 12 years). The beans are thrown and people shout out “ONI WA SOTO! FUKU WA UCHI!” (“Demons/Evil Spirits out! Luck/Blessings in!”). It is also customary to eat the beans one for each year of one’s life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.

Because of the length of the morning ceremonies, the "bean throwing" did not take place, else there would have been quite the cleanup effort required afterword!

In addition to these ceremonies, good friends Kent and Daryl (shown below) decided to undergo the eye opening ceremony for their two new statues -- one representing Nichiren and the other Sakyamuni -- that will be placed at their home altar. I've included a photo of the two statues, shown alongside the temple Gohonzon, basking in the incense and good vibe of the ceremony (photo shown above).

Last was the lunch, served downstairs in the lower level under the sanctuary. Every month, members contribute meals, desserts, drinks, saki (!), and good conversation. Many of the meals are served in more of a Japanese style and can be hit-or-miss for someone more discerning, like Su. But this week was a variation of chicken strips, along with rice, egg, some fruit, and even cake! So Su ate very well and really enjoyed herself over the course of the day.

After cleaning up and saying our goodbyes, we drove the nearly 1 hour journey back home and settled in for some quiet time and naps. A very festive day for all -- and a memorable one.

A new and improved path (to the city)

This past Sunday resulted in a trip into Chicago. This is something that we don't do very often. I'm not a "city" person. The missus isn't a city person. And there is little there that we typically consider worthwhile that would motivate us to take on loads of traffic and parking headaches. But we've found a reason now -- and it exists at 4216 North Paulina, the home of the Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church.

For the last nearly eight years, we've been attending Buddhist services right here in nearby West Chicago. But a lot of additional research and a different focus led to the discovery of this little gem hiding in the midst of a typical city neighborhood. Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church is the Illinois home of the Nichiren Shu sect. I won't go into the details of what differentiates one sect from another, but the Nichiren Shu philosophy, its view of the Lotus Sutra, and its positioning of all relevant Buddhist teachings scratches us exactly where it itches, to borrow the phrasing.

We started attending a couple of months ago and are completely smitten with the low-key atmosphere, the positive exchanges, the friendly mostly Japanese membership (some Chinese), and the more accurate focus on the legitimate Nichiren teachings, as well as the more universally known Sakyamuni Buddha, acknowledged as the original Buddha. Services are available every two weeks. We are on more of a "monthly" schedule, A) because of travel, and B) because the Chief Priest himself only usually makes the journey once a month from Schaumburg. Might as well make our visits count!

Overall, it's a relaxed, enjoyable vibe, with the required recitation and chanting, hand-held drums to accompany the Taiko-provided rhythms, and all of the beauty one could possibly hope to see presented in such a humble city dwelling.

Once the service is complete, friendly exchanges take place for a while. Usually a lesson or just an interesting, relevant story. Then this is all followed with a lunch served in the lower level, where Japanese dishes are offered up to any takers, along with some sort of dessert. During our last visit, a Japanese member had just turned 88 and was celebrating, so various cakes were offered up. On Sunday, another member was celebrating an occasion and brought in chicken and other goodies.

No, we don't go for the food. It's a nice bonus, though. We actually had other lunch plans for the day (next blog to come) and had to scoot out of there. But each visit reassures us that this is certainly a welcome place to be and we've been made to feel right at home from the first moments. Su is already quite popular. I guess that's not a surprise. She's not exactly shy!