PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

The Dead as “Personal Buddhas”: 1Japanese Ancestral Rites as Healing RitesPaula AraiCarleton CollegeEVEN A CURSORY LOOK AT modern Japan reveals that ritualsinvolving interaction with the dead are common. The role and dynamicsof these rituals in helping Japanese Buddhist women integrate lossinto their lives is the focus of this study. The rhythms and contours ofthe grieving and healing process are examined within the context oftheir worldviews and conceptions of self, suffering, and healing. Thefindings are based upon in-depth ethnographic data gathered aboutdevout Japanese Buddhist women who all have some active connectionwith Søtø Zen Buddhist practice. 2 With their collaboration, I began tosee the intimate relationships they carry on with deceased loved ones.It is in the intimacy of these relationships that the healing power of therituals are revealed.The dominance of funerary, memorial, and ancestral 3 rites in theritual landscape of contemporary Buddhism in Japan is so pronouncedthat scholars and lay people commonly refer to the phenomenon as“Funeral Buddhism.” Most people even state that their primary engagementwith Buddhism is when someone passes away. In addition, thebiggest national summer holiday, O-bon, 4 is a Buddhist rite of honoringancestors. This indicates the exigency of understanding what theseBuddhist rituals mean to people. Although scholars have researchedthe topic of Japanese ancestor worship, 5 the question of whetherfunerary, memorial, and ancestral rites offer forms of transformationand healing for those living in modern Japan has not been thoroughlyexplored. Through this study the positive roles mortuary and ancestralrites play in contemporary Japan become clearer, especially in the livesof mature Buddhist women.Researching home rituals offers a glimpse of the dynamics of identitycultivation and transformation in the face of loss. It also provides arare view of how the dead can function in the healing process. In theprivacy of the home, ancestral rituals are often performed at the familybutsudan (Buddhist home altar) on a daily, monthly, and annual basis.Outside the home visiting the gravesite or o-haka-mair is also done onmonthly and annual intervals. A poignant rite that is not widely per-3