Nichiren Shoshu: Ceremonies for the Ancestors

Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism has four debts of gratitude one of which is to one's parents and ancestors.

Two main ceremonies are an essential offering for our deceased and ancestors. The main offering is a Toba, memorial tablet, that contains the five elements. A passage from the Gosho “The Teaching Affirmed by All Buddhas of the Three Existences” (“Sokanmon-sho”) reads:

The five elements are earth, water, fire, wind and space….These are, in other words, the five characters of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. (Gosho, p. 1418)

The Higan-e Ceremony (Spring and Autumn)

March 21 and September 22, the days of the equinoxes. It has an equal duration between day (light) and night (darkness). Help the ancestors to arrive on the other shore with the great ship (faith in the Dai-Gohonzon).

The Urabon Ceremony (July 15 and August 15)

A time to pray for the peace and happiness of the deceased family and ancestors. It is based on the legend of Mokuren who achieved to save his deceased mother. In the Urabon Gosho, Nichiren Daishonin writes: Maudgalyayana's deceased parents live on in him. When Maudgalyayana's life attains Buddhahood, so will the lives of his parents. (Shinpen, p. 1376)

Nichiren Shoshu

Higan-e and Urabon

Toba Memorial Tablet