A note about the 49 Day Ceremony from Naomi Yoder

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Hello friends,

I wanted to share a bit about the ceremony Houston Zen Center and Mid City Zen will be conducting for Billy.  Please feel free to share this.

 

Bardo observance

49 days is believed to be the period of “bardo”, or the stage between death and afterlife where  consciousness slowly leaves the body. The purpose of conducting ceremonies for bardo is to help the person who has died find their way through the bardo. As Gaelyn told me, “we want to help Billy in his confusion, to be at peace”. The ceremony is primarily meant to reach Billy, to communicate our love and support, and to settle him. It also serves to bring some comfort to the rest of us, and the feeling of connection can extend throughout the 49 days and beyond.

 

The ceremony at Houston Zen Center consists of offerings at the altar, chanting, bowing and offering incense. A card with “Billy Sothern” written on it stays on the altar for 49 days. A photo of him is also placed on the altar. The following offerings are made: light (candles), flowers, incense and tea. 

 

Those assembled bow together three times. Then the “Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani” is chanted together, three times. The Sho Sai Myo is said to ward off troubles and misfortunes - we send this out to Billy to calm him and ease his confusion. It is sometimes called the “Dharani of Removing Hindrance”. 

 

There isn’t a great translation of the Sho Sai Myo, since we read a Japanese or romaji transliteration of a Chinese transliteration of a Sankrit verse. The importance or power or meaning is thought to be in the recitation, not in the understanding. This is the verse:

 

No mo san man da 

moto nan oha ra chi 

koto sha sono nan 

to ji to en gya gya gya 

ki gya ki un nun shifu ra 

shifu ra hara shifu ra 

hara shifu ra chishu sa 

chishu sa chishu ri chishu ri 

soha ja soha ja sen chi 

gya shiri ei so mo ko

 

Then the merit of the service is dedicated to Billy. And finally everyone present bows again three times, together. 

 

Here is a recording from Zen Mountain Monastery in the Hudson Valley, NY, close to where Billy's house was when I saw him this summer. https://zmm.org/teachings-and-training/sho-sai-myo-kichijo-dharani/

 

The 49 days ceremony is almost universal within Buddhism. In Zen Buddhism, the ceremony utilizes the Sho Sai Myo Kichijo Dharani, but other sects may chant something else. Some Buddhists believe that the bardo period is where the body and soul get readied for the next realm - one of which could be the human realm and thus reincarnation. 

 

The name card we place on the altar is similar to a “spirit tablet” or an object inscripted with the name of the deceased. People are sometimes given a new name upon death, so that the deceased person won’t be confused or tempted to try to cling to this world when their name is invoked.  
 

We will be conducting this ceremony every thursday through November 17th, just after 7am central time (Mid City Zen will be conducting the ceremony every Thursday at 7pm central time).  We invite you to take a moment of contemplation and remembering Billy with us, and wishing him love and support in his journey.

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May you be happy, may you be joyous and live in safety.

Love,

naomi

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