The equinox occurs twice a year, once during spring and again in autumn, specifically the day in which night and day are equal in length. The exact day upon which the equinox lands varies from year to year, but the vernal or spring equinox basically occurs during March and the autumnal equinox during September. In Japan, we refer to the seven-day period – that is, the equinox, including the three days prior and following the equinox – as higan.
Higan is understood by most in Japan as a seven-day period that happens twice a year. As such, higan has taken on a secular meaning, gradually shedding its original significance. Whereas, higan is in fact deeply ingrained within Buddhism. For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds. Have our words hurt anyone around us? Are our actions serving ourselves more than others? How can we be productive for the sake of society? Are our decisions creating a world of strife rather than peace? Does our lifestyle encroach upon the liberty or happiness of others? Are we aware of how our actions may adversely affect our environment – the soil, air, plants, insects, fish, birds, and animals? In sum, the basic question from a Buddhist point of view is whether or not we are following the right path. Higan serves as an opportunity to consciously readdress some of these basic questions so that we may perhaps reinitialize our thoughts and actions should we be veering off Buddha’s path. In this sense, it is indeed a very important time of the year.
Buddhism is About Practice
Higan then is a period of shugyo or practice. We are often unaware that we are ourselves the cause of many problems. Oftentimes, though we may not intend to slight anyone, our words and deeds can be construed in different ways depending on how and by whom it is received. Therefore, during the period of higan, we try to be extra careful that we do not disrupt things and create problems for others.
The Buddha’s enlightenment can often be characterized as a state of being completely aware. For the Buddha, this may appear to be effortless and second nature. However, these attributes are ones that even the Buddha has nurtured by practicing the right way of living, consciously over a very long period of time. Actually practicing the right path in overcoming mishaps that create confusion and poor judgment eventually lead to a life that is harmonious with our surroundings, and ultimately to peace for all. By theory, should we earnestly follow in the footsteps of the Buddha, there is no reason why we cannot eventually approach the Buddha’s level of awareness.
Buddha’s Way
In any discipline, its practitioners are inclined to try and reach a certain objective. Exactly what that goal is and how it can be reached may vary in its scope and application. Nevertheless, there exists something to aim for. Buddhism is no different in this respect. Without debating the minor differences that we may each value, we as Buddhists are blessed with the metaphor of higan in helping us to visualize our advancement toward this goal.
Higan arrives from the Sanskrit word, pāramitā. A Chinese transliteration for this word was “dao bi an.” In Japanese, these characters would be read “tou hi gan”. tou means to “go to” or to “arrive.” hi means “that” or “there.” gan is “bank” or “shore.” This metaphor asks us to imagine our present station to be associated with “this shore,” called shigan in Japanese. “This shore” is one that is characterized by delusion and repeated suffering. Buddhism posits that there is another bank on the other side of the river or body of water. The other shore represents a goal to which we as Buddhists should aspire. It is characterized by understanding and assurance. This distant shore is called higan. Higan represents wisdom, liberty, and compassion. In our respective ways, we as Buddhists are all striving to reach the other shore, that is, to become like the Buddha. Pāramitā, then, involves crossing over from the shore of ignorance to the other shore of enlightenment. The word pāramitā has come to describe the basic components necessary to attain this.
Although there may be many ways of grasping the concept of pāramitā, it is generally understood to be composed of six basic components. The six pāramitās are as follows:
fuse means to offer one’s self wholeheartedly and unconditionally, without any expectation of its return.
jikai is to follow and maintain the general precepts of the Buddha.
nin-niku suggests a resilience to persevere through hardship.
syojin refers to the necessity of conscientious effort in accomplishing one’s goals.
zenjo points to qualities existent in meditation, calling upon one’s concentration, adjoined by calmness and poise.
Chie is the Buddha’s wisdom, reinforced with its practical application.
Each of these six are complementary with each other. The awareness, application, and internalization of all six of these general practices is thought to be requisite to approach the completeness of the Buddha. Thus, the pāramitās are also referred to as bodhisattva practices, or the necessary stepping stones upon one’s way to becoming a Buddha. The most important thing to note is that these concepts must be put into practice. Without application, it is not Buddhism. Higan, then, is a time to reaffirm and sincerely practice the six pāramitās.
Higan as Observed in Japan
With the practice of the pāramitās, Higan in Japan has incorporated the tradition of acknowledging one’s ancestors and loved ones who have passed away. Although there are many ways of observing higan, many will go to their temples, gravesites of their loved ones, or sit in front of their family alters to offer their prayers in memory of their loved ones. Many will also prepare a unique offering of sweet azuki-bean rice cakes as an offering to be placed on the alters of their loved ones. These azuki-bean rice cakes are called ailed bota mochi in spring and o-hagi during autumn.
Today is the final day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Wisdom. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why? …
6) “Good sons and daughters, when questioned concerning the meaning of all things, extensively teach all treatises and all arts, without trepidation, causing those who respond to wisdom to reach the ultimate in science and art. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is the perfection of wisdom (prajñā).
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Meditation. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why?…
5) “Good sons and daughters teach tranquility, constant mindfulness not conditioned by external objects, and recollection of all actions and speech over long periods of time to those who respond to meditation. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is called the perfection of meditation (dhyāna). …
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Energy. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why? …
4) “Good sons and daughters do not teach indolence but the desire [to practice], supreme perseverance, and cultivation of the four correct postures to those who respond to perseverance. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is called the perfection of perseverance (vīrya). …
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the Fall Equinox, the middle of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
Below is the March 2024 newsletter article Ven. Kenjo Igarashi wrote on the subject of Higan-e:
Twice a year, we experience equinoxes, signifying the beginning of either fall or spring. As most may know, this is a significant time for Buddhists as well, who practice those three days before and after the equinox. Higan, as this is called, is a time, when we practice in order for our mind to leave this shore and cross the river of suffering to reach the other shore of enlightenment. During this time of shumbum (spring equinox) and shubun (fall equinox), the length of morning and night is the same and as Buddhists, we must learn to appreciate that midway between the penance and pleasure of life through practice. We must remember that this time of higan is a time for both praying for ourselves and holding memorial services for our ancestors.
Whenever memorial services are held for one’s ancestors, the young people always tend to ask, “Is this necessary?” The same question is often asked in Japan, too, by the younger generation.
Memorial services are not held just to satisfy one’s ego and to please the ancestors. Some people think that by having a memorial service, they have done their duty and find satisfaction in this belief. Many people also think that when a memorial service is held, prayers are simply offered for the benefit of the ancestors; however, this is not true. When we place ourselves before the altar, we are also praying for our own awareness and spiritual growth.
Nichiren Shonin said, in a letter addressed to his follower,
Abutsubo, “There is no finer vehicle of precious truth than the faith of a man or woman who believes in the truth of the Lotus Sutra. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor. If you recite ‘Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo,’ your body becomes the vehicle of precious truth for you are the Buddha of infinite understanding and truth.”
When we recite the Sutra with Nichiren Shonin’s words in mind, we realize that Buddha dwells in our hearts. Our ancestors dwell in our hearts as well, always sharing our trials and joys.
Money is always good to have but even without it, if your family is healthy and happy you can be sure that your ancestors are resting in peace. No matter how wealthy or poor you may be, if no problems occur in your family, your ancestors are also happy and at peace.
Offering of prayers through the recitation of the Sutra does not mean that you are merely offering prayers to something you cannot see nor understand. You are offering prayers to your innermost self and realizing your infinite love and understanding. You feel grateful for your life, blessed with goodness and moved by the oneness of you and your ancestors. With this awareness you extend the benefits of your prayers to others.
With infinite love and understanding you are at peace. If you are at peace, your ancestors will rest in peace. If your ancestors are at peace, you will be at peace. Your life cannot help but be blessed with goodness. This is the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Attaining this awareness is the true purpose of having memorial services.
Today is the third day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Patience. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why? …
3) “Good sons and daughters teach non-hatred, supreme patience, and neutrality in outer expression to those who respond to patience. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is called the perfection of patience (kṣānti). …
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Discipline. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why? …
2) “Good sons and daughters teach the protection of the six senses, the purification of body, speech, and mind, and the cultivation of the four correct postures [in walking, standing, sitting, and reclining] to those who respond to discipline. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is called the perfection of discipline (śīla). …
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity. For this Fall Higan week I’m using quotes from Chapter IV of The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar in which Śrimālā compares the Six Perfections to the True Dharma.
“Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections. Why?
1) “Good sons and daughters who accept the True Dharma give even their body and limbs for those who respond to giving. By protecting these [living beings’] intentions, they teach them. When they are thus taught and caused to abide in the True Dharma, this is called the perfection of giving (dāna). …
“Therefore, O Lord, the perfections are not different from the one who accepts the True Dharma. The one who accepts the True Dharma is identical with the perfections.
Today is the final day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
Today we consider the Perfection of Wisdom. To that end I’m returning to Jan Nattier’s translation of The Inquiry of Ugra.
“Moreover, O Eminent Householder, when the householder bodhisattva sees a beggar, he will fulfill the cultivation of the six perfections.
“O Eminent Householder, if as soon as the householder bodhisattva is asked for any object whatsoever, his mind no longer grasps at that object, in that way his cultivation of the perfection of giving will be fulfilled.
“If he gives while relying upon the spirit of enlightenment, in that way his cultivation of the perfection of morality will be fulfilled.
“If he gives while bringing to mind loving-kindness toward those beggars and not producing anger or hostility toward them, in that way his cultivation of the perfection of endurance will be fulfilled.
“If he is not depressed due to a wavering mind that thinks ‘If I give this away, what will become of me?’ in that way his perfection of exertion will be fulfilled.
If one gives to a beggar and, after having given, is free Of sorrow and regret, and moreover he gives [these things] up from the standpoint of the spirit of enlightenment and is delighted and joyful, happy, and pleased, in that way his cultivation of the perfection of meditation will be fulfilled.
And if, when he has given, he does not imagine the dharmas [produced by his giving] and does not hope for their maturation, and just as the wise do not settle down in [their belief in] any dharmas, just so he does not settle down [in them], and so he transforms them into Supreme Perfect Enlightenment—in that way his cultivation of the perfection of insight will be fulfilled.
“O Eminent Householder, in that way when the householder bodhisattva sees a beggar he will fulfill the cultivation of the six perfections.”
Today is the sixth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
Today we consider the perfection of meditation.
“Emptiness” is the meditation that yields freedom, whether this meditation is performed in Buddhist or non-Buddhist terms. If you do not understand how the choices you make are conditioned by your background and the context within which you face them, you will have very little freedom in relation to these conditioning factors. If you do not understand that your political views are largely a function of the particular influences that have been exerted on you from early life until now, you will have no way of seeing how other worldviews give justification to other views just as yours does for you, and therefore no way of even beginning to adjudicate between them except by naively assuming the truth of your own.
If you do not realize that what seems obvious to you seems that way because of structures built into your time and place and the particularities of your life, you will have very little room to imagine other ways to look at things that stretch the borders of your context and imagination. You will have no motive to wonder why what seems obvious to you does not seem obvious to others in other cultures or languages, and to wonder whether you might not be better off unconstrained by those particular boundaries of worldview. The extent to which you are limited by your setting is affected by the extent to which you understand such constraints both in general (anyone’s) and in particular (yours). The way you participate in your current given worldview shapes the extent to which you will be able to see alternatives to it and be able to reach out beyond it in freedom.
“Emptiness” and similar non-Buddhist meditations on the powers of interdependence and contextuality are among the most fruitful means of generating sufficient freedom to live a creative life. Reflexively aware, we are more and more able to see and act on alternatives that would never occur to us otherwise. In reflexive meditation, we come to embrace the finitude of all acts of thinking as a way to liberate us from dogmatism and certitude. Understanding the uncertainty that is constitutive of our human mode of being, we develop the flexibility of mind necessary to be honest with ourselves about our own point of view.
Today is fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
Today we consider the perfection of energy.
Desire is the basis of motivation. It is the source of our energy. Without wanting something enough to motivate our will and energize our action, we are unlikely to pursue or get it. Imagine what it would be to eliminate all desire while still living a human life. Without desires we would be inactive and impotent. Lacking ambition, we would be without purposes and plans. Existing in so dispassionate a way that we desire nothing, we would be indifferent to any outcome; we would not care – about anything. Apathetic, that is, lacking pathos and passion, we would be devoid of feelings of any kind as well as the activities and spiritedness that follow from them. Although it is no doubt true that there have been a few aspirants who have understood the Buddha’s enlightenment to be a state of complete desirelessness, this is not the image of the compassionate and energized bodhisattva that we are likely to imagine and admire. A richer and more complete conception of Buddhist enlightenment encompasses and elevates desire rather than rejecting it.
Higan arrives from the Sanskrit word, pāramitā. A Chinese transliteration for this word was “dao bi an.” In Japanese, these characters would be read “tou hi gan”. tou means to “go to” or to “arrive.” hi means “that” or “there.” gan is “bank” or “shore.” This metaphor asks us to imagine our present station to be associated with “this shore,” called shigan in Japanese. “This shore” is one that is characterized by delusion and repeated suffering. Buddhism posits that there is another bank on the other side of the river or body of water. The other shore represents a goal to which we as Buddhists should aspire. It is characterized by understanding and assurance. This distant shore is called higan. Higan represents wisdom, liberty, and compassion. In our respective ways, we as Buddhists are all striving to reach the other shore, that is, to become like the Buddha. Pāramitā, then, involves crossing over from the shore of ignorance to the other shore of enlightenment. The word pāramitā has come to describe the basic components necessary to attain this.