Following the Hanamatsuri service Sunday, Ven. Kenjo Igarashi brought out his portable chalkboard and set in on an easel next to his lectern. Already written in chalk were two Chinese characters. These were labeled E and Kou, which translate to Memorial Prayers.

For some reason I feel compelled to point out that the easel originally was part of a large floral display used at a funeral.  After the funeral, the display was moved to the parking lot and attendees were invited to scavenge individual flowers to take home. When all the flowers were gone, Rev. Igarashi kept the easel. The thin green legs of the easel and the green chalkboard look as if they were purchased together. The easel can be found on the altar dais behind a curtain next to his lectern.

And I think the juxtaposition of these two peripherally related tidbits inadvertently illustrates why I am unable to give a detailed recounting of  the sermon Rev. Igarashi gave on the topic of Memorial Prayers.

Last month, I recorded  Rev. Igarashi’s sermon after the Ohigan service, knowing in advance that I’d want a record of what he  said so I could add it to my Higan content. But instead of immediately posting the sermon after I transcribed the recording, I let it sit around for a week. Sunday I didn’t record the sermon and instead I am left to try to remember the lesson he gave.

Here is my dilemma: I want to explain the lesson I took from the sermon on E Kou without impugning Rev. Igarashi’s lesson. What I took in, what I recall, the lesson I received – it’s quite possible none of that was Rev. Igarashi’s intent.

This is what happens when “a bhikṣu, a bhikṣunī, an upāsakā, an upāsikā, or some other wise person, whether young or old, rejoices at hearing this sūtra in a congregation after my extinction. After leaving the congregation, he or she goes to some other place, for instance, to a monastery, a retired place, a city, a street, a town, or a village. There he or she expounds this sūtra, as he or she has heard it, to his or her father, mother, relative, friend or acquaintance as far as he or she can. Another person who has heard [this sūtra from him or her], rejoices, goes [to some other place] and expounds it to a third person. The third person also rejoices at hearing it and expounds it to a fourth person. In this way this sūtra is heard by a fiftieth person.” [Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra]

What I can provide is my “fiftieth person” understanding. Please don’t blame Rev. Igarashi.

For Memorial Services, I’ve operated under a simple understanding: I accumulate merit with my practice and during the services I transfer that merit to my deceased ancestors. “Simple” is key here. Rev. Igarashi explained that the merit attained from our daily practice allows us to seek the intercession of Śākyamuni, Tahō Buddha, the great Bodhisattvas and all the protective deities. That’s where the power to help our deceased ancestors lies.

When I heard this I was reminded of a quote from Nichiren:

The Lotus Sūtra is called “Zui-jii,” namely it expounds the true mind of the Buddha. Since the Buddha’s mind is so great, even if one does not understand the profound meaning of the sūtra, one can gain innumerable merits by just reading it. Just as a mugwort among hemp plants grows straight and a snake in a tube straightens itself, if one becomes friendly with good people, one’s mind, behavior, and words become naturally gentle. Likewise, the Buddha thinks that those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra become naturally virtuous.

Zui-jii Gosho, The Sūtra Preached in Accordance to [the Buddha’s] Own Mind, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 155

It is this merit of Śākyamuni that we are able to transfer to our deceased ancestors. The more we practice Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, our practice of the Lotus Sutra, the greater the merit. Rev. Igarashi explained that we need to devote our entire body to the effort. Not literally but figuratively like Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, in the previous life of Bodhisattva Medicine King, who sacrificed his body as an offering to the Buddha.

Rev. Igarashi recalled his five times through the grueling Aragyo 100-day ascetic practice to illustrate how he gained his ability to offer purifying prayers for those who attend Kaji Kito services.

I will be 70 in December. Not a lot of physical body I can devote to my practice, but what there is goes to Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

While I was at the church I asked Rev. Igarashi to bless a new set of Juzu I had purchased from the Nichiren Buddhist International Center. The beads came with a brochure, which offered this tidbit:

Prayer Beads are used by all Buddhists and by many other religions as well. These beads are called Juzu or Nenju in Japanese, Mala by the Tibetans and in Sanskrit they are called Japamala. When the Romans first saw prayer beads (Japamala) used by the Hindus, they mistakenly heard “jap” instead of “japa.” Jap in Sanskrit stands for rose. Translated into Latin Japmala comes out as “Rosarium” and in English as “Rosary.” The Juzu or Mala may have been the inspiration for the prayer beads used by some Christians and Muslims today.