Attended the service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. It was a generic Sunday Service, as compared to, say, the Obon service coming up July 24 or the monthly Kaji Kito purification service, which will be July 31 this month. This is the service most like the daily service Nichiren Shu followers perform at home.

Each opportunity I have to attend services I am thankful that I pushed through my own insecurities and made the necessary efforts to start my Nichiren Shu practice. I hope some day to convince more people to experience this joy. There is more to this practice than funerals, although I must admit the topic comes up a lot.

During Ven. Kenjo Igarashi’s Gosho he discussed a local funeral he participated in earlier in the week. After the service he gave me a copy of his prepared remarks from that service because, as he explained, he knew I was interested in the topic of the 49 Day Journey after death.

Here’s the pertinent part:

In these difficult times, families usually also wonder where the deceased go after their passing. Every religious tradition has their beliefs and own understandings of what happens. As many of you know, in Buddhism we believe that the deceased goes on a 49-day journey after their death, where they will reflect on their lifetime of memories. They will be reminded of the most joyous moments of their life, as well as some of the difficult times as well. Nichiren Shonin knew of the hardships that one might face throughout this journey, as explained in a letter to one of his followers:

“I, Nichiren, am the world’s utmost devotee of the Lotus Sutra. If you pass away after me, remember that there are many trials that you must undergo (throughout your 49-day journey). Pass each trial by declaring in front of the judge that you are the follower of Nichiren, the world’s utmost devotee of the Lotus Sutra. When you must cross the fast ripples of the deep river, the Lotus Sutra will become your boat. When you must climb the treacherous mountains, it will become your vehicle. And when you must travel along a dark road, it will become that glimmer of light in the darkness. I, Nichiren, will promise to wait for you at the entrance to the Northeast gate to Enlightenment, so that you do not lose your way.”

I’ve created a “49 Days” tag so that it will be easier to gather these pieces together at some time in the future.