Hungry?

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

 

This morning I woke to see a starry sky.  This means that there might be sun this morning, although the weather report on NPR did call for cloudy skies and thunderstorms.  My morning zazen was serene.  The quiet stillness of the forest is a comfortable reflection of the practice. 

The Refuge has had day after day of clouds and rain. These are the days of refuge and retreat, what Buddhists call Ango.

 
I am personally honoring Obon and Ohigan this week at Daihoji Refuge.  Obon is the festival where we assist hungry ghosts by transferring all the merit we may have accumulated through the year to those less fortunate. Ohigan is the festival of the autumn equinox (occurring this year on September 22). My Teacher's favorite Buddhist ceremony is Obon (I will celebrate this tomorrow evening, corresponding with the lighting of my Shabbat candles). We bake small cakes and wrap them in white paper.  His voice would get tight as he described hungry ghosts as those with enormous appetites symbolized by large mouths and tiny throats. He would generously offer wrapped cakes on this day. 

 

Hungry ghosts are, of course, a metaphor for ourselves.   What do you think, do we need larger throats or smaller mouths?

 

Be well.