Today Rev. Igarashi held a memorial service for Mark Washington, the son of Renee Dennis, a member of the church. Mark died Aug. 20, 2021, of complications related to Covid-19.

Rather than attempt to paraphrase Rev. Igarashi’s special prayer and his sermon, I’ll just reprint an article published in the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church newsletter in May 2016.

The Significance of the 49-Day Journey After Death

Last November [2015] marked the 40-year anniversary since I first became an overseas minister. Since then, I have spent these past several months reflecting on my various experiences throughout my journey as a Buddhist priest in the United States. It led me to realize that while I have much more that I wish to tell to you about Buddhism, there are also many concepts that need further explanation. One example that comes to mind is the importance of the 49th day memorial service for the deceased, which is specific to Buddhist traditions. Its significance is often times downplayed or even forgotten, when compared to the notion of holding funeral services. I wish to elaborate on this topic by briefly taking you through the 49-day journey of the deceased.

When an individual passes away, it is said that 49 nails are hammered into their body and soul, restraining both the physical body and soul from moving. Every seven days, starting from the day of the individual’s passing, until the 49th day, we hold memorial services for the individual. Seven nails will be removed every seventh day, until all 49 of these nails are removed, to ultimately free the deceased’s soul. On the 49th day, there will be a trial or hearing held in front of the so-called ”judge”, who will be standing in front of six gates, bearing no signs. However, we all know that each of these gates leads the individual to six possible realms of existence. These include hell, those of hungry spirits, animals, ashura, humans, or the heavenly beings. Everyone wants to either return as a human being, or enter the realm of heavenly beings. This judge in front of the six gates, will not guide this individual to the proper gate, but only instruct them to choose one. The individual will choose the gate based on what they may think is only instinct, yet this decision will also be guided by the actions that the individual took during their time on this earth.

While it may seem as if we take little part in the deceased individual’s 49-day journey, this is not the case. One way we can assist them, is by chanting ”Namu myo ho renge kyo”, which as you know, is the name of the Buddha nature that we all possess. We chant this odaimoku throughout the 49 days to call upon the deceased individual’s Buddha nature. If you recall, the Buddha nature can be imagined as the inside of a seed, while the outer shell represents bad karma resulting primarily from previous actions. Whenever we chant the odaimoku, the Buddha nature slowly grows. While this is a slow process, the more we chant, the more the Buddha nature shows, until it finally appears by sprouting through the outer shell. If the Buddha nature does not appear at the end of the 49 days, the individual will not be able to reach Enlightenment.

While death signifies the end of an individual’s time in this world, it does not mark the ultimate endpoint of their spirit. Please remember that your Buddhist practice can serve an important purpose in providing happiness for not only yourself, but also others, including the deceased.

Ven. Kenjo lgarashi

My mother died in 2003 and my father in 2009. At that time I was practicing with Soka Gakkai, which had no teaching regarding the spiritual world, the other side of this world through which we pass after death. As an SGI follower I offered generic prayers for the deceased but nothing more. My wife’s parents died in 2016 and 2018, and by then I was practicing with Nichiren Shu and the Sacramento Nichiren Budddhist Church. The experience as a Nichiren Shu follower was helpful, both for my wife and her loss and for my relationship with my deceased parents.

This topic comes up because a man I know is suffering through the pending death of his mother. He sees his practice for world peace as of little merit in this situation. But his daily practice and his prayers can be very beneficial.

In Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 56-57, Nichiren explains:

“As you read and recite the ‘jiga-ge’ verse, you produce 510 golden characters. Each of these characters transforms itself to be the sun, which in turn changes to Śākyamuni Buddha, who emits the rays of bright light shining through the earth, the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry spirits and that of beasts), the Hell of Incessant Suffering, and to all the directions in the north, south, east, and west. They shine upward to the ‘Heaven of neither Thought nor Non-Thought’ at the top of the realm of non-form looking everywhere for the souls of the departed.”

I have found the Japanese idea of what happens after death comforting. The soul of the person (we are NOT going to discuss the fact that Ryuei McCormick would tell us we DON’T have souls) travels on a 49 day journey during which seven trials are held before magistrates.

At the start, the deceased must climb a mountain. The height of the mountain is determined by the deceased’s bad karma. This takes seven days. At the end of seven days the deceased must cross the Sanzu River, the river of three crossings. Those with sufficient good karma can cross the river on a bridge. Those with less good karma can cross on a shallow ford. Those with overwhelmingly bad karma must bob across, sinking to the bottom and then rising to the surface, repeating the process. The journey across the Sanzu River takes seven days.

At 14 days, the deceased stands before a magistrate to be judged on how much the person stole during his life. Egregious thieves are sent straight to hell while the others are allowed to pass onto the next trial.

At 21 days, the deceased are judged on their sins of lust, using a cat and a snake. As explained in Meido: The Japanese Underworld, “The cat is used to judge the souls of men; it bites at their penises, and the degree of the injury – from a slight scratch to completely severed – is used as a measure of one’s sexual sin. The snake is used to judge the souls of women; it is inserted into the woman, and the depth to which it can enter is used to determine the depth of her sin.” Again, the egregiously sinful are cast into hell and the remainder are allowed to pass onto the next test.

At 28 days, the deceased are judged on the number of lies they told. The lies are piled on a scale and the number of heavy stones it takes to balance the scale determines the weight of the deceased’s sins.The really heavy sinners are sent directly to hell, and the rest allowed to proceed to the next trial.

The trial on the 35th day is the last one in which memorial prayers can impact the outcome. During this trial, the deceased is shown a mirror on which the individual’s former life is reflected, with all of their sins and transgressions clearly laid out. A recommendation is made at this point on which of the six realms – hell, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human or heaven – the deceased merits being reborn in.

On the 42nd day, a magistrate takes the weight of the deceased’s sins and the life reflected in the mirror to determine the location for the deceased rebirth.

It is on the 49th day that the fate of the deceased is sealed. The deceased enters a room with six gates. There are no markings on the gates or any indication where they lead.

As told by Ven. Kenjo Igarashi, “This judge in front of the six gates, will not guide this individual to the proper gate, but only instruct them to choose one. The individual will choose the gate based on what they may think is only instinct, yet this decision will also be guided by the actions that the individual took during their time on this earth.

“While it may seem as if we take little part in the deceased individual’s 49-day journey, this is not the case. One way we can assist them, is by chanting ‘Namu myo ho renge kyo,’ which as you know, is the name of the Buddha nature that we all possess. We chant this odaimoku throughout the 49 days to call upon the deceased individual’s Buddha nature. If you recall, the Buddha nature can be imagined as the inside of a seed, while the outer shell represents bad karma resulting primarily from previous actions. Whenever we chant the odaimoku, the Buddha nature slowly grows. While this is a slow process, the more we chant, the more the Buddha nature shows, until it finally appears by sprouting through the outer shell. If the Buddha nature does not appear at the end of the 49 days, the individual will not be able to reach Enlightenment.

“While death signifies the end of an individual’s time in this world, it does not mark the ultimate endpoint of their spirit. Please remember that your Buddhist practice can serve an important purpose in providing happiness for not only yourself, but also others, including the deceased.”

Today, Ven. Kenjo Igarashi held a 49-Day Memorial service for my wife’s father, Richard Buchin, at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. It was a small family affair with just my wife and son and his girlfriend.

When my wife’s mother died in 2016 I had only been practicing Nichiren Shu Buddhism for a little more than a year, and I had no understanding of the 49 Day journey of the deceased. (When my parents died in 2003 and 2009 I was practicing with Soka Gakkai, which ignores such teachings judging from my experience.)

Now with the completion of the journey for my wife’s father I have a fuller appreciation of the value of marking these first seven weeks after the passing of a loved one. (With both sets of parents gone, I’ll be happy if the subject doesn’t arise again for many, many years.)

The picture at the top of this post is of a memorial that I composed for my wife’s father (see this blog post from April 28, 2018). I brought it to Rev. Igarashi and asked if he could decorate it. He readily agreed. This finished product will act as our memorial tablet for our altar.

Sunday’s service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church included a 47-year memorial service for the father of a church member, the 49-Day memorial service for the father of another member and the first memorial for Richard Buchin, my wife’s father, who died the day before on Saturday, April 28.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered a sermon on the 49-day journey of the deceased. Rather than paraphrase that sermon I’ll reprint his lecture from May 2016:

The Significance of the 49-Day Journey After Death

Last November marked the 40-year anniversary since I first became an overseas minister. Since then, I have spent these past several months reflecting on my various experiences throughout my journey as a Buddhist priest in the United States. It led me to realize that while I have much more that I wish to tell to you about Buddhism, there are also many concepts that need further explanation. One example that comes to mind is the importance of the 49th day memorial service for the deceased, which is specific to Buddhist traditions. Its significance is often times downplayed or even forgotten, when compared to the notion of holding funeral services. I wish to elaborate on this topic by briefly taking you through the 49-day journey of the deceased.

When an individual passes away, it is said that 49 nails are hammered into their body and soul, restraining both the physical body and soul from moving. Every seven days, starting from the day of the individual’s passing, until the 49th day, we hold memorial services for the individual. Seven nails will be removed every seventh day, until all 49 of these nails are removed, to ultimately free the deceased’s soul. On the 49th day, there will be a trial or hearing held in front of the so-called ”judge”, who will be standing in front of six gates, bearing no signs. However, we all know that each of these gates leads the individual to six possible realms of existence. These include hell, those of hungry spirits, animals, ashura, humans, or the heavenly beings. Everyone wants to either return as a human being, or enter the realm of heavenly beings. This judge in front of the six gates, will not guide this individual to the proper gate, but only instruct them to choose one. The individual will choose the gate based on what they may think is only instinct, yet this decision will also be guided by the actions that the individual took during their time on this earth.

While it may seem as if we take little part in the deceased individual’s 49-day journey, this is not the case. One way we can assist them, is by chanting ”Namu myo ho renge kyo”, which as you know, is the name of the Buddha nature that we all possess. We chant this odaimoku throughout the 49 days to call upon the deceased individual’s Buddha nature. If you recall, the Buddha nature can be imagined as the inside of a seed, while the outer shell represents bad karma resulting primarily from previous actions. Whenever we chant the odaimoku, the Buddha nature slowly grows. While this is a slow process, the more we chant, the more the Buddha nature shows, until it finally appears by sprouting through the outer shell. If the Buddha nature does not appear at the end of the 49 days, the individual will not be able to reach Enlightenment.

While death signifies the end of an individual’s time in this world, it does not mark the ultimate endpoint of their spirit. Please remember that your Buddhist practice can serve an important purpose in providing happiness for not only yourself, but also others, including the deceased.

Ven. Kenjo lgarashi
May 2016

I have been searching for a generic outline of Japanese Buddhist beliefs about what happens after death, and recently found Meido: The Japanese Underworld. While this doesn’t track exactly with Rev. Igarashi’s explanation, it offers an explanation of the seven trials that take place over the 49 days.

Below is a poster that I made for my wife. She left it on her office door before returning to New York State to attend to affairs after her father’s passing. For me, the summary of his life is a telling example of what has changed in the world. A smart kid who works part-time at a major manufacturer, graduates high school and serves his country in the Armed Forces. After his honorable discharge he returns home to his job. That job lasts 40 years and provides him and his wife a pension and health care for their retirement. That was commonplace in his day. It is extremely rare in my lifetime. Will it even exist in my son’s life?

On Saturday, April 22, 2017, I attended the 49 Day memorial service for Kanji Hitomi, a member of a prominent family at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. My wife and I held a 49 Day service for her mother last year, but this was the first stand-alone 49 Day service I’ve attended. The attention paid to our deceased relatives, especially parents, is one of features of the Nichiren Shu practice I’ve found very rewarding.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered his explanation the 49 Days after someone dies. The retelling is for those in the audience who are not members, but I always find it interesting.

Here’s my recollection:

After dying the body of the person is kept from moving with 49 nails. Each seven days seven nails are removed and a trial occurs. (I’ll admit to some confusion with being secured by nails and the previous tales of having to climb a mountain on the first seven days and crossing a river on the second, but I’m happy accept both concepts.) On the 35th Day, the deceased meets with Emma-o, the god of the underworld, who has a VCR and tape of every action of the deceased’s lifetime. No detail is left hidden as this karma is detailed.

On the final trial on the 49th Day, the last of the nails are removed. The deceased is in a room with a judge. The room contains six identical doors. One leads to hell. Another to the world of animals. Another goes to the world of asuras where everyone fights all the time. One leads to the world of hungry spirits. One returns to the world of humans. The sixth door leads to a heavenly realm. There is no way to tell which door leads to which realm. The judge silently motions for the deceased to pick a door.

The deceased’s karma determines the choice but the prayers of the living can transfer merit that can improve the lot of the deceased.

All of those attending today’s service were invited to join the family at a local Chinese restaurant where dishes favored by the deceased would be enjoyed by everyone.

Rev. Igarashi gave me a ride to the restaurant and while we were sitting together eating, he mentioned that this luncheon serves a special purpose. The feeling of satisfaction in dining and the camaraderie of the diners is transferred to the deceased.

I’ve considered myself a Buddhist for nearly 30 years, but it is only in the years that I’ve attended the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church and delved into the teachings of Nichiren Shu that I feel genuinely Buddhist.

That’s just me. Your mileage may vary.

Today was the Ohigan ceremony at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church, during which prayers are offered for our ancestors, to transfer our merit to them to ease their burden.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi’s service reminded us that Ohigan is also the final day of a weeklong focus on living the life of the Six Paramitas.

The Six Paramitas, also known as the Six Perfections, are:

• Giving
• Observing Precepts
• Patience
• Striving
• Meditation
• Wisdom

The bottom line of Buddhist practice, Rev. Igarashi explained, “Don’t make bad actions.”

At the last service, Rev. Igarashi explained that the first seven-day trial for the deceased is to climb a treacherous mountain. The heavier your karma, the more difficult the climb.

Today, Rev. Igarashi explained that the second seven-day trial involves crossing a deep river. Those with little or no bad karma can cross on a bridge but those with heavy karma are forced to cross by bobbing to the surface, sinking to the bottom, and bobbing to the service until they reach the other shore.

He also made an effort to explain the third seven day trial but something was lost in translation. The third week apparently involves snakes and cats but how and why were unclear.

Postscript: An article entitled Meido: The Japanese Underworld offers a detailed explanation of the trials of the 49 days following death. This is the explanation of the Third Trial:

The third trial takes place 21 days after death, and is overseen by King Soutei (whose true form is Manji Bosatsu, or Manjusri). Manji judges the souls on their sins of lust and sexuality, using a cat and a snake. The cat is used to judge the souls of men; it bites at their penises, and the degree of the injury — from a slight scratch to completely severed — is used as a measure of one’s sexual sin. The snake is used to judge the souls of women; it is inserted into the woman, and the depth to which it can enter is used to determine the depth of her sin. As before, some will go on to Hell, while others — with the aid of funerary services from their surviving family members — will pass on to the next trial.

Today was the Kaji Kito purification ceremony at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church and appended to that was the 7-Day Memorial Service for a prominent member of the church. After the service the Ven. Kenjo Igarashi offered a reminder of the purpose of this and the other memorial ceremonies.

In the first seven days after passing, the person must climb a steep hill. The difficulty of the task is compounded by the weight of the person’s bad karma. Someone who did many evil deeds would be burdened by a great weight during the climb. The prayers offered during the service and daily during the initial seven days seek to transfer our merit to the deceased in order to ease the weight of their bad karma.

Following the explanation Rev. Igarashi was quick to point out that the recently deceased church member had “no bad karma” and therefore had an easy climb.

Rev. Igarashi’s most recent newsletter lecture – The Similarities Between Ohigan and Volunteering – seeks to counter the criticism of modern Buddhism that it is too focused on funerals. There is much to agree with in his conclusion:

[D]uring this month of Ohigan, we must get together and recite the sutra and chant the Odaimoku in order to help those spirits that cannot rest in peace or are unable to cultivate their own virtue, and approach this in the same manner that we approach what is considered to be “volunteering.”

My son celebrated his 25th birthday earlier this month. They’re born and then they’re gone. Left behind are little ghosts, such as the toddler who loved Disney’s animated Winnie the Pooh stories. When he grew older, the Pooh stories were his retreat when anxiety struck.

“I need a Pooh movie,” he would say, and we would gather around the VHS player and watch together.

Last night, after watching the final U.S. Presidential Debate and the CNN commentary – you really can’t polish this turd – I needed a Pooh movie.

Having no personal equivalent of A.A. Milne’s classic tales, I chose instead to listen to an hour-long, four-part lecture about “The Pure Land in Nichiren Shu Buddhism.”

Seriously, this was a perfect Pooh movie.

The lecture is given by Rev. Kanto Tsukamoto at the Nichiren Shu Buddhist Temple in Dagenham, a suburb of London. (The first of the videos says the lecture was given in 2014 but it was only uploaded on YouTube between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, 2016.) The videos are the creation of Choeizan Enkyoji, the Seattle Nichiren Buddhist Temple. (YouTube, Temple Website)

The first part of the movie offered a clear explanation of the fundamentals of Nichiren Shu doctrine, along with a very compelling explanation of why we practice both for personal merit and for the merit of others.

Of course, the bulk of the video covers the difference between the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha and the Pure Land of Sakyamuni as taught by Nichiren Shonin.

The title of this post comes from the explanation of how one gets to the Pure Land after death. Followers of Amitābha Buddha believe one is reborn in a Pure Land far away in the West. This is called O-Jo.

The Lotus Sutra, in particular the 16th Chapter, teaches that there is no Pure Land separate from this Saha World.

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.

For Nichiren followers, there is no difference between the pure land of Mount Sacred Eagle, where Sakyamuni preaches the Lotus Sutra, the spiritual land of Mount Sacred Eagle.

Although I always live here
With the perverted people
I disappear from their eyes
By my supernatural powers.

When they see me seemingly pass away,
And make offerings to my sariras,
And adore me, admire me,
And become devout, upright and gentle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I reappear on Mt. Sacred Eagle
With my Samgha,
And say to them:
‘I always live here.
I shall never be extinct.
I show my extinction to you expediently
Although I never pass away.

Upon death, one is not “reborn” in a distant land. Instead, one passes through to the pure land of Mount Sacred Eagle. This is O-Kay.

The Gohonzon is the link between the real Mount Sacred Eagle and the spiritual Mount Sacred Eagle. It is our anchor. With our practice and study for ourselves and others we build a real pure land in this world.

If you are feeling anxious about things, this is a wonderful video to watch. We Bodhisattvas are stronger together.

In a coincidence of American holidays and Nichiren Shu Buddhist ceremonies, on this Memorial Day weekend my wife and I honored her deceased mother in a 49-Day Ceremony following the church’s annual Eitaikyo service, which honors the deceased who are registered on the church’s perpetual memorial list. This year I had both of my parents and Mary’s mother added to that list. And in a final bit of memorial duty, the priest performed an eye-opening ceremony for a memorial tablet created for my home altar.

As one might expect with memorials upon memorials, the priest’s Gosho lesson following the services discussed the concept of heaven and hell. He explained that Nichiren taught that heaven and hell are within us. To explain this idea, he told a story:

Not everyone goes through the 49-day trials after death. Some, such as Nichiren, are rewarded immediately for their good causes and some who have not done anything good in their lives are punished immediately.

A woman destined for a heaven asked for an opportunity to see hell. Bodhisattvas took her there. She was surprised to see a large table filled with all sorts of food. The food smelled delicious.

At each chair around the table was a spoon with a handle more than a meter in length.

Soon the residents of this hell entered the room and seated themselves around the food. Each picked up a spoon and began attempting to serve themselves. They could only pick up the spoons at the end, which meant there was no way to get the food into their mouths. They scooped up food in vain attempts to eat but eventually left the table hungry.

The woman told the bodhisattvas that she was ready to go to heaven. Once there she was very surprised to find exactly the same food and the same overly long spoons. The residents of this heaven soon filed in and seated themselves around the table. They picked up the spoons and scooped up a portion of food. Each person then fed the person closest to the end of the spoon. One of the heavenly residents offered a spoon of food to the woman. Everyone ate heartily and enjoyed their meal.

I can imagine any number of morals to this story. The merit of serving others first – the embodiment of the bodhisattva practice – is a recurring theme in Ven. Kenjo Igarashi’s Gosho lessons.

Recently, I came across another version of the “49th Day Memorial” service explanation. This was written by Rev. Igarashi when he was bishop of the Nichiren Order of North America and published in the June 1, 2004, “Nichiren Shu News”:

When a loved one passes away the family and friends sink into deep sadness. The forty-nine day period after the death is viewed as a time when the deceased may sink into a limbo, and have to endure barriers caused by past karma.

Initially, in this intermediate state (a place between the mortal and immortal realm) one will face the trials of scaling a rugged cliff (first 7 days). Next comes the river with three currents–slow, medium, and fast movements. A good karma merits a slow current while the worst merits a crossing through strong rapids (second 7 days).

And these trials will continue throughout the third, fourth, fifth, sixth set of 7 days. On the seventh 7-day period, or 49-days, King Yama, Lord of the Dead, finally allows the deceased to receive directions towards a human-like realm.

Thus the surviving ones should not sink into deep sadness but instead pray for the deceased conducting eko, merit transference, so that it bestows the compassion of Sakyamuni Buddha and the loved one will be able to make it through the 49-days.

For more about the 49 Day trials see God in Heaven and Mother’s Day.