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.

On April 15, 2016, at 6:10am Eastern time, my wife’s mother died. She had been in hospice care at home for several weeks. The end was not unexpected, but as happens it was still a surprise. This is the first death of a close relative since I became a Nichiren Shu Buddhist.

One of the important aspects of Buddhism and especially Nichiren’s teachings is the practice one does for others, especially parents.

When my wife’s mother died I had been reading Kaimoku-sho. In it Nichiren writes:

Filial devotion preached in Confucianism is limited to this life. Confucian sages and wise men exist in name only because they do not help parents in their future lives. Non-Buddhist religions in India know of the past as well as the future, but they do not know how to help parents. Only Buddhism is worthy of being the way of sages and wise men, as it helps parents in future lives.

Back in March, I wrote about Ven. Kenjo Igarashi’s discussion of death and the 49-day ceremony for the dead. Recently I asked him if he could put this teaching in writing so that I could better explain it to my wife. In response, he used the 49-day journey as the topic for his May sermon included in the church’s Nichiren News newsletter.

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.