On Sunday morning at Kanemoto Park, a couple dozen people walked silently around the Tower of Compassion in meditation.
It was the beginning of Obon, an annual Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors. Rev. John Hughes of the Longmont Buddhist Temple led the group before beginning the Obon service.
“Obon is a festival of joy, is really what it comes down to,” Hughes said. “It is the time when the ancestors come back to visit the families.”
On a table in front of the Tower of Compassion, people left photos of their loved ones to remember during the service. The Longmont Buddhist Temple has celebrated Obon at the Tower of Compassion for several years.
After the walking meditation and service on Sunday, the crowd participated in Obon odori, or Japanese folk dancing, and a potluck.
“The reason it’s a festival of joy and that we dance is because Mogallana was one of the historical Buddha’s closest monks, and he was worried about where his mother was in the afterlife,” Hughes said. “The Buddha told him to get out of his own head, basically, and take care of other people. When he finally realized he didn’t have to worry about it, he jumped for joy.”
During his service, Hughes also spoke about Hatsubon, which is the first Obon after a loved one dies.
“All loved ones who passed in the preceding 12 months are acknowledged,” he said. “In the midst of the joy of knowing these individuals have passed to the Pure Land and escaped from samsara, it is a time for loved ones to feel the pain of the loss and be comforted by the sangha.”
