HBS BUDDHISM AUSTRALIA

Okosui is the term given to water given to the alter in preparation for chanting. Likewise, rice is usually given but the water holds a special significance. Offering water to Buddha or the Gohonzon is symbolic of purity of ritual and giving respect. This is all part of the daily cleaning of the alter - dusting, giving water and flowers. The daily attention given to cleaning is just as important as the practice of chanting itself. The alter cannot be pure or show due respect without it. HBS looks at a dusty Butsudan (alter) as deeply disrespectful and sign of a lazy person, who is most likely not practicing the fine dharma. The Gohonzon is not to be treated as a good luck charm. Although initially this can feel like a burden just like any other domestic chore, one can find merit in the activity itself as an act of service or giving. In reality, it only takes ten minutes a day and is a good preparation for the chanting of the Odaimoku.  What are the merits bestowed by Okosui? W...

  What is the "Gohonzon?" The Gohonzon is a scroll with calligraphy in Japanese 'kanji' characters stating: "Namu Myo Horenge Kyo" (homage to the lotus sutra). When the Gohonzon is used for praying and chanting, this process is called "odaimoku". The Gohonzon is always inked by hand by the head priest of a temple and presented to a member of HBS inside a frame and placed inside their "daibutsu" (alter). This becomes the focal point of the daibutsu; when praying/chanting, the practitioner looks at the Gohonzon, chanting to make a connection with the Buddha inside of us, the Shakyamuni Buddha and our ancestors. The Gohonzon is like a portal to universe. The Shakyamuni Buddha is the figure most associate with the dissemination of Buddhism and often referred to as the Buddha. In fact, he is only one of many Buddha's. His original name was Siddhartha Gautama; he was responsible for writing the lotus sutra 2,500 years ago - the sutra ...