Star Festival
Tanabata Star Festival
In
this modern world we live in, particularly in the Western industrialized nations it seems we have gotten away from celebrating or commemorating our connections with life and the Universe. In the United States, where I live, we do not have a single holiday or marking of any environmental or seasonal phenomena, at least as far as I am aware. It seems almost as if we are denying our relationship to the universe around us.
I was talking with a young man who comes to the temple the other day about celebrating and remembering our connections to the earth and the universe that sustains us. In my Daily practice from yesterday I encouraged those practicing to think of the myriad connections they have to countless individuals who make their lives possible.
Today we take a moment to celebrate our connection with the universe and the celestial phenomena we observe outside our earth. It is hard to image, especially with all the scientific knowledge we have acquired, what the value of things in the universe have on our lives other than the sun and perhaps the moon. Yet way back in the beginning of mankind there was deeper sense of connection to all the things witnessed and experienced not matter how far away or how small.
On the seventh day of the seventh month in parts of Asia, in particular Japan and China, the star festival is observed. It celebrates the meeting of the deities represented by the stars Vega and Altair who are separated from each other by the Milky Way and are allowed to come together only once a year.
If we think about the things that separate us from our own happiness sometimes they may seem as large and as nebulous as the Milky Way. Sometimes our problems seem insurmountable and impossible to overcome. We might imagine how these two deities feel as they are separated from each other by the large celestial body we call the Milky Way.
“Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of men, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter III)
There are many things we might lay blame upon that prevent us from being happy and experiencing joy in our lives. But the single largest factor is our reluctance or our refusal to practice Buddhism fully in our lives.
Every day we have opportunities available to us to practice mindfulness and observe the Eight Right ways. We have countless chances to either vocally or silently praise the Lotus Sutra in our lives by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Yet frequently we fail to do so, we fear to do so.
“They do not know how to stop suffering, or that they should seek emancipation. In the long night fewer people go to heaven, and more people go to the evil regions. They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear of the names of the Buddhas.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII)
Daily we are given yet another opportunity, not yearly but every moment provides us with the golden moment to practice Buddhism to eliminate our sufferings.
“Not only we but also all gods and men will be able to obtain the greatest benefit. Therefore, we bow and devote ourselves to you, the Most Honorable One.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII)
