Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo asked yesterday if there was a Buddhist invocation. Yes. Like other religions, there are blessings, prayers and such for many occasions.
Then it got me thinking about something that happened this Thanksgiving that I totally LOVED. On many occasions in the past here and on the mainland, if there was a Christian who liked to say grace before a meal, we were most certainly happy to allow them to lead us all in a prayer (even if the person was the only Christian at the table).
This year, before eating I insisted that someone say grace since that's what you do on Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law is Catholic and my nephews were raised Catholic, sort of. Well, this year neither nephew wanted to do it and my sister-in-law had to work so couldn't join us.
So I asked mom if she knew a Buddhist grace. She said, "Of course there is. My father had us all say a prayer before each meal."
Anyway, she explained to us what the words meant and then recited the long passage by heart. I was shocked that she could remember it.
"We said it every day before every meal so of course I remember it," she laughed.
Then I remembered how she and Auntie Grace recited the sutra when we were at Eiheiji (one of the two main zen Buddhist temples in Japan) a couple of years ago. Art and I had sat there with our mouths open to hear them say the sutra from the memory of their hearts.
Mom said that the first part of the sutra is too difficult to explain, but contain some of the tenets of Buddhism. She was able to translate the second part as: "The first bite is to ward away bad things. The second bite is for doing good deeds. The third bite is for everybody's happiness. And every meal is for everyone to find their satori (sort of an awakening of understanding).
And so mom said the first Buddhist grace we've ever heard at our Thanksgiving table.
I can't begin to explain how it felt. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was full of love.
It was like coming home.
Then it got me thinking about something that happened this Thanksgiving that I totally LOVED. On many occasions in the past here and on the mainland, if there was a Christian who liked to say grace before a meal, we were most certainly happy to allow them to lead us all in a prayer (even if the person was the only Christian at the table).
This year, before eating I insisted that someone say grace since that's what you do on Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law is Catholic and my nephews were raised Catholic, sort of. Well, this year neither nephew wanted to do it and my sister-in-law had to work so couldn't join us.
So I asked mom if she knew a Buddhist grace. She said, "Of course there is. My father had us all say a prayer before each meal."
Anyway, she explained to us what the words meant and then recited the long passage by heart. I was shocked that she could remember it.
"We said it every day before every meal so of course I remember it," she laughed.
 |
| Saying grace at Eiheiji Temple |
Mom said that the first part of the sutra is too difficult to explain, but contain some of the tenets of Buddhism. She was able to translate the second part as: "The first bite is to ward away bad things. The second bite is for doing good deeds. The third bite is for everybody's happiness. And every meal is for everyone to find their satori (sort of an awakening of understanding).
And so mom said the first Buddhist grace we've ever heard at our Thanksgiving table.
I can't begin to explain how it felt. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was full of love.
It was like coming home.
