Sacred Items for a Service
Sacred Items for Higan Memorial Service
Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, 22nd Temple Heidouji Ohigan
At Heidouji, a sacred site of Shikoku's Odaishi-sama, we will conduct an Ohigan Memorial Service open to everyone. During this period, when we offer our gratitude and memorial services to our dearly departed, let us unite our hearts and pray at the moment when the distance between the Buddha's world (the other shore) and our world (this shore) is the closest.
Read more
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
What is Ohigan? Origin and Online Memorial Service
Ohigan is a period in Japanese Buddhism recommended for ancestral memorial services. Every year, around the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox, for one week before and after, it is cherished as a time to both express gratitude to the deceased and for our own spiritual practice. While Obon is the time when ancestors return to this world, Ohigan is considered a period of spiritual practice for us to get closer to the Buddha's world.
This Year's Ohigan
- Spring Ohigan: March 17, 2025 – March 23, 2025
- Autumn Ohigan: September 20, 2025 – September 26, 2025
During autumn Ohigan, you can also enjoy the scenery of blooming higanbana flowers.
Regarding the relationship between Ohigan and the Paramitas, "Ohigan" and "Paramita" originally derive from the Indian word "Pāramitā," meaning the perfected state. During this period, through ancestral memorial services and the practice of the six paramitas—Dana (generosity), Sila (morality), Kshanti (patience), Vyayama (energy), Dhyana (meditation), and Prajna (wisdom)—you have the chance to purify your heart and take a step closer to the Buddha's world.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Explanation of the Six Paramitas
Dana Paramita
Acts of sharing through offerings and consideration without expecting anything in return. Offerings in ancestral memorial services symbolize this.
Sila Paramita
Observing precepts, avoiding evil, and doing good. This includes cleaning graves and Buddhist altars, and purifying oneself.
Kshanti Paramita
Enduring hardships towards others and oneself, advancing without disturbing the heart. Offering flowers quietly symbolizes this steadfastness.
Vyayama Paramita
Continuing good deeds and acting with inner enthusiasm. Daily practices such as offering spirit offerings and Buddhist meals are important.
Dhyana Paramita
Calming the mind through meditation to gain insight and concentration. Lighting incense sticks symbolizes this.
Prajna Paramita
Using wisdom to discern the true nature of things, reaching the state of emptiness. Candles on the Buddhist altar are used as beacons to illuminate ignorance.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Information on Online Memorial Services
Heidouji is conducting online memorial services!
Flow of Memorial Service Ceremony
- Every day from 19:00 to 21:00
The priest chants sutras and sequentially reads the names of participants.
Live streaming is available on YouTube, TikTok Live, Nico Nico Live, Twitch, 17 Live, etc.
Online Application
All applications and offerings can be completed online. After the memorial service, we will mail items such as dedication certificates and amulets.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Details and Applications Here
Details for Ohigan 2025 are here.
Apply here.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
We sincerely await your participation. Along with feelings of gratitude to your loved ones, spend a moment to purify your heart through the practice of the six paramitas and take a step closer to the Buddha's world. Gassho.
#Shikoku88TemplePilgrimage #Ohigan #AncestralMemorial #SixParamitas #OnlineMemorialService #Heidouji
Catalog
List of grants
Only the sacred items you can receive with this service are listed here. If an item interests you, see its details page for its origin and offering.
Memorial certificate
供養の法会を開いた証書です。種類を選んでお申し込みいただけます。
mini memorial certificate
This is a certificate for holding a memorial service. When folded into three parts, it becomes the size of a business card (55mm x 91mm). It will be sent after the commencement memorial service.
memorial certificate - Kukai
It is a certificate that held a memorial service. We will send it after opening the eyes.
memorial certificate lotus version
It is a certificate that held a memorial service. A lotus version for all denominations. We will send it after opening the eyes.
wooden memorial tablet
An 8-inch white wooden ihai will be established in the main hall of Byodoin and placed next to the main deity. It will be burned at the following year's Dondoyaki festival.
Higan Gohei / Small
This is a sacred rope to welcome the spirits of ancestors during the equinoctial week. It is 15cm long and made of Awa Japanese paper and Nara cypress.
Higan Gohei
This is a sacred rope to welcome the spirits of ancestors during the equinoctial week. It is 25cm long and made of Awa Japanese paper and Nara cypress.
Erecting a Stupa
A 60cm tall pagoda will be erected in the main hall of Byodoin Temple, enshrined next to the main deity. It will be burned during the following year's bonfire event.
Ohigan card
Next step
To compare with other sacred items, see the full list.
This page shows only the sacred items for this service. To see other items, including seasonal ones, go to the list of sacred items.