Ancient Buddhist Fire Ritual Draws Thousands

With flames leaping skyward and white smoke billowing from cypress branches, Buddhist priests clad in yellow and purple robes captivated more than 2,500 spectators Saturday with the chanting of sacred mantras and music of the shakujo bells.

The rhythmic beat of giant taiko drums echoed across the outdoor field on Bastanchury Road at the Shinnyo-En temple, where the crowd witnessed the spectacular saito homa, an ancient Buddhist fire ritual that, this week, was reportedly performed in the United States for the first time.

“It is a great opportunity for people who live here to be a part of this,” said temple official Naruhiko Yoshida. “It is wonderful to see people from this country, Europe and Japan, from all over the world, harmonizing in front of Buddha.”

The tradition was started by Shobo, a monk who lived in the mountains of Kyoto, Japan, in the 9th century. It is conducted annually in Japan, but until Friday and Saturday had never been performed in this country, Yoshida said.

The ceremony touched many followers who came to witness it, including Yoshida. Practitioners of this branch of Buddhism follow the last sermon of Buddha, which places great emphasis on peace, love and universal brotherhood.

The ritual site was on a raised dais in front of a statue of Buddha and was presided over by Shinso Ito, a Shinnyo-En leader. The ceremony began with rites meant to sanctify the surrounding area.

A priest performed the rite of the hallowed sword by wielding the blade swiftly in the air as he let out war cries to signify driving away and defeating evil spirits. Priests then lighted the mound of cypress branches with torches and fed the fire with prayer notes mailed to Yorba Linda by followers worldwide.

“We believe that the fire carries these prayers to Buddha,” Yoshida said. The conflagration, he said, also signifies the flames of wisdom burning away what the faithful refer to as the three poisons: greed, anger and ignorance.

Followers said the ritual is a prayer for world peace.

“The world needs a lot of purification,” said Ivan Sato of Gardena. “We need to understand one another and be able to work together.”

Sherry Kamhi, who came from San Francisco for the ceremony, said: “I’m glad they brought it to us, because this way I felt like I was part of the whole experience. It was astounding. I just felt very warm and blessed.”