A Buddhist Priest from a Local Temple Seeking the Way for Contemporary Funeral Practices: Focusing on <i>Hōwa</i>

DOI
  • ISOBE Miki
    大谷大学大学院文学研究科社会学専攻博士後期課程

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 地方寺院の僧侶による葬儀実践の模索―法話に注目して―

Abstract

<p>Recently, some Japanese are conducting funerals without religious leaders. There are also those who wish to have a personal funeral that reflects the personality of the deceased. Nowadays, the need for priests to participate in funerals is becoming less obvious. This article aims to discuss how a priest perceives his own role in recent funerals, and how he elaborates traditional funeral practices, by referring to some Buddhist funerals in Niigata Prefecture. Specifically, this article focuses on one practice by a Buddhist priest, hōwa, which is a Buddhist sermon addressed to a congregation. By analyzing the contents of some hōwa, we can confirm that they include individual elements that reflect the deceased person’s life and common elements that are patterned as a Buddhist ritual. This case study shows that both elements are not contradictory, but complementary. These considerations clarify the specific ways in which a priest, through the practice of hōwa, responds to the contemporary trend toward celebrating personal funerals, while at the same time providing participants with the Buddhist narrative thought necessary at the time of bereavement.</p>

Journal

  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 27 (0), 49-63, 2021-06-05

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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