Festival Information
Since ancient times, the Japanese people have always purified their bodies and minds by holding annual "Harai-harae" rituals. The origin of the O-harae can be traced back to the Kojiki, where Izanagi-no-Okami purified himself of sins and impurities at Awagihara in Tachibana no Koto in Hyuga, Tsukushi.
When Emperor Chuai passed away, the Great Purification was held in various provinces, and there are records that it was held three times during the reign of Emperor Tenmu. Since ancient times, the Great Purification has been held whenever disasters, epidemics, etc. occurred. In 701, the Taiho Code was established, and the Great Purification was systematically held on the last day of June and the last day of December every year.
Seicho-no-Ie's Head Temple, Ryugu Sumiyoshi Main Shrine, also follows this ancient Japanese ritual and performs a Great Purification Ceremony once every six months to cleanse people of any sins or impurities that they may have unknowingly committed.
What is a divine healing prayer?
The Great Purification held at Ryugu Sumiyoshi Hongu Shrine is a festival based on the belief of Seicho-no-Ie, which says that by receiving the spiritual waves of the "workings of Musubi", the divine virtues of the enshrined deities Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Okami, Takamimusubi-no-Kami, Kamimusubi-no-Kami, and Sumiyoshi-no-Okami, human figures are used to purify the heart and manifest the true nature of the soul.
Ame-no-Minaka-nushi-no-Mikoto is the original deity who created the universe and the one and only God, and one of his virtues, the ``musubi workings'' of yin and yang, are expressed through the divine names Takamimusubi-no-Mikoto and Kamimusubi-no-Mikoto.
The "workings of Musubi" are the work of something that is originally one, splitting into two functions, yin and yang, and then reuniting them to create "new value"; it is not something separate from us, but is present everywhere in our daily lives and in the natural world. The fact that we are born of a different sex, give birth to and raise children, interact with the people and nature around us, and work, learn, and live our lives are all examples of the "workings of Musubi." Both humanity and the natural world have prospered through the balanced functioning of this yin and yang "workings of Musubi," and diverse races, ethnicities, and nations have prospered through mutual cooperation.
However, in modern times, contrary to this Musubi, there is a growing tendency to separate oneself from others through superficial differences, and to reject those who are different through self-centered, one-sided thinking. Such divisions give rise to conflicts, and the emotions that arise from these conflicts accumulate in the subconscious without us realizing it, becoming evil deeds that have a negative impact on our social life and the surrounding environment.
This problem manifests itself not only in interpersonal issues such as illness and interpersonal disputes, but also on a global scale in conflicts between nations and environmental problems such as global warming.
At the Great Purification Ceremony at Ryugu Sumiyoshi Hongu Shrine, human forms into which each individual's spiritual waves have been transferred are incinerated in sacred fire that is brought down from heaven by the ``workings of Musubi'' of the great gods, thereby correcting the imbalance in the mind that is the root of such confusion and revealing the true nature of the original, harmonious child of God.
At this Great Purification, let us pray together not only that the true nature of each individual will be manifested, but that the workings of Musubi will become even more abundant and that a world of truth in which God, nature, and humanity are in great harmony will be manifested.
大祓の意義について
What is a divine healing prayer?
As one of the methods of purification in the Great Purification, a group of people recites scriptures and hymns to a human figure. The great master Masaharu Taniguchi explains the merit of this as follows:
(Omitted) Since the thoughts of love and "words of truth" (recitation of scriptures) sent to the human figures or portraits can heal the other person's illness and purify the soul's karma and sins, it is considered to be truly meaningful to hold a collective recitation of the scriptures on New Year's Eve to the human figures, purifying as much of the karma and sins of people in the real world as possible, and welcoming in the new year. (Holy Mission, August 1, 1957 issue)
During the ceremony, the holy sutra "Sweet Dharma Rain" is recited, and after the ceremony, at the purification fire site, a human figure is incinerated while the "Hymn to Bodhisattva Kannon" is recited. The synergistic effect of the light of thought waves of truth and the sacred fire purifies all karma and sins that are difficult to purify by an individual's own power.
What is a divine healing prayer?
① Write your name and year on the figure.
② Stroke the whole body with a human figure
