For many days before this special ceremony people have been
giving the names of their close relative and friends, living or
deceased, to monks who are sitting at tables in a large tent
next to the Mahabodhi Society. The donors are seeking to benefit
their loved ones through the ceremony that His Holiness will
perform this evening. Akshobya (in Tibetan, Mikyopa, “The
Immovable One”) is considered to have a special ability to help
those who have died and are in the intermediate state of the
bardo. His Holiness will perform this fire ritual with a small
group of fully ordained monks and select attendants; no one else
is allowed in the shrine hall. For the ceremony, the names that
have been collected will be placed in two boxes, from which His
Holiness will select seven or eight to be read aloud. The rest
he will bless and offer to the ritual fire.
Before the ceremony begins at eight o’clock, the white marble
veranda around the shrine room, especially in front of the
windows, has been filling up with people who wish to witness the
ceremony and send their prayers to all living beings, headed by
those they especially care for. There is quite a chill in the
evening air and everyone is bundled up for the three hours the
ceremony will take.
Inside the temple, elaborate preparations have been made to set
out all the offering substances and symbols. The same
rectangular alter that was present for the Milarepa feast
offering, is now placed in the middle of the hall. In front,
facing the main shrine, is a throne for His Holiness, the same
height as the alter. The image of Milarepa has been replaced
with one of Akshobya in the Chinese style. He is indigo blue
with his left hand in the earth touching gesture and his right
in the meditation mudra. As if descended from the sky and barely
resting on his palm is a shimmering golden vajra.
In front of the image of Akshobya, a cover in the alter has been
removed to reveal a metal bowl, now filled with one foot long
and square shaped sticks which will be lit to consume the
material offerings His Holiness will make. Around the edge of
the alter, the shrine attendants have arranged with elegance and
care cream-colored candles at the four corners and rows of
offering bowls. In the central area are other beautiful
offerings including a right-turning conch shell, flowers, and a
large vase with two-foot green stalks emerging from its top and
decorated with a cluster of small orange fruits.
Near His Holiness is a small bowl gong and the white circle of a
fan to stoke the fire. To his left on the ground are the two
boxes of names: a yellow one with the names of the living and a
blue one with the names of the deceased. Before the alter,
flanking either side are long tables with offerings. On his left
are ten plates of traditional substances such as rice, wheat,
black and white mustard seed, and durva grass. On his right are
the eight auspicious signs: the parasol, fishes, vase, lotus,
right-turning conch shell, the glorious knot, the supreme
victory banner, and precious wheel. They are fashioned out of
glass, where the light plays through their rainbow of colors.
At eight o’clock, His Holiness enters the shrine hall and first
speaks to the assembled monks. Taking his seat in front of the
alter, he asked that all but a few central lights be turned off
and this gives a soft and warm wash of color to him and the
alter. He then performs the self-empowerment and places a white
kata around his shoulders. Opening prayers, such as the
Seven-Branch Prayer, are recited. The microphone is placed in
front of His Holiness; with a slight echo in the almost empty
space, his strong, resonant voice fills the hall and flows out
to those sitting outside and beyond into the night.
After the fire in the center of the alter is lit, the
vajracharya (shrine master) and his assistants bring to His
Holiness the various substances to be offered. He also offers
ghee from a long-handled spoon. As he reaches forward in rhythm
with the chanting, the light from the fire flickers across his
face. Occasionally, additional sticks of wood are offered to
keep the fire burning well and finally all the substances have
been given for the benefit of all.
Then His Holiness descends from his throne and walks out the
front door of the shrine to a place next to the reflecting pool
where thick branches have been arranged in an open, circular
structure about five feet in diameter. It is into the middle of
this blessed circle that His Holiness will offer the names. The
two boxes are brought outside and placed next to him, and he
begins to offer the myriad pieces of paper to the fire. It
blazes higher and higher and some of the names float up into the
sky as they turn to ashes and fall back down. Surrounding His
Holiness and the fire is the crowd of people who had been
sitting on the veranda. Many cameras a taking photos as His
Holiness empties one box and then the other. He finishes and
returns to the shrine for the closing prayers while many remain
around the fire to chant Om mani padme hum and with hearts
warmed by the fire, remember their friends and relatives.
