2023 Bon O-Toba Services
DEADLINE for Bon Service is June 21
Dear Members and Friends:
You are cordially invited to attend Bon O-Toba Services at the Soto Mission of Hawaii. There are seven days to choose from:
Saturday, July 1 @ 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, July 2 @ 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 6 @ 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 8 @ 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, July 9 @ 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, July 11 @ 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 13 @ 6:00 p.m.
Bon is a time to share the deep meaning of life and family togetherness as we honor the spiritual qualities of all beings. At the Bon services, we remember, honor, and offer our heartfelt gratitude to the departed loved ones of our families.
Bon O-Toba Service dedications may be made to:
1. Senzo Memorial (for all deceased members of your family ancestors)
2. Individual Memorial (in remembrance of any departed loved one)
3. Hatsu-Bon Memorial (family members who passed away since July 2022)
Please complete and submit the attached O-Toba Request Form with payment (using the enclosed return-address envelope) by Wednesday, June 21. Your cooperation on this matter will greatly expedite the O-Toba service preparation.
Important Note: An envelope for “Bon Service Gobutsuzen Offering” will be sent to you with a service reminder in mid-June. These envelopes may be offered to the temple on the day of Bon O-Toba Service or may be mailed to the temple ahead of time.
A Brief Explanation on Bon
History of Bon dates back as far as the time of Shakamuni Buddha himself. There are many interpretations of how Bon started. One story that relates how Bon originated tells of one of ten disciples of Shakamuni Buddha who learned that the spirit of his mother had fallen into the realm of Hungry Demons. Offerings of food and drink made to monks on July 15, the final day of the rainy-season meditation session, saved his mother from her suffering. Thus began the practice of offering food, drink, snack items and flowers at the graves and altars.
Bon represents the reverence human beings naturally entertain for our ancestors, but with a Buddhist flavor. The Bon spirit extends not only to close relatives, but also to remotely distant ancestors with whom one feels little or even no connection at all. Bon observance consists of trips to the cemetery or to the temple, where priests are engaged in chanting scriptures.
We end Bon observances with the Bon-odori, or Bon Dance. Participation in Bon-odori gives comfort to the spirits of the deceased and ensures their safe return to their world. Bon-odori emphasizes the dancers’ spirituality and requires no technical skills or special clothes to participate in the dance. Coming together in the dance circle naturally unites people, even perfect strangers, in a prayer for universal peace, the true aim of Bon-odori. Dancing opens people’s minds and prepares them to receive the energy to live on.
Bon is a special opportunity to say “thank you” to those who gave us life. We should not forget that we exist because of our parents and the long line of ancestors who came before them. Bon is a time for family. It is a time to reflect upon the dead and the living. It is a time to find irreplaceable peace of mind that comes with the lighting of a candle and the offering of incense. During this coming Bon season, let us take the time to pray that all spirits throughout the cosmos find tranquility and that the world moves closer to everlasting peace.
Alternatively, if you prefer to fill the form via online to submit the request, please click below.
If you have any question regarding your O-Toba, please contact us via email at info@sotomission.org or call us at (808) 537-9409.