Shingon Buddist Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a Goma ceremony, we set up a special area to set a fire to burn wooden sticks in front of the Buddha. The fire symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the wood sticks symbolize human desires (the root of suffering). In this ritual, the Buddha burns away the root of our suffering as we pray for our wishes to come true. At Seattle Koyasan, we pray to the Fudo MyouOh, (who is the Buddha of Compassionate Fire). We will talk more about Fudo Myouoh some another time.