Osonae - Food Offerings for the Buddha

It may seem like magic to newer members or repeat visitors how the fresh fruits or vegetables show up at the altar every Sunday service.  On the other hand, sometimes the offerings aren’t noticed at all until the Sunday comes (it inevitably comes at some point) when the dan mori (offering holders) are bare. 

It’s not magic, of course.  It’s just us.

From the founding of Buddhism, it has been the practice where the monks would begin their day by going out to receive alms.  The common people would put food in the monks’ begging bowls in return for the guidance of the dharma, or a blessing, or good karma.  You will still see monks with their begging bowls early in the morning in countries like Thailand, Laos, Burma, and Sri Lanka, where the monastic tradition continues quite strongly.

In our own tradition, the offerings made to Amida Buddha stem from the practice of giving alms to the Buddha and his disciples.  The Japanese word for this is osonae, which means “honorable offering”.  Different temples organize the contributions differently, but we assign it by month to the temple organizations—in our case, the taiko group (our Buddhist drumming group), BWA (our temple’s Buddhist Women’s Association), our Dharma School (where our children receive instruction in the Dharma, and which includes participating in the life and offerings of the temple), and our Wednesday Group (our retirees, who come together weekly for fellowship and to work on projects to benefit the temple’s well-being). 

Sometimes we take a month out of the rotation – usually August when it’s quiet after the festivals – and give members who are not part of those groups the opportunity to experience osonae.  Sometimes—especially when it’s the children from the Dharma School handling the offerings – they will split it up so one is responsible for obuppan, or rice offering, and the other will do the osonae, or fruits and vegetables.  But generally, what we refer to as osonae includes all the food.

We also ask family members to bring the fruits and vegetable offerings for their funeral and memorial services.

When you are asked or volunteer to represent your group by providing osonae, you purchase four kinds of fruits/vegetables for each of the four altar offerings.  We’ve heard how some people get their sense of the seasons by looking at the altar and seeing what’s been offered this week!  You try to select the best fruits and vegetables possible, not those that have been bruised or scarred in handling, as these are being offered as gifts.  You should try to avoid choosing prickly (pineapple for example) or odorous fruit that would distract from the offering itself. 

In addition, you prepare two cups of cooked white rice to go into the cups at the altars.

The morning of your osonae, you come to temple about 20 minutes before the start of the service and bring your offerings into the back room behind the altar.  Scoop the rice into the three cups (two small ones for the smaller side altars that pay tribute to our founder Shinran Shonin, and Renyo Shonin—descendent of Shinran Shonin and an important restorer of the teachings of Jodo Shinshu)—and one larger one for the main (Amida) altar, and round them into mounds.  Lay out the offerings on trays.  Before going to the altar, remember to put on a montoshikisho (the cloth sash that goes over your shoulders, symbolic of the robes worn by monks).

Start at the main, center altar, and put the rice cup in the front of the holder.  Add the fruits or vegetables from top to bottom in a pleasing arrangement.  No “sleeping” offerings lying on their sides or with their labels showing, please!  Repeat that for each of the two side altars, making sure you keep the offerings in the same arrangement and adding the cup of rice.  Return the trays and montoshikisho and take your seat in the hondo for the service.

After the service, retrieve the fruits and rice after putting the montoshikisho back on.  You may wish to bring the offerings to the social gathering afterwards to share, but then bring all remaining fruits, vegetables and rice home and enjoy them.

It’s not “magic” at all! – except in the special way we all come together to make our beautiful temple a magical place of reverence.