There are two important ritual tables in Japanese house.
One table is Kamidana.
This is a worship place for local deities.(Nature gods who protect the neighborhood)
How to perform / Kamidana manner
How to perform / Kamidana manner
The other one is Butsudan.
This table is a healing place for ancestors.(Grave in home)
Above both tables look so gorgeous.
But we don't have to buy expensive tables like that,
because the most important thing is thankful "daily care" for them.
We need to keep the routine care and cleaning with love and respect for invisible existences who are always protecting us.
It is a true worship as human.
Active love or work makes gods happy.This is the ideal way.
Why Japanese recognize ancestors as a part of God?
It is the most important point in this blog.
1,Universe(Father god)
2,The Sun(Mother god)
3,The Earth(Child) includes nature = nature gods,ancestors,parents and you.
(By the way,there are so many other Universes)
Your parents "gave" you what you need to grow up.
Food,house,clothing,education,and love...They gave you all without return.
So you will understand that they are gods for you.
All your ancestors did the same thing to child.
So,all your ancestors are gods.
It is about time that you realize and recall everything is a part of God.
We are already in God.
And all human has a part of God in their right side chest.
It is different from your spirit.
It is called Naizai-shin (Inner God) in Japan.
It is human's conscience,kindness,mercy and motherhood itself.
(Your own spirit,Inner God from God, and body from ancestors = Current you)
My Kamidana.
A pair of plants and small water bowl.
My Butsudan.
Butsudan rule is a little bit difficult for beginners.
But basically,you just give three incense sticks.
Why "three" incense? → Mount Haku / Root of Shinto
Incense's smoke turn into what they really want.
If you can't buy incense or don't like incense smell,you can use three cup of hot tea or hot water instead of three incense sticks.
(Steam's power to heal ancestors is weaker than incense smoke,but it is a good substitute)
Ancestor worship is more important than Kamidana.
Because you are protected by them in many ways.
If you have own children,you will guard only your kids.
And your children don't know how much you take care of kids.
The same is true of your ancestors.
Ancestors are protecting only own descendants.
And you really don't know how much they protect you with love.
You should be grateful to your ancestors.
Your ancestors are always preventing accidents about you beforehand.
You just don't know about it.
There are so many suffering ancestors in "every" family line.
That's because dead people's spirits are classified into each heart's level.
This rule is so strict more than you think.
Gravity decides your residence in another world after death.
Good people go to good classes.
You can't meet upper level people in another world.
But you can visit lower levels.
You can meet various level people only in the Earth.
For your understanding about next world after death,
Of course you can live without ancestor worship,but
please keep your ancestors in mind.
Ancestor worship changes your life significantly.
All your body's cell and DNA were derived from your ancestors.
You are not able to see dead ancestors but your cells are active.
It means you are living with all your ancestors "now".
From the dawn of history,there were many poor people.
Most our ancestors had been lived in severe society.
Starvation,Heavy weather,disaster,war,lawless period,false accusation,disease,insufficient medical treatments...
We can live better world than them.
Thanks to them.
In severe society,your all ancestors have been fed their children even parents were hungry.
You are already very lucky person.
Because many young people dead before they produce children.
Countless family lines already ruined until now.
But your line is still alive.
Please feel the miracle and the specialty about a continuation of your family line.
Continuing family line = God's will
Although your many ancestors stay in heaven or nearly heaven,and waiting for next life while watching and protecting descendants' life.
but some of your ancestors still feel pain in not appropriate place
and they can't afford to guard their descendants.
So we need to heal sad ancestors with correct ritual of incense.
Once they relieved from ache,they are willing to help descendants.
For example,some people are blaming themselves about what they had done. Some were killed by trivial thing and still feel anger about it.
Some committed a crime or suicide and still feel regret or chagrin about it.
Descendants need to remove ancestors' sad feeling and memory.
Their invisible painful situations have influence on you and your descendant.(Among same DNA holders)
Your family line is cleaned by only you.
Please start ritual for your ancestors.
They have been waiting for your practical ritual not just thinking about ancestors.
By the way,Japanese people think that Butsudan is Buddhism item.
It is not true.
Shinto's basic is nature and ancestor worship.
Buddhism is very new in Japan.So it is not Japanese national religion.
(But I really love primitive true book of Buddhism,Dhammapada and Sutta Nipata)
Buddha was from God world of the Sun.
Jesus too.
Japanese life priority is
1,Working hard and cleaning
2,Dutiful action for parents / Loving and helping your parents
3,Butsudan (Ancestor worship)
4,Kamidana (Nature worship)
No1 and 2 are more important than No3 and 4.
If you don't understand this meaning,
having ritual tables is quite useless.
Butsudan and Kamidana is established on your neat life.
Please do No1 and 2 at first.