Dharma Rain - Dharma School Manual

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Kid-friendly Ceremonies

Segaki — Feeding the Hungry Ghosts

The first ceremony of the dharma school year is the Segaki festival, when we feed the “hungry ghosts” or gakis. The adult festival happens just before the kid’s ceremony and is an important part of an annual retreat. It is held around the time of Halloween to coincide with the abundance of ghosts and snacks. In buddhist mythology, hungry ghosts are creatures who, because of their past actions (refer to the section on the Six Realms under “Our Five Main Dharmic Themes”), can never satisfy their hunger or thirst. Their mouths are so tiny they can’t fit any food in them, and when they try to drink, water turns to fire before they swallow it. The hungry ghost symbolizes our own unresolved karma and the tenacious quality of karma. The Segaki ceremonies done by the adults in the sangha represent both our willingness to bring this karma to resolution and the gentle accepting approach we need to take to achieve any resolution.

An important aspect of the hungry ghost is that it is so fixated on desire that it cannot accept the things that would truly nourish and cure. The Buddhist expression of those things that nourish and cure are called Dharma. Anything that is true may be called dharma, but the forms and expressions of religious life that remind us of things that are true are also called Dharma (often capitalized to make the distinction). Because the hungry ghost are fixated on the things they think they want, they tend to be fearful of things that look like something other than what they want. To make it easier for the gakis to accept the Dharma, all the Buddha statues are covered up and the altar for them is at the far end of the room near the door. It is covered with sweet and salty snacks, fruit and soda pop, nuts and donuts.

During the adult ceremony, the priest calls to the ghosts and all unresolved karma, inviting them to come and stay for the day. S/he chants dharanis of protection so the practitioners may safely entertain these “ghosts.” There is chanting done by all during a winding procession while names of those who have died during the year are read aloud. Later in the evening, there is a second ceremony in which the ghosts are sent back home again and all are given the opportunity to let go of some unresolved issues. For adults, Segaki is a time of intense reflection and determination.

For kids, the emphasis of Segaki is more external, but deeply symbolic. The gakis are vividly described, and the kids are encouraged to feel sympathy and concern for the poor, hungry ghosts. Teachers also point out that all of us, at times, can be “hungry ghosts” — impossible to satisfy, always running to the next thing we think will make us happy but unwilling or unable to accept what would truly bring us peace. All of this becomes concretely illustrated when the kids fill the ceremony hall and start the same solemn chanting the adults do — until they are rudely interrupted by two marauding gakis!

High schoolers dressed up as hungry ghosts come loudly in the open front doors (with their shoes on!) and start poking around the junk food on the altar.

 

 

With coaxing from the teachers and older kids, the youngest dharma schoolers come forward to teach the gakis some manners like taking off their shoes and sharing with each other. They carefully break food into bits to fit in the gakis’ tiny mouths. Despite the care the high schoolers take not to be too scary, some kids are too timid to come forward but still watch carefully from a distance. Gradually the hungry ghosts seem a little less agitated and a little more happy, so they are finally sent on their way. The kids join the rest of the sangha and everyone celebrates by finishing off the rest of the junk food.

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