Sacred moment at Koyasan with Goma fire ritual
We were invited by priests to visit Koyasan, the birthplace of the Shingon lineage of Buddhism in Japan. We stayed overnight at a temple. Highlights of the visit were walking at night along the Okunoin Cemetery to the mausoleum of Kukai, the founder of Shingon, and participating in a Goma Ritual.
The Goma Ritual of consecrated fire is unique to Esoteric Buddhism, which is part of the Shingon sect in Japan. The ceremony is performed with the purpose of destroying negative energies and detrimental thoughts and desires. In the ceremony, a priest burns wooden sticks in the scared fire. The fire symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the wood sticks symbolize what is to be cleansed and released. The constant beating of the taiko drums and chanting together with the visuals of the ceremony can create a trance-like state and have a deep and profound effect on the participants.
-- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/500 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Sacred moment at Koyasan with Goma fire ritual
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, qualityhdr.com
#photography #art #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #portrait #Koyasan #Japan #Goma #fire #FireRitual