“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” – Buddha
Last night my family and I had the opportunity to participate in our very first Fire Puja. This was a very special fire puja because the full moon just happened to line up with summer solstice. This was the first summer solstice full moon in over 50 years!
What is a fire puja?
“A fire puja is a Buddhist ritual that purifies the environment, bestows blessings on the participants, and promotes world peace and harmony. There are four types of ritual fire offerings: (1) Peaceful. (2) Increase. (3) Subduing.”
According to the description of our particular fire puja event,
“A fire puja charges your soul with the highest positive vibrations, and releases stuck energy and karma. Fire pujas send peaceful, healing energy over any distance, and the healing energy created at a sacred fire puja touches many lives from the vibrations and smoke generated and sent out into the world.”
During the fire puja we went through chanting several mantras while giving offerings of rice, coconut and a variety of fruits to the fire. As we gave our offerings to the fire we were releasing our negative thoughts and asking for blessings.
This was a very moving and special ceremony. The energy of the group was amazing as we were chanting. There were moments when I was a little nervous about whether or not my 5 year old and 10 year old were acting up during the ceremony. Part of me wanted to get onto them about throwing too much rice or moving around too much or being too loud. But another part of me thought by getting onto them I would be putting out the negative energy that I’m trying to release to the fire. Does that make sense? At the end of the ceremony everyone thanked us for bringing the kids. They loved the energy and innocense they brought to the ceremony.
How did you celebrate summer solstice? Did you make it outside to take in the full moon?