Buddhist Prayers At Ground Zero

Japanese monks and more than 100 friends and relatives of victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 gathered at and near Ground Zero Tuesday night for a Buddhist prayer service honoring the souls of the dead.

The service was part of the annual Buddhist observance of Hatsu-Bon, also known as the Feast of Lanterns, which is held in mid-July or mid-August. During this time, ancestors - particularly those who died in the past year - are believed to visit the living.

New York-based Buddhists realized Hatsu-Bon would have to be different this year.

Of the 2,823 people who died in the Sept. 11 attack at the World Trade Center, about 20 were Japanese.

The ceremony was organized by the New York Buddhist Church. In addition to survivors, friends and relatives, it attracted Buddhist monks from different countries.

Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, the organizer, says he personally officiated at three funerals for Japanese World Trade Center victims.

"When we started preparing this year's Hatsu-Bon in March, I realized that it would be our first sermon (Hoyo) for the World Trade Center victims. So we decided to hold the ceremony close to the site," explained Nakagaki.

Mariko Ochiai, who survived the attack while working for a Japanese bank, is one of 50 volunteers who helped with the event.

"Right after the attack, I was merely picking up the pieces of my daily life. Now I finally have room in my heart for prayer," said Ochai.

Prayers were said at Ground Zero and at the Sphere sculpture, which originally was part of the twin towers complex but after somehow surviving the terror attack, was moved to nearby Battery Park as a symbol of all who were lost on Sept. 11.

"I am a Catholic," said Colleen Kelly, whose brother, Bill Kelly Jr. was killed in the attacks. "But this Buddhist tradition is very helpful as far as focusing on the remembrance of my brother. My brother also lived in Japan, so all the important pieces came together."

"Toro-Nagashi", the floating of lanterns - which is believed to send ancestors' spirits back to the heavens - ended the ceremony.

Relatives and friends wrote names of victims and "wishes for peace and love" on messages placed in 50 lanterns, which drifted into the harbor from the Hudson River after being cast from the shore.

By Yumiko Sakuma