In Buddhism, now are the days of remembering our ancestors and the deceased. This time is called “Obon”. I, too, from Vienna give lots of thought towards my ancestors with my hands folded together saying “Namu Amida Butsu”.
I think of my ancestors as far back as I can remember, like my grandfather and grandmothers and also those ancestors I never got to meet in person. Especially strong is my memory of my mother, she always was such a positive influence on me and she was my idol and aspiration. How much I love her! I think as a child that was very fortunate. There are also those people without contact to their mothers or having a bad relationship with them. Sadly my mother passed away in 2011 but my memories of her are still so clear and present.
It is so interesting, recently I am surprised how similar my talkníng voice is to my mother’s. Not always but sometimes I really think that way. Also when I am at home in Japan picking up the phone, sometimes the callers were surprised saying “Is that really you, Yuka? Your voice is so similar to your mother’s and I thought she might be alive again”. I also noticed that my cough is similar to hers. Genetics is interesting.
お盆ですね。私もウィーンで先祖を想いながら合掌して、南無阿弥陀仏と唱えます。
記憶にある先祖、祖父や祖母たちや、そして、会ったことのない遠い先祖まで想いを巡らせます。そして、いかに母との結びつきが強かったか、改めて感じます。母は私の理想の人で、憧れでもあります。私は本当に母が大好きです。このように思えるということは、子供としてとても幸運ではないでしょうか。世の中には母親との結びつきがあまり強くない方や、母親を知らない方もいらっしゃるのです。悲しいことに、私の母は2011年に亡くなりました。
面白いと思うのは、最近よく気がつくのですが、私の話し声が母に似ているということです。いつもというのではなく、あっ、似てる、と思うことがしばしばあるのです。日本に帰っている時、自宅の電話を取ると、かけてきた人が「あら、由佳さん？お母さんにそっくり！お母さんが生き返ったかと思った。」と驚くことが何度かありました。また、私の咳の仕方は母にそっくりだと、よく思います。遺伝は面白いところに出てくるのですね。
Picture by Dieter Pasching, July 2018 at Mito Kairakuen.
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