You know how I was fascinated by the sweet baby-faced stone statues that I discovered all over the graveyard at Chozenji temple? Well, I did a bit of research and came up with some interesting discoveries about the little fellow.
Supposedly his name is Jizo/Jizu Bodhisattva (a Bodhisattva is someone who has become enlightened but decided, unlike Buddha, to remain in a lower state-of-being inorder to help others whose souls need to be saved).
Yes, so this little guy Jizo is supposed to be the protector of many things including travellers, pregnant mothers, and, in particular, very young children who have died prematurely.
The story goes like this.... if a young child dies, she/he is sent to Sai no Kawara, the river of souls in purgatory. Not only is he/she in this horrible place, but the child is also totally naked and cold. So, in desperation, this poor child, tries to pile up stones into towers so that he/she may get high enough to escape. However, before the tower can be built high enough, evil demons come buy and kick the poor child's tower down.
Just when all hope seems to be lost, out steps our hero - Jizu - who gathers the children beneath his long, warm, flowing robes to protect them. The littlest of all, who can't yet walk, Jizo picks up and carries tucked-up inside the sleaves of his robe. Brave Jizu then helps these children escape out of purgatory.
As a result of his reputation for being a really nice guardian of the lost children, Jizu has become one of the top-three buddhist figures in Japan (along with Buddha, himself, and a sexual ambiguous god/goddess Kannon).n
Many mothers who have lost children or who are seeking help for their sick children, dress-up the little Jizu statues in bibs and hats and other warm apparel; the hope being, that if they clothe Jizu, so too will Jizu clothe their little babes in his warm robe of kindness. Also, you often see little piles of stones placed around the Jizu statues which are placed there to help the little children who are trying to get out of purgatory.
The story is really sad, but, so full of evocative images. I think Jizu is quite an amazing hero.
You can read more about Jizu and other Budhist gods and godesses reveared in Japan on this site. The writer is Mark Schumacher who has a B.A. in Chinese studies and an M.A. in Japanese studies. He also lives in Kamakura (a place one-hour from Tokyo, famous for having the biggest and oldest buddha statue in Japan). He gives tours of the temples in his city, explaining the meaning behind many of statues (eg. "what's with all the monkeys?","what's with that lady (Kannon) with the many arms?", and "is that a phallic symbol i see there?" etc). I am thinking of trying to organize a group who would like to go in the spring for a tour. All very fascinating stuff.
5 comments:
Hey Grace, I was really blown away by your post on Jizo. I had never heard of Jizo as I have not studied Japanese Buddhism in any depth. Did you take the pictures of Jizo? They are amazing. How can I get a copy of them? I'd like to frame them and hang them in my house. Jizo is a really inspiring hero. I like it how he is represented as gentle, small, and childlike instead of as large and aggressive. I think there is a deeper lesson here about what true power and heroism is . . . I think humanity needs figures like Jizo to remind us of the power of gentleness and compassion. Also of great interest is the Boddhisattva Kannon whose name in the original sanskrit is Avalokitesvara, meaning "one who embraces all with infinate compassion". It is interesting that Avalokitesvara is described in the Buddhist scriptures as being male yet in many forms of Buddism (i.e. Chinese, Japanese) he is portrayed as female. Much has been made of the simularity between Kannon and the virgin Mary which makes for an interesting study. Anyways, It's good to hear of all your adventures Grace. I am going to try to do a stopover in Japan for a few days on my way to India in August/September - Maybe we could visit some temples and shrines together and you can teach me about Shinto etc. Stay warm and keep posting. Cheers (kampai)
-Chris
chris -
glad you liked my shared info on Jizo. He is great. No, all those pics are not mine own. You can do a google search (google images) and type the keyword Jizo. You fill find lots of examples of him. Although I have taken many pics of him, myself. Just in my little city of Kofu there are TONS of statues of him. Many of them are wearing red babies bibs or knitted caps to keep their heads warm in the winter. I have had moments when I looked in a statue of Jizo's eyes and felt he was almost real. Some of the statues have little naked babies crawling at Jizo's feet or cradled in his arms. He is also there to help mothers cope with the grieving process. He crosses over, to where the parents are unable to and reaches out in love to their lost children.
As for Kannon's similarity to Mary. I have heard that, infact, around 300 years ago in japan, when it was still cut off completely from the west (and you were legally not aloud to leave the country, either), the very few who chose to take up christianity did so at great risk (it was an outlawed religion). Inorder to conduct chirstian worship, but in disguise, many christians would own small statues of Kannon (whom they would secretly see as representing mother mary). Very interesting.
If interested, you should read a novel called "Silence" by Shusaku Endo, which is set in the 1600's in japan and is a really gripping story of two catholic priests who snuck into japan and had to preach hidden in the mountains. It is quite beautiful, while also very disturbing.
Glad to hear you are planning to come to japan. very good call. If you come in august I will have alot of time free to show you around, as schools are closed in august.
Hey Grace, I found this post when I googled Jizo. I only just moved to Japan, I'm American in the Navy, and actually just went to Kamakura myself, yesterday. I got a picture of the Big Buddha, but I missed most of the templese, and shrines. Have you set up your tour yet with Mark Schumacher? If you are still setting it up, I wouldn't mind tagging along, so long as work doesn't interfere. If this is ok, you can Email me at chris.topherking@hotmail.com
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I looked for posts on Jizu because I read a story by Mori Ogai called "Sancho the Steward," in which lost children who had been sold into slavery were told by their mother to always keep the amulet of Jizu close. It's a wonderful story and the amulet is very important to the story.
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