大佛和我
学生Lindsey Robison提供的文字
Buddhism has been intertwined with the religious culture in 日本 since 6th century CE, 根据维基百科. Originating from India, 日本’s adoption and
incorporation of Buddhism with the indigenous religion of Shintoism has been nothing short of remarkable. I appreciate the 日本ese and their ability, 当时, to make Buddhism part of the cultural landscape without completely disregarding Shintoism.
On Wednesday, 6月26日, we toured the ancient 日本ese capital of Kamakura. We spent the day visiting both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, 品尝当地美食, and attempting to soak in as much as we could in less than 12 hours. Our last stop was The Great Buddha of Kamakura, or known in 日本 as, “Kamakura Daibutsu.” The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue that was built in the 1250s. Originally enshrined in a large temple hall, that kept being rebuilt after multiple natural disasters, Kamakura Daibutsu has sat proudly out in the elements for around 700 years.
Knowing all of this and knowing that this statue is one of the biggest depictions of the Great Buddha, I was not prepared for the sheer awe I felt. Looking back at the pictures I took of the entrance, with the gods of lightning and thunder (Fujin and Raijin), 蜿蜒的小路通向台阶, and the beautiful greenery surrounding the entrance, 我几乎不记得经历过这些. That’s just how powerful the experience of being in the presence of such a sacred and important religious icon was. 站在那里, even though it had turned the turquoise color of time, I couldn’t help but think about how the statue had been cast in bronze and stood the test of time; that I was seeing the same statue that peasants and nobles alike from the late 1200s, 1300s, 1400s, 等都见过了. For the especially devout practitioners, how much more powerful would this sight have been? I can imagine someone spending their whole life saving up, maybe with little to no knowledge of the outside world, and traveling to Kamakura just to witness the same sight I was seeing in the modern day. I would imagine that some would have broken down in tears of joy or some may have had epiphanies about life itself. 谁知道? I know I was mesmerized, and I’m not even a Buddhist.
Ever since leaving Kamakura, I have found myself trying to recall what else we did. Nothing could have prepared me for how much that one experience was going to take over the memory of our day trip. I can’t help but wonder about the experiences of the people in the past at the same holy site.
