Nara: The Great Buddha, Buddha's Nostril, and Map-eating Deer

2 October 2011

Nara lies about 40 minutes south of Kyoto on the JR Train Line. Known as the cradle of arts and culture in Japan, it was the capital in the mid 700's. Successive emperors cultivated Buddhism in Nara, and the many spectacular temples and works of art attest to this. Some of the largest, if not the largest wooden buildings ever constructed still standing. Many of the temples and shrines are located in Nara Park, home to 1200 tame deer who are considered sacred. Biscuits are sold to feed them, and so the deer join in with the crowds without a shred of fear. However, we saw that the occasional small child was knocked over, even butted and left quite terrified and tearful. We can attest to their boldness, as Win was carrying a map which is now missing a large corner due to a deer coming up behind and grabbing it (?thinking it was a deer biscuit). It happily munched the paper. Top that off, we watched a large crow take a piece of lunch from the hand of a shrieking school girl... But I think the deer would definitely like Ella, especially the little fawns.

Kofuku-ji Temple has a very famous 5 story pagoda (see photo above) last rebuilt in 1462. Other lovely octagonal buildings are still wonderful to see, and we rang the gong and lit incense for the well-being of all our friends. The main buildings are shrouded due to being rehabilitated, so most of the artwork could not be seen. Todai-ji Temple is truly astonishing. A vast wooden hall is home to the Great Buddha, some 53' high. Apparently when it is dusted, at least 3 monks can stand on its upturned palm. Fierce heavenly guardians carved of wood watch the entry way. The ornamentation is also enormous as you can see from the lotus above me where I am taking a picture. Behind Buddha is a pillar with a hole said to be the size of the Buddha sculpture's nostril. Those who successfully crawl through are said to be able to obtain Nirvana. You can see a lucky child in the photo. I considered a try but decided a gaikokujin (foreigner) stuck in a hole would be embarrassing for all concerned. Needless to say, there was no hope for Win.

Win starts teaching Tuesday, and we will begin studying Japanese at the university very soon, including learning the syllabic writing (hiragana and katakana) but not Kanji. Who knows how far we can get with that...

We send love to all