What's That There in the Background?

Postcard showing the famous
Daibutsu (giant Buddha) of Nara.

Blogger has some really nice, user friendly tools for creating good looking blogs very quickly.  Once I had an idea of what my layout would be and what colors to use, it was all downhill for the site design.  And then I needed a background image.  This decision required much thought.  I wanted something that was on one hand striking and yet wouldn't distract from the actual content of the posts.  I also wanted something that would allude to the Buddhist oriented theme of the blog but didn't want something as explicit as a giant buddha image.  After going through my many pictures, I chose a suitable one and after a bit of photo editing, had the perfect image.  The winner? A lovely shot of Todaiji temple in Nara, Japan.  The original full photo, even prettier in color, is shown below.  

Todaiji Temple during a clear, tranquil morning.

The purpose of my visit to Japan was initially business: a big, international scientific conference featuring some well-known attendees.  While I was excited at the opportunity to attend such an event, I was even more excited to do so in Japan.  The conference itself was being held in the lovely city of Nara, in the south-western Kansai region of Japan.  After surviving the long flight and resting/recovering, I made sure to set aside some time for sightseeing.  As it turned out, I basically had a full free day before the start of the conference.  More detailed accounts of my visit to Nara are most certainly topics for future posts but here I will focus only on my experiences at Todaiji.  

Todaiji Temple is part of Nara"s
World Heritage Site collection.

Nara Park by dusk.

The temple lies in the eastern section of the city inside Nara park, a beautiful area filled with lovely temples and deer.  Lots and lots of deer.  They're quite tame though, and can even be fed by hand if you've got some of the specially made deer crackers sold in the park.

Walking along the main path brings one to the massive Nandaimon (Southern Gate).  Inside the impressive 12th century wooden structure stand two rather fearsome guardian deity statues.

 
If you take a closer look at the pictures, you'll get a sense of just how large the old wooden structure is and how imposing the guardian statues are.  Actually, stepping through the massive gate really set the mood for my eventual visit to the temple itself.  I could really feel the sense of openly passing from the "regular" world into a sacred space.

Typical Nara Park scene.

And what a chaotic sacred space it was.  Japan has one of the world's highest population densities and Japanese tourists are just as enthusiastic in their home country as when they go abroad.  The crush of tourists, perpetually hungry deer, and random monks strewn throughout the park made for a unique atmosphere.  And yet all the noise and activity didn't really distract from the calming atmosphere of the temple grounds.

Passing through the gate, I first payed a visit to the new Todaiji Museum, which is located just past the Nandaimon.  The museum houses many artifacts and some beautiful sculptures and artwork associated not only with Todaiji but with the Kegon Buddhist tradition (more on this later), of which Todaiji is the center.

Even the gentleman's tablet could most
certainly capture Todaji's immensity.

There lies one more gate that one must pass through, or rather go around, before arriving at the central courtyard.  This gate, however, offers a nice preview of Todaiji itself.  The first impression I had when viewing Todaiji from a distance was that it was big.  Really big.  In fact, it's the largest wooden building in the world. Another interesting feature is roof, or rather the two golden, horn-like objects that stick out from it.  Far from being horns, these protrusions are actually fish tails and are a common sight on many Japanese temples.  As fire represented the single greatest danger to the wooden buildings, the fish tails are meant to symbolize protection against  a such calamity.  After all, fish in the water are always wet and don't catch fire, right?

Before describing the interior of the temple, I'll briefly delve into its history and significance.  Construction of the temple was started in the 8th century CE back when Nara was the (first) capital of Japan.  Rebuilt a couple of times after heavy fire damage, the current "smaller" structure dates from the early 1700s and, mind bogglingly enough, is about 1/3rd smaller than the previous structure. 

Models of the present structure (right) from 1709
and the previous, larger one (left) that was
destroyed in a fire.

After dropping a few yen in a donation box and lighting a stick of incense, I made my way toward the temple.  I walked slowly, in part because I wanted to really take in the feeling of approaching this huge, sacred place, and also because it was quite crowded.  As I climbed the steps, I could see a bit of what was inside of the temple and before stepping inside, I took a picture at the entrance.

I found myself holding my breath as I stepped inside.  Once in, I looked up and beheld what was before me.  In that moment, that precious moment, everything had just...stopped.  My breathing, my feet, my thoughts, my hearing, and even time itself perhaps.  In that split second, they had all vanished and were replaced by what I can only poorly describe as  complete and utter awe.  I was truly in the presence of the great Buddha of Todaiji.

Since I can't possibly put into words what it was like to stand before such a figure, I'll just list the statue's physical attributes; height: 14.98 m (49.1 ft), face: 5.33 m (17.5 ft), eyes: 1.02 m (3.3 ft), nose: 0.5 m (1.6 ft), ears: 2.54 m (8.3 ft), mass: 500 tons.  

The statue depicts Vairocana Buddha, who in East Asian Buddhist traditions is associated with the concept of shunyata.  Vairocana Buddha is particularly significant in the Avatamsaka Sutra.  This point is especially relevant for the temple as the Japanese Kegon tradition is derived from the Chinese Hua Yen school.  It, in turn, was more or less based on the teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra.  This text has had an especially profound influence on me and my practice and this topic is something I have previously written about.  

Returning to the buddha, the massive lotus flower platform that the statue rests on has various selections and scenes from the sutra intricately inscribed on it.  It's a fitting metaphor considering the sutra's famous teachings regarding "atoms in universes and universes within atoms".

The giant Vairocana Buddha does not sit alone in the temple and is flanked by two, also rather large, bodhisattvas.




A more fanciful feature of Todaiji can be found behind the big buddha statue.  One of the temple's wooden pillars has a rectangular hole the size of the buddha statue's nostril carved into it.  According to a local folklore, anyone who can pass through this hole will realize enlightenment in their next life.  During my first visit to the temple, there was a rather long line of people (mostly kids and teenagers) crawling their way to enlightenment.  While some made it through without a hitch, others needed a bit help.

During my last full day in Nara and during a lull in the conference activity, I visited Todaiji once more.  This wasn't a time consuming affair as the conference hall was very conveniently located within Nara park and just a few minutes away from Todajiji.  On a weekday morning the temple was much quieter although certainly not empty (space is never empty in Japan).  As this would be my last visit, I decided to do something special.  To the left of the giant buddha were some small stalls.  Most of them sell souvenirs and temple/Buddhist related paraphernalia but there was one that stood out.  For the reasonable price of ¥1,000 (~$13/€10), one could pay for a single replacement tile to be added on to the temple's roof.  Aside from helping out with Todaiji's preservation, one could also paint a personal message on this tile.  Although I have no clue what the sample tiles had written on them, I could've guessed they were passages from sutras or prayers of various sorts.  After thinking about what to write, I decided on something classical.  I choose the Sanskrit phrase "sarvamangalam", which translates to "happiness to all" or "may all be blessed".  This choice reflected not just my own prayer for all others in the world but also acknowledged how fortunate and blessed I was to have set foot in Todaiji and indeed, Nara itself.