Views of Japan

Views of Japan you won't find in guide books!

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47 posts tagged gods

These little plastic statues are of Jizõ Bosatsu (क्षितिगर्भ Kṣitigarbha). His name means “Earth Matrix” or “Earth Womb” and he is the God of hell and the guardian of children. As he is the patron God of deceased children and aborted fetuses, these statues are sold by the temple for parents who have aborted fetuses so that they may PRAY to the God Jizõ Bosatsu that he may see to it that their child’s “soul” may be reborn in a higher realm.  Yes, contrary to the teachings of Buddhism, in Japan it is believed that people do indeed have a soul.  Jizõ Bosatsu carries the monks shakujo staff to open the gates of hell and a hõshu (see my post on those) From Wikipedia - “the souls of children who die before their parents are unable to cross the mythical Sanzu River on their way to the afterlife because they have not had the chance to accumulate enough good deeds and because they have made the parents suffer. It is believed that Jizō saves these souls from having to pile stones eternally on the bank of the river as penance, by hiding them from demons in his robe, and letting them hear mantras.” The little plastic statues cost $500.00 each, but are made in China for around $4.00 each. 

These little plastic statues are of Jizõ Bosatsu (क्षितिगर्भ Kṣitigarbha). His name means “Earth Matrix” or “Earth Womb” and he is the God of hell and the guardian of children. As he is the patron God of deceased children and aborted fetuses, these statues are sold by the temple for parents who have aborted fetuses so that they may PRAY to the God Jizõ Bosatsu that he may see to it that their child’s “soul” may be reborn in a higher realm. 

Yes, contrary to the teachings of Buddhism, in Japan it is believed that people do indeed have a soul. 

Jizõ Bosatsu carries the monks shakujo staff to open the gates of hell and a hõshu (see my post on those)

From Wikipedia - “the souls of children who die before their parents are unable to cross the mythical Sanzu River on their way to the afterlife because they have not had the chance to accumulate enough good deeds and because they have made the parents suffer. It is believed that Jizō saves these souls from having to pile stones eternally on the bank of the river as penance, by hiding them from demons in his robe, and letting them hear mantras.”

The little plastic statues cost $500.00 each, but are made in China for around $4.00 each. 

Atheist

I do not believe in gods. By definition that makes me an Atheist. I expect all my religious followers to now unfollow me - especially those in the U.S. - as that is how their narrow religious dogmatic minds work.

A-theist - from the ancient Greek “atheos” meaning “godless.” It originally referred to anyone with an absence of belief in the various deities of Greek belief. Interestingly, the Hellenists (believers in the Greek gods) and the Christians (believers in one Hebrew god) labelled each other as Atheists! In those times Atheist didn’t refer to non-belief strictly, but rather “wrong belief.” The term Atheist could back then be used to describe anyone who did not worship the local gods and perhaps believed in a different god. Those committed to a foreign god were termed Atheists!

Wikipedia states that: “In the 20th century, globalisation contributed to the expansion of the term (Atheist) to refer to disbelief in all deities, though it remains common in Western society to describe Atheism as simply “disbelief in God”.

There are people on this planet who have trouble understanding that I do not believe in gods. It is interesting that those who are Christians do not believe in other gods either! They only choose to believe in the one they have been told to believe in, just as Muslims have been told to believe in Allah, Hindus have been told to believe in their various gods, and most Buddhists believe in their gods. 

By the original definition of the term, a Christian in Hindu India would be considered an Atheist for not believing in the Hindu gods! 

The term Atheism was invented by the religious to spurn those who did not believe in the local gods. It was not a term used by those who defined themselves as such. But words and their meanings change. 

I am happy to use the term to describe myself seeing as it riles the mindless puppets of religion. 

Amaterasu, Ogetsu-hime-no-Kami, Bishamonten, Zeus, Allah, Yahweh, Jesus, Ba’al, Mangar-kunjer-kunja, Apollo, etc etc….  - all the gods of man down through the ages are nothing more than fictions of a furtive mind.  

Senju Kannon bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara) at Hase temple, Hase Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture. Senju Kannon bosatsu is a Buddhist god from the mixed Hindu-Buddhist cult of Mahayana Buddhism. He has many arms (supposedly 1,000 arms) each holding it’s own special representative attribute or forming a magical hand gesture. On his head he has a Brahmin crown with 28 heads which represent the 28 protective genii who assist Senju Kannon in his task of teaching compassion. The circular halos behind are of Greek origin and represent a holy person or god. The Greeks added halos to icons to infer supernatural status, just as they added them to representations of Jesus. The whole body aureole of clouds is to suggest that Senju Kannon is in heaven looking down. In India he was always depicted as a male god, in China and Japan he later become an androgynous god with the features of a female, but with a moustache and adopting masculine stances. Kannon bosatsu in any of the 33 forms in which he is depicted is primarily a god of compassion and his Indian name Avalokiteśvara means “one who looks down and listens.” So basically this is a god you can pray to because he/she/it listens. The monk Kũkai (founder of the Shingon sect of magical Buddhism) claimed a form of this god visited him on his ship while travelling to China. He had a conversation with this god about taking the teachings of China back to Japan! The face is all shiny because people touch and kiss it! To the Japanese this is an actual supernatural being, not just a statue. The god is living in the statue and the statue serves as a conduit to the god.

Senju Kannon bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara) at Hase temple, Hase Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture.

Senju Kannon bosatsu is a Buddhist god from the mixed Hindu-Buddhist cult of Mahayana Buddhism. He has many arms (supposedly 1,000 arms) each holding it’s own special representative attribute or forming a magical hand gesture.

On his head he has a Brahmin crown with 28 heads which represent the 28 protective genii who assist Senju Kannon in his task of teaching compassion.

The circular halos behind are of Greek origin and represent a holy person or god. The Greeks added halos to icons to infer supernatural status, just as they added them to representations of Jesus. The whole body aureole of clouds is to suggest that Senju Kannon is in heaven looking down.

In India he was always depicted as a male god, in China and Japan he later become an androgynous god with the features of a female, but with a moustache and adopting masculine stances.

Kannon bosatsu in any of the 33 forms in which he is depicted is primarily a god of compassion and his Indian name Avalokiteśvara means “one who looks down and listens.” So basically this is a god you can pray to because he/she/it listens.

The monk Kũkai (founder of the Shingon sect of magical Buddhism) claimed a form of this god visited him on his ship while travelling to China. He had a conversation with this god about taking the teachings of China back to Japan!

The face is all shiny because people touch and kiss it! To the Japanese this is an actual supernatural being, not just a statue. The god is living in the statue and the statue serves as a conduit to the god.

My god is bigger than yours!

Ever since the Greeks introduced the first statues representing the Buddha and his god friends, various sects and cults across Asia have been carving and building, casting and moulding giant statues in a bid to outdo each other.

This is the giant Õfuna Kannon at Õfuna Kannonji in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture. Made of concrete it stands at 25 metres tall and weighs approximately 1,900 tons.

Marishiten the goddess of warfare and invisibility. Marishiten originated in Iran as a goddess of warfare. Adopted by the Indian Brahman elite as a Brahman solar deity and passed into Buddhism with the Brahmanisation of Buddhist teachings, Marishiten was regarded in Japan as the goddess of warfare and invisibility. The Samurai would often carry pictures or have Marishiten drawn inside their helmets for protection on the battlefield.

Marishiten the goddess of warfare and invisibility.

Marishiten originated in Iran as a goddess of warfare. Adopted by the Indian Brahman elite as a Brahman solar deity and passed into Buddhism with the Brahmanisation of Buddhist teachings, Marishiten was regarded in Japan as the goddess of warfare and invisibility. The Samurai would often carry pictures or have Marishiten drawn inside their helmets for protection on the battlefield.

Jizõ Bosatsu. Ever wondered why the Japanese dress Buddhist statues in red bibs and caps or even coats? Ever wondered why the Japanese offer food and drinks to inanimate stone statues? Ever wondered why the Japanese pray to these statues and ask for things to be granted? Well, in complete contradiction to what is attributed to the historical Buddha, the Japanese have a wholely different idea of Buddhism. You see Buddhist statues in Japan aren’t just inanimate stone statues - they are living embodiments of the Buddha Dharma. They are believed to be possessed of the spirit of the Buddha - who now lives in heaven or some other realm unseen by humans. All of the various deities are in fact those deities - even though they were all borrowed from Hinduism and Greek religion to begin with! Rather than simply symbols and icons, the Japanese consider Buddhist statues to be imbued with a “life force,” a supernatural power that connects them to deities that are able to hear their prayers and commune with the truly religious. The statues, before being located in temples, are “consecrated” by “priests” who commune with the “Buddha” whom the Japanese consider to be a god of sorts. He enables the statues to hear the prayers of the devout. After “consecration” the statues are no longer mere representations of the various deities, but the deity itself! Since the introduction of Buddhism to Japan larger wooden images have had relics and sacred Buddhist texts installed within them. Later on, images of the founders of particular sects of Buddhism also came to be made and worshipped as the embodiment of the founder - able to hear the prayers of the truly devout. Many are now considered more important the the historical Buddha - the dude who founded it all. The statues of Buddhism in Japan are the single recipient of offerings and prayers - completely contradicting the early teachings of Buddhism. So those statues with the bibs and caps, they are gods that can hear your prayers and answer them if you are devout and pious! They aren’t just stone or wood. They need those caps and bibs to keep them warm and protect them from the elements - because as statues they are unable to move and keep themselves protected from the weather! The “empowerment” of a Buddhist statue is a considerably costly endeavour. It can cost anywhere between ¥60,000 and ¥1,000,000 to have a priest perform the correct ritual to have the deity come and reside in the statue and to ensure that they are properly “consecrated.” When entering a temple or Buddhist site, always check for signs that ask you not to take photographs. Some of the deities don’t like being photographed. The origin of the red caps and bibs is actually not even Buddhist, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Jizõ Bosatsu. Ever wondered why the Japanese dress Buddhist statues in red bibs and caps or even coats? Ever wondered why the Japanese offer food and drinks to inanimate stone statues? Ever wondered why the Japanese pray to these statues and ask for things to be granted?

Well, in complete contradiction to what is attributed to the historical Buddha, the Japanese have a wholely different idea of Buddhism. You see Buddhist statues in Japan aren’t just inanimate stone statues - they are living embodiments of the Buddha Dharma. They are believed to be possessed of the spirit of the Buddha - who now lives in heaven or some other realm unseen by humans. All of the various deities are in fact those deities - even though they were all borrowed from Hinduism and Greek religion to begin with!

Rather than simply symbols and icons, the Japanese consider Buddhist statues to be imbued with a “life force,” a supernatural power that connects them to deities that are able to hear their prayers and commune with the truly religious.

The statues, before being located in temples, are “consecrated” by “priests” who commune with the “Buddha” whom the Japanese consider to be a god of sorts. He enables the statues to hear the prayers of the devout.

After “consecration” the statues are no longer mere representations of the various deities, but the deity itself! Since the introduction of Buddhism to Japan larger wooden images have had relics and sacred Buddhist texts installed within them. Later on, images of the founders of particular sects of Buddhism also came to be made and worshipped as the embodiment of the founder - able to hear the prayers of the truly devout. Many are now considered more important the the historical Buddha - the dude who founded it all.

The statues of Buddhism in Japan are the single recipient of offerings and prayers - completely contradicting the early teachings of Buddhism.

So those statues with the bibs and caps, they are gods that can hear your prayers and answer them if you are devout and pious! They aren’t just stone or wood. They need those caps and bibs to keep them warm and protect them from the elements - because as statues they are unable to move and keep themselves protected from the weather!

The “empowerment” of a Buddhist statue is a considerably costly endeavour. It can cost anywhere between ¥60,000 and ¥1,000,000 to have a priest perform the correct ritual to have the deity come and reside in the statue and to ensure that they are properly “consecrated.”

When entering a temple or Buddhist site, always check for signs that ask you not to take photographs. Some of the deities don’t like being photographed.

The origin of the red caps and bibs is actually not even Buddhist, but I’ll leave that for another post.

A Shintõ shrine from above and behind. The architecture of shrines has changed very little over the last 600 years or so. The god (kami) of the area lives in the back section which is joined to the front “worship” section by a smaller walkway. Only a Shintõ priest can enter the shrine proper as only a Shintõ priest can communicate with the gods. Shintõ shrines were originally plain natural unpainted timber, but when Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the Chinese tradition of painting Buddhist temples red influenced the construction and painting of shrines as well as temples. The reason shrines are red is because Shintõ shrines and Buddhist temples were often the same building or at least within the same compound. Chinese used red to distinguish Buddhist temples from Taoist temples which were black lacquered. The Japanese simply copied it.

A Shintõ shrine from above and behind. The architecture of shrines has changed very little over the last 600 years or so. The god (kami) of the area lives in the back section which is joined to the front “worship” section by a smaller walkway. Only a Shintõ priest can enter the shrine proper as only a Shintõ priest can communicate with the gods.

Shintõ shrines were originally plain natural unpainted timber, but when Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the Chinese tradition of painting Buddhist temples red influenced the construction and painting of shrines as well as temples. The reason shrines are red is because Shintõ shrines and Buddhist temples were often the same building or at least within the same compound. Chinese used red to distinguish Buddhist temples from Taoist temples which were black lacquered. The Japanese simply copied it.

Hiratsuka Hachiman shrine, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. The big box is where money is thrown before the Japanese make their supplications to the unseen kami (spirits of the earth or gods of nature). It is necessary to give the unseen kami money so that they “may” be persuaded to answer prayers. The money is later collected by the family of the Shinto priest, who lives in housing attached to the shrine. This is how Shinto priests earn their living - from the money thrown to the kami to answer prayers. (!)

Hiratsuka Hachiman shrine, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. The big box is where money is thrown before the Japanese make their supplications to the unseen kami (spirits of the earth or gods of nature). It is necessary to give the unseen kami money so that they “may” be persuaded to answer prayers. The money is later collected by the family of the Shinto priest, who lives in housing attached to the shrine. This is how Shinto priests earn their living - from the money thrown to the kami to answer prayers. (!)