Paradise Flowers Come Out of 2000-Year Sleep

These lotus flowers have an amazing history. Their seeds  had been latent for more than 2000 years and then one of them wakened in 1951.  Now the flowers are blooming one after another.

 A tinny creature is attracted by fragrance of a lotus flower and helping pollination.

  Dr. Ohga ,who was dedicated all his life to the study of lotus flowers, found three seeds of ancient lotus flowers dating back to 2000 years ago in 1950. He succeeded in making one of them bud.  The lotus bore flowers next year and was  named Ohga Hasu( Ohga Lotus ) after him. Since then, they have come back every  summer.

How exciting it is to admire the beauty of  the flowers which the ancient people enjoyed viewing.

A small pond, where Ohga Lotus flowers are growing, is at the botanical garden in Kasuga Grand Shrine .

Early June, I saw many tadpoles and infant frogs with tails in the pond.

The baby leave, curling from the both sides, looked like  tiny joining hands.

 " What a cute leave it is!" 

This is the first bud I found on June 13th. A gardener pointed at other tinny buds for me. And we shared the joy! There were five buds! I could not wait for the blooming of the flowers!

I wanted to see the blossoms at the best time,  so I went to a library to do some homework on lotus flowers.  I got to know how short the life of the blossom is. They live only four days.

The first day,
Around 4 am, a bud starts to burst and opens about 3 to 5cms wide. Around 8 am, it starts to close.

The second day,
At midnight, the bud starts to burst, and around 7 to 9 am the flower comes into full bloom. Till  noon, it closes again and returns to the bud.  For these two hours from 7 to 9 am, we can enjoy the most beautiful flower. Its fragrance gets the strongest to attract insects for pollination as pollens start to be released.

 

 The third day,
The same with the second day, but it closes loosely and does not return to the complete bud.

 The forth day,
After noon, it starts to fall.

I love not only the beauty of the lotus flowers but also the leaves.
The surface of a leave is water-shedding. Oh, can you see how gracefully drops of dew are rolling on the leave and exquisitely reflect the light! I won't be tired of viewing them.

Don't you think the leaves look like the placentas? The leaves with netlike leaf veins are similar to the placentas with netlike blood vessels in the appearance and both of them are symbolizing the vital life force.

The lotus flower is symbolic and divine in Buddhism. Even though lotus flowers grow in muddy ponds, the stalks rise high above the ponds and the flowers bloom beautifully, purely. Taking lessons from the lotus flowers, we can remain pure and unspoiled even though we live in the murky world.

Great Buddha in Todai-ji temple sits on the lotus flower pedestal.

In front of the Buddha, bronze lotus flowers are placed.

 According to what I read, in Hinduism also the lotus flowers are sacred. Brahma(the creator) was born from the lotus flower growing from the navel of Vishnu( one of  the Supreme gods) .

 Water lilies and lotuses have been often mixed up in many cultures and symbolism. 

I am getting more and more interested in lotus flowers and enchanted by them! How about you?

参考図書：　「ハスを語る」 大賀一郎著、　「蓮」　阪本祐二著

Five chicks are growing as big as their mom. The nest is too small for them.

　　

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Ceremony of Fire and Water

This is the most exciting and  mysterious ceremony full of legends !

Real spring comes to  Nara  after "The Second Month Ceremony" is over.  In February Hall of Todai-ji Temple, this ceremony has been held  for 1260 years without interruption since 752 when the temple was built. The ceremony is  held from March 1st through 14th.

This is February Hall. On the left there is a roofed stone staircase

 leads to February Hall with a balcony. 

the stone staircase viewed from the balcony

People are waiting for the start of the ceremony under the balcony.

 Every evening, ten of  the eleven priests climb up the stone steps to February Hall
 one by one,  each of them guided by an attendant. 

Each attendant carries a huge flaming torch made of a big  bamboo

 with cedar branches attached at its top. The biggest torch is 8 meters in length

 and 70 kilograms in weight.

 From the balcony of the hall, each attendant  swings and spins the flaming torch. 

Then  he runs across the balcony.

The torch is huge!

At the other corner of the balcony, he swings and spins the torch again.

              The breathtaking shower of flying sparkles from the torch
 fall down on people like a cascade!

 How exciting they are - the smell of scorched cedar leaves, the sound of sparkling wood and flowing down  sparks over people!  Now they are involved in  a huge ripple of excitement.  According to one theory, this ceremony was influenced by Zoroastrianism which was introduced to Japan along Silk Road.

If they get sparkles or embers, they are promised to be healthy throughout the year. 

They bring the embers or cinders home so that their prayers and wishes will be answered.

Torch Ceremony" is so famous that people are apt to think it is "Second Month Ceremony". But
 " Second Month Ceremony"  consists  of many  rituals  precisely scheduled.  "Torch Ceremony" is one of them.  The ceremony is  also known as  "Water Drawing Ceremony" based on the  mysterious legends.  However, the true essence of " Second Month Ceremony" is repentance.  Six times a day, the eleven priests perform repentance rite in front of the eleven- faced Kannon Bodhisattva. They pray to the Kannon for happiness, peace, good weather and abundant harvest on behalf of people all over the world. These pious prayers  reflect the current affairs.  On Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 or 9/11 in 2001,  eleven priests prayed for the souls of the dead and for that it would never happen again. Behind the white curtain, eleven priests are holding the rituals in front of eleven-faced Kannon.

Even though Todai-ji Temple is a Buddhist temple, this ceremony is said to be the assimilation of Buddhism and Shinto- indigenous religion of Japan. Every night, the priests call a numerous number of Shinto deities' names and  invite  them to guard the ceremony. Shinto deities come to gather around  February Hall from all directions. Now this place becomes the most sacred place in Japan.

 February Hall is protected by boundaries too. The boundaries are stretched
 here and  there to drive away evil and protect  the hall.
White paper is for Shinto and green  leaves are for Buddhism.

At the entrance of the stone staircase, the torches are placed on the walls.

Before Torch Ceremony on Marchy 2nd .

AfterTorch Ceremony on March 2nd .

An elderly man standing next to me said ," This ceremony is so addictive that it makes me feel like coming here everyday!" I felt deeply that the fusion of Buddhism and Shinto can not express the nature of this ceremony well. It transcends Buddhism or Shinto, and it  is something  like the hometown of people's heart.

On the way to February Hall, I saw a stall vending baked sweet potatoes. 

It is difficult to resist the tempting smell.

                                                         In front of Great South Gate, Main Gate to Todai-ji Temple



                                                                             

                                                    

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Reflections・・・Quiet Prayers

This is a candle holder at  a temple. The candles are offerings from people.

In the dark the glasses reflect the soft candlelight - quiet prayers of the worshipers.

There are three offerings given to Buddha everyday.

To light a candle

To burn incense

To ring a bell or a gong 

 I felt as if I'd heard the sincere whispers of the worshipers

while looking at the flickering flame of the candles.

Why Don't You Have a Cup of Tea ? Kissako (喫茶去)

"Kissako" is one of Buddha's teachings.

When you are very worried  or obsessed about your trouble, you can not see anything else but your trouble. You focus on one thing which seems too hard to solve, and you don't know what to do.

In such a time of being at a  loss, why don't you have a cup of tea?  The cup of tea will  surely relax you and make you realize there must be a  way  to conquer your trouble or it may not be as serious as  you  think.

When I walked pass him, I thought  I heard his voice  "Why don't you have a cup of tea?"