Portrait of a Buddhist monk

While my wife and daughter were in Japan earlier this year, my wife visited Kawasaki Daishi temple in Japan for help with her Yakudoshi. While there, she took this photo:

Kawasaki Daishi is a famous temple of the Shingon Buddhist sect, and this is a photo of the founder of Shingon, Kūkai, but in Shingon he is usually referred to as Odaishisama (お大師様) or “Revered Master”. This particular statue depicts Kukai as a wandering pilgrim or henro (遍路), hence the statue is called henro daishi (遍路大師). Note the hat to keep off the rain, and the shakujō staff with the rings on it. The rings make a loud noise as a monk walks, warning animals to steer clear to avoid being stepped on by accident. The six rings, in this case, also refer to the Six Perfections. In his left hand is a Shingon-style Buddhist rosary, which has 108 beads for counting mantras, and additional tassles on both sides.

Since I was already back in Ireland at the time, I could not see the statue. In my visit of Kawasaki Daishi for hatsumode the crowd was so packed with everyone scrambling to get through, I had no time really to see anything at the temple. When my wife visited again, the temple crowd was much more reasonable, so she took some pictures for my benefit (thank you, dear!).

Anyways, I am glad she took the photo as she is a better photographer. Seems to run in the family too.

P.S. Japanese Buddhism is confusing because the terms ‘monk’ and ‘priest’ get used inter-changeably, however they are different. ‘Priest’ is a generic term for any Buddhist priest, but ‘monk’ should only be used for someone whose ordained under the Vinaya monastic code (i.e. an actual ascetic). The problem is that the Vinaya lineage died out in Japan long ago, and efforts to revive it all failed. This was due to political manipulation, but also geographic isolation, so almost 0 priests in Japan today are actually monks. To make things more confusing, the Japanese word obōsan (お坊さん) can mean either priest or monk. Kukai had been ordained under the Vinaya however at Todaiji Temple as was required in those days, so he was a true monk. It sounds like I am arguing over semantics, but it’s good to know the difference.