2010: Sanju-sangen-do

May 7, 2010
Kyoto

THE SANJU-SANGEN-DO CURSE (or not).

I have been touring friends Lee and Ginger from Savannah all around Kyoto for a week and today was our last day together before they return to the US.  The weather has been sunny and warm this whole week and most welcome as we had experienced a great many cold and rainy days this spring.  We had a limited agenda this day that included the famous temple, Sanju-sangen-do, with 1001 Buddhist full-sized sculptures of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy.  This is one of my favorite temples in Kyoto as the long hall with 33 bays filled with figures of the 11-headed and 1000-armed Kannon is, indeed, very impressive.  These figures, carved of wood and covered with gold leaf aged to a mellow reflectiveness, convey a pervasive sense of serenity.

I was totally absorbed in the enjoyment of the moment when was brought suddenly back to reality by a bit of Buddhist dust in my right eye.  I did my best to rid myself of this distraction with numerous tears as an aide and returned to my enjoyment of the experience.  Alas, I had not been totally successful and felt something even more irritating in the same eye.  Finally, I was able to rid myself of this nasty crumb.  However, at about the same time as this second attack I felt my sock sticking to the carpet but kept on my way.  It stuck again and I assumed I had stepped on something sticky like gum, unlikely as that seemed in a temple context.  The next step I was stuck and had to remove my sock in the company of other visitors and discovered the cause was a small open metal ring about 3/8 of an inch in diameter attached to my sock.  Doshite?  Why (me)?  I removed the ring, replaced the sock and saved the evidence in my coin purse.   I continued on my way on the final route before exiting to the sales shop when I was stuck again!  A second ring of the same sort had me trapped in the carpet.  Taihen desu ne!  Serious trouble, indeed!

I considered several possible interpretations of these bizarre events.  Either I was cursed by the overwhelming Kannon spirit that suffused this space (for reasons unknown) OR these were quite natural occurrences to someone of my age and state of mind and the Kannon spirit was the single force that allowed me to solve and survive these mishaps.  I prefer the latter.  However, I felt compelled to find some way to protect myself from further misadventures so I purchased a lucky charm for ¥100 ($1.05).  He is a very tiny gold figure: Fukurokuju  (from Japanese fuku, “happiness”; roku, “wealth”; and ju, “longevity”) one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. In many depictions, Fukurokuju has an abnormally high forehead. The sacred book tied to his staff either contains the lifespan of every person on earth or a magical scripture. He is accompanied by a crane and a turtle, which are considered to be symbols of longevity. He is also sometimes accompanied by a black deer (ancient legends say a deer turns black if it is over 2000 years old).  I felt saved!

We continued on our way in the and felt totally secure at a nearby McDonalds for a lunch of shrimp burger, fries and ice coffee.  The rest of the day was a total success topped off with a complimentary tumbler of sake at Sarasa, a favorite restaurant for dinner.