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DAY TRIP TO NARA:
Nara, Japan.
October 27th, 2013, 7:55pm.
Well, today wasn't as good as Real or I had hoped it would be... In fact, it turned out to be a lot worse. I didn't really know what to expect from Nara, but I knew it had more wandering deer, just like Miyajima. Unfortunately, once you've seen one deer, you've seen them all, as Real put it. It's true! They're all the same! These ones were actually even a little worse than the other ones! These ones head butted you and bit you! We fed some, which was a bad idea. We bought 3 stacks of deer cookies to feed them. They wouldn't stop following us! I even had to punch one in the head to get it to leave me alone! Plus, I think I have a bruise on my knee from when one smashed it's head into me. Ugh.
We were with Real's friend and her family today. It was a little weird for me, because apparently he met her on a chat room a number of years ago, and this was the first time they met. So it was kind of awkward... She had a husband and an 8 year old son. Of course, neither of them could speak English, and she could speak only a little. We made our way through Nara's park. We saw the Todai-ji Temple, which is apparently the oldest wooden structure in the world. Here, I'll write down what my entry ticket says:
"Todai-ji Temple was built in the Nara period (710 - 794 AD) at the behest of Emperor Shomu (r.724 - 749). The temple was officially positioned as one o many state-established provincial temples. However, since the chief object of worship of the temple is Vairocana Buddha ("Buddha what shines throughout the world like the sun.") a magnificent temple was built to reflect this importance.
Todai-ji Tempe serves both as a place of prayer for peace and affluence on earth, as well as a centre of Buddhist doctrinal research. Over the centuries, Todai-ji has produced many famous scholar priests.
Todai-ji Temple was founded by Bishop Roben, and is to this day the Head Temple of the Kegon Sect of Buddhism. The chief object of worship is Vairocana Buddha, who is also the central Buddha in the Kegon Sutra. The statue of Vairocana Buddha is made from cast bronze, which was then plated with gold. The statue was consecrated in 752, but was damaged and repaired several times in the following centuries. The current hands of the statue were made in the Momoyama period (1568 - 1615) and the head was made in the Edo period (1615 - 1867). The Great Buddha Hall was burned in the fires of war in 1180 and 1567, and the current building is actually the third generation structure, which was built in the Edo period. The width of the current building is approximately 33% smaller than that of the original structure, but it still ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world."
So we walked through it, of course being greeted by numerous deer... We came up to the main Temple. It was beautiful and big! You could tell it was old, though. The gate towards it was even more worn down than the Temple itself! The paint was peeling and the wood was splintering. That didn't take away from it's beauty, though.
As I was walking up towards the Temple, I heard a woman explain to her foreign friend that twice a year, the giant window of the temple is opened, revealing the big Buddha's face! I went in, and saw just how big the Buddha really was! It's hand was up in front of him, making our symbol for "stop." I'm not sure what that symbolizes in Buddhism, though. Hmm, maybe I should look into that. We walked all the way around the sculpture, when suddenly, we came across a line. We found out that there is a small hole at the bottom of one of the pillars holding up the roof of the Temple. People were crawling through it, as people cheered when someone made it through. Apparently it is good luck to pass through the small opening. The 8 year old boy we were with (I don't remember his name... Kazoku or something.) wanted to go through it. The line wasn't that long, either, so I decided- why not? Real took pictures as I squeezed through. Aaahh, I'm thinking I've been eating too much Makkudonaludo's and rice! Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, I think you best have the treadmill running when I get home, so I can just walk through the door and jump right on! Sound good?
Once we left the Temple, we walked around for a bit. There wasn't much else to do. We had lunch, got back on a bus, and headed back to the train station.
On the way home, vacant seats were scarce, so we all had to split up and sit separately. I sat next to an older couple from England. I was so happy to have a conversation with someone who spoke English! We talked for the entire train ride! Turns out, Jone, and her husband Dave, were travelling through Japan for 2 weeks. Dave had been there before, so he was taking his wife around Japan as her sort of tour guide. It was so cute! I recommended some places in Kyoto and Tokyo to go to, since they didn't really know what to do. I also told them to prepare themselves for the Hiroshima Memorial, since they had mentioned they were going to visit there tomorrow. We wished each other safe travels, and were on our way!
Now we're at a new Hostel. It's really nice, probably because it was a little more expensive than the last one. I'm going to miss our old one though! I really liked the people we met! It's just as well that we switched places, though. Everyone else is moving on, too! We all added each other on Facebook, though, so we should still be able to keep in contact!
Well, I'm doing laundry and writing postcards, so I should go... But I hope everyone had a great day! I sure am missing all my friends and family back at home!
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr
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