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| With her birthday cake |
We arrived in Nara the afternoon of Maura's 11th birthday. Being Maura, she was game for almost anything--her only request was that we have cake to celebrate. After ditching our bags, we had a fabulous dinner of kamameshi (rice dish cooked in an iron pot), then we started our cake quest.
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| Feeding the sacred deer |
Much to our chagrin, things close down early in Nara. Sweet shops and grocery store--closed. We were saved by a nearby 7-Eleven that had one piece of chocolate cake on the shelf. We added a single Pocky stick (chocolate covered sweet) to serve as as candle and voila! All in all, it was a memorable day for our girl. (BTW: Maura and Nara rhyme. We planned it that way.)
Deer Park Inn
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| Todai-ji |
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| Daibutsu (Great Buddha) |
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| Mark reaching out to replica of Daibutsu's hand |
We've stayed in a lot of interesting places for the past three weeks--from modern apartments to business hotels, from ryokans to a monastery. But a bunkhouse in a forest teeming with sacred deer was an unexpected twist planned by the husband. We had a private bunk room for four (the girls got the top bunks). Our host was in the process of fixing up the inn, which was clean and quirky and interesting. We met a couple from France and two students from Hong Kong (originally from Chicago and Colorado Springs). It kind of felt like a youth hostel. Or a commune. Take your pick.
About Those Deer
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| Kara squeezing through enlightenment hole |
In pre-Buddhist times, deer were considered "messengers of the gods." Today, the deer in Nara are National Treasures and they have run of the town. You can feed them special crackers if you wish to partake. (I did not wish to be mobbed by the mangy creatures, but the rest of my family members had no problem with being chased and slobbered upon.) After watching an older woman sweeping up after them, I had a whole new appreciation for the practice of taking off one's shoes before entering a home.
Why Go to Nara?
Once the 8th century "deciders" determined that Japan should have a permanent capital, Nara became the "it" town. However, as Buddhism teaches, nothing is permanent. After about 70 years, the capital was shifted to Kyoto. According to what we read, Nara had a pretty good run.
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| And Maura... |
The main attraction was the Todai-ji, a temple which houses one of Japan's three Diabustsu (Great Buddhas). The den holding the Buddha statue is the largest wooden building in the world, and it's much smaller than the original building that burned down in the 1300's. It's truly a remarkable sight, and the statue itself is a work of human ingenuity.
I tend to focus on the lotus flowers at temples like this. They've grown in significance for me personally because (to me) they're symbolic of being open to -- or closed off from -- both the immense joy and suffering of life.
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| And Mark (terrible photo due to uncontrollable laughter) |
After viewing the Great Buddha, Mark, Maura and Kara joined throngs of school children to see if they could squeeze through a hole in the base of a wooden column. As the story goes, if you can get through the hole (which is as big as the Daibutsu's nostril), enlightenment is yours. Even the girls struggled a bit, but watching Mark wiggle and squirm his way through was hilarious.People stuck (no pun intended) around to watch, and it was with great joy that he secured his future status.
Surprises
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| Our family post-enlightenment |
I have a theory that the more people you talk to, the more interesting things you stumble upon (or are led to). When we met a woman lunching outside of her office, we struck up a conversation. She asked if we had been up to the rooftop of the building. We hadn't, and she told us how to get to the top. We're so glad we did--we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the mountains, the city, and some benches where we could sit and take it all in.
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| Same pagoda from rooftop |
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| Garden in Nara |
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| Girls with mascot of Nara |
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