"Deer" Nara (memories of 東大寺)

The good thing about walking 5 miles a day is that you have a lot of time to think and usually come up with blog entries or memories of places I have visited or want to visit. Today’s walk brought me back to Nara.



One of my favorite places in the world is Nara, Japan. Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan and is located to the east of Osaka (another lovely city).  Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, lending its name to the Nara period. Nara is home to several Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and the former Imperial Palace but my favorite place by far is the Todai-ji Temple (東大寺) which houses the Nara Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Nara). I actually discovered Nara quite by accident.



I was on my third visit to Japan and it was arranged for me to spend the day with someone I would be working with on the latest project. He decided that he wanted to show me Nara. I had already been to Japan twice and my love of the language, the people and Buddhism had been growing for a while.


The first thing that hits you about Nara is that there are deer (“shika” in Japanese) everywhere, roaming free, especially in Nara park. They are very gentle and not afraid of people. According to the legendary history of Kasuga Shrine, the mythological god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital of Heijō-kyō. Since then the deer have been regarded as heavenly animals, protecting the city and the country. Vendors sell “shika sembei” (deer biscuits) so that you can feed the deer. I distinctly remember my tour guide telling to (in half English, half Japanese) be careful of the “SHIKA SHIT”

Todaiji is a temple of the Kegon sect of Buddhism, which reveres the Buddha Vairocana (“Birushana” in Japanese) as the cosmic, central Buddha. The principal image of the temple is a bronze statue of Vairocana, colossal in scale. According to legend, nearly 2.6 million people helped construct the Buddha — but as that would amount to nearly half of the people in Japan at the time, the figure is probably exaggerated. Nevertheless, by the time the Buddha was completed in 751, it had consumed most of Japan’s bronze production for several years and left the country almost bankrupt.
When you first walk into the Daibutsuden, the sight of the Daibutsu is overwhelming. It’s very massive and just huge. I felt so small next to it. I stood in awe, just looking at it for at least 20 minutes. The entire room contains an air of peacefulness. There is no judgment, no pressure, just peace. Aside from the birth of my two children, it is one of my fondest memories.