For thousands of years, Buddhist art has vividly depicted the scene of the Buddha's death. In Japanese these are called nehan-zu ("Nirvana Illustrations"). Surrounding the reclining body of the great sage, the faces of his disciples, kings, animals, and gods are contorted in anguish at the death of their teacher. Their great light has gone out, and they know from the Buddha's teaching that his successor, though hard at work in preparation for his grand entrance, will not come for another few million years. The Buddha's death marks a period of inevitable decline, where the world gradually degrades into selfishness, ignorance, and violence and it becomes nearly impossible to attain awakening.
The Buddha, on the other hand, wears a gentle smile, knowing that he slips away from this earth leaving his followers, and us, in good hands. Perhaps he recalled a conversation he'd had with the great Bodhisattva Earth Store (Skt. Kṣitigarbha, Jp. Jizō), recorded in The Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra. Jizō has just demonstrated his tremendous power of adaptation by displaying forms suited to each and every possible situation, so numerous that the omniscient Shakyamuni himself can't count them.
"I request you to work earnestly to lift [sentient beings] to Buddhahood and
Enlightenment till the next Buddha, by the name of Maitreya, will be born to this world."
"Pray," the selfless being assures Shakyamuni, "do not be disheartened over the evils of these beings, as I shall bear the full responsibility to convert them to the supreme state of Buddhahood."
"I am tremendously worried over these beings," the Buddha replies, "but as you are so resolute to keep the strong vows, which you have made kalpas ago, to work unremittingly to lead the erring beings to salvation, I therefore feel relief now."
In other words, Jizō is Buddha-approved as our go-to guy in the millions of years until the coming of Maitreya. You'll see evidence of this faith anywhere you look in Japan, where statues of Jizō in the form of a Buddhist priest watch quietly over crossroads, cemeteries, and mountain paths. This depiction echoes the Buddha's teaching that in the absence of a Buddha on this earth, faithful should look to the saṇgha, the community of monastics who practice and preserve Buddhist teachings.
In the middle ages, the belief that the age of the degradation of the Buddhist Teachings (mappō) had already begun became widespread. In response to this, people began making sculptures out of stone hoping they would guide people through the dark times until the coming of Maitreya. Jizō is the most popular subject of these statues.
Jizō is often depicted in a set of six, one for each of the "Six Realms" of rebirth (those tortured in hell, those who wander as hungry ghosts, animals, violent demons called Asuras, human beings, and gods). Jizō's reputation as a generalist contributed to his popularity, as recorded in the temple song of Temple 5, Jizō-ji, named for the Bodhisattva:
Great Bodhisattva
Earth Store, you who change your form
to suit the six realms–
I beg you, show me the path
in this world and all after
Temples will also sometimes have statues of Jizō accompanied by children, often surrounded by smaller statues dressed in knitted red bibs and hats. These Jizō statues are associated with mizuko kuyō, funerary practices for children who die before birth, whether accidentally or intentionally. Like many funerary practices in Japan, this custom has drawn a lot of criticism because priests have commercialized it to make money off the bereaved, but its continuing popularity is a testament to faith in Jizō as a world-bridging figure who cares for the lost no matter where they wander.
comprehensiveness of his vow: "I now determine to relieve the sufferings of beings in the six realms of suffering and sorrow, skillfully leading them to salvation through innumerable kalpas, before I myself attain Buddhahood." Jizō's name, Earth Store, relates the qualities of this vow to the Earth itself: this unshakeable vow serves as the foundation for all our practice, as the sturdy Earth does; this vow nurtures and supports all spiritual growth, as the life-giving Earth does; this vow is an endless repository of priceless treasures, as the Earth itself is. When we practice, we practice with the planet as our foundation, and our efforts sends ripples out to all living beings. The statues of Jizō that line the pilgrimage path offer constant opportunities to reflect on how we, too, can become one of the infinite ways Jizō adapts himself to save other beings.
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