Jizo

Week 20 - the letter "J" again

I don't remember when I first discovered Jizo.  I remember looking around online or through some random catalogs and magazines and pausing as I saw his statue.  (The statue is below.  I saved the picture but not the link of where it can be purchased.  If anyone can help me find this version of Jizo, please let me know).  There was something about it that made me stop and smile.  I felt a connection to this person depicted in the statue and needed to know more. There was very little in the description of this statue except that he was associated with Buddhism and his name was Jizo.

The image that captured my soul

So I started searching.  And researching.  And reading.  My smile grew larger and I felt myself getting choked up as tears filled my eyes.  Never had I had an experience like this one.  I had never been so drawn to something that I couldn't physically touch at that moment.  Little blurbs of information didn't usually affect me in such a huge and emotional manner.  It was amazing.

Jizo/Jizu Bodhisattva (a Bodhisattva is someone who has become enlightened but decided, unlike Buddha, to remain in a lower state-of-being in order to help others whose souls need to be saved) is the embodiment of the Bodhisattva Vow.  He is the protector of children, expectant mothers, firemen, and travelers. Most of all, he is the protector of deceased children, including miscarried, aborted or stillborn infants. In Japanese folklore, Jizo hides the children in his robes to protect them from demons and guide them to salvation. Jizo means "earth treasury" or "earth womb." Jizo is the guardian of all things that emerge from the earth, and the protector of those on physical or spiritual journeys.

When he is not portrayed carrying children, Jizo carries a wish-fulfilling jewel and a staff with six rings to show his mastery of the Six Realms.

From the blog Grace in Japan, here is a story of how Jizo serves the deceased children:

... if a young child dies, she/he is sent to Sai no Kawara, the river of souls in purgatory. Not only is he/she in this horrible place, but the child is also totally naked and cold. So, in desperation, this poor child, tries to pile up stones into towers so that he/she may get high enough to escape. However, before the tower can be built high enough, evil demons come buy and kick the poor child's tower down.

Just when all hope seems to be lost, out steps our hero - Jizu - who gathers the children beneath his long, warm, flowing robes to protect them. The littlest of all, who can't yet walk, Jizo picks up and carries tucked-up inside the sleeves of his robe. Brave Jizu then helps these children escape out of purgatory.

A particular form of Jizo, the Mizuko Jizo, emerged after World War II to relieve suffering caused by the death of an infant or young child. Mizuko, meaning "water baby," is a term for unborn fetuses, who float in a watery world. If children die early, they are taken back into the realm of the gods where they resided before birth, guided by Jizo Bodhisattva, who shelters little ones who might be confused by the events of a brief life and sudden death.

This ceremony is still performed today and is even celebrated in a number of American Zen temples. The simple but deeply moving ceremony offers a palpable easing of the weight of suffering that surrounds the death of a child. This is the particular gift offered by the holy being Jizo Bodhisattva.

A beautiful, but heart-tugging article about a Jizo Garden shows how Jizo can bring some peace and closure to parents during what is certainly one of the most difficult and painful experiences.

It is the connection to children - in all phases of their lives and deaths - that is my heart.  It is my connection to Jizo.

Jizo Garden in Kyoto, Japan