Sado's Sai-no-kawara, In Progress

In "Sado: Japan's Island in Exile", author Angus Waycott visits the eerie Sai-no-Kawara shrine on the island's lonely northwest coast. According to Buddhist teaching, on the sixth day after death (that is, the seventh 'day' of the afterlife) the souls of the dead arrive at the banks of the river Sanzu (三途), which all must cross on their 49-day, 800-里 journey to the underworld, or Meido (冥途). Now, prior to crossing, the souls of children who die before their parents must first perform a curious act of offeratory. As Jizo-sama plays a key role in this stage of the child's passage, grieving parents have placed 1000s of figures of the bodhisattva at this 'shrine of limbo', for he consoles and protects the spirit children as they collect and pile the stones found beside the river- for such is the form of their penance. Alas, no sooner is a little mound of stones erected than it is toppled by one of the grinning demons hovering nearby, whereupon the little child rushes crying to Jizo-sama and the comfort of his encircling robes. Observes Waycott: "... much as I profess respect for the religions of others, I couldn't feel right about Sai-no-kawara... The duty of children to 'repay' their parents for the gift of life... smacks more of earthbound thinking and Confucian sociology than divine authority... [the faint smile on Jizo's face] looked to me like the smirk of a complacent idiot". Perhaps that last is a bit harsh. In any case, per Buddhist scripture, children who have died before their parents are considered guilty of the 'crime' of causing their parents suffering These little souls must therefore erect towers of stones (just as the faithful on earth are expected to erect memorials, statues of the Buddhist deities, and so on - or pay another to do the job)- whilst praying for their grieving parents' happiness. The tower of stones is therefore an offering to parents and an act of atonement. The demons who send the pebbles flying do so to signify the prayers haven't reached their intended audience, the parents in the world of the living. Jizo-sama consoles the spirit children, telling them to imagine him as their spirit father in the Meido. How long must these children persist in this almost Sisyphean business? Until the period of grieving ends. 賽の河原霊場 https://share.google/D04ekHxD2YUBAxJ9L Regarding Buddhist teaching and the journey to the Meido: 賽の河原とは？意味・由来に関する基礎知識｜葬儀の知識｜葬儀・お葬式なら【公益社】｜葬儀の知識｜葬儀・家族葬なら信頼の【公益社】 https://share.google/Mg8xO7gApRD08unFf