What will you pray to Jizo today? Watching over you from right nearby: The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra -Prologue-

―About the Buddha who is right beside you

Starting now, we will follow the story of "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" over the course of 12 installments.

There are not many people who do not know the name "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva".

However, there is almost no one who does not know what he looks like, is there?

The stone Jizo statues standing by the roadside.

The Jizo statues lined up quietly at the corner of an intersection.

The Jizo statues standing as if to watch over children.

The Jizo statues that welcome us at the entrance to a cemetery.

They are not in special places,

but are Buddhas standing right near our daily lives.

And this Buddha has one major characteristic.

That is,

that he is a Buddha who has decided not to become a Buddha yet

is what he is.

As long as there are people who are suffering.

As long as there are people who are lost,

as long as there are people seeking help from the shadows,

rather than entering the completion of enlightenment first,

this is a being who vowed

to continue standing by that person's side.

That is why Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

is not a Buddha only for those who have completed special training.

He protects children, too.

He protects travelers, too.

He protects those who have passed away, too.

He protects those who will live on, too.

And,

he is also standing by the side of those who are a little lost right now.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is not a Buddha in a distant world.

Rather,

he is a Buddha who stands

at the level of your daily life.

In this series, we will trace, one story at a time, how Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was born from such wishes and how it has continued to stand by people's sides.

You do not need to go to a temple.

You do not need to try to understand difficult teachings.

Just try turning your gaze for a moment toward a Jizo statue you see by the roadside.

You may put your hands together, or you do not have to.

But if you were to stop for just a moment,

that place,

might become a place where you face your own heart.

This story is,

not a story about a Buddha from the distant past,

but a story about a Buddha standing right near you.

Next time, "Episode 1: The Wish of a Girl Who Tried to Save Her Mother"