buddha, falafel, deer crackers

Today i visited the culture-jammed city of Nara, just an hour from Kyoto. Nara used to be the old capitol of Japan until it was moved to Kyoto, which was eventually moved to Tokyo in the modern era. But Nara is the center of a bunch of stuff, including the enormous bronze statue of the buddha and lots of temples and shrines. And as you may have guessed, dear reader, i saw such an enormous bronze statue of buddha, and marveled appropriately. It was one of those things that i never imagined i would ever see, but there i was, appreciating the moment as much as was humanly possible, with all my might. It is housed in the largest standing wooden structure in the world, a giant temple with big golden horns. There are other lesser bodhisatvas inside in statue form, but don't ask me to explain what a bodhisatva is. All i know from reading the English explanation of the inscriptions and drawings on the lotus petals adorning the statue's foundation is that a holy man became a buddha a long time ago and a thousand million light rays shot out from him and he produced a thousand millions Mount Sumurus and a thousand million lesser buddhas, which may be related to the bodhisatvas, which i believe are greater dieties that are inhuman and that must be prayed to. I was thinking of taking up Buddhism, but it seems like a bit of an undertaking just understanding what i would be doing as a Buddhist, or even understanding anything about the dieties i'd be praying to. This is Japanese Buddhism of course, which is often intermingled with Shintoism and numerous folk beliefs, and whatever else is hip at the time. I think Jesus and Santa Claus might be bodhisatvas now too, along with David Beckham and Godzilla.
I went to Nara with Martin, and we ate at a falafel shop (i was ecstatic to find it) that sold hemp beer and had the word vegan on the menu. The owner, also named Takashi, is mega-interested in biodiesel and conservation, and he gave me his info because i told him i'd like to help out with conservation efforts and anything involving hippies. So exciting!
Did i mention that Nara is the free-roaming deer capitol of Japan? Tokyo doesn't hold a candle to Nara's deer capacity, or their business of selling deer crackers at stands for eager tourists who like getting head-butted by hungry deer. They also like to lick. There are numerous signs around with angry cartoon deer and a large shocking bubble underneath that says "Dangerous!" in Japanese, along with warnings and precautions. The deer are considered holy, and therefore enjoy complete freedom in the parks and, basically, wherever they want to go. Sounds like paradise? Nearly.
So i am back home now and it feels good to have my own room again, and not be on my feet with a camera constantly looking around, and temples are nice, but after the tenth one they just aren't as exciting anymore. I still like them though, but i am not as astonished as i used to be, jaw-dropping and all.
until later--