It's my birthday. I'm having an Open House / House Party. Come on over for a few hours and hang out. There will be ice cream cake. Yes, it's a school night, but I don't work tomorrow so I'll be awake until I'm asleep.
6765 Lakeview Avenue, Burnaby
Pickup from Edmonds skytrain station; phone Logan (778) 239-4739
I think I'll put out a jar if anyone would like to contribute $10 or so to my "Ange needs a 6' bullwhip already!" fund. That's a worthy cause, isn't it??
28 January 2010
25 January 2010
the colour RED in Japan
Story of Kannon Bosatsu
The Offering of a Red Scarf
from Dreams, Myths & Fairy Tales in Japan.
Einsiedeln, Switzerland, Daimon, 1995.
Courtesy of www.cgjungpage.org/index.php
In this story, the appearance of the red skirt on Kannon's statue is a sign of her having traversed this world from the "other" to help those in need. From Dreams, Myths & Fairy Tales in Japan, 1995. See Hayao Kawai's chapter on "Interpenetration: Dreams in Medieval Japan." Kawai recounts the following medieval story:
There was a man living with his wife and only daughter. He loved his daughter very much and made several attempts to arrange a good marriage for her, but was unable to succeed. Hoping for better fortune, he built a temple in his backyard, enshrined it with the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon, and asked the deity to help his daughter. He died one day, followed by his wife shortly thereafter, and the daughter was left to herself. Though her parents had been wealthy she gradually became poor and eventually even the servants left. Utterly alone, she had a dream one night in which an old priest emerged from the temple of Kannon in the backyard and said to her, "Because I love you so much, I would like to arrange a marriage for you. A man I have called will visit here tomorrow. You should do whatever he asks."
The next night a man with about thirty retainers came to her home. He seemed quite kind and proposed to marry her. He was attracted to her because she reminded him of his deceased wife. Remembering the words which Kannon had spoken to her in her dream, she accepted his proposal. The man was very pleased and told her that he would be back the next day after attending to some business.
More than twenty of his retainers remained behind to spend the night at her home. She wanted to be a good hostess and prepare a meal for them, but she was too poor to do so. Just then an unknown woman appeared who identified herself as the daughter of a servant who used to work for the parents of the hostess a long time ago. Sympathetic to the hostess' plight, she told the latter that she would bring food from her home to feed the guests. When the man returned the next day, she helped the daughter of her parents' master again by serving the man and his attendants. The hostess showed her gratitude by giving her helper a red ceremonial skirt (Jpn. hakama).
When the time came to depart with her fiancee, she went to the temple of Kannon to express her thanks. To her surprise she found the red skirt on the shoulder of the statue; she realized then that the woman who had come to help her was actually a manifestation of Kannon.
We see in this story not only the realization of what was promised in a dream, but also the Kannon's entry into this life as the former servant's daughter. Added to that is the appearance of the red skirt on the Kannon's statue as a sign of her having traversed this world from the "other."
The Offering of a Red Scarf
from Dreams, Myths & Fairy Tales in Japan.
Einsiedeln, Switzerland, Daimon, 1995.
Courtesy of www.cgjungpage.org/index.php
In this story, the appearance of the red skirt on Kannon's statue is a sign of her having traversed this world from the "other" to help those in need. From Dreams, Myths & Fairy Tales in Japan, 1995. See Hayao Kawai's chapter on "Interpenetration: Dreams in Medieval Japan." Kawai recounts the following medieval story:
There was a man living with his wife and only daughter. He loved his daughter very much and made several attempts to arrange a good marriage for her, but was unable to succeed. Hoping for better fortune, he built a temple in his backyard, enshrined it with the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon, and asked the deity to help his daughter. He died one day, followed by his wife shortly thereafter, and the daughter was left to herself. Though her parents had been wealthy she gradually became poor and eventually even the servants left. Utterly alone, she had a dream one night in which an old priest emerged from the temple of Kannon in the backyard and said to her, "Because I love you so much, I would like to arrange a marriage for you. A man I have called will visit here tomorrow. You should do whatever he asks."
The next night a man with about thirty retainers came to her home. He seemed quite kind and proposed to marry her. He was attracted to her because she reminded him of his deceased wife. Remembering the words which Kannon had spoken to her in her dream, she accepted his proposal. The man was very pleased and told her that he would be back the next day after attending to some business.
More than twenty of his retainers remained behind to spend the night at her home. She wanted to be a good hostess and prepare a meal for them, but she was too poor to do so. Just then an unknown woman appeared who identified herself as the daughter of a servant who used to work for the parents of the hostess a long time ago. Sympathetic to the hostess' plight, she told the latter that she would bring food from her home to feed the guests. When the man returned the next day, she helped the daughter of her parents' master again by serving the man and his attendants. The hostess showed her gratitude by giving her helper a red ceremonial skirt (Jpn. hakama).
When the time came to depart with her fiancee, she went to the temple of Kannon to express her thanks. To her surprise she found the red skirt on the shoulder of the statue; she realized then that the woman who had come to help her was actually a manifestation of Kannon.
We see in this story not only the realization of what was promised in a dream, but also the Kannon's entry into this life as the former servant's daughter. Added to that is the appearance of the red skirt on the Kannon's statue as a sign of her having traversed this world from the "other."
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