Up to the mountains we went. I have heard many times on this trip that we would be going into the countryside, to see more rural areas. Then we would end up in a place with populations exceeding 960,000 people. The perspective on small to me, a woman from Maine USA, differs drastically from that of my Chinese peers in the greater Chongqing area.
Our bus driver on the left is a stellar Mahjong teacher even though he doesn't speak a lick of English. Our local Chongqing guide, Fu (center) laughs like Mike Meyers and will do anything to ensure our experience is nothing short of fabulous. The man on the right is Zhai, our in-country escort, guide, historian, translator, dictionary, card playing teacher, and friend for life. This man will get us anything we need, steer us anywhere we want to go and will answer or find the answer to any one of our one million questions. The three of them ensured we would see something fantastic today.
We were headed to see the Dazu Rock Carvings, a magnificent set of Buddhist sculptures carved in stone cliffs in Dazu, Szechuan Province, China. They, like the Terracotta Army, are designated a World Heritage Site.
Upon entry to any Buddhist location, one can find bells. Buddhist temples are not temples without bells according to local tradition .
I gave it a whirl. I am sure they heard me in the next town over. I may have gotten a little excited. #maybeabsolutely
We hopped onto our sweet ride down a very narrow winding path in a huge golf cart for 10. The driver was pretty good but scary Larry. If I drove Jimmy's golf cart like that Jenny and I would not beable to steal it so easily.
We are dropped at a path that leads us into a dense jungle thick with plush green vegetation. The land abounds with sounds of jerk cicadas. The air as usual, very humid causing constant perspiration. I used to be leary and afraid of the underarm sweat ring. China has broken me. I don't give a crap anymore people. It is good for the skin.
We are at one of 5 sites that encompass what are collectively known as the Dazu Rock Carvings. The Buddhist grottoes at Baodingshan were carved during the Song Dynasty about 1200 (let's make this date simple). A few images were also added on during the Qing Dynasty and later. The site is about 500m long with about 1 kilometer total length of sculptures. Sculptures and reliefs are between 3 and. 15 meters in height.
The reliefs and sculptures highlight the faction of a monk named Liu Benzun. He was a pious layman of Sichuan Province who became venerated for his spiritual perfection. Three traditions, or branches, are represented: Zen, Huayun and Pure Land, blended with ideas from the Chinese social philosophies of Confucianism. The reliefs in simple terms are illustrated sermons in stone. They are lively, realistic and of high artistic quality. They were used as teaching tools for common people and elite persons to explain concepts and stories of Buddhism and Confucian principals. They depicted ordinary people and situations.
There are different series of reliefs that show how to reach ultimate liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Sections of carvings include reflections on Buddha's life, teachings on Karma, encouraging good acts (especially towards parents), discouraging evil acts ( Hell reliefs ), promoting various kinds of worship,and contemplation.
Our guide for this site unfortunately took us backwards through the site. I did not understand what I was seeing until I did further research. When traveling abroad, you can get lost in translation. I make notes on whatever I can and piece it together later. Upon further research it dawned on me that we probably should have started the tour here with The Protectors of The Law. Why this did not happen may have been made clear, but the cicadas deafened me because that is what they do. Again, they are inconsiderate jerks. The Protectors warn that the journey to enlightenment is a difficult one, but achievable.
The Great Wheel of Rebirth is about karma. Buddhists believe humans are reincarnated over and over into higher or lower forms of life according to one's past deeds. What you do in this life affects another life. That is karma. Hmmm. This made me nervous for some reason. I may be in trouble in the next life. Holy!!!! I might come back as a cicada!!!! Ohhhh, I am very upset right now.
This is a colossal head of Buddha. I mistook he may be sleeping however this 31m long reclining statue illustrates the death of Buddha. #awkward #thanksunknowledgeabletourguide #not
He is quite peaceful. The head is attended by two statutes. The one on the left is Zhao Zhifeng, the monk who supervised construction here. The other is the pious monk introduced earlier, Liu Benzun.
To fully understand Chinese culture, you must know something about Confucianism. In a nutshell, Confucianism is an ethical system and philosophy and Confucius was a teacher back in a time when China was in complete chaos. He put forth ideas about how to achieve harmony in society. There is a focus on practical order of people, ideas and things in life and a strong emphasis on importance of family. Other basic ideas: all people are teachable, improvable and perfectible, striving for perfection in personal life and communal life, having humaneness for other individuals, doing good, acting properly in everyday life, and having the ability to see what is right and fair in the behaviors exhibited by others.
A significant number of these carvings were dedicated to supporting and explaining the Confucian idea of filal piety which is a centerpiece of Confucian philosophy. It means having respect for those who are above you in society: leaders, elderly and most importantly, your family and parents.
These reliefs depict the respect that Buddha had for his parents. In the top left corner it shows Buddha's parents at his birth and at the bottom center, Buddha with them during life, and Buddha carrying his parents' funerary items.
There are a million carvings here and for the interest of this post, which is already waaaaay lengthy, I will show you one more set.
The Buddhist Hell relief. I really had no idea how intricate the ideas surrounding hell were. I can't help but feel a bit (a lot) naive about the religion after visiting China and after teaching about Buddhism for so long in the classroom. This is one of one million reasons why international travel for teachers is so necessary. The in-depth understanding of experiencing another culture doesn't compare to what you can read in a lifetime.
The elaborate hell relief vividly illustrates deities and officials in charge. They are the ones looking over my head in the pic above. My heart was pounding a bit. I could feel the stare into my soul.
The relief includes punishments handed out to sinners. And they look quite painful. Being boiled in a cauldron by a horse headed warden, beaten into vats of excrement, impaled alive, and ground to pieces under a heavy toothed hot iron scares the wits out of me.
Well vegetarians, you are safe from this punishment for killing animals for meat. Most Buddhists are strict vegetarians.
The relief above I found interesting. It illustrated all of the ill effects that out of control alcohol over-indulgence brings. Theft, domestic abuse, enablement, and neglect of children and parents were all illustrated in the top row. Breaking of the knees is the punishment here. I heard a few moans from my peers and questions arose immediately about if glasses of wine were ok or not. All were assured it was. My Mormon friend and I laughed. Hard.
For sinners out there - there is hope. Buddhist hell is not eternal, unlike other religious traditions. It is more like the Christian concept of Purgatory. You better be nice to your friends and family though. If you do not repent before you die, then it is up to them to release you from hell through prayer for you after you die. #benicetomom
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