Jizo Statue at Hakone Chouan-ji Temple (Kanagawa, Japan)｜仙石原・長安寺の羅漢像. One of the most beloved of all Japanese divinities, Jizō works to ease the suffering and shorten the sentence of those serving time in hell, to deliver the faithful into Amida’s Western paradise (where inhabitants are no longer trapped in the six states of desire and karmic rebirth), and to answer the prayers of the living for health, success, children, and all manner of mundane petitions. In modern Japan, Jizō is a savior par excellence, a friend to all, never frightening even to children, and his/her many manifestations – often cute and cartoon-like in contemporary times – incorporate Taoist, Buddhist, and Shinto elements. Text via www.onmarkproductions.com/html/jizo1.shtml
