Japan Art: Anguish and Shock in Myanmar (Earthquake and Buddhism)
Japan Art: Anguish and Shock in Myanmar (Earthquake and Buddhism)
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Myanmar is facing a period of utter devastation following the recent 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
It is known that at least 1,600 people died in Myanmar. However, the fear is that this number will dramatically increase with so many people unaccounted for. Therefore, the ongoing trauma and shock, similar to potent earthquakes throughout history, is bringing despair, sadness, and bewilderment to the people of Myanmar.
Myanmar is blighted by ethnic, political, and religious divisions – which are tearing the country apart. Accordingly, the flow of death from war and oppression is nothing new to the people of Myanmar.
Despite this, the 7.7 magnitude earthquake – even in a nation blighted by war – left people in utter shock. Sadly, with each passing day this week, the number of deaths will continue to increase from the earthquake that struck in the environs of Mandalay.
Buddhism shapes Myanmar despite several ethnic groups being mainly Christian. Islam is a notable reality in Arakan State along with Buddhism.
Nichiren (1222-1282) – a revered Buddhist monk – said, “The life of a human being is fleeting. The exhaled breath never waits for the inhaled one. Even dew before the wind is hardly a sufficient metaphor. It is the way of the world that whether one is wise or foolish, old or young, one never knows what will happen to one from one moment to the next. Therefore, I should first of all learn about death, and then about other things.”
The Zen Buddhist monk Kozan Ichikyo (Ikkyo) wrote a lovely death poem before parting from this world in 1360. He wrote:
Empty-handed I entered the world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going —
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.
It is hoped that the people of Myanmar, who are in mourning, will find solace in Buddha (or other faiths) during this traumatic period.
ARTISTS
- Yumeji Takehisa (1884-1934)
- Sawako Utsumi is a Japanese contemporary artist (art links below)
- Yumeji Takehisa
- Sawako Utsumi
- Yumeji Takehisa
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/exiled-buddhist-cleric-nichiren-in-the-snow-sawako-utsumi.html – Exiled Buddhist Cleric Nichiren in the Snow
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/jizo-in-contemplation-buddhism-sawako-utsumi.html Jizo in Contemplation
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/japanese-buddhist-holy-men-in-the-deep-winter-sawako-utsumi.html Japanese Buddhist Holy Men in the Deep Winter
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/buddhist-cleric-nichiren-in-exile-and-homage-to-yoshitoshi-sawako-utsumi.html Buddhist Cleric Nichiren in Exile and Homage to Yoshitoshi
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/buddhist-cleric-nichiren-and-bleak-winter-in-exile-sawako-utsumi.html Buddhist Cleric Nichiren and Bleak Winter in Exile
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/mirage-of-sekka-sawako-utsumi.html Buddhist Monk in the Snow (Mirage of Sekka)
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http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi’s website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
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