Sunafumi sacred sand

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Stepping on sacred sand (sunafumi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: May and October
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

o-sunafumi, osunafumi お砂踏み
stepping on sacred sand





At the temple Tamagawa Daishi in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo there is a special ceremony twice a year,
in May and October from the 21st to the 23nd,
where people pray in front of hanging scrolls of the 88 Temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage and the 33 Temples of the pilgrimage in honour of Kannon Bosatsu.


Pilgrimage(henro, junrei)
Pilgrims. Japan and worldwide



玉川大師　お砂踏み　大祭
Tamagawa Daishi Temple and the Big Ceremony in May and October

In the temple grounds there are over 300 stone statues of Buddhas while you walk along replikas of the Shikoku and the Kannon Pilgrimage. The last statue on the pilgrimage is one of Kobo Daishi himself.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




川崎大師　お砂踏み　遍路道
Kawasaki Daishi Temple in Kawasaki City and the Sacred Sand Walking The Sacred Sand Walking was taken up as a means to improve the health and legs of the visitors. Under each stone memorial of one of the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage there is a bit of Sacred Sand in the ground, so you can actually “Walk in Shikoku”.
At Kawasaki Daishi there is a big Daruma Market during the first Days of the New Year, where our Daruma is sold in the thousands.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Temple Shootoku-ji 聖徳寺
Tsuyama Town, Okayama prefecture
In Honour of the 88 temples of the Shikoku Pilgirmage and the 33 Temples dedicated to Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) in the Saikoku area of Western Japan.
http://www.tvt.ne.jp/~syoutoku/osunafumi.htm
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Temple Iza-Ji 医座寺
The main object of veneration is Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing.
His statue is carved in stone, the letters are said to be the handwriting of Dengyoo Daishi, the great Buddhist teacher and founder of the Tendai Sect.

While you stand in front of the stone saying your prayers, you tread on sand from Shikoku, doing the SUNAFUMI of the temples with Yakushi Nyorai. The stone where you stay has the form of Buddha’s footprints.
Stay there firmly and pray for your future career and it might be granted. Shusse Yakushi, the Yakushi Buddha for your Career, might take care of things.
Say the mantra of Yakushi three times, stepping on the stone firmly.

On korokoro sendari madowagi sowaka.

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. Fukusenji 福泉寺 Fukusen-Ji - Yokohama .


Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来、
Buddha of Medicine and Healing


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O-Sunafumi in Hawaii
Local residents may re-create a famous pilgrimage for healing through the Osunafumi 88 Temples exhibit in the Pikake room. Soil was brought from each of the Shikoku island temples to allow participants to make the mini-pilgrimage.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/08/24/features/story2.html


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四国霊場お砂撫で o-suna nade
stroking the sacred sand

a ceremony held in various places, with bags of sand from Shikoku





あたたかく四国霊場お砂撫づ 　
atatakaku Shikoku reijoo o-suna nade

on a warm day
we stoke the sacred sand -
Shikoku pilgrimage

Shooji 湘次
http://shashin-haiku.jp/allblogs-1580


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The Pilgrimage to 33 Kannon Temples
To learn about Kannon Bosatsu.

In his/her honour there are many pilgrimages all over Japan to 33 temples in the localities. Mark Schumacher has a good page about this.
... Kannon Bosatsu


. JAPANESE PILGRIMS and PILGRIMAGES



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU



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Related words

..... BACKUP Sunafumi


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