日本の仏教 post 1

Starting with this post I would like to share some basic information on the important Buddhist sites in Japan which I previously read about and desire to visit myself one day. I also hope to be able to write this using more Japanese in the future. 

The Todai-ji (東大寺) in the city of Nara (奈良市)

Following the Shinto (神道) tradition (the indigenous religion which predates Buddhism in Japan) of building structures in wood, the Todaiji is  constructed using only natural materials and currently holds the record of being the largest wooden structure in the world. Inside the temple is a bronze statue of Vairochana Buddha (大日如来) which is simply called "great Buddha" or Daibutsu (大仏) in Japanese. This is also the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world.

Inside 東大寺 is a great pillar at the base of which there is a small hole that one can squeeze through. The hole is supposedly the same size as the nostrils of the 大仏. According to legend one who can squeeze through this pillar will gain enlightenment in their next reincarnation to this world. I think this promise makes 東大寺 a very beneficial place to visit apart from its obvious religious and historical value. =)

Not just for children, adults try it too!

Why study 日本語。。。

There are various reasons why I chose to study Japanese over other languages (I happen to think its has a very charismatic ring to it), but it mostly has to do with my academic interests. As a だいがくいんせい,  I study ちゅごく（中國）のとにほん（日本）の仏教 (Buddhism), and a great number of primary sources on the subject that survive today are only in Japanese, as some original texts were lost in China during the Cultural Revolution (and prior to it) while their Japanese translations remain. It is therefore crucially important for any Historian/Buddhologist of East Asia to be able to read and write both languages. Thank you for reading!どうもありがとうございます！

私の第一ポスト

こんにちは!!

わたしの名前はカーンです。

トルコのイスタンブロからきました。

わたしはコロンビア大学の大学院生です。

どうぞよろしく。