Day 8 - May 23 - Ryoanji Temple, Kinkakuji Temple

Day 8 Photographs

Sabi - a slightly bleak quality suggesting age, deterioration and the passage of time.

A mountain village
Where there is not even hope
Of a visitor,
If not for the lonliness,
How painful life here would be. 

Saigyo

Sabi can be used to refer to scenes that are desolate and melancholy. One explanation of sabi translates it as the "bloom of time." Buddhists often think of loneliness as sabi. As such they feel it is part of the human condition and that humans should just resign themselves to it. This creates a sad feeling that is sabi. It can also be an aesthetic term that is used to describe the passage of time, patina, the rust of age or the wearing of wood.

Stairs on Mount Daimonji

These stairs can illustrate sabi both as loneliness and as the passage of time. The stairs are on a lonely stretch of mountain. The form of stairs represents human activity and as such creates a feeling of melancholy. The stairs are also worn from the elements over time. This creates a feeling of impermanence, the stairs will continue to be here long after we are gone.

Pindola at Todaiji

The Pindola figure is especially sabi since it is in the form of a human and shows the ravages of time. The cloth makes it seem precious and especially sad since it appears to wear baby's clothes. The result is a rather grotesque figure that evokes sadness for the inevitability of aging.

The Buddha at Todaiji

The Buddha and Temple at Todaiji evoke the aesthetic sabi. The paint and gold leaf have flaked off the statue and the pillars. This also gives a feeling of the passage of time and impermanence.

Jizo stones at Kinkakuji Temple garden.

There are many jizo stones that exhibit the passage of time. Jizo stones are supposed to have the face of Buddha carved into them. Most that I have seen are completely worn away. This creates a sad feeling since nothing can stay the same. Everything changes.