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Jizos for Peace - Folding Jizo Origami Figures
Great Vow Zen Monastery in Oregon organized a peace pilgrimage to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, in August, 2005.
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Jizo is the bodhisattva of travelers, the dead, especially children, and vows. The pilgrimage will bring an image of Jizo for each person who died as a result of the blasts. Over 300,000 people perished and the monastery is inviting people from all over the world to engage in the practice of making Jizo images. Fabric panels with hand drawn images of Jizo will be sown together and presented in Japan. Origami garlands of Jizo figures will also be brought on the pilgrimage. The New York Chapter participated in the Jizos for Peace Pilgrimage along with other Buddhist communities in the greater New York Metro area by making Jizo origami figures, which were sent to Great Vow Zen Monastery. This was a wonderful, creative practice. Many people continue to make these images, as an ongoing practice, and share them freely.
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To learn more about the pilgrimage, how to make Jizos, or about Jizo Bodhisattva, you can visit the Jizos for Peace website.
Simple Guidelines to Follow While Making Jizo Figures
While making Jizo figures it is customary to recite the Jizo chant:
OM KA KA KABI SAN MA E SOWA KAWhen you are finished with folding or drawing your figure, you can then send out a wish for peace. Any wish will do..."Peace to the people of Israel and Palestine""Peace to my cousin injured in Iraq""Peace to my neighbor"You can click the link below for a printable 5 page instruction sheet on how to fold different versions of the Jizo figure.Origami Jizo Instructions (128k - 5 page word doc) |  |
Peace!
