After paying homage to the Kamakura Buddha at Kotokuin Temple, and at a cost of 50 yen per person, I entered the hollow Buddha and looked inside, and Naoko and the starfish came out and said that they regretted it.

"It's all said and there's nothing in it."

"But I'm still curious......"

And apart from the Big Buddha, there was nothing else to see on the side of Gaodeok Temple, and the three of them left after a circle and went back along the way they came.

At a certain intersection, Naruse grabbed the two and turned to the right.

"Is Haseji over here?"

"Hmm."

The two soon saw the roadside sign as well.

"There are so many temples in Kamakura."

"It was the center of Japan a long time ago."

If you follow the path at your feet, you will find the mountain gate of Hase-dera Temple.

Outside the temple gate is a beautiful pine tree with dense needles and verdant trees.

Next to the pine tree stand two small statues of unknown Buddha, with an incense burner in front of them and flowers offered by devotees next to them.

The three of them don't know anything about Buddhism, they can't tell whether these two are Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and they don't want to care so much, just worship.

After buying a ticket and entering through the side door, Hase-ji Temple, which has a history of 1,300 years, is most famous for the 11-faced Kannon statue enshrined in the temple's Kannon Hall.

When you enter the quiet hall, you can see a golden statue of Bodhisattva about 10 meters high standing in the deepest part.

Baoxiang was solemn and compassionate, silently watching everyone in the hall.

The starfish tilted her head, "This is Kannon ...... Hase"

The eleven-sided Kannon of the Hase, with three sides on the front and three sides on the left and right, and one side on the top of the head and one on the back, as the name suggests.

The eleven faces also have different expressions, implying that they listen to the different wishes of different believers and rescue them.

"If one day a bodhisattva with eleven faces suddenly asks me what I want, I will probably die of fear before I even open my mouth...... Uh-huh—"

Naruse covered the starfish's mouth, and his head grew wide in the face of the gaze of the monk and other worshippers next to him.

"How dare you talk nonsense anywhere!" He whispered in her ear, bowed his head slightly to the monk who was staring at him, and smiled, hoping that the other party would not mind the child's nonsense.

“……”

The monk really didn't mind, nodded slightly to him, closed his eyes and smiled.

Naruse quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, a few elderly worshippers were still looking at them, looking unhappy, and muttering something in their mouths.

He could understand their dissatisfaction, but he didn't bother to deal with it.

As long as you haven't been kicked out by the monks......

His chest sank suddenly.

He lowered his head, the starfish leaning into his arms, his cheeks and ears flushed, and he was already a little unsteady on his feet.

Naruse immediately let her go.

“……”

Standing firm, Starfish lowered her head, touched her ears again, and only apologized in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

"I'm sorry ......"

"You'd better apologize to the Bodhisattva first."

Glancing at Hase, she folded her hands and bowed her head in worship.

"Thank you, Bodhisattva...... Ah, no, I'm sorry. ”

“……”

Naruse pursed her lower lip, but she didn't hear it.

Naoko leaned over, perhaps not wanting to disturb the solemn atmosphere in the hall, she also leaned into his ear and asked softly:

"Isn't it said that Hasekannon is the largest existing wooden statue of Kannon Buddha, this ......"

The warm breath made him itch a little.

Naruse glanced at the statue of Guanyin, fixed his mind, and replied in a low voice: "This is the golden body that was molded later." ”

"I see."

Starfish also leaned over, "What are you talking about?" ”

"Talking about bodhisattvas."

“……”

She looked at the two of them, her face full of disbelief.

After a few more bows, the three of them came out of the solemn Guanyin Hall, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"I feel like that monk has been staring at me......"

"Maybe you think you have a relationship with the Buddha."

"Eh, I don't want to be a nun......"

Coming out of the Kannon Hall, a few steps forward is the clear platform.

Halfway up the mountain, you can see most of downtown Kamakura and the connected Yubi Marina Bay.

"It's a great view here......

The three of them held on to the fence and looked out for a while.

"It is said that the eleven-faced statue of Kannon floated from the sea." Naruse said

Both Naoko and Starfish looked over.

"More than 1,300 years ago in Nara, someone carved two statues of Kannon Bodhisattva from the same sacred tree."

"One statue is enshrined in Hase-ji Temple in Nara, and the other is pushed into the sea, hoping that the Bodhisattva will go to a place of fate, save the suffering, and purify all sentient beings."

Fifteen years later, another Buddha statue appeared in Kanagawa. In order to worship Kannon Bodhisattva, the Kamakura Hase-ji Temple was built at that time. ”

Both of them listened with some fascination.

The starfish blinked, and then looked back at the Guanyin Temple.

"Is the statue of Kannon that is enshrined in it now the same one that drifted from Nara back then?"

Naruse leaned his back against the guardrail and looked over there, "The legend says so. ”

"That's amazing......"

"So the Bodhisattva heard the bad things you just said."

"Woo! …… I apologize......"

Naoko smiled, "Don't bully the starfish. ”

With an arm stretch, Naruse walked away from the guardrail.

"Let's go, I'm already hungry, let's find a place to eat."

"Okay."

The two followed, and Starfish glanced to the other side, retracted his gaze, and quickly looked over again.

"It looks like a place to eat."

Naruse also glanced at it, and his footsteps didn't stop, "That's Umiko-an, a restaurant that serves meals." ”

"That is to say......"

"It's all vegetarian, no meat."

"Oh!" Starfish soon followed.

"I ate at that restaurant once with my mom." Naruse said as he walked, "Have you ever eaten curry rice without meat?" There you are. ”

"Wow...... If there is no meat, can it still be called curry? ”

"Actually, it tastes okay."

"Huh?"

On the way down the mountain, the three of them went around to the Jizo Hall to pay homage.

Here is enshrined a thousand bodies of the earth, and countless large and small Jizo Buddha statues are enshrined in the open air, densely packed, making it difficult to take your eyes off.

“……”

The starfish looked at it in a daze, came back to its senses and looked at Naruse again, and stopped talking.

He didn't look at her, his eyes swept over the mottled or brand-new Jizo Buddha statues one by one, "Say whatever you want, there are no monks here." ”

"I mean...... Timid little children come here and are sure to have nightmares at night. ”

Naruse pulled Naoko to the side and took two steps to the side, clasped his hands together and bowed.

"That's what she said, it's none ...... us"

Naoko also bowed her head and bowed.

"Ahh The starfish hurriedly came over and kept worshipping the Bodhisattva, trying to redeem something.

Naruse pulled Naoko to the side again.

"Let's stay away from her...... In this way, Jizo Bodhisattva will only look for her at night, and will not look for us. ”

"Don't do that!"

Naoko giggled.

In the midst of the play, some more worshippers came up the stairs, and all three of them quickly became honest again.

Starfish kept his hands clasped in front of his chest, not daring to put them down.

"How many Jizo Bodhisattvas are there?"

"'My doppelgänger fills the world of hundreds of trillions of Ganges sands, each world becomes hundreds of trillions of bodies, and each body is hundreds of trillions of people.' That's what the Buddhist scriptures say. Naruse said.

"Have you ever read a Buddhist scripture?"

"Nope. It's just that when I came here for the first time, I was a little scared, and after I went back, I checked the information of the Thousand Bodies. ”

Hearing the same reaction when he came over the first time, Starfish couldn't help but smile.

"Then at night, hundreds of billions of Jizo Bodhisattvas came to me in my dreams."

"Ahhh......h

On the grass on the side, there are also three statues leaning together, smiling, simple, and much cuter.

The three of them bowed again before leaving the Jizo Hall, looking at it as they walked.

The spring flows from the mountain and flows into the release pond, where the huge carp swim continuously.

Leaving Hase-dera Temple, I walked out along the road I came from, and there was an Okonomiyaki restaurant at the intersection, and I asked Naoko and Starfish for their opinions, and Naruse decided to fill my stomach here.

"Gotta do it yourself."

"It's simple."

(End of chapter)