Joruriji -
Double Paradise

Joruriji, a quiet temple hidden away in the gentle Tono hills northeast of Nara, holds two kinds of paradise within its grounds. One is the Eastern Paradise of the Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha, the other the Western Paradise of the Amida Nyorai, the Compassionate Buddha. The first one is symbolized in the temple's small but fine pagoda, housing a Yakushi looking out towards the west from his paradise of Lapis Lazuli (joruri). The second one has been recreated in the form of the Nine Stage Paradise of Amida in the Main hall, where nine Amida statues sit in a long row looking from their Western Paradise towards the east.

The sun rises in the Paradise of Yakushi and goes down in the Paradise of Amida. The Yakushi helps with problems and illness in this world, and afterwards Amida receives the soul in his Western Paradise. In between lies the unruffled pond, decorated by a small islet and a tiny Shinto shrine, and some old lanterns standing at its borders. The temple is enclosed by dense vegetation, enhancing the otherworldly atmosphere.

The circumstances of the founding of this double paradise are not clear. Most reliable seems the tradition that ascribes it to the priest Gimei in 1046. Gimei set up a temple with the Yakushi Nyorai as main image on the spot of an older chapel and derived the name Joruri ('lapis lazuli') from the designation of the Yakushi's Paradise. Thus, at the start, there was only a single paradise. Already in 1107, however, the Yakushi had to make place for the present Nine Amida Hall and was first moved to a (now lost) Western Hall, and later to the three story pagoda that was brought from the city of Kyoto in 1178.

The Pagoda

Eastern Paradise
This 15 meter tall three-storied pagoda is small but delicate, and has been built in classical style. The statue of Yakushi Nyorai sits on the first floor. He has quite a strong, characteristic face and holds the usual medicine pot in his left hand. The walls of the pagoda around him have been decorated with paintings, now almost faded and quite damaged. During good weather, on the 8th of every month, as well as on the first three days of the New Year, the doors of the pagoda are open so that the faithful can pay homage to the Healer.

From the time when Buddhism entered Japan, the Yakushi was one of the most popular figures in the Buddhist pantheon. This may have come because the Japanese were more focused on benefits in the present world, which he is supposed to give with his magical powers. Or perhaps it was because of the location of his paradise in the east, the place of the rising sun, which may have led to an association of the Yakushi with the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. I have already met the Yakushi many times on my pilgrimage: he was the main statue in the original Horyuji, set up in the late 6th c., as a prayer for recovery from illness of Prince Shotoku's father; he sits in state on the altar of Yakushiji, set up to pray for the recovery of Emperor Tenmu. And he usually was the main image in temples from both Tendai (such as Enryakuji, the main temple on Mt. Hiei) and Shingon Buddhism (the main hall of Toji). In the late Heian period the popularity of the Yakushi declined and was replaced by another paradise Buddha, Amida. Joruriji was built just at the time of that watershed and was therefore influenced by both cults.

Western Paradise
When I come to Joruriji for what is my second visit, unfortunately the pagoda is closed. But I like to walk around the pond and see the roofs of both pagoda and main hall reflected in its still waters. Two paradises, almost touching each other. I stand on firm, but materialistic ground in between these mirages.

The main hall of Joruriji housing the Amida statues from 1107 has an elongated shape and a tiled roof. When I step inside, I am struck by how simple it is - perhaps on purpose, so as not to detract from the main actors here, the row of Nine Amida Nyorai statues. In the late Heian period at least thirty such halls were built in Japan, starting with the Muryojuin Temple established by Fujiwara no Michinaga in 1022, but all those buildings and their statues have been lost in the intervening centuries. Michinaga, by the way, died in his Amida Hall, gazing at the nine statues and holding colored threads attached to them to be certain of salvation. That temple was later destroyed and the hall of Joruriji is the only one that still exists, making it all the more valuable.

People at that time thought that Mappo, the period of the Latter Days of the Buddhist Law, had arrived. In this degenerate period, one could only call on the compassion of the Amida to be saved. Aristocrats and courtiers vied with each other to establish temples symbolizing Amida's Pure Land Paradise, where they hoped to be reborn, sitting on a lotus flower at the feet of the Buddha. Although the earliest Amida statues already date from the seventh century, faith in him spread with Mappo ideas originating in the 11th century. The famous Byodoin, housing a large Amida, was set up in 1052, the year the Latter Days of the Law were supposed to start.

Pecking Order in Paradise
One can easily dream away, lost in the serene faces of these nine Amidas. But the concept behind this grouping, reflects the harsh reality of Japanese medieval society, where hierarchy was so strong, that even paradise was divided into nine ranks or levels. There is a basis in the scriptures. The Kammuryoju-kyo sutra ('The Sutra of Visualization of the Buddha of Measureless Life,' meaning Amida) speaks about three levels of paradise, again divided into three sublevels, so that we arrive at the present nine. Those levels correspond to the level of virtue of the faithful. The highest level (Jobon) is meant for those of perfect faith and sincerity in the Amida; the second, Chubon, for those of less perfect faith but who call the Amida's name in the hour of death; and the third one, Gebon is for the rest of us. These nine levels are very clear in for example the famous painting of the Taima Mandala, a representation of Amida's paradise, in which indeed nine lotus flowers carrying souls have been drawn, some close to the feet of Amida, some further away in the pond, to indicate these classes. It is like the seats in a theater: close to the stage, on the balconies, or so far in the back that one can not see anything.

In the hall, the middle statue, which is the largest at about 225 centimeters, makes the Jobon Raigo mudra; this is the mudra fitting the lowest of the three top levels, but it is also a welcoming signal to those arriving in paradise and may therefore have been associated with this central statue. The eight smaller statues (138-145 centimeters) make the Jobon Josho mudra, the mudra suitable to the highest level of paradise. In other words, while the central statue greets us, the rest signify that we, visitors, have entered the highest level of paradise. Any lower level would have been inconceivable to the aristocratic visitors coming here in medieval times, and spending money on the temple. Nowadays, in our democratic age, there rests only this highest level and everybody is welcome.

The cedar wood statues have been sculpted from several blocks that later were fitted together (yosegi) and are in what has been called the style of Jocho. Jocho sculpted the Buddha of Byodoin in Uji and especially in the central statue in Joruriji one finds the same warmth of expression. The statues probably date from 1107, when the hall was established.

A Goddess of Good Fortune
Joruriji has more statues. Of the Four Heavenly Kings set up to protect the array of Amidas, only two remain in the temple as the others are on loan to the national museums in Kyoto and Tokyo. On the left side of the altar we find Zocho and on the right Jikokuten. Contrary to the usual wildness and anger such gods exude, their expressions are rather mild. This is in keeping with the style of their day, which was influenced by courtly taste.

But there is another statue to which I feel particularly drawn, more than to the pecking order of Amidas. In a cabinet on the altar stands a small statue of Kichijoten, the goddess of Happiness and Virtue, dating from 1212, and only shown a few weeks every year. I am very lucky to meet her today. The goddess is only 90 centimeters tall and is dressed like a court lady from the Tang dynasty, wearing a crown and accessories. In one of her hands she holds a wish-fulfilling jewel. The colors in which her clothes were painted are still intact. She is the epitome of beauty from an age when a certain plumpness was highly regarded, but at the same time has an otherworldly quality.

The face of Kichijoten has been powdered thickly white, but under the skin I imagine I see the blood running through her veins. Under arching brows, her eyes slant upward and her delicate lips seem about to speak. What will she say, this goddess, who is the perfect fusion of the sacred and the suggestive?

Joruriji is a wonder that time has preserved for us. I imagine that it is night; candles are lighted and the doors in front of the hall are all opened, so that the nine gilded statues seem to float on the waters of the pond, like golden apparitions from another world. From the other side, the elegant pagoda with its Yakushi almost touches the Amida hall in the watery mirror. In this temple, visitors are caught between two types of paradise, but I opt for a third one, that of the Goddess of Happiness and Virtue.