Daibutsu

Stranger, whosoever thou art and whatesoever be thy creed, when thou enterest this sanctuary remember thou treadest upon ground hallowed by the worship of ages.  This is the Temple of Buddha and the gate of eternal, and should therefore be entered with reverence.

Out of all the scenes, art, architecture, and statues I have seen, the Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan was the most mystical and beautiful thing.  I have just recently thought of this as of yesterday when I saw in the news that Obama visited Daibutsu.

Oh and at the end of the video when Obama is munching on a Popsicle, I could bet my life savings it's a green tea Popsicle. He is chewing rather loudly though.

FACTS:

• Statue of the Amida Buddha made out of bronze
• 13.35 meters
• Created in the year 1252
• Buildings that the Giant Buddha was inside of were destroyed multiple times by a typhoon and tidal wave in the 14th and 15th century, so the Buddha has sat under the open sky since 1495
• Kamakura Daibutsu is hollow on the inside and on the entrance it reads the quote italicized above

The "X" over my face is to keep anonymity over the internet? That's me in front of Daibutsu in 2008 doing Bikram's Tree Pose (not the traditional tree yoga pose).  We took a very long hike/trail through the woods and mud of Kamakura.  I fell down in the mud multiple times, there were ropes for guidance, and the sticks of metal sticking out of boulders to hold on to for safety throughout the hike and it made it all worthwhile once we reached the mecca. What a beaut!