Sarah Horton: "Secret Buddhas in Japan: The Hidden Presence"

Abstract:

Secret buddhas (hibutsu 秘仏) in Japan are Buddhist images, usually statues, that are completely hidden from view and revealed only at set intervals, if at all. Often the appearance of the statue is completely unknown to worshippers, to whom for the most part it does not matter. For example, almost all of the thirty-three statues of Kannon on the Western Pilgrimage (Saikoku junrei 西国巡礼) are secret buddhas, but devotees nevertheless expend enormous amounts of time, energy, and money to be able to worship in the presence of these “buddhas.” This phenomenon challenges the commonly accepted notion that the significance of a Buddhist statue lies primarily in its physical characteristics such as the mudra its hands form or the expression on its face.

Bio:

Sarah Horton, Visiting Lecturer, Stanford University