Eleven bodhisattvas stand in formation, their heads crowned and their almond-shaped eyes and faces dusted with gold.
The scene could be a reenactment of a painting, or a sculpture in a Buddhist temple or museum. But it¡¯s not. It¡¯s a scene beheld one recent Sunday afternoon at the shopping center in Yokohama¡¯s Noge district ¡ª and the potential Buddhas are in reality just regular Earthlings.
For the last two years, a Japanese artist named Tetta has been working to re-create the 1,000 more than 800-year-old bodhisattva statues in the Sanjusangendo Hall at Rengeoin Temple in Kyoto using people made up and dressed appropriately ¡ª and that sunny Sunday she¡¯d brought her workshop to Noge, where 11 volunteers awaited her. ¡°Bodhisattvas are those who are undergoing ascetic training to attain spiritual enlightenment,¡± explained Tetta, of those frequent subjects of Buddhist art and sculpture. She said some people who have taken part in her workshops have described experiencing ¡°instant enlightenment.¡±
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