So, our trip continued! After we enjoyed the Israeli food at the bazaar, we visited this church. I appreciated my friends who became tour guides for us! We just followed them in the bazaar to the church. And also, I have to thank them to teach me many things about his belief, religion, history, and so forth. I am a Buddhist, I did not even have a basic idea of Judaism and Christianity. In Buddhism, there are many gods we believe in so that it was interesting to learn about his belief (Only one god! Wow! Why? Don´t you need more?), which is very different from what I believe. He was such a good storyteller. In the church, I could feel the air was colder than outside and it had a very quiet and calm atmosphere. There were some Bible books in the church for visitors so that people can check their favorite chapters. It was more like a church where is for people come here to pray, but not to visit for sightseeing like me. Haha Well, but I have learned so much through the visit though.
Today in Japan, many people do not believe any religion. More and more people have become secular, so-called non-religious. I call myself a Buddhist, but I am a minority, I believe. Even though I recognize myself as a Buddhist, I do not recite the Buddist sutra so often as my mother does in the morning and night. It is true that there are many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan, however, they have become very touristic places for sightseeing, but most of these places have lost the real meaning of praying and its core meaning as religion, I guess. So, this visit to Israel made me think about what is religion. And, how come many humans believe in many religions. It was a good educational trip for me. Well, thank you, my friend, you made me think a lot!! Thanks, prof!
バザールと言う市場でイスラエル料理を堪能し、次に向かったのがこの教会でした。 友人の現地観光案内のもと、言われるがままにただただ着いて行きました。 キリスト教徒でもユダヤ教徒でもないわたしに対して丁寧に歴史を教えてくれ、そして色々な宗教観、その観光地に連れて行ってくれ、友人にはただただ感謝です。 あまりにも多くの教会に連れて行ってくれ、名前を覚えていないのが残念なのですが教会内はとても静かで静寂な空間を作り出していました。 聖書が教会内においてあって、思い思いに信者の方がそれに目を通し時間を過ごしていました。 観光地と言うよりも祈りの場所としてイスラエルと言う土地と、その土地に住む人たちがいかに宗教と言うことを大切にしているのか理解することが出来ました。
日本では無宗教化が進み、わたし自信は仏教徒と思っているのですが、自分自身の宗教が何かわからない、そして、そんなものにそもそも興味も無いと言う方がとても多くなっています。 そんな中でのこのイスラエルでの旅は「宗教とはなにか」と言うことを考えさせてくれました。
And then, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to Wikipedia, it says “The Church of the Holy Sepulchre[a] is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.[1] According to traditions dating back to the fourth century, it contains the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus was crucified,[2] at a place known as Calvary or Golgotha, and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is believed by Christians to have been buried and resurrected.[3]” - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre
So, this was where Jesus was crucified. Wow! It was pretty wow! I mean that the whole church had some sacred atmosphere since so many people were gathering and reciting in many different languages. In the church, due to the design, the inside was pretty dim, so that it was hard to see what was on the wall. So, when I realized that the whole wall of the church tells the story of the event, I got so astonished in many ways. Also, I was surprised that how well the church was designed to gather the light to the tomb where Jesus was crucified. Near the tomb of Jesus, there was a stone bed where they say that his body was laid after got taken down from the cross. And, olive oil was applied to his body before they put the body into the grave. Around the stone bed, so so so so many people were waiting to touch and kiss and show their respect. Some people even lied whole bodies down to the ground to show respect. In Japan, less than 1 % of the population believe in Christianity, and it was very uncommon to see some pious Christians, so I was just surprised how pious they were! Yet, at the same time, they made me realize that how important it is for them. So, I showed my respect by bowing my head to the stone bed.
教会内はとても薄暗く、光があまり中に入らない作りになっていました。 壁画はキリストが処刑されたモチーフを全体にストーリーとして絵がされていて、多くの信仰者が見学していました。 そてもびっくりしたのが、処刑された場所がある程度断定されていて、処刑後遺体を安置した石が残っていました。 そこで遺体にオリーブオイルをかけ埋葬したと記録にはあるようです。 その石台には本当に多くの人が囲うように集まり、思い思いに祈りを捧げていました。 多くの人がキスをしたり、ひれ伏したりと、なかなか日本では見れない熱心な信仰者を見て少しびっくりしたのですが、ある意味でこの場所のもつとてつもない意味の大きさを感じる事が出来ました。
Inside the church, there was another little church. Well, they said it was a tomb. Golgotha! Yeah, I know the name! When my friend explained the name, I was amazed that I was actually on Golgotha. Yes, this is where Jesus was crucified and went to heaven (well, depends on whatever you believe, it is very controversial, so I skip the whole story.) But, what I got amazed was by the design of the church how well it was designed to gather the whole light to the tomb. Literally, all the light was gathered to shine the tomb. It was a pretty clever design how to create some awe in the room. It creates a connection between the tomb and the sky. Also, I was astonished by the number of people who were waiting to get into the tomb. I never had seen so many people in a small spot since I had visited the Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Tokyo, Japan. And, the line to the tomb was very long! For many of them, I guess it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience so that they wait and wait to see the tomb. By seeing these religious people, they made me realize that how important the place was for them.
そして教会内に光が集まるように設計され、そこが光って見えたキリストの処刑場所です。 ゴルゴダの丘と言う場所なのですが、教会の中にもう一つ教会を作ったような構造になっていました。 そこには本当にたくさんの信者の方が集まっていました。 世界中からきっと、一生に一回の経験と思い来られている方もたくさんいるのか、長い長い列を作っていました。 わたしは列にはならばす、結局は中を見学することはしませんでしたが、その場所がこれほど多くの人を引き付けているというのを目の当たりにしそこが多くの紛争や論争を巻き起こしてきた歴史を改めて感じる事が出来ました。
Before we left the church, we saw the grave where they said that the body was laid after the event. When I thought that it happened almost 2000 years ago, and many people got attracted by this story and the event, so I felt some awe in me. It was very interesting to see these ruins and historical places.
最後に見たのがキリストが処刑台からおろされ、石台の上に置かれオリーブオイルを体に塗られ、そして最後に埋葬された場所と言い伝えられている遺構をみました。 そこから３日後には転生すると言うとこですが、ここはとても神秘的な場所として見学することが出来ました。
As I explained before I started writing about this travel blog to Israel, I never had an interest in learning about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam since I am not so religious (even though I recognize myself as a Buddhist.) however, though this travel, I have realized that how important to have correct knowledge about these religions and their history behind to understand how come this place is pretty “hot” in many ways. Education is the key to communicating well and creating peace. And also, I have realized how important to maintain peace even though people believe in different regions and beliefs.
As I was leaving the church, I was wondering where would be the place where I would like to visit as once in a lifetime experience. Where would you recommend us vising as a once-in-a-lifetime experience? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
わたしはイスラエルに来るまであまりイスラエルの歴史、ユダヤ教、キリスト教、イスラム教の歴史を知りませんでした。 それらの宗教は何となく知識としては知っていたのですが、それらの歴史に正直興味を持つことがなく、過ごしてきました。 そして友人の結婚式を機会にイスラエルに訪れ、この様な歴史的な教会を見学し色々な歴史を学ぶことになりました。 なぜ多くの人がこの場所を大切に思い、そして実際に場所を見学し多くの人が一生の内に一度は訪れたいと思う神聖な場所として見られていることを実際見学し、とても感慨深かったです。 そして改めて平和って大切だなぁと感じました。
🥦Ha det så bra! 🥦
🥦See you again! 🥦
🥦じゃ～またねぇ～🥦
https://ipfs.nftshowroom.com/ipfs/QmayF1uTdmPFkr4USwUVHup5zcfiXuHQ6Z5jLpGnzSAYn5
Would love to visit these places!🤍
More than welcome there! It was a fun trip!! 🇮🇱 😁
🥦 !LUV 🥦
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As a practicing Roman Catholic, I'd love to visit this place one day. for now, I appreciate you taking us here. It felt I was with you during this trip. 😊
@patsitivity
Hi! It was a very fun trip to Israel! I had a very good time, plus the trip to the church was very educational since I had a little background in Christianity. Thanks to my friends, they explained pretty well about lots of things. Yup! I will love the country for sure! 😉
🥦 !LUV🥦
The biggest conflict with Christians, Jews, and Muslims is their attachments to holy sites that they are willing to kill each other in order to establish control. As if, simply being a believer and having faith alone is insufficient. They refuse to tolerate each other. When Dalai Lama got exiled, he practiced a non-violence approach. In fact, the decision got Tibetan Buddhism worldwide recognition and tremendous respect.
I see. Nonviolence is a key for peace 😁 ✌️
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