昨日、インターネット寺院「彼岸寺(ひがんじ)」に寄稿したプロジェクトに関する記事が公開されました。以前から度々関わらせていただいている、仏教をはじめとした様々な情報が見られるとっても温かいインターネット上のお寺です。ぜひ、ご一読ください！【彼岸寺ってどんなお寺？】彼岸寺は、仏教とあなたのご縁を結ぶ、インターネット上のお寺です。お寺を名乗りながらも、伽藍もなければ、お葬式や法事を勤めるわけでもなく、坐禅をする場でもありません。もしかしたら「ただのWebマガジンではないか？」という声もあるかもしれません。でも、お寺とは一体どんなものなのでしょうか？彼岸寺は、お寺というものは「無数のご縁の集積」によって成り立ち、同時に「誰もが自分の仏教を語り、共にできる場」であると考えます。だからこそ彼岸寺はお寺を名乗っているのです。彼岸寺は誰もが、一人ひとりの仏教をのびのびと語り、共有できる、そんなお寺です。https://higan.net/【5月27日 (22:18) 時点での進捗状況】・寄付総額：787,5100円 （あと2,211,990円）26%・支援者数：61人・残り32日

「大仏造立プロジェクト」を海外にも広げるため、プロジェクト概要の英訳版を用意しました。もし海外のお知り合いがいらっしゃいましたら、こちらのページをシェアいただけたら幸いです。翻訳は、「日本の宗教とアート」を研究テーマの一つとしている評論家のJeremy Woolsey（ジェレミー・ウールズィー）にお願いしました。昨年、『美術手帖』創刊70周年を記念して行われた「第16回芸術評論募集」で次席に選出されたのち、現在は一旦アメリカに戻り、ハーバード大学にて研究を続けています。「『美術手帖」創刊70周年 第16回芸術評論募集」https://bijutsutecho.com/magazine/insight/19726Jeremy WoolseyのWEBサイトhttp://www.jirikitariki.com/Jeremy Woolsey以下、本文になります。　　“Counter-Coronavirus Daibutsu” Creation ProjectAs a prayer to revive social bonds and stop COVID-19, I want to create a “Counter-Coronavirus Daibutsu (a large statue of the Buddha)” and face the future with a positive attitude.______________________________StatementCurrently, people all over the world are stricken with fear over a virus they cannot see as well as an economic crisis with no clear end in sight. What is most scary, however, isn’t the virus itself, but the fact that people are being crushed by stress and evading and attacking even their friends and family. In such a stagnant and unstable environment, I wondered if there wasn’t some inclusive, “positive action” I could take, one that would allow people to pacify their fear and anger, and pray for the peaceful resolution of the virus. I decided to make a Daibutsu (a large statue of the Buddha) to help people face the future and as an object for prayer.In ancient Japan, massive statues of the Buddha were built as a form of prayer whenever large plagues, famines, or natural disasters occurred. During these times, a monk called a Kanjin-hijiri would go on a pilgrimage to solicit funding. Monks beginning with Gyōki and Kūkai contributed to not just the construction (and re-construction) of statues of the Buddha, but to public works of all kinds. I can only imagine what people’s minds were like in times of such disasters, but I think it was a similar division to what we are experiencing now. In such times, people pool their energy and cooperate in creating a Daibutsu, advancing together. I believe that the role of Buddhism in Japan is to concentrate people’s energy and convert it like a kind of prism.Summary, ScheduleI will execute three projects in stages with the goal of creating the Daibutsu.First stage: Notifications and Fundraising (From the end of May to the end of June: First round of crowdfunding).In the crowdfunding stage, I will notify people about the Daibutsu creation project, and fundraise in order to be able to implement the second, “Buddha Statue Prayer Caravan”, stage. Second Stage: (From the end of August to the beginning of September: Buddha statue prayer caravan pilgrimage all over Japan, second round of crowdfunding) I will visit temples all over Japan in a car pulling a Buddha statue. I will have people and businesses that have suffered from the coronavirus affix debris (such as flyers for events that have been canceled) and thus purify them and this disaster. Then I will perform a Buddhist memorial service for those whose have lost their lives due to the coronavirus. All the while, I will continue to fundraise and seek sponsors for the third phase—“Daibutsu creation”—of the project.Third Stage (October to the end of December: Building of the Daibutsu)As a symbol of overcoming the coronavirus crisis, I will create a Daibutsu to carry our experiences into the future. I aim to complete it by the end of December and hold a ceremony to consecrate it while pacifying this year’s disasters before the close of the year. My plan is to enshrine the temple solicitation Buddha statue from stage two inside of the completed Daibutsu.About the Executer of the Project: German Suplex Airlines“German Suplex Airlines” is an artist group that Kazama Tengshing—a Sōtō Zen priest and artist—is part of. In it, six artists gather and think about how to spread their expressions in society; the base of the group’s activities is in continuing to execute projects with the cooperation of specialists in a variety of fields. Our specialty is using art’s unique “thought” and “techniques” to create unprecedented “conceptual shifts.” And, with the capital that’s accrued inside of our expressions spreading through society, we have the physical aim of creating an “airline company.”Donations and Thank-You GiftsPlease choose a donation course from the following options and contact Kazama Tengshing, the project leader. In addition, please provide him with the necessary information for processing payment (payments will be made with a credit card). Due to the impact of the coronavirus, please understand that packages shipped overseas will be quite late in delivery.tengshing.k@gmail.comA Course: Donation amount of 1,000 yenGifts included:— A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— A “1,000 Buddy” billB Course: Donation amount of 5,000 yenGifts included:— A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— A “5,000 Buddy” bill— A mizuhiki accessorie  (mizuhiki is traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)C Course: Donation Amount of 10,000 yen— A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— A “10,000 Buddy” bill— A mizuhiki accessorie  (mizuhiki is traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)— A original Buddha statue postcardD Course: Donation Amount of 50,000 yen— A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— ５ “10,000 Buddy” bills— A mizuhiki accessorie  (mizuhiki is traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)— Original Buddha statue postcards (5 types)— Engraving of the donor’s name onto the completed DaibutsuE Course: Donation Amount of 100,000 yen— A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— 10 “10,000 Buddy” bills— A mizuhiki accessorie  (mizuhiki is traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)— Engraving of the donor’s name onto the completed Daibutsu— A “Goshuin-chō” (a book used to collect stamps from the temples one visits in Japan) designed by Kazama.F Course: Donation amount of 1,000,000 yen—A thank-you email that includes Kazama Tengshing’s Gasshō (hands pressed together in thanks) image— 100 “10,000 Buddy” bills— A mizuhiki accessorie  (mizuhiki is traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)—A “Goshuin-chō” (a book used to collect stamps from the temples one visits in Japan) designed by Kazama— Engraving of the donor’s name onto the completed Daibutsu— An Ebb-Ripple-910R artwork created by Kazama (Materials: wood, mizuhiki ((traditional Japanese decorative ribbons)), Size: 91 cm x 91 cm x 3 cm)Thank-You Gifts（リターン品の英訳説明）

本日、「コロナ大仏造立」へ向けた第一弾のクラウドファンディングを公開しました。皆様の多大なる応援のお陰で、本日だけで30人から48万3010円(20:30現在、達成率16%)ものご支援をいただくことができました。　 僕にとっては、これまでになく大きなプロジェクトになります。これまで僕は何度も巨大な作品を作ってきましたが、思えば初めて巨大な作品をつくったのは、美大の卒業制作でした。ヘリウムガスを入れた大きなバルーンを空中に揚げ、その浮力によって「塔」の形をつくり出すという作品でした。　一見、自立しているように見える巨大な塔は、あくまでもガスの浮力という自然現象によって「立ち上げられて」います。タイトル「stand.」に込めた意味は、「私たちは何に依(よ)って立ち上がることができているのか？」という問いです。奇しくもコロナの影響によって、「自分がこれまで何によって支えられてきたのか」を、改めて気づかされる毎日…。　今年の３月、この卒業制作からずっと「バルーン制作とヘリウムガスの提供」をお願いしていた「バルーン会社 T」さんが業務を終了することになりました。実は数年前からヘリウムガスの価格が急激に高騰しており、かなり手に入りにくい状況が続いていました。それでも同じ業種間の横の連携で、なんとか工面して、いつも数本のガスボンベを手に入れてくれていました。長年大変な状況が続く中のコロナ打撃が大きかったのだと思います。　とてもショックで、何か恩返しができないかを考え続けましたが、今の僕にできることは一つです。これまで僕の活動に協力し僕を育ててくれた方々に対し、培ったスキルを最大限に活かして更に良いものを作り、世に還元すること。　そんな感謝の意を心に抱きながら、これまでみなさんの力となり、空へと溶けていってしまった全ての存在を供養するための「勧進キャラバン」を行えたらと思っています。プロジェクト実現に、どうかご協力ください。