Heart Mountain Sutra Stones

In honor of the new Sutra and Bible exhibition we have added three new kanji stones: michi/do - the way/path, ho - law, shin - believe.  In the late 1940’s, near the site of the Heart Mountain concentration  camp cemetery, a bulldozer uncovered a 55-gallon barrel full of stones;  each painted with a Japanese character (kanji). It is believed that  these stones appear to form a Buddhist sutra or prayer.  Around 1600, it  was a practice of devout Buddhists to copy sutras a character at a time  on stones. When the sutra was completed it would be buried as a form of  preservation of the text. The mystery of the Heart Mountain stones lies  in the identity of their creator. Two Buddhist priests who were  incarcerated at the camp vie for the position of creator, but there is  no definitive proof as to their originator. These carved stones echo some of the original stones that were  donated to the Japanese American National Museum. tomo - together, chikara - strength, yume - dream, ten - heaven, michi/do - the way/path, ho - law, shin - believe. Approx. 2-1/2" - Stones vary in size  and color.