Great ride yesterday up and down Riverside Drive on a beautiful 70 degree day. Many fun stops at various monuments and we found a little hidden treasure, the New York Buddhist Church. The church has been serving the New York community since 1938. The statue in front, Shinran Shonin, depicts Shinran in a peasant hat and sandals, holding a wooden staff, as he peers down on the sidewalk. Although this kind of statue is often found at temples in Japan, this particular statue is notable because it survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, standing a little more than a mile from ground zero. It was brought to New York in 1955. The plaque calls the statue “a testimonial to the atomic bomb devastation and a symbol of lasting hope for world peace.”
This city has one surprise after another. Awesome day!
The lure is that the wooden staff was stolen once and the present one is a replacement. Urban legend? Not sure. I made a visit to the Little Red Lighthouse today on my 2 hour run. It is a gorgeous day!!