Image credit: david_jones License: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cloudsoup/34801426491
I have had two miscarriages. Both were very early. It hurt to lose the promise of a new baby, but I was fortunate that each was followed by a successful pregnancy. I like to think that each of those miscarriages was my baby trying to get here against difficulty.
Everyone has a different way to view pregnancy and infant loss, including Buddhists.
According to Buddhist teachings, the souls of those who die before birth or shortly afterwards would be doomed to make rock towers in limbo in order to get enough karma for rebirth because they could not accrue enough karma for themselves in this life. And every night the demons are said to knock down the piles of rocks. But Jizo is there to help them.
Jizo is said to be a monk who reached enlightenment through great personal effort, but postponed his ascension into Buddhahood to save all from the torments of hell between the time of the passing of Shakyamuni (the Buddha of our age), and the arrival of the future Buddha, Maitreya. Jizo is most popular in Japan where he is revered as the “good” judge of hell who has the power to save souls from the punishments meted out by the other nine judges of hell.
Perhaps it is because of this special power that he has come to be known for protecting the souls of babies who die before they are born (through miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth) and children who die at a young age. In Japan, parents who have lost a child have placed statues of Jizo by the grave of their child as a way of asking Jizo to relieve their child of hard labors.
These statues of Jizo are often depict him as a small monk with smiling features. Since clothing a Jizo statue is a way of gaining good karma, parents will often decorate the statues with clothing or toys that belong to their child or red bibs or hats. (Red is a color of protection.) Some of the major Buddhist temples in India have sections of graveyards as a remembrance of children who left too soon and a prayer that they will have peace in the world to come.
In America, some Buddhist monasteries will do a special ceremony called a mizuko kuyo for parents who have experienced a loss. The mizuko kuyo is a recent development- it's only been around since after World War II. In Japan, the ceremony focuses on Jizo's intervention. In America, it's more about helping parents with the grief. Participants make a token, like a necklace or bib, before the ceremony. During the ceremony, they chant the mantra associated with Jizo and place their token on the statue and a piece of paper with the baby's name on it.
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/jizo-japans-beloved-savior-of-lost-souls
https://jizoandchibi.com/buddhism-101-the-bodhisattva-and-jizo/
