Archive for the ‘Buddhist Temples’

  • 1
    Shaolin Temples
    There is hardly any Kung Fu movie buff who has not heard about Shaolin and the world famous martial arts related with it. The Shaolin temples are a group of Chinese Buddhist monasteries located in Henan Province in Dengfeng in the People’s Republic of China (on Song Shan m ountain). The Shaolin temples are associated with Chán (Zen) Buddhism. History Shaolin temple was founded during the reign of Northern Wei dynasty in around 497 AD and it is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China. History claims that the temple was used by an Indian monk named Batuo during the thirty years he spent in China while preaching Nikaya Buddhism. However, the name that is mostly associated with Shaolin is that of Bodhidharma or Tamo, an Indian monk who travelled to China in the 5th century to teach and peach Buddhism. Bodhidharma had introduced  [...]
    Posted at April 7th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Wat Phnom – The Buddhist Temple of Powerful Spirits
    Perched on a grassy hilltop at 27 m near the Tonle Sap River, Wat Phnom, meaning the Hill Temple, is the main Buddhist temple that is the only attraction in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. The legend says that a wealthy widow woman called Penh discovered a large koki tree in the Mekong River that she wanted to use to build a house. However, she found four bronze statues of Lord Buddha and a stone statue of Hindu Lord Vishnu in its hollow. Therefore, to safeguard them, the lady built a small shrine on the hill, which gradually became a holy sanctuary for wishes and prayers of luck and success whose fulfillment is thanked by the offering of a garland of jasmine or bananas liked by the spirits. Since then, the place is named as the Phnom Penh meaning the Penh’s Hill. Another legend says that King Ponhea Yat (1405-67) built  [...]
    Posted at March 19th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Angkor Thom – The Squared City of Alluring Temples and Riches
    Angkor Thom, meaning the great city in Khmer, refers to majestic and ancient city of Buddhists holding many interesting sights for the tourists. It is mostly popular among the people across the globe for its great Bayon Temple. Discovered by the Angkor’s best king, Jayavarman VII during his reign from 1181 to 1219 A.D who came after the Chams conquered the former Khmer capital, the city might have hold around one million inhabitants. Ah! That’s a huge accommodation! The city of Angkor Thom was made in a four-equally sided squared wall whose each side run parallel to the corresponding four directions. This 12 km wall (jayagiri) formed the guard of the city that was 8 m in height along a 100 m moat that once was the home of wild crocodiles. Each side of the wall holds a gate in the middle via which a causeway passes across the  [...]
    Posted at March 18th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Bayon Temple is a Blend of Buddhists Teachings and Hindu Cosmology
    Situated just north of the Angkor Wat temple in the ancient Angkor Thom city, the magnificent Bayon temple is the Buddhist holy place of worship that implements the aspects of Hindu mythology and cosmic world. Standing since the 12th century exactly in the middle of the walled city, it was constructed by King Jayavarman VII in 1190 A.D. The city’s border  erected in a square layout each side corresponding to each of the four directions and the temple’s intended central location within it signify the crossroads of paradise and Earth. Knowing the Temple What render the Bayon temple quite alluring are its four giant stone faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara found in all of its 51 small towers encircling the area. The smile on the face has made many to believe to be a sketch of Jayavarman, while several have honored to be  [...]
    Posted at March 18th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Angkor Wat – The City Temple Largely Influenced by Indian Mythology in Cambodia
    Located in Angkor close to Siem Reap in Cambodia, Angkor Wat is a vast temple complex devoted to a Hindu deity – Lord Vishnu (the Perpetuator of Life). This is evident from the several bas-reliefs exhibiting the scenes of the sacred epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, telling about the lives of two incarnations of Lord Vishnu – Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. Built in the 12th century by the wealthy Khmer king – Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat was intended to be a majestic temple. Appearing on the national flag, the temple yet retains its original Khmer architecture and is so spectacular that it was in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. After historic invasions, the sacred site was covered by a forest and was run as a Buddhist temple by the Theravada Buddhist monks since centuries wherein the main deity is Avalokitesvara.  [...]
    Posted at March 17th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Explore the Spiritual Journey of Buddha’s Nirvana at Seokguram Grotto
    The Seokguram Grotto, meaning the Stone Cave Hermitage, is a Buddhist cave temple located on the holy Mount Tohamsan at a distance of 4 km from the Bulguksa Temple in South Korea. Looking over the Sea of Japan from a point at 750 m, this is the only edifice maintained as it was constructed in the Silla era. Its construction started in 750 A.D. that witnessed the complete structure in 774 built by the legendary Prime Minister Kim Daeseong, the builder of the Bulguksa Temple. Legend According to the legend mentioned in the 14th century Samguk Yusa (Legends of the Three Kingdoms) by the monk Iryon, the architect was sculpting the stone of the central ceiling and that it broke leaving cracks suddenly. On this, he shed tears deeply for his this error and then soaked in a day dream. In this dream, he saw that the celestial souls came from  [...]
    Posted at March 17th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Worshipping Bulguksa is Awesome
    Bulguksa, meaning the Temple of the Buddha Land, refers to a restored Buddhist shrine located in South Korea’s North Gyeongsang region. Discovered by the King Pob-hung in 535 A.D. and now entitled as a UNESCO Heritage Site, the temple exhibits the original Silla architecture in form of historical pagodas and is the holder of seven national gems. Seriously speaking the temple was seen from the point of view of a major role in the past. This is really stunning because today, its name and fame has taken roots far and wide across the globe. Legend It is said that the king’s wife prayed here several times for the kingdom’s welfare and the small wooden temple was called Hwaeombeomnyusa in 535. However, the current look was built in 751 by the legendary Prime Minister Kim Daeseong who had born holding a hallmark having his last’s  [...]
    Posted at March 16th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    Visiting Angkor-Ta-Prohm in its Spectacular Original Setting
    Ta-Prohm (ancestor Brahma) refers to temple at Angkor in Cambodia built mostly in the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially named as the Rajavihara (Monastery of the King) built in the Bayon style, the sacred Buddhist temple is just at a km east of Angkor Thom. The temple was discovered by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII and dedicated it to his mother. What makes this temple unique from the Angkorian temples is that Angkor-Ta-Prohm is still in the same state in which it was ascertained. Further, the camera-friendly trees emerging around the ruins and the forest setting allure thousands of visitors annually. The stele at the Angkor-Ta-Prohm says that the place was once inhabited by over 12,500 people that included 18 high priests and 615 dancers along with extra 80,000 folks in the nearby settlements employed for services. Further, according  [...]
    Posted at March 15th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
  • 1
    You will Admire the Yonghe Gong Temple
    Known as the Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple, the Yonghe Gong Lamasery is a temple in northeast of the China’s capital city Beijing and is dedicated to the Tibetan Buddhism. Deserving your visit, the temple is a well preserved religious monastery and among the largest of its kind on Earth. Holding 17th century colorful architecture, the art and the structure provide a mix of Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. Constructed at the reign of the Qing era, its work began in 1694 that initially was the court of the Prince Yong (Yin Zhen) – the son of the Kangxi Emperor. After being throne in 1722 as Emperor Yongzheng, 50 percent of the structure was made a monastery for Tibetan Buddhist monks. His successor, the Qianlong Emperor, provided a royal grade to the Yonghe Gong temple by replacing its turquoise tiles with yellow tiles  [...]
    Posted at March 10th, 2010 in Buddhist Temples
Page 2 of 3123