Archive for the ‘Temples of East Asia’

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    Jokhang Temple- home of divine Sakyamuni
    Location: Jokhang Temple is located in the heart of the old city of the Lhasa. It has the honor being the first Buddhist temple that was been constructed in Tibet. It is also supposed as the most temples among all the temples in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhists go to Lhasa as a pilgrimage throughout the year. History: During the early 7th century, one of the most important Kings of Tibet named Songsten Gampo got married to the princess of Nepal named Tritsun as well as to the princess of China named Wencheng. Both of the princesses brought with them a figure of Sakyamuni in Tibet. Songsten Gampo used to rule the Tubo Kingdom. During that time there were hardly any buildings and people used to live in tents. There were no palaces. As it was required to worship and enshrine the two priceless statues they princess brought with them, it was  [...]
    Posted at January 12th, 2010 at 05:01 am
  • 0
    Batu Caves – Shrine Of Lord Murugan
    If one talks about the most popular Hindu temples outside India, then Batu Caves will take the first place in the list. Batu Caves are located 13 km north of the Malaysian Capital city of Kuala Lumpur.  The cave temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Murugan and is visited by millions of devotees, especially during the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. The caves are a part of a limestone hill with dates back to approximately 400 million years. In historic times the caves were used as a place for shelter by the indigenous tribe knows as Temuan. Batu caves came in prominence in 1892, when K. Thambossamy Pillai installed a statue of Sri Subramania Swamy in the caves. He found the shape of the cave’s entrance resembling a ‘vel’, the divine spear of Lord Murugan.  Since then the Hindu festival of Thaipusam has been celebrated at  [...]
    Posted at September 25th, 2009 at 03:09 am
  • 5
    Weird And Wonderful Offerings In An Indian Temple
    A typical contribution offered at any temple in India would normally comprise of flowers, coconuts, sweets among others. In certain shakti peethas, the devotees offer food items of non-vegetarian form and intoxicants, liquor. If that is not outlandish enough, there is an Indian temple cited in Orissa in the district of Kendrapada where the partisans make offerings of ‘Clocks’. A once in a lifetime trip, absolutely undertaken is to the ‘Maa Panchu-baraha temple’ located in the district of Kendrapada, in the block of Rajnagar. The highly revered, nearly four centuries old temple is situated in a sea-facing village. The credence is that if one desires to partake in a voyage or entreat for one’s secure homecoming, then an offering in this temple would aid in taking care of one’s trip. The ardent devotees make offerings of  [...]
    Posted at September 10th, 2009 at 10:09 am
  • 4
    The Splendid Reclining Buddha Of Polonnawura
    The impressive, primeval second capital, Polonnawura of Sri Lanka that flourished during the time periods of 846 AD – 1302 AD, during its zenith was cosseted by a six kilometres long spanning fortifying, sturdy encompassing walls. Tactically, it covered most of the crossing over Mahaweli River that is considered the longest spanning and biggest river of the Sri Lankan island. Polonnaruwa boasts of the most widespread and well-conserved relics that proffer a mesmerizing view of primordial Sri Lanka. In the time period of several centuries, innumerable monuments have been constructed in reminiscence of the grand scenes of the life depiction of Buddha, but the one located in Polonnawura that was built during the twelfth century under the directions of the King Parakrambahu, is a spectacular piece of art form. It was built as a means  [...]
    Posted at August 26th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
  • 3
    Bamyan Pristine Abode Of The Colossal Buddhas- Part II
    Bamyan, the biggest town in Hazarajat in central Afghanistan, had lately been ascribed as the abode to the most primeval oil-based works of art unparalleled globally. The town located on the old Silk Road lay at the intersection linking the Eastern and Western side, at a time when most of the trading among China and the Middle East was channelized via this way. In the fifth century, Bamyan was instated as capital by the Hunas. It is amongst the vastly frequented locales in Afghanistan due to the crag of Buddhas, the colossal statues, the monk caves vestiges, the City of Sighs or Shahr-e-Gholghola that has the remnants of a primordial city that faced the havoc of Ghengis Khan. The trail up to the Shahr-e-Gholghola is dotted with red rocks with the view from the top proffering spectacular sights of the Bamiyan valley. One comes across  [...]
    Posted at August 25th, 2009 at 04:08 pm
  • 5
    Bamyan Pristine Abode Of The Colossal Buddhas- Part I
    Bamyan is Afghanistan’s most reachable and safe destination after Kabul that has the finest, awe-inspiring statues of Buddha nestled in its valley in central Afghanistan nearly hundred miles from west Kabul. The road tread to visit these magnificent statues is a torturous, close to ten hours drive by road, but the picturesque locales through the ride and the quaint, calm Bamyan village with its singular, spiralling road is a soothing variation to the chaotic existence noticed in Kabul. The ride commences at the street located south of Ghazni, an amazing road that metamorphoses into stony pathways, with evident stopovers due to scrupulous motor vehicle and complete body screening that are frequently undertaken in these parts. One crosses past the two passes, the 3,300 meters towering Unai and Hakigak that is 3,700 meters tall, en  [...]
    Posted at August 25th, 2009 at 03:08 am
  • 4
    Dazu Rock Carvings –Part II
    In 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings got listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Lisiting due to their noteworthy artistic eminence, rich assortment of secular and spiritual themes and the depiction of the daily lives in China in that era. The diversely exhilarating, witty and pragmatic approach of the Baoding Shan Carvings makes it the highly endearing and not to be missed out during a visit to the splendorous Dazu Carvings. They are the hard, lifelong toil of the monk Zao Zheifeng who organized the funding for it and created the carvings between the time periods of 1179-1245. This explains the extraordinary concord-filled quality of the ten thousand sculptures found at the site. The highly notable clusters of carvings are those of the Dafowan comprising of thirty-one alcoves integrated within the interior area of a wide, horse-shoe type  [...]
    Posted at August 23rd, 2009 at 10:08 am
  • 3
    Dazu Rock Carvings- Part I
    A portrayal of utter brilliance, the Dazu Rock Carvings are a cluster of Buddhist statuettes engraved in the stone precipices in Dazu, the Szechuan province of China. Though they span comparatively smaller areas when measured up to the ones at Datong, Luoyang and Dunhuang, they espouse the highest standards of quality, status of conservation and the widest assortment of themes and styling. With more than fifty thousand sculptures in vivid colours and varying sizes, they enlighten one about the spiritual, ethical and chronological narratives of that period. Viewable in innate lighting, the rock statuettes are linked by pathways and courses. The two key sites are those of the Bei Shan situated close to the Dazu town and the Baoding Shan located sixteen kilometres to the north-east side. The Bei Shan carvings that commenced in 892 AD  [...]
    Posted at August 21st, 2009 at 10:08 am
  • 0
    Todaiji Temple – The Pride of Japan
    The Great Eastern Temple also called Todaiji, situated in mid Nara in the Nara Park, is amongst Japan’s highly fames shrines and a remarkable milestone of Nara. Built in 752 under the reign of Emperor Shomu, as the chief temple of all regional Buddhist temples found in Japan, it draws its name from its position in the east Nara that was the former capital of Japan at the time of its construction. Presently, it is the head-office of the Kegon school of Buddhism in Japan. Depicting the zenith of grand Buddhist architecture, the wide-scaling temple was appreciably bigger than what it presently stands. The prime figure of the temple is the bronze-based enormously sized statue of Buddha Vairocana venerated by the Kegon sect in Buddhism. In accordance to famed myths, close to twenty-six lakh locals assisted in the construction of the  [...]
    Posted at August 18th, 2009 at 09:08 pm
  • 0
    Sri Mahabodhi – Veneration Paradise
    The Sri Mahabodhi Tree or the sacred Bodhi Tree which is more than 2000 yrs old and holds the longest mention in history scripts, is located in the primeval, sacred city of Anuradhapura which is situated nearly 130kms from Kandy in Sri Lanka. The Mahabodhi temple is considered the first of the eight pious sites in Anuradhapura. According to Buddhist scripts, Siddharta Gautama performed severe penance under the Bodhi Tree which is the right branch of the Sri Mahabodhi Tree in Gaya. After 49 long days of meditation withstanding several unwanted illusions, Siddharta attained enlightenment and became Buddha. After achieving enlightenment, he continued to meditate for a week under the tree and then walked nearby for a week while meditating. Chankramanar, the jewel walk, situated on north end of the Mahabodhi temple, commemorates that  [...]
    Posted at June 3rd, 2009 at 01:06 pm
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