Location: Nara
Destination: HORYUJI (Flourishing Law temple)
Year: 607 AD
History:
The temple was founded in 607 AD by the much-revered Prince Shotoku, who is credited with first promoting Buddhism in Japan. Buddhism had arrived in Japan only 50 years before the temple was built. The main purpose of the temple (which was then named Ikarugadera) was to properly house a statue of the Medicine Buddha.
The original temple burned down in 670, but was gradually rebuilt until the early 8th century. Several buildings still survive from this early rebuilding period, making Horyuji the oldest surviving Buddhist temple in Japan. Horyuji went on to bocame a major religious center for Hossō Buddhism.
The sprawling grounds of the temple (over 1km wide) include no less than 20 gates and buildings designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. The area is divided into the Western Temple and the Eastern Temple, the Western being the older of the two.
The temple was established by Emperor Temmu in 680 to pray for the recovery of the Empress Jito from a serious illness. It seems it's the thought that counts — the temple was actually constructed by his recovered empress, who outlived the emperor.
Due to its original purpose, the main image of Yakushiji is of Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha. Yakushiji is one of several temples in Nara that UNESCO designated as a World Heritage Site in 1998.
Yakushiji has a symmetric, Chinese-style layout, with the main and lecture halls standing on a central axis, flanked by two pagodas. Most of the original buidings of the temple were destroyed over the years by fires, wars and earthquakes.
Kondo (Main Hall) displays a bronze Yakushi Triad from 697 AD. The Yakushi Nyorai, or Healing Buddha, is seated between Nikko (bodhisattva/bosatsu of the sun) to the right and Gakko (bosatsu of the moon) to left. Originally covered with gold, they are now a rich black due to a fire in 1528.
The East Pagoda (Toto) dates from around 698 and has many fascinating elements. Although it looks like it has six stories, it actually only has three; the others are additional roofs (mokoshi) and are a bit smaller. This roof style is rare and is know as "frozen music" because of its rhythmical appearance.
Wat Pho is also the resting place for numerous gilded Buddha images that were brought from temples destroyed during conflicts with the Burmese. The wat has always concerned itself with traditional medicine, including Thai massage.
Destination: Chiang Dao - Cave Temple A buddhist temple located inside a huge cave... inside is a ancinet wall painting of a deer dated about 3000 years ago.
It is the oldest monastery in the country and is near to the town center. It was built by the King Songtsen Gompo of Tibet as one of the 108 such monasteries he built in various places to spread Buddhism. It is located between Paro Town and Drugyal Dzong. It marks the advent of Buddhism in the country.
he Paro valley and the river. It is said that in the second half of the 8th century, Guru Padma Sambhava known as the second Buddha in Bhutan meditated on this spot where the Monastery is situated having alighted there on the back of a flying tigress and now this sacred shrine for Bhutanese pilgrims.Destination: Dharmikarama Burmese Temple
Location: Penang
Year 1803
History
The 200+ years old temple was formerly called Nandy Moloh Burmese temple. According to temple's record, the land was purchased by a Burmese, NONYA BETONG from a British named George Layton for 390 Spanish dollar with official permission granted by Lt Governor Prince of Wales Island, George Leith Baronet. After receiving the land grant title, NONYA BETONG donated the land for the construction of Dhammikarama temple. Even today, the lane that houses two distinctive temples is named Burmese lane (many streets and alleys in Penang island still retained old British names). Technically, this Burmese temple can be regarded as the earliest Burmese Buddhist temple in Malaysia.
The main attraction for Buddhist and tourists alike are a historical Pagoda, a 200 years old well for early settlement of monks, the main shrine hall, and the Sime Hall where a very tall and large all-marble Buddha image situated. Due to its long history, this temple was designated as one of the fifteen Penang State Heritage Sites to be preserved as tourist attraction for Penang back in the Visit Penang Year, 1988.
Throughout the calendar year, the Dhammikarama Burmese temple carries out activities for Buddhist such as Water Festival, Wesak Day celebration, Pali Chanting classes, Observance of Buddhist lent, Festival of light (Soon Dawgi), Katnina, Ordination of monks, nuns and novices, Arahant Upaguttea festivals, Dhamma Discourses, Meditation classes, Sunday schools, offering of food to poor and candle lighting etc.
History
Wat" is a Thai word, it means Temple This Thai temple was built in 1845 by a Buddhist monk, who came from Thailand. The five acres of land was donated by Queen Victoria to the Thai community. The legend about the monk tells us, that he was very fond of the local speciality of Penang, which is called "laksa". Even today devotees bring a bowl of laksa as an offrand to his shrine.
If you're walking in the courtyard towards the main temple, you are greeted by two green-faced guards before the temple entrance. At their feet are crawling two mythical dragon-headed serpents.
Country Malaysia
Destination Wat Buppharam Thai (Siamese) Buddhist Temple
Location: Pulau Tikus
Year 1942
Built by a Thai Buddhist monk named Phothan Srikheaw, who was regarded as the first Chief Abbot of this temple. The founding father of the temple is honored by a gold leaf covered image, together with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Chief Abbot of this temple, located at the front portion, near to the main building of this temple.
The temple grounds are decorated with various mythical religious creatures, such as the traditional Thai Nagas, and deities that popular Thai religion "borrowed" from other cultures, a mixture of Hinduism and Taoism. The statue of Ganesha, the elephant headed Hindu deity is placed at the main entrance. On the left, there is a beautiful shrine consecrated to the goddess Kuan Yin, a Mahayana Bodhisattva, and on the far side leading to the burial grounds, there is a small shrine to the Land God, a Taoist deity
Wat Buppharam is sometimes referred as The Temple of the Lifting Buddha. The name was deprived from a mini Buddha statue which was placed at one of the room to let visitors/worshippers seeking for spiritual guidance for personal and/or business matters. The Lifting Buddha is one of the main tourist attraction of this relatively old Buppharam Thai Buddhist Temple and hopefully, the creation of this site will help to provide an addition of another interesting local tourist location in Penang.
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