Thai Temples Favorites

	Bangkok Maybe one of the most famous temples, this one is located in the heart of Thailand’s capital and in a huge complex that includes the Kings Palace and the Emerald Buddha Temple This leaning Buddha measures almost 40 meters long and some 4 meters high and it barely feats in the beautifully decorated building that houses it.
	Sukhothai this temple i found it in one of my random walks around a place. I was newly arrived at the city of Sukhothai, which is famous for its Ancient park with old structures, when I decided to take a short walk around it and in the unbearable heat I found refuge in this temple, dedicated to a Chinese deity, and to the Buddha.
	Golden Triangle This White temple is quite impressive on the outside as well as on the inside. Taken out of a fairy tale the White structure resembles a castle with a bridge and a surrounding lake. Inside the frescos include bizarre images of the twin towers on fire,Aliens, Superman and Spiderman.
	Chiang Mai One of the hardest things of reaching this temples is the long dragon shaped stairs climbing up 100 meters into the mountain top, where the temple is located. Scores of Thais praying to Buddha and several donation boxes (from all temples around Chiang Mai) interact with monks, Dharma students and tourists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Koya San, The Samurai sacred mountain

This mountain is located south of Osaka in the Wakayama prefecture. It’s known as the base of the Shingon Sect in Japanese Buddhism. This sect taught esoteric secrets that came from China and many samurais were practitioners of this early tantric teachings. Nowadays is a sacred pilgrimage site as well as a tourist attraction named as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Getting there it’s quite an effort since there are no direct trains. Your trip will start from the Osaka Namba station of the JR line, but actually the railway line that take you there is the Nankai Line. There you are able to buy a full round trip ticket, including train transfers and the lift to the top of the mountain. The trip takes around 3 hours, and you must be careful to leave early, since the place gets crowded very fast.

Once at the top of the mountain though, which lies at no more than 2000 meters above sea level, you will find as very typical in japan a full range of services, vending machines and a mini city. People still live there, so there are many houses, streets and even a bus line. Take the bus, as it’s a long distance from the entrance to the attractions.

The site offers a diverse range of things to see and to do. First starting by the old temples and Shrines. The most famous view of the mountain is the Danjogaran, a huge Pagoda like building that hosts a temple dedicated to the Buddha. It’s actually one of the few places in Japan that is forbidden to take pictures inside. Next to this shrine we can find 3 wooden buildings dating from the early 9th century. This structures were part of the Series of temple complexes built there including also a citadel with dorms and the administration of the temple.

All over the mountain top Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples  scatter around in random order. The most famous temple in the hill is the Kongobuji temple, but most of them are really pretty and deserve a visit. In many of those temples you may find a place for burning offers and also people splatting water to 7 Buddha statues in their different positions, both characteristics of Shingon Buddhism.

Besides the temples and Shrines the mountain is also home to several cemeteries, some of them pretty new were nowadays some notorious people are buried, and others ancient graveyards where samurais warriors found their last resting place.  In the new cemetery is interesting to find that big companies burry their long time employees in their own parcels… maybe as part of the job benefits for senior salaryman. Contrast between the mold covered old tombs and the new polished monuments is astonishing.

Also to be found there are the incredibly beautiful Ryokans, Japanese typical guest houses, as well as several places that are only for pilgrims. These places are quite expensive and really only for pilgrims so are not open to foreigners. Most of them though you can access and their gardens, gates and rooms are worth the visit.

The atmosphere at Koya san is definitely sacred and strolling through the old tombs, buildings and shrines is a wonderful fulfilling experience, worth the hassle of the trip there.

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Japanese Shrine Favorites

This are my favorite Shinto shrines in Japan most of them are around 

Nagoya :This Temple isn’t actually in Nagoya, but near a friends house living in the Nagoya District. This really old temple isn’t as cared as others what makes it a special place, since there is an atmosphere of authenticity in it. Like all other shrines, this one has an entrance in the front part marked by a Torii and 2 small shrines on each side, and the main shrine flanked by two Chinese dragons.
Ikoma Mountain: Ikoma is in the city of Higashi Osaka and its highest picks are the borders between the Nara and Osaka prefectures. The hills are surrounded by parks, statues and has many entrances, one of them is this picture which depicts the entrance to the mountain through a temple. This Shinto Shrine is dedicated to the mountain god.
Kawachi-Kosaka This is a small shrine located near my second house in Japan in the Wakaeiwata station in the kintetsu line. Toris in the surrounding streets leads to this small shrine compressed between houses and rice paddies.
Ikeda Jo : This is actually a Castle not a temple, but it was very near my house and i really enjoyed my meditation and picnics there, the view from the highest tower is just amazing.

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Hindu temples favorites

Mathura

Mathura is famously known for being the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and many temples, if not all in the city, are dedicated to that deity. The Main temple is a massive complex in the place where He was supposed to be born. This picture was taken in a nearby temple, when the bus I was travelling back to New Delhi decided to make a stop in Mathura. It turned out that it was the birthday of Lord Krishna and I was lucky enough to be at the right time in the right moment and there was a big festival in the city. After prayers in the main temple we headed down to this little small one in which my fellow bus riders invited me to join them for the religious service. The Brahmin read some verses of the Sutras, while we were sitting down in the floor. After that we were invited to make a donation and I was surprised of the amounts of money that Hindus donate on temples. After that, one by one stood in line to get blessed with incense and to place our forehead in a footprint in a second altar. Then,still in line and in our way out of the temple we got our “tilak” a mark in the forehead in between your eyes symbolizing auspiciousness and the opening of the third eye, since we were at a Krishna Temple.

Daramshalla

 

This was my favorite temple in all India, I discovered it on one of my frequent walks around Daramshalla in the northern part of India. Actually this Temple on the village of Baghsu and it’s decoration amazed me from far away. It was not allowed to take pictures from Inside the Temple so this is the only one that I got. But once inside there is a one way stair that starts from the mouth of a Lion (you can see part of it) that staircase leads to the first floor in which you walk a narrow hallway for about 20 meters and then you must kneel to proceed further. Once on your knees you reach an altar composed by a pool and carvings of snakes, with the crown being a multi headed cobra as you can see in the picture above from the Krishna temple. There’s no way to return so you must proceed forward still on your knees until you exit on the other side of the building through the mouth of a dragon.

Shimla

This Temple is located in the Himalayan village of Shimla and it’s dedicated to the monkey shaped god Hanuman, as you could expect the temple is inhabited by hordes of monkeys. You have to be really careful all the way with your belongings since they Love to annoy people, taking their cameras, bags and if you have any food, of course.
The temple is located on top of a hill so actually to get there it’s quite a walk but once up the view is rewarding and the place, if you can forget the monkeys for a while, it’s utterly calm and an ideal place for meditation. The compound is conformed of several buildings and this in the picture is the main, doors are locked to prevent the animals from eating the offerings.

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