We can see many old wooden structures in the precinct of the temple and most famous one among them is the Golden hall or Main hall, which was constructed in AD 759. It's not colorful, not golden-plated on its pillars and beams like other Buddhist temples but its beauty of austerity attracts many tourists and Buddhist prayers.
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| The Golden hall (mail hall) of Toshodaiji-temple. |
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| Precinct of the temple |
In the hall, we can see the Rushana Buddha statue/盧舎那仏. Most of statues of Buddha open their eyelids incompletely. According to the Buddhism doctrine, their incomplete eyelid opening represents achieving enlightenment and Buddha can see everything in the real world with his opened eyes and everything in his mind with his closed eyes.
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In the precinct of the temple, there are some gardens where we can enjoy many kinds of flowers, trees and their landscapes. Now in the mid of August, we can enjoy seeing lotus flowers. Lotus is very important plants in Buddhism because blooming lotus flowers told people the birth of Buddha according to the Buddhism doctrine.
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Is it a shower head?? No, it's a receptacle of a lotus. |
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| Some buds of lotus were found in lotus pond. They are blooming in a few days..... |
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| I'm very happy to see some flowers were blooming! |
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| A dragonfly on an iris |
A green moss is incorporated so often in design of traditional gardens in Japan. In the precinct of the temple we can enjoy a garden covered with green moss. I love a landscape of rocks and woods covered with beautiful green moss, which can create beauty of serenity and austerity.
-- from iPod touch
4 comments:
It looks like a truly magical place - I particularly like the beautiful Lotus blossoms. I hope that your visit gave you the peace of mind you were looking for. We all need to do something like that occasionally - to get away from the stresses and worries of everyday life!
I visited this place a long time ago. It is a very serene place where one can relax and clear her/his mind.
I loved that temple, Nara was so beautiful. I love Japan. But was always amazed by the Japanese ladies around me who climbed all those steps in very high stiletto heeled shoes!
>Mark
I believe we can find a peace of mind in tranquil places like the temple and its garden. I remember the view from the top of the Greenwich Park gave tranquility to my mind.
>Malay
I hope you will visit Nara or Kyoto in the near future. Those places have beautiful and tranquil spots.
>Mrs Bok
In some temples in Japan we can see notices saying
" Don't climb steps in high heeled shoes!"
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