Buddhism: What's Hot Now: Historic Temples of Japan: Chionin

Buddhism: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Historic Temples of Japan: Chionin Apr 8th 2012, 11:04 A striking feature of Chionin, a temple built for the Jodo Shu sect of Pure Land Buddhism, is the gate, which is the largest in Japan. Jodo Shu monks at the gate of Choinin Temple, Kyoto. Choinin has the largest temple gate in Japan. Luke Robinson/Flickr.com, Creative Commons License A Japanese Buddhist temple usually is a complex of buildings including a main hall, sometimes called a Buddha hall; a lecture or meditation hall; a pagoda, which may enshrine a relic or a representation of a relic of the Buddha; and a large outdoor bell. There is also usually one main gate and sometimes several smaller gates. Chionin Temple of Kyoto was built on a grand scale. The main gate is the largest Buddhist temple gate in Japan. It was built in 1619 and is now officially a Japanese National Treasure. Chionin's temple bell weighs 74 tons; it takes 17 monks to ring it. The main hall can hold 3,000 people. Chionin was built on the place of the last home of Honen (1133-1212), the monk who brought Pure Land Buddhism to Japan and founded the Jodo Shu sect. One of Honen's disciples established Chionin in 1234. Over time the original buildings have been replaced. The oldest structures at Chionin now date from the 17th century.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions