Episodes
Published 10/20/20
In the splendor that is Xi'an, Wolong Temple barely registers on most itineraries. Yet, it's called "the oldest temple in Shaanxi Province"! Let's take a look in this landmark 100th episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/20/20
Let's look at a place that was once headquarters for an army of warring monks, Mii-dera on the shores of Lake Biwa and--more significantly--at the base of Mount Hiei, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/16/20
Four days after returning from the first leg of my "Chinese Pilgrimage," I was standing in front of the Terracotta Army, one of China's highest-rated tourist destinations. In just three days we would visit this as well as four temples from my list. Come visit the first one in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/13/20
I have been twice to beautiful Ishiyama-dera, Shiga Prefecture's "Stone Mountain Temple." Learn about both visits in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/09/20
Jade Buddha Temple, the last temple I saw in Shanghai, is the home of several magnificent (you guessed it) jade Buddhas. Let's visit them in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/06/20
Another temple, another mountain. Iwama-dera (also called Shoho-ji, meaning "Correct Dharma Temple") is located at an altitude of 1280 feet, which accounts for the misty atmosphere on the January day in 2001 when I visited. Come and see in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 10/02/20
Check out the changes wrought at Shanghai's Jing'an Temple--the Temple of Tranquility and Peace--in the two-and-a-half short years between my visits in August of 2009 and again in January of 2012, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/29/20
When you visit Daigo-ji in Kyoto, you get two--or even three--temples for the effort of one. Find out what I'm talking about in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/25/20
When is a temple not a temple? When it's an office building in the parking lot of a hotel! You'll see what I mean when we visit the Yuanming Lecture Hall in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/22/20
Sometimes a pretty little temple leaves the visitor with pretty little to say. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, let's pay a quick visit to Mimuroto-ji in Uji--and one of its much more famous neighbors--in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/18/20
Come along with me and visit Longhua Temple, the largest ancient Buddhist temple in Shanghai, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/15/20
Number 9 on the Saigoku Pilgrimage is a single hall in a formerly-great but these-days-diminished temple in Nara. It also happens to be a fifteen-minute walk from Todai-ji, home of Japan's largest statue of the Buddha. We'll visit both--plus one more--in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/11/20
Shoving off from my digs in Beilun, I at last moved from this trip's first base to its second and last, a hotel in the Jing'an district of Shanghai, where I visited one of the most precious little temples I saw in all of China, the "Incense Pavilion." Join me in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/08/20
Do you remember the Great Kannon at Kamakura's Hase-dera from Episode 048? Well, let's visit the scene of the rest of the story, the original Hase-dera Temple down south, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/04/20
Let's visit the new-but-lovely Qita Temple, the "Temple of Seven Pagodas," in central Ningbo, China, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 09/01/20
You can get to the temple in Asuka officially named Ryugai-ji just by saying, "Oka-dera"--the Temple on the Hill. Let's do it in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/28/20
Let's continue our day trip in the eastern outskirts of Ningbo, and visit Ayuwang Temple, said to possess an authentic relic of the Buddha's skull! For reals? Come along and find out in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/25/20
Come join me for a little "taste of India"--right smack dab in Nara, Japan! in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/23/20
Two temples in (or near) the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, in one day? Yes, please! We'll cover the first one in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/18/20
Fujii-dera, named for the arrowroot or kudzu vine, is found at the end of a shopping street in a suburb of Osaka. Learn more about it in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Audio version at Archive.org . Podcast on iTunes, GooglePlay, or Spotify (raw feed here)
Published 08/14/20
Let's pay a visit to the temple the name of which has impressed me more than any other. If my karma ever results in my being allowed to found a temple of my own, it, too, will probably be called Fayu--"Dharma Rain." I'll explain in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/11/20
Come along as I visit one of the most remotest temples on the Saigoku pilgrimage--these days, at least. Let's visit Sefuku-ji in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/07/20
On the morning of my last full day on the island, I finally entered the gates of Puji, as we'll see in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »
Published 08/04/20
Let's continue on down the pilgrim's path from Kimii-dera and visit Number 3 of Japan's Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »
Published 07/31/20
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