Siangde Temple - Taiwan
Siangde Temple is a scenic spot that is surrounded by green mountains resembles 9 lotuses and thus it is named as Nine Lotus or Jiuhuashan in Taiwan. It is situated on a plateau across the Liwu River where vehicles cannot reach and hence this temple remains as a tranquility place. This temple has become part of the wonderful scenery spots in Taroko National Park of Taiwan, which is near to the Taroko village of Tiansheng overlooking Pudu Bridge. Here an amazing sight of a 12-meter tall giant statue of the Earth Store Bodhisattva rises above the surrounding greenery.
The nuns at the temple are friendly and most welcoming. This temple not only allows you to worship Buddha but also lets you look down over the Tiansiang terraces and lovely gorge scenery. Each year, many believers besides foreign visitors come from all over the places to worship Buddha or practice moral teachings here.
Haeinsa Temple - Korea
Haeinsa Temple is the most beautiful sacred spot in Gayasan National Park which was established by two monks, Sunung and Ijong during the early 9th century to devote the studies of the sutra.
Literally, "Haein" means a reflection on a calm sea which is a phrase derived from the Avatamsaka sutra.
The main highlight in this temple is its Tripitaka Koreana which is 81,258 wooden printing blocks carved during the Goryo Dynasty (AD 918 - 1392). These carvings have been well kept as the best Buddhist scriptures in the world. Besides that this temple has many images of Buddha like Manjusri and Samantabhadra. It accommodates many other artifacts found at Cheongyansa Temple and the Stone Pagoda at Wolgwang Temple in Korea.
Angkor Wat - Cambodia
Angkor Wat is a huge pyramid temple built by the Khmer civilization between 1130 and 1150 A.D. at Angkor, Cambodia. It was built during the early year of the 12th century for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-1150 A.D.) in his state to honor the Hindu god Vishnu which is a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology.
This temple is regarded as the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture as it is surrounded by a 655 feet wide moat and it is about 4 miles long. At the center of the temple, one can see a quincunx of towers.
Its five inter-nested rectangular walls and moats symbolizing range of mountains and the cosmic ocean. Its extensive bas-relief carvings and numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls represent the mankind's high quality and most amazing architecture achievement. Angkor Wat is particularly well-known for its stunning sculpted murals on its interior walls of the palace and mortuary. Therefore, it is not surprising to hear that it is ranked among the foremost architectural wonders of the world as well as the largest religious monument in the world.
Shaolin Temple - China
Shaolin Temple (Shàolínsì) is a famous Chinese martial arts (or Wushu Chan) temple in China which is situated in Songshan Mountains, eight miles from Dengfeng and 50 miles away from the southwest of Zengzhou, the capital of Henan Province.
It was established during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 534) in 495 A.D. Emperor Xiaowen, who was a believer of Buddhism decided to build this temple on Mt. Song to house Batuo (or Buddhabhadra), an Indian monk who came to Luoyang, the ancient capital in 464 A.D for spreading Buddhist teachings.
Another Indian monk, Damo (Bodhidharma, Bhadra or Fotuo) who was the creator of Chinese Zen came to Shaolin in 517 A.D. He was allegedly meditating in a cave for 9 years and was said to have written the famous "Yijinjing," the fundamental of Shaolin martial arts or Gongfu.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), this temple attained its glory moment by housing over 1,000 soldier monks who were used by the government to combat against the rebellions and Japanese bandits. Nevertheless, during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) the martial arts was strictly prohibited. Between 1644 and 1928, the Shaolin temple was severely burnt several times, with the largest fire set in 1928 by the army of Shi Yousan in order to demolish the buildings of Shaolin Temple. The fire also destroyed almost all the temple's classical literature and records.
One can see over 300 ancient stone inscriptions with some of them created by the famous calligraphers, Ming-dynasty mural of 500 arhats adorning The Thousand Buddha Hall, about 200m up the hill from the temple are 232 pagodas (or the forest of pagodas) which are tombs of Shaolin monks from the 9th to 19th centuries with each inscribed with the names of the monk and his disciples, Qing murals adorning the White Robe Hall depicting the Rescue of Emperor Tai Zong by 13 Monks which show typical kung-fu moves, and many noted relics at Shaolin Temple. Other structures that greet visitors to this temple include a Bell Tower, a Drum Tower, Mahavira Hall, Hall of the Heavenly Kings, Fangzhang Hall (resting place for the temple's abbots) and over 5000 Buddhist sutras are well-kept in the library of the Sutra-Keeping Pavilion.
Informative.