The renowned Buddhist Temples are the center of Buddha’s teaching. They also bear the symbol of peace and serenity. Today we are overviewing some of the most famous as well as important Buddhist temples and monasteries in the world.
Jokhang
The Jokhang Temple in Lhasa is the most sacred place in Tibet. The temple attracts thousands of pilgrims each year. It was built during the reign of King Songtsän Gampo. It is well known traditionally that the temple was built for the two wives of the king. The Jokhang temple had been sacked by Mongolian several times but the building remains. It is probably a major tourist attraction and a spiritual center of Lhasa.
Boudhanath
Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world in a suburb of Kathmandu. For its enormous mandala, it is considered as the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. In the last few decades, It has become the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. Many refugees from Tibet have settled here.
This Bauddha stupa was built just after the death of Buddha. That makes it more special than others probably best known for the Buddha eyes that are featured on all four sides of the tower.
Todaiji Temple
Tōdai-Ji is a famous Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples. It is situated in the city of Nara, Japan. Built-in the 8th century by Emperor Shomu, little remains of the original buildings of Todaiji. It resides one of the largest Buddha statues in Japan. This is one of the temples that UNESCO World Heritage Site listed as one of the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara”.
Pha That Luang
Situated in Vientiane, Pha That Luang is a gold-covered stupa. This is undoubtedly the most important Buddhist monument in Laos. It was built in the 16th century on the ruins of an earlier Khmer temple. The stupa terraces have three levels. Each level represents a different stage of Buddhist doctrines. The temple was destroyed by a Thai attack in 1828, later reconstructed after 2nd World War.
Bagan
Bagan, a city that once was the capital of the “Kingdom of pagan”, located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, home to the largest area of Buddhist temples, stupas, pagodas, and ruins in the world. You can take a hot air balloon ride which is actually the best way to explore the vast architectural ruins nearby. The kingdom fell to the Mongols, actually after refusing to pay tribute to Kublai Khan and Bagan in 1287. It was quickly declined as a political center but continued to flourish as a place of Buddhist lessons.
Borobudur
The Borobudur, a Mahayana Buddhist temple is located on the Indonesian island of Java, 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Yogyakarta. It was built over a period of some 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra and abandoned in the 14th century. Borobudur is Indonesia’s most visited tourist attraction for so many generations.
Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (or Golden Pagoda) located in Yangon, is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. Historians and archaeologists mentioned that the pagoda was built by the Mon people between the 6th and 10th centuries CE. But according to legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda was constructed more than 2,600 years ago. So Mon people might rebuilt it. Base of the stupa is made of bricks covered with gold plates.
