- 4 Apr 2011
- 95
- 2
The Deserted Buddhist Temple in Japan
- Thread starter sudarshanmakoto
- Start date
I havent heard about any deserted temple - shines maybe, but man on man I'd love to see some deserted temples! Alas they probably would be damaged from earthquakes if noone was there to fix them up? I know there are still heaps of Buddist Temples/Shrines in Japan, just as there are plenty of Shinto ones.... They look very similar (at least to the foreign eye) but there are slight differences That have completely escaped my brain at the moment >.<
- 4 Apr 2011
- 95
- 2
- Thread starter
- #3
Buddhist temple in Nara Japan
I found this in Google search. It is a great adventure camping at those deserted temples
I found this in Google search. It is a great adventure camping at those deserted temples
- 4 Apr 2011
- 95
- 2
- Thread starter
- #5
WOW! Thanks for sharing that link! Great read w/ pictures! I love abandoned buildings - well at least from this side of my laptop screen - I'd probably run screaming were I actually there
I love japan very much and that too these haunted Buddhist temple. Cool to go on a adventure alone or with couple of friends . These temples are situated near the forests i guess. So added thrill and entertainment
- 15 Mar 2002
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Around where I am there are places way back in the mountains where there used to be temples long ago. They fell victim to declining populations around them as people shifted from backwoods rural living to move into town. Some were more like monasteries and no doubt were victims of their isolation....severe even for the times....and the forest has reclaimed them. I know of one place from finding a very small rural graveyard alongside the road and finding a small handwritten sign from somebody pleading with people not to forget the temple it was a part of....a temple which has vanished without a trace.
More commonly seen in very rural areas....back in the hills-n-hollers....are temples which don't have a resident priest, yet which are not "abandoned". They typically still have the altar and associated appurtenances in place and temple duties and rituals are performed by a priest attached to some other temple on an as-needed basis (typically associated with funerary rites).
Also, not everything that we might take for a temple is actually a temple. There are 観音堂 (Kannondou) and 薬師堂 (Yakushidou), for example, which some might mistake for temples. Despite not having residences or resident priests, they too aren't necessarily "abandoned", as there will be some sort of committee in charge of the place, probably in association with a priest from a temple.
Buddhism is alive and well in Japan, with practically everybody at least dying Buddhist, whether they were particularly devout, knowledgeable, or even mildly interested in it when they were alive. The devout take it quite seriously; for others it is just the socially expected manner in which you have your funeral service. Some are quite well informed of the precepts and teaching; others are utterly clueless yet will answer "Buddhist" if you ask what religion they are. Buddhism is a religion that doesn't make a terribly great number of demands on its adherents in Japan. According to my own understanding of the matter, since every sentient being has 仏性 (Buddha spirit) the dichotomy is not one of "Buddhist" or "non-Buddhist" but rather one of "People who know they're Buddhist" and "People who don't know they're Buddhist". In other words....you can't not be Buddhist, as all of the precepts and teachings apply to you anyway, whether you know it or not. The lack of proselytizing pressure probably arises from the idea of 輪廻 (cycle of rebirth), which means if you don't figure it out in this incarnation, maybe you'll figure it out in the next one, so there isn't quite the same urgency to "save" a sinner as one finds in some other religions.
More commonly seen in very rural areas....back in the hills-n-hollers....are temples which don't have a resident priest, yet which are not "abandoned". They typically still have the altar and associated appurtenances in place and temple duties and rituals are performed by a priest attached to some other temple on an as-needed basis (typically associated with funerary rites).
Also, not everything that we might take for a temple is actually a temple. There are 観音堂 (Kannondou) and 薬師堂 (Yakushidou), for example, which some might mistake for temples. Despite not having residences or resident priests, they too aren't necessarily "abandoned", as there will be some sort of committee in charge of the place, probably in association with a priest from a temple.
Buddhism is alive and well in Japan, with practically everybody at least dying Buddhist, whether they were particularly devout, knowledgeable, or even mildly interested in it when they were alive. The devout take it quite seriously; for others it is just the socially expected manner in which you have your funeral service. Some are quite well informed of the precepts and teaching; others are utterly clueless yet will answer "Buddhist" if you ask what religion they are. Buddhism is a religion that doesn't make a terribly great number of demands on its adherents in Japan. According to my own understanding of the matter, since every sentient being has 仏性 (Buddha spirit) the dichotomy is not one of "Buddhist" or "non-Buddhist" but rather one of "People who know they're Buddhist" and "People who don't know they're Buddhist". In other words....you can't not be Buddhist, as all of the precepts and teachings apply to you anyway, whether you know it or not. The lack of proselytizing pressure probably arises from the idea of 輪廻 (cycle of rebirth), which means if you don't figure it out in this incarnation, maybe you'll figure it out in the next one, so there isn't quite the same urgency to "save" a sinner as one finds in some other religions.
- 4 Apr 2011
- 95
- 2
- Thread starter
- #7
Exploring the Haikyo and Ruins of Japan | Michael John Grist
This site give information about the abandoned places in Japan, but no temple or shrine mentioned in it.
This site give information about the abandoned places in Japan, but no temple or shrine mentioned in it.
- 5 Feb 2005
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- 627
I actually found something nice 10 minutes from my work because of it... although I am not sure what it really is:
ﾃ｣窶堋｢ﾃ｣ﾆ陳ｳﾃ｣ﾆ停?佚｣窶堋ｵﾃ｣ﾆ陳ｳﾃ｣ﾆ停?ｰ - Wikipedia
---------- Post added at 21:30 ---------- Previous post was at 21:30 ----------
I actually found something nice 10 minutes from my work because of it... although I am not sure what it really is:
ﾃｧﾅ陳ｪﾃ･ﾂ青催･ﾂｯﾂｺﾃ･ﾂｻﾆ津･ﾂｯﾂｺﾃｨﾂｷﾂ｡ - Wikipedia
justin
The Rise of Cobra
- 31 Aug 2003
- 1,110
- 22
I would like to visit some of Japan's Buddhist temples even the deserted ones, but there's no way I could camp at one like the people in sudarshanmakoto's link. I would hear some weird noises at night or have a nightmare (something out of Fatal Frame) and people for miles around would her me screaming like a girl running down the road!
Kirie_Maiden
Rope Shrine Maiden
- 5 Mar 2007
- 1,583
- 30
Those look beautiful. I bet they are breathtaking to visit.
I can't help but think of Fatal Frame when I look at the things, though. Would probably creep me out after a while.
Wow... until I typed that, I wasn't aware of how obsessed with that game I am.
*looks at screen name*
*looks at avatar*
*looks at signature*
Never mind.
I can't help but think of Fatal Frame when I look at the things, though. Would probably creep me out after a while.
Wow... until I typed that, I wasn't aware of how obsessed with that game I am.
*looks at screen name*
*looks at avatar*
*looks at signature*
Never mind.
