(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor Adeline) Shikoku (四国, which literally means “four countries”) is the smallest among Japan’s four main islands as well as the least populous one with over 4 million people. It is located at the southwest of Honshu Island and is east of Kyushu Island. Just as its name implies, Shikoku is divided into four prefectures that refers to the former four provinces that made up this island, namely Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo. These four provinces are replaced by today’s four prefectures of Tokushima, Ko...
Posted in Asia, Travel | 8 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor David) Japan, called Nihon-koku in its native Japanese, literally means the ‘State of Japan’. It is an East Asian island nation in the fringes of the Pacific Ocean, right on the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and the Korean Peninsular. To the north is the Sea of Okhotsk,...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 8 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) The capital city of South Korea is the largest city in the country, and probably the most densely populated city in the world with over 11.8 million people in its main ‘Special City’ section alone. Considered one of East Asia’s economic and cultural hubs, Seoul will tantalise all your senses. Seoul...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 6 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor Adeline) Kyoto and Nara were once two of ancient Japan’s capital cities that flourished as the county’s cultural and political centres. Japan’s capital city was relocated to Tokyo in the 18th century, and has remained so until today. The two prefectures of Kyoto and Nara are parts of the...
Posted in Asia, Travel | 9 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor David) Vietnam is a thin strip of land that borders with China up in the North, and Laos and Cambodia to the West. It was once a lesser-known travel destination but Vietnam has since become widely popular in recent years. In fact, Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi is consistently ranked among...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 18 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Located in the southernmost part of Japan is Kyushu, which literally means “Nine Provinces” in Japanese. It is Japan’s third biggest island and was the earliest centre of civilisation in Japan. It is also home to Japan’s most active volcano, Mount Aso, as well as a haven for natural hot springs....
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 14 Comments »
The magnificent Jetavanaramaya Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka is considered as one of the most sacred pilgrimage places in Sri Lanka. The stupa was built on the ground where the legendary Mahinda Maha Thero gave a seven-day discourse on Buddhism. Mahinda Maha Thero was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and a great...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 48 Comments »
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia. It has the biggest and most diverse archipelago in the world covering 2 million square kilometres from Asia to Australia. This tropical country is made up of over 18,000 islands, but only 6,000 are inhabited. It boasts dramatic landscapes, like Sulawesi’s magnificent coastlines with white sandy...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 9 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Significance to Buddhist Sarnath is considered a sacred place to the Buddhists for being the place where Gautama Buddha first taught seven weeks after achieving enlightenment in the 6th century BC. This first teaching is known in Sanskrit as Dharmacakrapravartana Sutra, Turning the Wheel of Dharma Sutra. The main topic is...
Posted in Asia, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Travel | 10 Comments »
In the heart of Indochina lies Laos, a tropical country that was once known as the realm of a million elephants. Today Laos or Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao P.D.R.) boasts a wealth of natural wonders and unchartered rivers, surrounded by mountains and lush green landscapes, making it one of the leading countries for...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 8 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Cambodia or formally known as the Kingdom of Cambodia is located at the Southern part of Indochina peninsula (mainly comprises of 3 countries: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) in Southeast China. Its largest city is Phnom Penh, which is also the capital of the country. The kingdom practises a parliamentary monarchy, the current...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 12 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Beatrix Ooi) The Kelaniya Temple is considered one of the most sacred sites in Buddhism. It was constructed on the banks of the Kelani River, near the city of Kelaniya, about 12km to the northeast of Colombo. It is said that the temple was consecrated by the historical Buddha during...
Posted in Asia, Travel | 10 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor Adeline Woon) Myanmar, previously known as Burma, is a new and developing tourist destination in Southeast Asia, known for its rich culture and natural attractions. It is an exotic and fascinating destination in Asia that offers numerous archaeological sites, pagodas and temples, rivers and natural lakes, sites of natural...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 11 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Brief Garden is a hidden paradise in Kalawila Village, located approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) from the resort town of Bentota in Sri Lanka. The garden and the house on the estate was the residence of the famous architect and landscape designer, Bevis William Frederick Bawa (Bevis Bawa) (1909 – 1992)....
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Asia, Travel | 10 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Chengdu is the capital of China’s Sichuan province which is located in the southwestern part of China. This beautiful city has a rich culture and history that dates back to as far as the 4th century BCE when it used to serve as the capital for the Shu Kingdom (one of...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, China, China 中国, Travel | 14 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Dear friends around the world, I had a friend that lived down the street from where I lived in Howell, New Jersey, USA, and she had a pretty big library of spiritual books, especially books on Buddhism. Back in the 70’s many of the local libraries did not carry many books...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Books & Poetry, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Downloads, Explorers, Travel | 33 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Joy Kam) Gal Vihara, also known as Gal Viharaya, means stone or rock temple in Sinhalese. It is a Buddhist temple situated in the second largest ancient city of Sri Lanka, in the Northern Central Province of Polonnaruwa. The Buddha images at Gal Vihara are known to be very sacred...
Posted in Art, Architecture & Culture, Guest Contributors, Inspiration & Worthy Words | 13 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) Sri Lanka is a beautiful country where the majority (70%) of the population are Buddhists of Theravadan tradition. However, Sri Lankan Buddhism is unique because, in addition to focusing on the practice of attaining self-liberation through one’s own effort, they adopt the practice of Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara. Within the Sri...
Posted in Asia, Downloads, Travel | 10 Comments »
(By Tsem Rinpoche) SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011 MES AYNAK, Afghanistan — It was another day on the rocky hillside, as archaeologists and laborers dug out statues of Buddha and excavated a sprawling 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery. A Chinese woman in slacks, carrying an umbrella against the Afghan sun, politely inquired about their progress. She had...
Posted in Asia, Buddhas, Dharma & Practice, Travel | 15 Comments »
Sri Lanka, previously known as Ceylon, is a beautiful country with many great places to visit for pilgrimage or holiday. The country houses no less than eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, many of which contain holy and sacred objects of veneration such as the relics of Buddha Shakyamuni or ancient Buddha images that have...
Posted in Asia, Guest Contributors, Travel | 11 Comments »