Tenryu-ji Zen Temple and the Hogon-in Temple



Kyoto is the land of shrines and temples - there are over 1600 of them. When I left the Bamboo Grove it was in a torrential downpour. I was absolutely soaked through but decided to walk past the town to get to the train. I'm already wet so I  visited two Buddhist temples along the way. There are plenty of Shinto shrines in Kyoto but there seem to be as many Buddhist temples. I came at the right time because many are open to the public right now so I'm taking advantage of that.


The clouds were hanging low over the mountain which made the greens stand out against the soft grays and beige of the clouds and stone.


The Tenryu-ji Temple is the most important temple in this district and is ranked first among the city's five great zen temples. It was established in 1339 (and we think our country has history) and the garden that surrounds the Temple has survived the centuries in its original form.


 It's just magic!


It was tempting to hop a ride in the rickshaw. I didn't meander through the temple grounds as much as I would have wanted because it was just so wet and messy.
 Along one lane were statues of the 500 disciples of Buddha


Just past these wonderful statues (that all had such incredible expressions) was an entrance to the gardens of Hogon-in Temple, considered the child temple of Tenryu-ji. It was established in 1461 and is famous for its landscape garden. If it had not been a torrential downpour at this point, I would have sat and meditated in this magnificent garden. This was one of the loveliest places I have every visited. Although I didn't meditate, I felt calm and centered and cleansed.





 A rock pond




It was raining so hard at one point I'm amazed I was able to take any defined photos at all.
 The tea garden



 Perfection

You can see the rain pouring off of the roof in the picture above.



Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. - Buddha


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