Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to World peace (1947 is also India’s year of independence). The Peace Pagoda promotes world peace.
This impressive structure is about 28.5 meters tall and 23 meters in diameter. We were told that from 4 to 5 am in the morning, the monks here play “Theravada” – a drum music that sounds beautiful.
The Peace Pagoda stands as the symbol of spirituality and peace. There are four gorgeous statues of the Buddha glistening with gold polish and eight sandstone carvings depicting the different stages of Buddha’s life adorn the walls. There is a Buddhist temple and monastery designed in traditional Japanese style located close to the pagoda. Just adjacent to this Pagoda is the monastery. The monks recite the mystic peace mantra ‘NA MU MYO REN GE KYO’ from the monastery.
Oh, I have such beautiful memories of the trip! Makes me want to go dancing with the Universe.
Here are photos of the Pagoda, the Buddha statues and the Japanese Temple. (Please click the photos to see the original size)
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| Newborn Buddha |
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| Meditating Buddha |
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| Teaching Buddha |
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| Buddha Parinirvana |
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| Beautiful view from the Pagoda |
Next week I will share the sandstone sculptures at the Japanese Peace Pagoda in Darjeeling
Now let’s step over to Unknown Mami’s blog and see what the others are doing – let’s travel this world together!
Cheers!
Vidya
37 comments
Beautiful!
Thank you, Heather!
Thanks for sharing your pictures of these Buddhas! It’s wonderful to know that the monks are praying for peace. Just like people all over the world.
Oh, Betsy, I was thinking of you when I was there!
Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing Vidya!
Hugs, Terri. Love you!
these are beautiful. man you get to see beautiful places. all i could post is pics of the brooklyn bridge 😉
Aww, Vanita. Your photos on your blog take my breath away. Your girls are gorgeous and the toddlers….MMMuah!
Looks like you had a great trip. These photos are beautiful!
We did – we were determined to be happy! In spite of the rain 🙂
Oh Vidya, you’ve done it again…I want to visit your country even more…stop it before I get myself into trouble. 🙂 I’ve been visiting travel sites again.
Love the pics and love the idea that people all over the world are praying for peace.
Thank you for the link – you bless me again!
Elle
xoxo
😀 Elle…I love you. Just come!
I love your “travel” posts and photos. You really should assemble them into a book. I’m not kidding.
Hugs, Galen! I’ve been thinking about it. 🙂 Maybe I will.
I’m always a fan of statues and symbols … they inspire us to something more.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, J.D. – I am fascinated by them too. I wanted to post about some of the symbolisms at the Japanese Temple, but thought that would be too much for a Sunday picture post! 🙂 I will though!
Beautiful pictures, Vidya of the The Peace Pagoda. Thanks for sharing your part of the world. So interesting!
Thank you, Cathy. Oh, there’s so much more left to see!
Thanks Vidya, to rejig my memory of this lovely place seen many years ago:)
Hi Rahul…Thanks! 🙂 You’ve been to far more places than I have. 🙂 The Northeast is very beautiful and unique, isn’t it?
love the golden sleeping Buddha photo – each and every sleeping Buddha throughout Asia is so magnetic especially the golden ones! on a technical note, and if you don’t mind sharing Vidya, how do publish the photos so we can click on them and they enlarge on screen. I’d like to be able to have my photos displayed larger the same way. Thanks!!
That place was simply heavenly, Vishnu. Next week I’ll be posting the sandstone sculptures that were on the walls of the “stupa” like structure.
I am with Blogger. I’ve enabled the “lightbox” in settings. I upload the photos to my Picasa photo album in their original size. And add them from there to the blog post. They get added as smaller versions, but once published, allow the readers to click and view the original size without leaving the page. If there is more than one photo, the reader can see them all in sequence. 🙂
Looks like a lovely place Vidya! Darjeeling itself is so beautiful and peaceful, and a place for peace is appropriate.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, Pattu. When we were there, all the petty things in life that we worry about did not seem to matter at all. Nature just enthralled us!
The sleeping Buddha sure is enchanting and definitely a sight for the soul!
Sikkim and Darjeeling really are wonderful places to be!
Oh yes, Hajra. Drinking it all in was an amazing feeling, especially in the gentle early morning rays of the sun!
Vidya,
When I hear the word “LIFE,” I think of you.
Xxx Lots Of Love.
Darling Kim, you spoil me! And I love it! Hugs!
Vidya….what a beautiful post. I’ve read about the Peace Pagoda but hearing about in your voice makes it special. What synchronicity that you mentioned ‘dancing with the universe’ …I’ve begun using dance to help me let loose and gain access to a piece of my deeper self. Love fran
🙂 Thank you dear Fran. So liberating, isn’t it?
Vidya, this is such a beautiful reminder of all that’s so good about our world.
There’s a Peace Pagoda here in London which is stunning and grounds me every time I visit it.
Thank you Vidya for sharing!
PS So happy to have you in my world:-)
I love that, too, Arvind. Even as tragic things happen, there is good to balance it all. I am very happy you’re in my life, too! Love, Vidya
Dancing with the universe sounds so much fun 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this. I always love coming here and learning so much and then applying it to my own life.
Everything you write just reaches out to me. You have a gift friend.
Kimberly, I am very glad we’re connected. Hugs. I’ll see you in a few months 😀
Beautiful and I peace is always something to strive for.
Thank you, Claudya. Hugs!
[…] a rule, I love visiting temples for their architecture and the deep sense of peace and have visited several in South India. I am lucky my son also shares my passion for temples and […]