Kyoto

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Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto’s Higashiyama mountain range, stands the temple, to which large numbers of visitors come to pay their respects to Kannon, a deity of great mercy and compassion. For this reason, our temple is known as a “Kannon Reijo.” “Reijo” is a Japanese word meaning a “holy place” with which the Kannon’s compassion is abundant.

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Sanjūsangen-dō

Sanjūsangen-dō is for me one of the most awesome of all the temples in Kyoto, with its one thousand life-size statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy (actually a bodhisattva — a being who puts off entry into nirvana in order to save all souls still suffering in the world.)  These stand on both sides of the main statue in 10 rows and 50 columns. They are definitely as amazing to watch as the Chinese Terracotta army in Xian.

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