First, a stupa, viharn, and bot are built. Following that, depending on financial resources and the number of monks, various facilities such as a sala, a scripture hall, and monk residential quarters may be constructed. Many temple complexes include a school, especially in rural areas. The Wat Lok Molee in Chiang Mai is shown here. It consists of a main monastery with two annexes. The main monastery has a library, an office for the abbot, living quarters for novices, training rooms, a dining room, a chapel, and a collection of sacred objects such as Buddha images, lamps, bells, and jars.
In general, a Buddhist temple is a complex of buildings within which monks live and practice Buddhism. Although there are many varieties of Buddhism, they all share several important features. First, they all believe in the same God but have different ways of expressing that belief through ritual and meditation. Second, they all contain certain places where people can go to pray or give thanks for help with problems or just to think about what's important in life. These places are called sanctuaries because people consider them holy even though they may contain nothing more than a wooden post or a stone slab. Third, they all encourage people who have faith in their version of God to act in ways that will benefit others by being good citizens or leaders. Finally, they all hope to receive gifts from people who have enough money to support a temple staff or donations from families who want to show their appreciation for the work done by priests and teachers.
When the Buddhist temple came in China, it was modified to suit Chinese sensibilities. Its overall arrangement is similar to that of a typical Chinese courtyard, with the main feature being a dome-shaped building known as a stupa. The Chinese called this kind of structure a sahi.
There are three main differences between a Buddhist temple and a Christian church: firstly, there is no priestly caste in Buddhism; secondly, women can be fully ordained priests in Tibetan Buddhism; thirdly, altars aren't needed in Buddhist temples.
In conclusion, a Buddhist temple is a special type of building that serves as a sanctuary for Buddhists to gain peace and enlightenment. It is not meant to be a place of worship - that is what churches are for.
Buddhist temples or Buddhist monasteries are places of worship for Buddhists, or Buddhist followers. In diverse areas and languages, they are known as vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, and pagoda. Temple buildings can be identified by the main object on their roofs: two crossed beams with a dome or a pyramid. The word "stupa" comes from a Sanskrit term meaning "casket." Stupas are usually made of mud brick and stone, but sometimes they are made of wood or steel.
In addition to these traditional building types, modern architects have also designed some interesting structures that use many different materials including glass, metal, and concrete. Some examples include the Crystal Cathedral in California's Hollywood Hills, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia!
Buddhist temples serve three main purposes. First, they are places where people go to pray and give thanks. Second, they are centers of learning where monks can study scripture and teach others about Buddhism. Finally, they are preserved as sacred sites for future generations to come.
There are many different kinds of Buddhist temples, depending on what part of Asia they are in. We will discuss several major types below: Indian temples, Chinese temples, Japanese temples, Korean temples, Burmese temples, Thai temples, and Tibetan temples.
Temples in Buddhism depict a Buddha's pure land or pure atmosphere. They are considered to be physical representations of the universe after the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama.
Buddhist temples are different from churches in many ways. A temple is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists; they try to reach enlightenment or nirvana by making the trip many times to major sites. While churches have priests who lead prayer meetings and conduct weddings, funerals, and other rituals associated with Christianity, monks are the leaders of Buddhism; they read prayers and teachings from ancient texts, and they guide people on to enlightenment.
Buddhist temples are not buildings used for religious services but rather they are complex institutions that include monastic residences, courtyards, libraries, and dining rooms. Although monks may live within the walls of a temple, they usually stay in separate quarters called "gongs". Priests and nuns must obey certain rules of conduct while living within the monastery. For example, they cannot marry or have sexual relations with other people. Their only purpose in life is to help others find enlightenment, so they spend much of their time reading sacred texts and teaching students.
The pagoda has important religious relics from four previous Buddhas. The relics include a few strands of Gautama Buddha's hair, a water filter from Konagamana, a fragment of Kassapa's robe, and the staff of Kakusandha. Several Burmese kings and queens were involved in boosting the stupa's height. They included Natshinnaung, his father King Alaungpaya, and his mother Queen Thaisri.
The first relics were brought to the site in 566 by Anawrahta (also known as "Anawrahta the Great"), who had them taken from the stomach of Gautama Buddha. The original relics were said to be enclosed within the crown of thorns that was worn by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. In 1838 they were taken to Rangoon where they remain today in a golden shrine decorated with precious stones.
In addition to these relics, there are other objects associated with the past presence of the Shwedagon Pagoda. These include ancient books written in Pali and Sanskrit, pieces of art such as statues and paintings, and archaeological materials such as stone inscriptions. Some of this material is on display in museums in Burma and abroad. But much remains under guard at the site itself. For example, only selected priests are allowed into the holiest part of the temple, called the "sanctum sanctorum".
Early Buddhist religious architecture is connected with three types of structures: monasteries (viharas), places to worship relics (stupas), and shrines or prayer halls (chaityas, also known as chaitya grihas), which were subsequently referred to as temples in certain regions. The word vihara means "monastery" or "hermitage." In time, the vihara came to be used as a general term for any monastery or hermitage. As early as the 5th century BC, monks began building larger communities called nirvana realms (niravana loka). These were groups of monasteries, where students could live and practice together.
In addition to these early buildings, there are several other categories of Buddhist monuments: chuang tiu (temple platforms) built during the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD); thánsar (statues) erected between 700 and 1000 AD in India and Thailand; and dharmacakra (wheel of dharma) sites dating from the 11th century AD that include large numbers of stones arranged in specific patterns at various locations across Asia.
These monuments all share similar characteristics: they are composed of one or more buildings constructed for the purpose of worship or meditation by monks or others who follow the spiritual path. They can also serve as shelters for living quarters or storage space.
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