Zen temples
Buddhist meditation halls
Zen temples are Buddhist monasteries or meditation centers in the Zen tradition, originating in China and Japan.
They serve as places for meditation practice, religious ceremonies, and monastic training.
The architecture typically emphasizes simplicity and harmony with nature—rock gardens, wooden halls, and spare interiors that reflect Zen aesthetics: We visited several Zen temples in Kyoto.
- walking meditationMindful movement practice
- rock gardensLandscaped beds with stones
- raked gravelSmoothed stones with patterns
- moss gardenCultivated bryophyte landscape
- wabi-sabiAesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
shoji screens · sliding doors · koan · Japanese aesthetics · oryoki · tea ceremony · silent retreats · tea houses · zazen · meditation · Buddhist philosophy · tatami mats · Buddhist monasteries · mountain monastery · bamboo groves · koi ponds · pagoda · gate
- Zen Buddhismzazen, koans, zendo, satori, meditation halls
- Buddhist monasteriesabbots, lamas, monastery life, monastic life, monastic vows
- Kamakurashogunate
Zen templesSt. Peter's Basilica
Rome's principal Catholic church
megachurches · Vatican · Notre-Dame · mosques · Notre-Dame de Paris
Zen templesVersailles
French royal palace complex
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