For me growing up I was a little bit religious. I’m Hindu and I have a lot of friends who are part of Buddhism. So I was pretty excited to go to the Fukagaw a Fudou-do Budda temple as it was going to be my first time going to a Buddhist temple. It was very pretty and if you look in the blog post on the top left corner you’ll see a black wall that has these golden encryptions. The language is Sanskrit which is one of the oldest languages in India. Buddhism originated from India so it was interesting to see that correlation. In the beginning, we had to wash our hands which is kind of similar to the Hindu temples I go to. I usually have to wash my hands before entering the temple to be represented properly in front of the gods. We also had to take off our shoes at the Buddhist temple and while I was walking around I was simply amazed by the architecture. I like traditional art as it has a deep meaning and the way it looks as well is very appealing. It was so cool seeing the different variations of Buddha. The texts were in Japanese so I couldn’t read what each reincarnation represented but I know that if it was in English I would be in that temple a lot longer. I’ve always had an interest in reading or learning about different religions because a lot of the time there is a symbolic meaning behind each aspect of the designated religion. Everything about the temple was mesmerizing to me and we were able to stay around for a certain ritual. I think it was a fire-related ritual and I saw the monks pray and recite words while doing the ritual. The posture and the way we held our hands to pray was the same as how we do it in Hindu temples so for me I didn’t have a hard time understanding what were the next steps and what I was supposed to be doing. If I ever visit Japan again I definitely want to visit this temple as I enjoyed it so much while I was there. I was telling my friends about this it and they were so happy I got to experience that. They also want to visit the temple if they ever visit Japan and I would recommend they do as it was interesting to see how Buddhism is practiced in Japan.
