Buddhism
Temples, graves, Obon, memorial services and Zen meditation.
66 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（15）
- BuddhismEssential ohakamairiお墓参りvisiting the family grave
- BuddhismEssential gojunoto五重塔the five-storied pagoda
- BuddhismEssential gassho合掌putting the hands together
- BuddhismEssential Zen禅a school of Buddhism built on seated meditation
- BuddhismEssential daibutsu大仏the great Buddha statues
- BuddhismEssential Buddhism in Japan日本の仏教how Buddhism arrived, changed, and ended up handling funerals
- BuddhismEssential telling Buddhist statues apart仏像の見分け方the four ranks of Buddhist image and how to read them
- Annual EventsEssential obonお盆the summer festival for returning ancestors
- PlacesEssential the Great Buddha of Kamakura鎌倉の大仏the bronze Buddha that sits outdoors because its hall was destroyed
- PlacesEssential Kinkakuji金閣寺the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto
- PlacesEssential Ginkakuji銀閣寺the Silver Pavilion in Kyoto, which has no silver on it
- PlacesEssential Kiyomizudera清水寺the Kyoto temple with a wooden stage built out over a hillside
- PlacesEssential Asakusa浅草the old temple district in eastern Tokyo
- PlacesEssential Todaiji東大寺と奈良の大仏the Nara temple housing a 15-meter bronze Buddha in a vast wooden hall
- ShintoEssential shrines and temples神社と寺の違いhow to tell a Shinto shrine from a Buddhist temple
Standard（34）
- ArtsStandard karesansui枯山水the dry landscape garden
- ArtsStandard shakuhachi尺八the bamboo flute once played by wandering monks
- ArtsStandard suibokuga水墨画ink painting in black and white, brought by Zen monks
- BuddhismStandard Ojizo-sanお地蔵さんthe roadside guardian of children
- BuddhismStandard ofuseお布施the money offered to a priest, with no stated price
- BuddhismStandard inga oho因果応報what you do comes back
- BuddhismStandard Kannon観音the bodhisattva of compassion
- BuddhismStandard gokuraku and jigoku極楽と地獄the Pure Land and the hells in Japanese Buddhism
- BuddhismStandard zazen座禅seated Zen meditation
- BuddhismStandard shakyo写経copying a sutra by hand
- BuddhismStandard joya no kane除夜の鐘the 108 bells on New Year's Eve
- BuddhismStandard juzu数珠Buddhist prayer beads
- BuddhismStandard senko線香incense sticks for the dead
- BuddhismStandard soryo僧侶Buddhist priests in Japan, who may marry and inherit a temple
- BuddhismStandard takuhatsu托鉢the walking alms round of a Buddhist monk
- BuddhismStandard declining temple membership檀家離れthe modern trend of families cutting formal ties to their household's Buddhist temple
- BuddhismStandard candles and flowers at a Buddhist altar灯明と献花why people light a candle and set out flowers at a grave or altar
- BuddhismStandard nembutsu and daimoku南無阿弥陀仏と南無妙法蓮華経the two most common chanted phrases in Japanese Buddhism, and why they differ by school
- BuddhismStandard butsudan仏壇the Buddhist altar in a Japanese home
- BuddhismStandard rinne輪廻the cycle of rebirth
- BuddhismStandard bonsho梵鐘the temple bell struck from the outside
- ConceptsStandard mujo無常the impermanence of everything
- Annual EventsStandard toro nagashi灯籠流しfloating lanterns for the dead
- Annual EventsStandard higan彼岸the weeks around the equinoxes when families visit graves
- FolkloreStandard the forty-nine days after death四十九日と霊why the soul is thought to linger for forty-nine days before its fate is settled
- Home & LivingStandard butsuma仏間the room traditionally set aside for the family Buddhist altar
- Life EventsStandard osoushikiお葬式a Japanese funeral
- Life EventsStandard kotsuage骨上げpicking up the cremated bones with chopsticks
- Life EventsStandard shonanoka初七日the memorial service held on the seventh day after death
- Life EventsStandard tsuya通夜the wake held the night before a funeral
- PlacesStandard koyasan高野山the mountain monastery where you can stay the night
- PlacesStandard Sanjusangendo三十三間堂the 120-meter hall in Kyoto holding 1,001 statues of Kannon
- PlacesStandard shikoku pilgrimage四国八十八ヶ所the 1,200-kilometer circuit of eighty-eight temples
- PlacesStandard Byodoin平等院鳳凰堂the eleventh-century temple hall on the ten-yen coin
Advanced（17）
- BuddhismAdvanced kaimyo戒名the Buddhist name given after death
- BuddhismAdvanced goma護摩a fire ritual performed by esoteric Buddhist priests
- BuddhismAdvanced temple buildings寺の伽藍what the buildings at a temple are
- BuddhismAdvanced Buddhist schools in Japan宗派の違いthe main branches of Japanese Buddhism and how they differ
- BuddhismAdvanced shojin ryori精進料理Buddhist temple cuisine
- BuddhismAdvanced sotoba卒塔婆the wooden memorial tablet at a grave
- BuddhismAdvanced danka system檀家制度why every family has a temple
- BuddhismAdvanced nenbutsu念仏calling the Buddha's name
- BuddhismAdvanced hoji法事a Buddhist memorial service
- BuddhismAdvanced mikkyo密教esoteric Buddhism in Japan
- BuddhismAdvanced mandala曼荼羅a diagram of the Buddhist universe used in esoteric ritual and meditation
- Annual EventsAdvanced hanamatsuri花祭りthe Buddha's birthday
- HistoryAdvanced hidden christians潜伏キリシタンthe Christians who kept the faith through 250 years of prohibition
- Life EventsAdvanced eitai kuyo永代供養the temple keeping your grave when nobody is left to
- ShintoAdvanced goshuin御朱印a calligraphic seal stamped at a shrine or temple
- ShintoAdvanced shugendo修験道the mountain ascetic tradition and its yamabushi
- ShintoAdvanced shinbutsu shugo神仏習合the long blending of Shinto and Buddhism