Temple Tales Newsletter and Podcast

In the splendor that is Xi'an, Wolong Temple barely registers on most itineraries. Yet, it's called "the oldest temple in Shaanxi Province"! Let's take a look in this landmark 100th episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Let's look at a place that was once headquarters for an army of warring monks, Mii-dera on the shores of Lake Biwa and--more significantly--at the base of Mount Hiei, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Four days after returning from the first leg of my "Chinese Pilgrimage," I was standing in front of the Terracotta Army, one of China's highest-rated tourist destinations. In just three days we would visit this as well as four temples from my list. Come visit the first one in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links

I have been twice to beautiful Ishiyama-dera, Shiga Prefecture's "Stone Mountain Temple." Learn about both visits in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Jade Buddha Temple, the last temple I saw in Shanghai, is the home of several magnificent (you guessed it) jade Buddhas. Let's visit them in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Another temple, another mountain. Iwama-dera (also called Shoho-ji, meaning "Correct Dharma Temple") is located at an altitude of 1280 feet, which accounts for the misty atmosphere on the January day in 2001 when I visited. Come and see in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Check out the changes wrought at Shanghai's Jing'an Temple--the Temple of Tranquility and Peace--in the two-and-a-half short years between my visits in August of 2009 and again in January of 2012, in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

When you visit Daigo-ji in Kyoto, you get two--or even three--temples for the effort of one. Find out what I'm talking about in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

When is a temple not a temple? When it's an office building in the parking lot of a hotel! You'll see what I mean when we visit the Yuanming Lecture Hall in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

Sometimes a pretty little temple leaves the visitor with pretty little to say. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, let's pay a quick visit to Mimuroto-ji in Uji--and one of its much more famous neighbors--in this episode of-- TEMPLE TALES! FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »