Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Temple

[cessna152towser]

The Liberation Gate.
Decorated with symbols and mantras, Buddhist tradition has it that those who pass through will gain blessings and protection from obstacles.

The Victory Stupa.
Symbolising victory over negativity, which is transformed into positive energy.

The Stupa from another angle.

The Stupa from the footbridge in the Stupa Garden. Note the cloisters bordering the Stupa on three sides.

The clositers surrunding the Stupa, known as the Prayer Wheel House, are a place of quiet contemplation. Behind me are the prayer wheels, revolving scripted copper drums, whose electric drive motor hums quietly on the background, while on the other side of the cloisters are repositories for caskets containing the ashes of the deceased. The Prayer Wheel is said to hold many millions of prayers for the wellbeing of all. Buddhist belief has it that when a prayer wheel rotates it radiates love and compassion creating peace and harmony.

The statue of Nagarjuna, a second century Indian saint who brought together several strands of Buddhist philosophy which are today followed by the Kagyu tradition to which Samye Ling belongs.

A shrine on the island in the Stupa Garden.

In the pond next to the Stupa is the statue of Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padmasambhava) seated on a lotus flower. Revered as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet, he brought the Buddhist teachings from India to Tibet in the eighth century.
With thanks to Lama Yeshe Losal, the current abbot of Kagyu Samye Ling, for my visit.