Admiring the Golden Pavillion

Among the thousands of temples in Kyoto, Kinkakuji is the one that outshines just about any other, may it be a temple or shrine. No wonder it is one of the most visited according to my experience, aside from Fushimi Inari shrine and the Kiyomizudera. For starters, a temple is a place of worship for buddhists, whereas "shrines" are for the shinto religion.

Kinkakuji is an intriguing beauty in the pictures and even as intriguing and most magnificent in
person. The fact that you can only glance at it because it is in the middle of a pond, and also because it is prohibited to actually enter it to touch and behold upclose.
It is thus made even prettier that way. One can only admire it, but there is still that distance that separates you and it, like that gap between a commoner and a royal blood, or even heaven and earth.

It is wrapped in gold leaves as in Buddhist and other religions actually, gold is a symbol of purity and of divinity. It serves as a reminder to look up to and search for the divine. And that the divine is worth admiring and aspiring for.

Have you heard about the story of The Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji)? It was said that it has been rebuilt a few times in the past when it was burned down numerous times in history with the latest because of a 22-year-old monk. Such is its history that there was even a fictionalized book written.

I like how beautiful the mini gardens and miniponds, too, that surround the temple grounds. It was so calming even in the midst of groups of travelers who sometimes can't help but be too loud.