Highlights of Qambalin

This is a look at some of the places at Qambalin that are worth seeing.
Qambalin is replete with points of attraction that cannot be fully covered here. Please do be sure to visit and pay your respects.
(If you will require a guide while in Qambalin, please contact us in advance. A full-time guide will show you around the temple.)

Shinto and
Buddhist Figures
Buddhist Images and
Displayed Items

Shinto and Buddhist Figures

Buddha for Good Matches
Figure of Shakyamuni at Age 12
It is held that when Shakyamuni was still living, his followers created four life-size statues each of Shakyamuni at age eight and at age 12. One of the 12-year-old statues was given as a gift to China from India in the early part of the Tang dynasty, and thereafter, in around AD 641, it is believed to be have been taken to Tibet when Princess Wencheng, the daughter of the Tang emperor, was betrothed to Tibetan king Songstan Gampo. This Buddhist figure was painted by Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and along with being clothed and crowned, a shrine of silver and gold was fashioned for this statue of Shakyamuni at age 12, which is now in Jokhang. The main deity at this temple is a replica made after receiving special permission to take measurements of the age-12 statue in Jokhang. Please do visit us to pay your respects to this Shakyamuni, worshipped from time immemorial.
Prosperous Business and Wish Attainment:
Six-Armed Mahakala (Daikokuten)
In Japan, for many people, mention of Daikokuten probably brings up associations with a familiar jovially round-faced figure, but the Daikokuten – Mahakala – at this temple is widely venerated by the Tibetan people.
As an added note, Mahakala is also the guardian deity of Shakyamuni.
This deity is tremendously deserving of appreciation, as it is said that if one worships it wholeheartedly, whatever is wished for will be heard.
Please come and pay your earnest respects yourself.
12 Bodhisattvas

Our main deity is surrounded by 12 Bodhisattvas.

Voice of Discernment (Ben-on) Bodhisattva: Vocally teaches the principles of Buddhism to sentient beings
Universal Vision (Fugan) Bodhisattva: Avalokiteshvara (Kanzeon) bodhisattva that appears in 33 different embodiments
Most Excellent of Worthies (Kenzenshu) Bodhisattva: Became a great bodhisattva capable of achieving Buddha-hood in one further stage
Purifier of All Karmic Hindrances (Josho Gyosho) Bodhisattva: Dispels sowing and reaping of evil that prevents reaching nirvana
Pure Wisdom (Shojosui) Bodhisattva: Obtained the wisdom of Buddhist teachings through purification of the six roots of perception
Maitreya (Miroku) Bodhisattva: Mahayana bodhisattva, a quintessential bodhisattva for which acts of altruism are considered important
Manjushri (Monjushiri) Bodhisattva: Deity of wisdom given an elevated standing among bodhisattvas
Universal Enlightenment (Fukaku) Bodhisattva: Sees through life and death and joys and sorrows and taught the path of practice by the Buddha
Power and Virtue Unhindered (Itoku Jizai) Bodhisattva: Bodhisattva endowed with great majesty and great mercy
Samantabhadra (Fuken) Bodhisattva: Made responsible for spreading goodness and virtue in the material world
Perfect Enlightenment (Enkaku) Bodhisattva: Escaped from spiritual darkness so that his own enlightenment would proceed smoothly
Vajragarbha (Kongozo) Bodhisattva: Appears with an angry visage so as to make demons submit

Deity of Financial Fortune and Personal Connections:
Kinryu Bidai Tenryuo
(Golden Dragon King)
This is a powerful deity of financial luck. Since ancient times it has also been widely worshipped in China, Europe, and elsewhere as a guardian deity of the weather.
Known widely as a protective deity for personal connections as well, it is held to bring merit to financial dealings, sports endeavors, and sales.

Because of its benefits in connecting people, in recent years the area around the Kinryu Bidai Tenryuodo Hall has come to be esteemed as a place of mystical energy with the power to help one meet a romantic partner.
Buddha for Salvation
Maitreya (Miroku) Bodhisattva
"Miroku" is a phonetic translation of the Sanskrit word "maitreya," the sense of which could be translated as "Master of Loving-kindness." Maitreya's merits are said to be salvation for humankind, and he is held to give succor with a compassionate heart.
Founder of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism:
Tsongkhapa
Je Tsongkhapa was the founder of Tibetan Buddhism's Gelug school as well as the teacher of the first Dalai Lama, leaving behind a host of great accomplishments.
Ganden Monastery, which Tsongkhapa himself founded, covered an area of just under 150,000 square meters at the height of its flourishing, and is the oldest Gelug-school temple. Even now Tsongkhapa are held in the tomb tower.

Buddhist Images and Displayed Items

Mani Khorlo (Prayer Wheel)

In the giant prayer wheel at Qambalin's main gate is a Tibetan sutra.
A full clockwise turn of the prayer wheel bring about the same meritorious effect as chanting the sutra once.

In Tibet, persons worshipping by turning small prayer wheels while chanting can be seen everywhere.

To Our Visitors
Without touching the prayer wheel directly, please use the handle at the bottom of the wheel
to turn it while chanting the mantra "om mani padme hum."
The prayer wheel is an article of worship. Please take care not to turn it with undue roughness or to damage it.
Children who use it must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

Meditation and Prayer:
Great Universe Mandala
This is a room for meditating. Painted on the ceiling is the Great Universe Mandala. It represents the truth of the universe that is the state of Buddhist enlightenment, and by meditating before the mandala, trainees in esoteric Buddhism gradually shrink the realm of deities and the universe to the size of a poppy seed and take it into their hearts.
Doing this makes the universe the self and the self the universe.
Thangkas (Buddhist Paintings)
Qambalin is adorned with Buddhist paintings (thangkas) brought from Tibet. Each beautiful piece was painted by a local artist and features breathtakingly vivid colors.
Also, a frequently depicted symbol in Tibetan Buddhist art is the yab-yum (a male deity together with his female consort). Buddhist paintings bearing this form are seldom-seen rarities in Japan.
Darchog Prayer Flags

Mention of Tibet brings to mind colorful rectangular darchog flags stretching into the sky. Naturally, Qambalin has darchog flags, too.
With each representing a prayer or wish of one's own or another family member, the flags are raised into the sky and flown without being taken down until they eventually become ragged, by which time the wish will be granted, it is held.
Please visit the temple from time to time so that you can realize your own wishes. Although it may seem obvious, the more earnestly one worships, the more what is prayed for is likely to come to pass. Buddhist and deity supplications are by no means difficult, and can be even easier if one regards these objects of prayer as people. However, making requests and then just doing nothing is not the proper way. If the favor you sought comes to pass, please do be sure to pay a visit to express your gratitude.

Darchog prayer flags are 1,000 yen for one and 8,000 yen for a line of 15.
Khata scarves are 1,000 yen each.

Inquiries can be made by telephone or directly at the temple.
Note:
- Darchog prayer flags and khata scarves cannot be used by you yourself (such as for interior decoration or the like).
- All darchog prayer flags are to be flown on the Qambalin temple grounds.
- Khata scarves are to be hung at the main deity.

The Founder of Tibet and His Six Children

These seven carved-wood figures in the temple are said to be the wise monkey that was the progenitor of Tibet and his six children.
In Tibet the following legend is told regarding the reason why Tibetans are loath to take life, and about barley being the main staple of their diet.

Once upon a time, a wise monkey was undergoing training in the Tibetan highlands. During his training a yaksha (she-devil) appeared.
"Marry me. If you refuse, I will kill and eat every living creature in this world!" she threatened. The distressed monkey sought advice from the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy), then replied.
"I will marry you, but in return I want you never to take life again," he made her promise.
The yaksha agreed, and eventually six children were born.
The wise monkey and his six children are held to be the progenitors of Tibet.
The Tibetan people thereafter rapidly grew in number, and because they ate only fruit and nuts, they found themselves short on food.
The troubled monkey again sought the wisdom of Avalokiteshvara, who counseled him to grow barley. Even to this day, that barley is used in the tsampa that is the main staple of monastic meals as well as variety of other dishes, as a sacred food indispensable to the diet of the Tibetan people.

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