After his passing away the place became famous as a shrine of a holy man. The tomb of Humayun and the tomb of Akbar are two examples of shrines in India. Thus, a shrine may also refer to the place where a holy person or a monarch was buried. The word has attained importance and significance in the historical point of view. Thus, the word shrine has several meanings attached to it. On the other hand, the word temple refers to a sacred place for the believers of any given form of religion.
It is a place which the believers of a particular religion accept as the abode of God. They often visit temples with a view to have the sight of God. Each religion has got its own temple. Even for Buddhists, there are temples. They go to buddhist temple, not to worship Gods, but rather to do aamisa pooja that helps them in their path to nibbana.
These temples differ from each other in terms of the method of construction, materials used in construction, appearance, and the legend behind their construction and the like.
Torii gates are usually vermilion, as it is the main color in Japanese Shrines. Once the torii is crossed, we are in the sacred enclosure of the Shrine. Before even reaching the Haiden , many things tell us that we are in a Shrine. If you see braided ropes with strips of paper hanging from them, hooked to the torii or the haiden , it means that you are in a Shrine. They are the link between our world and the realm of gods, the territory of various Kami.
These ornaments are designed to repel evil spirits. If you want to discover a shimenawa that is out of the ordinary, Izumo Taisha Shrine owns the biggest shimenawa in Japan.
Usually changed every 4 to 8 years, its design is a real challenge. These majestic beasts serve as guardians of shrines and repel evil spirits. They are often represented one with the mouth opened and the other with a closed mouth. This combination signifies the beginning and the end of all things. When I started my wanders in Japan, I noticed that the easiest way to know if I was in a temple or a shrine was to look at the priests taking care of these sacred places.
The second name is ji the kanji is the same as tera. While traveling in Japan, you will see many of them, whether inside temples or even on maps that indicate that the place is indeed a temple.
Do not see or feel anything strange when you happen to see the symbol during your journeys in these sacred places. They are usually quite huge, and you will notice them from far away. These bells are rung during the call to prayer and to indicate time.
They are easily recognizable and always have similar characteristics regarding their engravings. They have the same purpose as Komainu in shrines but are way bigger and impressive. I let you judge by yourself.
One of the essentials, when I visit a temple is the statues. I am always looking for different representations of Buddhist deities. As you probably understood, temples are full of statues representing Buddhist deities, giving the place a special atmosphere.
A temple gate will often contain two statues of guardian gods, one on each side, which can be very terrifying to look at. As terrifying as they may be, these statues are intended to ward off evil spirits, not faithful visitors. Another way of knowing whether a place is a shrine or temple is by the name. Most shrines use the suffix jingu , while most temples use the suffix ji. If you see a temizuya, or basin of water in which you purify yourself before entering, that will not tell you whether it is a temple or shrine.
Temizuyas are seen at both temples and shrines. A unique feature of temples is the incense burners. If you can smell incense, you are likely at a temple. If so, be sure that you understand the proper praying ritual. In the Shinto religion, you are supposed to bow twice, clap twice, and bow once more when praying.
This is very different from praying at a temple. At a temple, it is proper to place an incense stick or candle in the designated place. If you do not see incense or candles, you may see a bowl of powder. Take a pinch of the powder and sprinkle it upon the bowl of burning powder.
Then, join your hands together and pray.
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