Temple Tales Newsletter and Podcast

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Thrilling accounts of one man's journey to over 700 sites in Japan and China, with plenty of Buddhist teachings thrown in

James Baquet AKA The Temple Guy


    • Oct 20, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 25 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Temple Tales Newsletter and Podcast

    Ep. 100: The Temple of the Sleeping Dragon (8:05 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 099: The Temple of the Warring Monks (11:47 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 098: A Touch of Tibet in Old Chang'an (14:45)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 097: Stone Mountain Temple (9:51 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 096: The Temple of the Jade Buddha (5:38 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 095: The Temple among the Rocks (7:58 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 094: Shanghai's Temple of Tranquility and Peace (8:56 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 093: The Upper Ghee Temple (11:38 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 092: Yuanming Lecture Hall (7:43 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2020


    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 »

    Ep. 091: Uji's Mimuroto-ji and Byodo-in (8:20 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2020


    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 SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 090: Shanghai's Temple of the Dragon Flower (9:07 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2020


    Come along with me and visit Longhua Temple, the largest ancient Buddhist temple in Shanghai, in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 089: A Small Hall and a BIG Buddha (7:46 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2020


    Number 9 on the Saigoku Pilgrimage is a single hall in a formerly-great but these-days-diminished temple in Nara. It also happens to be a fifteen-minute walk from Todai-ji, home of Japan's largest statue of the Buddha. We'll visit both--plus one more--in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 088: Shanghai's "Incense Pavilion" (7:32 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2020


    Shoving off from my digs in Beilun, I at last moved from this trip's first base to its second and last, a hotel in the Jing'an district of Shanghai, where I visited one of the most precious little temples I saw in all of China, the "Incense Pavilion." Join me in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 087: The Other Hase Kannon (6:18 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020


    Do you remember the Great Kannon at Kamakura's Hase-dera from Episode 048? Well, let's visit the scene of the rest of the story, the original Hase-dera Temple down south, in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 086: Ningbo's Temple of Seven Pagodas (6:50 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2020


    Let's visit the new-but-lovely Qita Temple, the "Temple of Seven Pagodas," in central Ningbo, China, in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 085: Oka-dera: The Temple on the Hill (6:56 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2020


    You can get to the temple in Asuka officially named Ryugai-ji just by saying, "Oka-dera"--the Temple on the Hill. Let's do it in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 084: The Temple of King Ashoka (12:28 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2020


    Let's continue our day trip in the eastern outskirts of Ningbo, and visit Ayuwang Temple, said to possess an authentic relic of the Buddha's skull! For reals? Come along and find out in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 083: Tsubosaka-dera, a Taste of India in Japan (7:36 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2020


    Come join me for a little "taste of India"--right smack dab in Nara, Japan! in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 082: Tiantong Temple, Chinese Fount of Japanese Soto Zen (8:04 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2020


    Two temples in (or near) the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, in one day? Yes, please! We'll cover the first one in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 081: Temple of the Kudzu Well (5:59 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2020


    Fujii-dera, named for the arrowroot or kudzu vine, is found at the end of a shopping street in a suburb of Osaka. Learn more about it in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Audio version at Archive.org .Podcast on iTunes, GooglePlay, or Spotify (raw feed here)

    Ep. 080: Dharma Rain Temple (5:51 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2020


    Let's pay a visit to the temple the name of which has impressed me more than any other. If my karma ever results in my being allowed to found a temple of my own, it, too, will probably be called Fayu--"Dharma Rain." I'll explain in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 079: Sefuku-ji, the Kansai Pilgrimage's Most Remotest Temple (9:58 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2020


    Come along as I visit one of the most remotest temples on the Saigoku pilgrimage--these days, at least. Let's visit Sefuku-ji in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 078: Puji, Putuoshan's Primary Temple (9:09 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2020


    On the morning of my last full day on the island, I finally entered the gates of Puji, as we'll see in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at SubstackClick for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 077: A Temple on the Powder River (7:24 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2020


    Let's continue on down the pilgrim's path from Kimii-dera and visit Number 3 of Japan's Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

    Ep. 076: The Temple of Aiding Wisdom on Putuo Shan (8:29 min)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2020


    Back in Episode 056 we visited the Nanhai Guanyin area of Putuoshan in Zhejiang Province. Let's continue that day's touring and drop in on Huiji Temple, the third of the 142 key temples I visited in China, in this episode of--TEMPLE TALES!FULL Show Notes at Substack Click for audio and podcast links »

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