A statue of a buddha in front of a mountain. Laser buddha mountain buddhist temple complex thailand buddha, religion.
Summary
In Japan, Buddhist temples co-exist with Shinto shrines, and both share the basic features of Japanese traditional architecture. Similarities between temples and shrines are also functional. For centuries shrines and temples had a symbiotic relationship where each influenced the other.
Like a shrine, a Buddhist temple is not primarily a place of worship: its most important buildings are used for the safekeeping of sacred objects (the honzon, equivalent to a shrine's shintai), and are not accessible to worshipers. A temple is also a monastery. There are specialized buildings for certain rites, but these are usually open only to a limited number of participants.
The reason for the great structural resemblances between the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines lies in their common history. In fact, it is normal for a temple to have been also a shrine, and in architectural terms, obvious differences between the two are therefore few. Many visitors visit both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
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