Temple (from Latin templum, "sacred place") is an architectural structure dedicated to religious service. The term can also be used figuratively. In this sense, it is the reflection of the divine world, God's dwelling place on earth, the place of the Real Presence. It is the summary of the macrocosm and also the image of the microcosm: 'the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit' (I, Corinthians, 6:19).

 

All authentic temples involve a cosmic symbolism. We can cite, as an example, the temple built by Solomon to Jehovah. It represented the cosmos and every object in it obeyed an order. The seven-armed candlestick symbolizing the seven planets; the Table, the thanksgiving for all that was accomplished in the earthly order; on the table, 12 loaves of bread symbolizing the months of the year: the showbread or the divine faces. The cornerstone of the temple being the center of the world, the point where the earthly and the heavenly communicate. In the same way, as the center of the world, we find in India, in Angkor, in Java, representations of Mount Meru, which is at the same time the axis and center of the world.

 

Some religious traditions dedicate specific names to their temples:

 

Church, Congregation, House of Prayer, Chapel and Cathedral in the case of Christianity and also of religions like Setianism and Satanism.

Mosque in the case of Islam.

Pagoda in the case of Buddhism.

Pathi in the case of Ayyavazhi.

Kingdom Hall in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Synagogue in the case of Judaism.

Terreiro in the case of Candomblé, Batuque, Xambá, and Umbanda.

Bahá'í House of Worship for the Bahá'í Faith.

Spiritist center in the case of Spiritism

Others, as in the case of the Church of Jesus Christ, give the name "Temple" with the concept it had in antiquity, because they are effectively temples equivalent in architectural symbolism and equal in purpose to those of antiquity such as Solomon's Temple, for example.

 

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Buddhist Temple:

 

 

A Buddhist temple is a place intended for Buddhist religious practice, where the so-called Three Jewels in which Buddhists seek salvation are gathered, Buddha, Dharma and Shanga. Its structure varies from region to region, and includes not only the building itself, but also the surrounding terrain. In the center is the shrine (a stupa or statue of Buddha, Buddharupa). Temples are often used as monasteries by Buddhist monks.

 

The Western term temple does not fully represent the concept of a Buddhist temple, which includes not only the various buildings, but also the gardens on the surrounding grounds. The term by which one designates the temple itself and each of the various buildings varies according to local language and tradition.

 

The whole itself may have various designations. For example:

 

In Chinese: 寺 (sì), 寺院 (sìyuàn)

In Japanese: 寺 (tera) 寺院 (jiin)

As a general rule, a Buddhist monastic temple is considered to be any land, building, or facility, regardless of its size or shape, that has received a consecration ceremony according to the rules of that monastic community.

 

India

The Vihara is the monks' meeting space, in which the cells are located. This is where they gather to recite the sutras and to perform ceremonies. The center of religious practice is the stupa (from the Sanskrit "to accumulate"), a construction intended to receive the relics or ashes of the dead and used as a place of prayer, around which the rest of the monastic spaces in India are built. This is where the chaitya are built.

 

It was from the Indian stupa that a number of local variations on temples in Central Asia and in Far and Southeast Asia developed, including Chinese pagodas, Tibetan chorten, Burmese paya, and Thai chedi.

 

Southeast Asia

Wat, monastic spaces present in Southeast Asia, usually include a large plot of land and often one or more stupas.

 

Far East

Far Eastern monasteries are quite different from Indian ones. The central shrine is the pagoda, around which is a lavishly decorated hall featuring numerous statues of the Buddha. The other main buildings are surrounded by a usually rectangular adjoining courtyard. Since the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century, the center of the temple has been changed from the pagoda to the main hall in which the main relic, usually a statue, is kept.

 

 

 

Hindu Temple

The Preah Vihear Temple (Cambodian:ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ) is an 11th century Hindu temple that is situated in the Dângrêk Mountains near the Cambodia-Thailand border. It has been the subject of one of the most important judgments of the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

 

The Brihadeeswarar temple, Brihadisvara temple, Peruvudaiyar Koyil (in Tamil: பெருவுடையார் கோயில் - peruvuḍaiyār kōyil) or Râjarâjeshvaram temple, named after its builder, situated in the city of Tanjore (Thanjavur), Tamil Nadu state, South India, is a Hindu temple exemplary of the Dravidian style of religious architecture.