Showing posts with label Wollongong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wollongong. Show all posts

Monday, 15 February 2010

Charmaine, Wollongong


North Wollongong Beach and kiosk cafe reflected in my friend Charmaine's sunglasses. Charm is one of the most photogenic people I know! (even in close-up!!!)

Monday, 8 February 2010

Sunday, 7 February 2010

Wollongong Continental Baths


Three days ago, at the beginning of this Wollongong series, I showed sunrise over the rockpool at North Wollongong.

Immediately to the south are these free concrete pools - the "Contintental Baths" (or Central Baths). They were originally opened in 1926, and allowed for men, womwn and children to bathe together. They have been upgraded since. Read more here.

I enjoyed an early morning swim here.

Left: the rock pool is visible just to the north of the baths (the edge of which can be seen here).

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Just after sunrise - Wollongong


Looking north-west, along the clifftop of North Wollongong, where ominous clouds greet the day, and the new day's sun cast s shadows.

Thursday, 4 February 2010

Sunrise, Wollongong



No, I haven't abandoned you! Just been away at a work conference, with no time to post. We were in Wollongong, so I'lll bring a few shots from there for the next few days.

Here's sunrise over the ocean, with a rock swimming pool, originally Wollongong Men's Baths, also known as North Wollongong Rock Pool, Old Men's Baths, Wollongong Baths, gentlemen's baths, the gentleman's bathing place, Clarkes Hole. It dates originally from about 1877. Read more here.

Nathalie - no I didn't win more tickets to the OzOpen - paid my own way this year, and the pic was taken not from the Tv but on my iPhone!

Friday, 29 May 2009

Wollongong City Beach to Port Kembla (Skywatch Friday)

A windy day at Wollongong - looking south towards industrial Port Kembla from Endeavour Drive at Lions Park.

To see other skies around the world this Friday, click here.

Thursday, 28 May 2009

Nan Tien :a last look


I couldn't resist one last look at these cute little Buddhas in the gardens of Nan Tien temple.

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

Nan Tien temple: the pilgrim lodge (hotel)


If you feel like lingering longer in the tranquil and beautiful setting of Nan Tien temple, there's a hotel. They host retreats, but also accept casual visitors - as long as you don't want to bring meat, drugs or alcohol on-site.
Rates are quite modest, atarting at $80 a room.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Nan Tien temple: the front



The front of the temple complex - underneath, a lovely tea house, and above, a dining hall, meditation hall, reeception room, front shrine. Visitors are welcome to eat in the dining hall, where a couple of delicious vegetarian selections are cooked every day. The temple complex is built in the Chinese palace style, and some of these views reminded me of photos I've seen of Tibet. Then I read the info below on Wikipedia.
It was built was built using traditional techniques and materials by Chinese craftsmen.
The architecture incorporates the features of several styles of Buddhism. The pagoda is distinctly Chinese, with flying eaves and an angular profile. The main temples incorporates features of Tibetan monastic architecture, with multi-storey painted temple buildings set atop high stone platforms. The courtyards feature Japanese-style gardens, while the statues and shrines often incorporate bright, South-East Asian colour schemes, in contrast to the more sombre and austere styles favoured in China. The halls are carpeted, and pilgrims and visitors are required to remove shoes before entering, a practice more common in India, Korea and Japan than China.
From the Nan Tien website I have learned that:
"Chinese temple architecture has long been influenced by secular building design, especially that of imperial palaces. Structures and colours used throughout Nan Tien perpetuate this tradition. Grandiose roofs, visible from afar, indicate status: The greater the height and slope, the higher the rank. The Main Shrine thus has the most lofty and impressive roof. In dynastic China the colour yellow was used exclusively by the emperor. Hence, terracotta yellow roof tiles are symbols of importance, as are the yellow temple walls. Small mythical creatures lining the roof hips are traditional guardians against fire, a real danger in the days when the entire structure would have been built of wood. While much of Nan Tien's roof framing is largely made of steel, it mimics timber construction with painted end beams extending under the eaves.
Red is another auspicious colour associated with the emperor. It was used to cover imperial columns, beams, and lintels, as is also the case at Nan Tien. Palace balustrades were typically carved white marble; Nan Tien's concrete balustrades are fashioned in a similar manner and painted white. "

Monday, 25 May 2009

Nan Tien Temple: Car park Buddha



This Buddha is visible down the stairs from the pagoda, and provides a point of interest in the car park, which is also landscaped with lovely flowers and shrubs.

Sunday, 24 May 2009

Nan Tien temple: Incense

Incense plays a role in many religions. I'm not familiar with the tenets of Buddhism, so I had to look up the meaning of incense in that religion. Apparently, incense symbolises the fragrance of pure moral conduct and reminds us to cultivate good conduct.

Incense use in religious ritual was first widely developed in China, and eventually transmitted to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

These incense sticks are in a large incense bowl at the entrance to the pagoda. Having read the quote below, it makes sense to me why the aroma of incense would be so strong at the building which is used as a crypt for cremated earthly remains.

One site on Buddhism Studies says:

"Imagine that you are a stick of incense. Someone comes along and light up a matchstick. The person then uses the lighted matchstick and lit you up. Immediately, you are burning away.

As you are burning, your body gives off a lovely fragrant smell. This fragrance spreads through the air and brings joy and happiness to people's heart.

The person then offers you to the Buddha. You are being put into an incense pot. You stand happily in the incense pot because you know that you have an important role to play. Your fragrance symbolises the fragrance of pure moral conduct. And this reminds people to cultivate good conduct. This fragrance spreads in all directions throughout the world.

As you are burning away, you also remind people to try and burn away their bad, unkind or selfish thoughts. They should try to be like you, burning away their selfish acts and bringing fragrance and happiness to the world. Let every breath everyone breath out into the world be full of sweetness and love. Continue to spread your fragrance in all directions."

Saturday, 23 May 2009

Nan Tien temple: - mountains and sea


Above: At the top of the steps, with my back to the pagoda (shown yesterday), we look over Mount Kembla. Apparently the site for the temple was chosen because of its location between mountains and sea. Mount Kembla is said to have an auspicious resemblance to a recumbent lion.

Mt Kembla forms part of the Illawarra escarpment, itself part of the eastern part of Australia's Great Dividing Range. Here it comes extremely close to the sea. When Captain Cook saw it as he sailed along Australia's east coast in 1770, he noted it as 'a round hill', its top resembling a hat.

Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "wild game abundant" or "plenty of game". The Aborigines called the area "jum-bullah" or "Djembla" which means a wallaby. Mount Kembla has been described as a "sub-tropical belt of rainforest " which "housed a variety of game life which provided an abundant food supply". Meat is banned in the precincts of the temple; Buddhists are vegetarian.

Left: There is no escaping the fact that Wollongong is a major industrial city, most famous for its steel works in the suburb of Port Kembla. I took the photo looking towards the sea and Port Kembla from the first platform of the pagoda.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Nan Tien Temple: the Pagoda (Skywatch Friday)


On a recent visit to Nan Tien temple in the Wollongong suburb of Berkeley, the sun was shining and autumn colour was abundant.

Nan Tien means "Southern Heaven Temple". It is one of the branch temples of Fo Guang Shan, founded in 1967 in Taiwan. There are over 120 branches worldwide. To see more of the temple, look back over the past few days' blogs.

The temples's website tells us: "Pagoda has its origin from the Indian stupa, an ancient type of building used to store sutras and sacred relics of the Buddha. With the spread of Buddhism to China, Chinese architectural elements from gate towers and various wooden structures were gradually incorporated into pagoda design. The seven-tiered style of Nan Tien's Pagoda reflects a similar convention of the T'ang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906). Its tapering design reaching to the sky is synonymous with the idea of practicing Buddhism step-by-step which eventually led to supreme enlightenment.

Nan Tien's Pagoda is a resting place for the cremated ashes of devotees and their relatives; it can accommodate the remains of over 7,000 people. Inside the Pagoda is a wishing bell, visitors may make a wish and sound the bell."


To check out skies around the world, click here.

Thursday, 21 May 2009

Nan Tien Temple: The Lotus Pond


From the Nan Tien website:
"Lotus - whether shown as a developing bud, in full bloom, with or without a stem - is one of the most complex and prominent Buddhist symbols of purity and enlightenment. From the swampy depths it grows into an exquisite and fragrant flower. Likewise, people can emerge from ignorance, become pure, and blossom into enlightenment. The lotus is also a cosmic flower, representative of the supramundane. Lotus imagery abounds throughout Nan Tien Temple. Most of the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures are on lotus thrones."

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Nan Tien Tenple : the little Buddha statues


In the gardens around the temple and pagoda were lots of these little Buddha statuettes. They seemed to emphasise the virtues of physical exercise, mental exercise, rest, work and prayer.