Sacred places in Asia and their contemporary relevance

David Harslett

Introduction

This article on sacred places and their contemporary relevance in Asia is intended to make a contribution to the religious domain of Asian studies. Following Ninian Smart (1992), the article will define religion as a phenomenon comprising many dimensions, that embrace the practical and ritual, the experiential and emotional, the narrative or mythic dimension, the social and institutional aspect and the material dimension that belong to a particular religion’s worldview. The worldviews in this article will reflect the Asian religions that are associated with the four sacred places chosen; Varanasi (Hinduism) in India, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Buddhism) in Thailand, Mount Fuji (Shintoism) in Japan, and the Forbidden City (Confucianism) in China.

A Sacred Place can be defined as: that portion of the earth’s surface, which is recognised by individuals or groups as worthy of devotion, loyalty or esteem. Space is sharply discriminated from the non-sacred or profane world around it. Sacred space does not exist naturally, but is assigned sanctity by the way people define and characterise it through their culture, experience and goals.

In other words, where there is a group of certain individuals belonging to the same cultural and religious belief, a certain space will be set aside to be made sacred. Sacred places can be categorised into three groups, firstly a human-crafted building associated with the uniqueness of a specific locality that has become a special place of religious reasons, secondly, an archetypal-symbolic space where a larger whole has become condensed into a limited space, maintaining a sense of order and displaying a harmonious relationship between human life and the cosmos; and finally a place in nature that displays no special marking, except perhaps for a well-known foothpath, and this is far more commonly found among tribal people. Churches, shrines and temples are examples of the first category, while mandelic cities like Varanasi, Madurai, Beijing and Tokyo belong to the second category, and Mount Fuji, Mount Sinai, Mount Kailash, the Ganges river, the Chao Phraya river and so on belong the third.

Today many Asian societies have followed the West in becoming secular societies resulting in many sacred places losing their importance both ritually and symbolically. However, the followers of Hinduism still regard the River Ganges as sacred. Japanese who follow the religion of Shintoism still regard Mount Fuji as sacred. The Emerald Buddha stays sacred to the Thai Buddhists, and aspects of the past still matter in contemporary China. So, despite secularisation in the Asian region, many cultures still regard their religious centres of belief as sacred, or at least as symbols of national identity.

It is the aim of this article to compare each of the four sacred places in accordance with Smart’s dimensions of religion to demonstrate that each sacred place continues to possess a profound religious, mythological and /or national symbolic significance for the faithful millions, and contemporary relevance for the particular societies in which they are located, as well as further afield.

Role of faith

In all religious traditions from prehistoric ones to new religions, the notion of faith is fundamental. Faith refers to the individual and personal awareness of the truths of the religious tradition that one believes in. Like other emotions that humans experience, such as humility or pride, love, truth, and fear, faith cannot be observed directly. Those who believe in their religious tradition can only observe faith. For example, Hindus dying at Varanasi have faith that they will be granted liberation. The same could be said of the Buddhist who pays homage to the Emerald Buddha. They have faith that the Buddha will grant their needs and requests. It is through faith that people come to worship and pay homage to gods or goddess, such as the Shugendo followers in Japan do with Mount Fuji, and the ancient Chinese in believing that the Emperor was the Son of Heaven. Without faith there would be no religious tradition to follow and adhere to, and the four religious traditions examined would not have established their sacred places where they are able to carry out their faith and pay homage to divine beings. Faith, it could be said, is the core of all religious beliefs in that adherents transcend this earthly realm to a spiritual realm. From faith comes the concept of ceremonies and rituals where believers carry out certain functions to display and reinforce their faith in their religion.

The role of ceremony and ritual

Each of the four religions outlined presents a personal conduct or ethical side as well as a side that relates to worship or ceremony. Both of these constitute an internal as well as an external aspect of each religion. Each, of the four case studies can be seen as either a theophanic or hierophanic event. These events established the sacredness of each place. However, it is the type of these events that established the role that ceremony plays. For instance, Mount Fuji is a sacred mountain, where some Japanese believe the kami dwell, and therefore they climb Mount Fuji to worship the kami. Hindus believe that the water of the River Ganges is sacred and that is why they bathe in it.

The Chinese saw Beijing as the centre of China, a location increased in importance by the ritual presence of the emperor in his palace and the ceremonies that only he could undertake to ensure the wellbeing of the Chinese people. Thus, the Emperor needed a palace as a forum to carry out his ceremonial rule over China. The Emerald Buddha is the palladium of the Thai nation and is closely linked to the Thai Monarchy. It has to be proximate to the Monarch, so that the Monarch can worship and carry out his ceremonial role towards the Emerald Buddha. Each of these places demands that their followers, too, carry out some sort of ceremonial role, whether it be climbing, washing, building a palatial complex or worshipping before a statue.

Another essential feature of sacrality is sanctification. This occurs directly, through a kind of irradiation or induction, and indirectly through mediating devices, such as holy water. This is the conceptual realm of ceremony. It is when a place or person has been sanctified that the important process of ceremonial or ritual purity eventuates. Such purity is a requirement of many religions, especially the four cases that have been studied, because it is the basis of the sacred and godly. It is required that all things that are in any way connected with the sacred, whether they be followers, animals, priests, ceremonial equipment, ceremonial garments or ceremonial places, are ritually purified so that these do not become unclean. These ritual purifications may cause fear and respect. There are numerous prohibitions on contact or even approach, thus ensuring that people keep their distance from these sacred places or persons. However, where access is permitted, it demands in certain religions an outward purification and an inner one by magic and symbolic means. For example, the numerous ceremonial washing requirements of the adherents of Shinto and Hinduism, as well as the removing of shoes to enter a Buddhist Temple accompanied by the ritual “wei” or respect gesture and the kow-tow once performed in front of the Emperor of China, all serve as a ceremonial and purification ritual and in the latter two cases, helped to emphasise a distinct gap in the social hierarchy.

Experiential and emotional dimension: significance of light and colour

Life’s universal cycles ebb and flow through tides of darkness and light. However varied in interpretation, light is envisioned as the essence of life, whereas darkness echoes inevitable death. Understanding how specific environmental objects, landscapes, and structures are invested with holiness is critical to the geography of religion. Intrinsic to religion and associated with the diversity of sacred places are sound, smell, colour and light. To many, the phenomenon of light bridges the interpretation of landscape and religious experience. The presence of light in the manifestation of the holy spans multiple religions. Light, through presence or absence, sets apart the sacred from the profane and, in its cognitive, aesthetic, and symbolic forms, reveals and delineates the world, fosters sensual and emotional awareness, and gives life a literal focus and meaning. Colour, as affirmation of light, reveals and defines relative purity, sanctity and supremacy. Pervading both religious landscapes and movements, light is fundamental to religious experience, evoking varied responses and representations both among and within particular belief systems. In at least four ways, light is integral to sacred landscapes: as the sun or some other celestial body; as fire, the sun on earth; as light rays or beams of colour; and as an attribute of sacred beings and places. Each of these affects how a local setting is perceived and can be seen in each of the four examples of sacred place.

Sacred places are cast as centres of light. For more than 600 years, the Heavenly City of Beijing served as the Celestial Capital and cosmo-magical centre of China. It was by royal decree that no other building in Beijing could be painted red thus creating a powerful visual symbol of brilliance. Although much changed in modern times, heroic rhetoric of “red rising sun” in reference to China’s capital reflects its inherent cosmogonic quality. Throughout the Forbidden City, the five primary colours according to Chinese gradation were used. The colours are red, yellow, azure, white and black, also symbolised the emblems of rank, authority, virtue and vice, joys and sorrows. Azure was associated with worship of Heaven; yellow the Earth, red, of the Sun; white, of the Moon. Red is also symbolic of happiness and virtue; black of guilt and vice.

Varanasi, on the sacred River Ganges, is also known as Kashi, or the City of Light. It is the embodiment of Shiva. Here, the lingam of Shiva, phallic symbol of creation, rose from the dark netherworld as a fiery axis mundi to pierce the highest heavens. Kashi is not simply the place of that event, it is the event itself. The light of the sun is also a fountainhead for an array of divinities; in particular, the goddess Konohana-Sakuya-Hime or the ‘Goddess of Flowering Trees’ of Mount Fuji. When pilgrims climb Mount Fuji, they aim to reach the summit just as the first ray of sunlight comes over the horizon. This signifies a cleansing and purifying effect on the pilgrims. Light also can be conceived as yellow and gold or white and silver, the most prominent sacred colours. As well, the colours red and white are considered to be auspicious, red being especially obnoxious to devils. Gifts offered at Shinto shrines are cakes in sets of two, one white and one red. The colours red and white are used to form the Japanese flag. In Buddhism, a mixture of yellow, the sacred colour and white is used. The inside of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha reflects the importance of Light. This is achieved by the use of bright coloured glass and the use of gold – but most riveting is the light reflected from the jade stone from which the Emerald Buddha was hewn. The colours used on the Thai flag represent the nation (red), the religion (white) and Royalty (blue). These colours on the Thai flag symbolise the three pillars of Thai society.

Through these few examples, it is clear that light and colour are expressed and understood in religions and belief systems in innumerable ways. Existing only in relation to darkness, light is prominent in hierophanous manifestation or provocation. As a centering force, it denotes home and thereby separates itself from the profane, thus providing a locus for spiritual journeys. The phenomenon of light clarifies and delineates sacred space and is vital to the experience of the holy.

Narrative or mythic dimension: the role and importance of myth

People long ago created myths to help them re-present the past, straddling the line between reality and fantasy. They recited them to reinforce the bond they share with the world around them and to win favour from the gods and spirits who animated it. Some scholars have argued that all myths originally explained natural phenomena and that the gods were originally inseparable from the forces they represented. From the perspective of religion, it is easy to define myth as stories which enshrine religious and social ideas, expressed through the activities of divine, human or animal figures within an environment where astonishing things may take place. Myths occur in practically all societies. The problem of defining myth comes when the truths held by particular religions are enshrined in narratives, which the devotees may believe actually occurred. In other words, there may be an argument over whether something is a myth, taking place in the imagination, or is history, having actually occurred in the world. It was in using myths to explain the natural phenomena that myths became part of religious beliefs, so that these myths could be handed down to further generations. Adherents to all faiths have some type of myths to explain the metaphysical and spiritual aspect of their religion.

In ancient China, the Chinese believed the structure of the heavens paralleled the structure of the earth, a philosophy that trickled down to many aspects of their myths and legends. However, what distinguishes the natural myths of China is the control of natural phenomena by Celestial Bureaus of Ministries similar to the bureaus of ministries on earth. The most popular figure in Chinese mythology was the Dragon. Unlike the dragons of other lands, the dragons of Chinese lore were beneficent, and their importance in Chinese mythology cannot be overestimated. Some believed the dragon to be the father of great emperors, and others believed that celestial dragons provided the strength that supported the palaces of the sky gods. Thus the dragon became the emblem of the emperor and only the emperor would wear or use the five-clawed dragon motif. Though dragons were worshipped throughout China, perhaps the most revered were the celestial deities, the gods of the sun, the moon and the stars. Hence, the importance of the North Star in selecting the site of the Forbidden City. The Chinese also worshiped the spirits of the earth. The Emperors were expected to offer sacrifices to the hills, as well as to the four corners of the earth, to rain, to Heaven at the winter solstice and to earth at the summer solstice. In spring and fall, ancient emperors performed sacrifices to the earth and sky gods to ensure plentiful harvests and fertile soil. The ultimate task of Chinese rulers was to strike a harmonious relationship with nature and the heavenly powers. If these sacrifices proved to be inharmonious with the spirits and gods, this was sign of weakness on the part of the emperor, which often resulted in the loss of the Mandate of Heaven.

Mount Fuji, the most sacred mountain in Japan, was revered by people of both Shinto and Buddhist faiths as an abode of the Immortals. The gods who lived there had to be powerful, the people surmised, because the mountain arose so suddenly, in just one night, after a fiery eruption during the earthquake of 286CE, so legend has it. Mount Fuji is the youngest of the Japanese mountains, but it is the tallest. In Buddhist myth, another mountain, Mount Haku, was said to be higher than Fuji at one time, but Fuji, personified as a goddess, beat the god of Haku on the head. She cracked his skull into eight pieces, the mountain’s eight peaks, and reduced his height. Mount Fuji then stood as the loftiest and most magnificent mountain in Japan. The Japanese not only considered Mount Fuji the centre of the world, but also considered it the source of the Water of Life, which in Buddhist myth flowed from a stream on the slopes guarded by Sengen, the goddess who some believed to be the daughter of the mountain god. Shintoists worship Sengen as Sakuyu Hime, the protector of people from volcanic eruptions.

Like the River Nile in Egypt, and the River Chao Phraya in Thailand, the River Ganges is the lifeblood of India. It flows down from the Himalayan Mountains and winds through the middle of the country to provide sustenance to the Indian people. Hindu mythmakers personified their sacred river as the great goddess, Ganga, who rose from the god Shiva’s abode in the Himalayas. At the beginning, Ganga was small but as time progressed, Ganga grew larger. It was then that the sage, Bhagrathi, prayed to the gods to release Ganga and allow her to flow down the mountains and water the lands. The Hindus created Ganga to explain their river’s origin in the Himalayas. However, this myth of Ganga’s fall assumed greater significance viewed in the light of the people’s reverence of the river water. The Himalayas were the abode of Heaven, an elusive realm above the high peaks, obscured by mist and clouds and endowed with all the mystery and majesty of the sacred mountain. Before the Ganges reached earth, it had to flow through the abode of Heaven, where it was believed to form the Milky Way in the sky. It then coursed down the mountains through the earth and penetrated the Underworld. The great goddess Ganga then watered the entire world.

Finally, mythology surrounds the Emerald Buddha, and the chronicle of the Emerald Buddha’s travels from India to Thailand. Although, only part of this journey can be substantiated, there is no difficulty in recognising the veneration that the Emerald Buddha has received ever since in Thailand. Tradition says that the Buddha was carved by the King of the Gods for Nagasena, a famous religious teacher in India. When it finally reached Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand, it had already travelled through Sri Lanka and Burma. When it was eventually brought to present day Bangkok, the Emerald Buddha was placed in its present temple at the Grand Palace. Since its installation, the Emerald Buddha has watched over the Thai nation and, in turn, has been revered by the Monarchy and the Thai people. In fact, the Thai Monarchy and the Emerald Buddha are all part of a mythology surrounded by mystery and ceremony. The Thai Monarchs, like the former Emperors of China, are perceived to be sacred people and therefore cannot be criticised in any way. The Thai Monarchy takes on this divine status with the ceremonies that are performed such as the changing of the seasonal garments, and the prayers that the Monarch offers up to the Buddha, so that Thailand will continue to flourish.

Myth plays an important role in the creation and enhancement of sacrality in each of these four examples. It is the re-telling of these myths that helps to keep these sacred places in the forefront of each nation’s religious beliefs and enhances contemporary awareness. The myths associated with each sacred place help explain the role that various gods and goddesses had in creating their natural phenomena, such as rivers and mountains, cities and statues.

Impact of time

Time is one of the archetypal experiences of humans. The notion of time has eluded all human attempts towards a completely rational explanation, such that time was originally looked upon as a Deity, even as a form of manifestation of the Supreme Deity, from which it flows like a river of life. Two contradictory aspects, which belong to the primordial archetypal idea of time, are the irreversible linear character and its cyclical aspect. The latter, which seems to predominate in most early civilisations, is probably based on the observation of the regular motion of the heavenly luminaries, and of the recurring seasonal changes. In India, a completely cyclical notion of time was predominant. The primary unit of time was the yuga or age. For humans, this cyclical aspect of time, when viewed negatively, gives rise to Samsara, the ever-rotating wheel of birth and death, of endless reincarnations. Only enlightened yogis or Buddhists who have the Buddha-mind in themselves are delivered in this life and can escape rebirth.

The Chinese also knew a primordial time when the culture's heroes set all the patterns of life. They had a cyclical time concept along with a linear one, which is used to record Chinese history. At the bottom of the Chinese idea of time, as it underlies the I Ching (Book of Changes), there were two circular time-models or time-mandalas. One was the so-called Sequence or Earlier Heaven, or Primal Arrangement, a circle built by the basic principles of all existence. Yang, the Creative or Heaven was placed in the south; Yin, the Receptive or Earth was in the north. Both opposites do not conflict with each other but, on the contrary, balance each other. Thus, time can represent life and death, as well as good and evil. Finally, time can be transcendent. This notion of time deals with the way the people through meditation or yoga can transcend the here and now of time to enter into a realm of thought and devotion.

From this discussion of time, it can been seen as an important factor in comparing each of the four examples. The River Ganges and Mount Fuji have as part of the natural environment evolved from the beginning of time. This natural landscape has become a part of the religious tradition. Hindus see the River Ganges as part of their creation story, since they believe that the River Ganges is the spiritual mother of India. The people of Japan also incorporated Mount Fuji into their myths when dealing with the origins of this most sacred mountain.

As human-made monuments, the grand palatial complex, the Forbidden City, former home of the Chinese Emperor was built for no main purpose than for the Emperor to have his capital in the centre of China. Built in 1421CE, the Forbidden City, is now about 580 years old. The durability of this monument is a clear reflection of the quality of Chinese construction standards and the present Chinese government for keeping the Forbidden City in excellent condition. The Emerald Buddha, on the other hand was found 43 years after the construction of the Forbidden City in 1464CE. However, the actual construction of the Emerald Buddha is part of Thai myth in its journey from India to Thailand, where it was discovered.

Thus, each of the four case studies incorporates sacred time in its religious belief system. However, it is their survival through the process of time that has prompted people such as pilgrims and visitors alike to attach themselves to each one. For the visitor to the Forbidden City, it is to live in the Chinese Imperial past and to sense the Emperor’s presence for a day, or to at least sense the greatness of Chinese civilisation. For the pilgrims ascending the slopes of Mount Fuji, it is to go through the ritual of goraik when they reach the summit. It is also part of worshipping nature itself, which created the mountain. Hindus come from all over India to bathe and to die in Varanasi, because it is on the banks of the River Ganges, and finally, pilgrims and visitors alike stand in wonder at the Emerald Buddha, because of the position that the statue holds in Thai Buddhism.

Each of these examples will remain a part of their particular belief systems. People will continue to visit them because they are now a part of a global, as well as domestic, tourist industry. However, three of these places still hold holy and sacred appeal for thousands of people on pilgrimage, and Tiananmen Square, next to the Forbidden City, at least, has enormous political and cultural significance for contemporary China.

Social and institutional dimension

The very name of the Forbidden City itself says something to the ordinary person. The ordinary person was not allowed entry into this complex, because it was the seat of the Dragon Empire. Even if an ordinary person was admitted entrance, the person would feel awed and small as they approached the throne of the emperor, and then having to kow-tow could make the person realise that they stood in front of a person who wielded awesome power over all Chinese people, no matter what their rank in society. Although the Forbidden City is no longer home of the Emperor, it still evokes feelings of deep gratitude in the Chinese because it stands as a monument to the people that built it and who lost their lives in the process. The Forbidden City still manages to make people feel strong emotions related to their past.

Mount Fuji, on the other hand, provokes a different response from the Japanese. Through pilgrimage organisations such as the Fuji-ko, people are still practising the ancient rituals associated with mountain pilgrimage of Shugendo. These mountain pilgrims still carry out the rituals and ceremonies connected with mountain worship. People also used Mount Fuji as a symbol of Japanese nationalism during the Second World War, and many people felt betrayed by the kami who dwell on Mount Fuji, when Japan was defeated.

Varanasi in India manages to transcend all social restrictions of the Indian caste system. No matter what caste people belong to, those who die at Varanasi are believed to have gained moksha. Varanasi is a place, where people are brought together, no matter whether they are rich or poor. Varanasi is also a place, where people can find their own personal space surrounded by other pilgrims when they take to the water of the Ganges. This is something that the character Mitsuko in the novel Deep River (Endo 1994) discovered when she immersed herself.

Finally, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha has a close relationship with the Thai Monarchy. Buddhism and the Thai Monarchy give to the Thai people a sense of continuity and stability in times of trouble such as the recent Asian economic crisis. Through the role of the Monarchy, Buddhism and earlier forms of religion have been continued. The king is the head of the state and with the Lèse Majesté laws, the monarch is protected from public criticism. As well, it was once death for any person who came into contact with the monarchy or even entered into the Grand Palace. This aura can only further enhance the Monarch’s position and role in Thailand and the Thai people themselves have seen the continuance of the Emerald Buddha as a guardian of the Thai nation. Despite the relationship between the military and the monarchy, stability in Thailand is in large measure due to the king who has served his subjects of Thailand so well.

Through these different notions of how each sacred place is perceived by the people’s of India, Thailand, Japan and China, is it then any wonder that people would embark on a spiritual journey to visit and to pay their respects at these sacred places?

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is a sacred journey with earthly and spiritual pathways that has been described as the religious form of tourism. Ideally, it involves a comforting or enlightening transformation of the self. In earlier times, the search for the sacred centre or mandala often entailed an arduous and even dangerous journey. Culmination at the sacred place saw the bonding of similarly inclined strangers, who had liberated themselves from both the perils of travel and the trials of everyday life. Even in the modern era, an important element of pilgrimage is leaving behind the mundane or familiar, as pilgrims approach the divine to embrace an alien cosmos. Mountain pilgrimage such as to Mount Fuji is just one such example. Before pilgrims climb Mount Fuji, they offer prayers and perform purification rites, so that when they reach the summit they can worship the goddess of the Mount Fuji and witness the goraik or the first rays of sunlight. As well, pilgrims on their descent of Mount Fuji will again offer prayers of thanksgiving to the gods and spirits for a safe return. In Hindu India, the ultimate pilgrimage is to Varanasi. There, at the Manikarnika ghat, a sacred cremation ground, a fire has been tended by the untouchable Doms for a seeming eternity. To believers, death is a time of illumination, vision, and insight. In luminosity, the transition is not from life to death but from life to life. Buddhist pilgrims go to the Emerald Buddha because it is seen as the palladium of the Thai State and they offer prayers of worship to the Emerald Buddha to watch over their land in the different seasons. Buddhist pilgrims will also circumambulate around monuments dedicated to past Thai kings and to Buddha.

It is also expected of the pilgrims to return with something to mark and to focus on when they have completed their pilgrimage, whether this be a staff from Mount Fuji, or water from the Ganges. These tokens serve to remind the pilgrims of their spiritual journey and are something that they can share with their followers on their return. Pilgrimages are journeys to the sacred, but the sacred is not something which stands beyond the domain of the cultural; it is imagined, defined, and articulated within cultural practice. It is at the sites whence the pilgrims set out on their searches for the centre that pilgrims learn what they desire to find. At the centres where they go in expectation of fulfilling that desire, pilgrims experience little other than that which they already expect to encounter. In other words, pilgrims go on pilgrimages as a mark of devotion, in search of divine favour, individual interests or as an act of sacrifice, but most importantly, spiritual revival.

World axis

The sacred spaces are understood to be at the “centre” of the world or the axis mundi. The sacred centre may not be a centre in any economic or political sense; it may not be the crossroads of trade routes or the seat of power, though Beijing is both. Its importance as a centre, however, is rather in that it was at the centre of the ordered cosmos for a particular religious tradition.

The Chinese built their capital, Beijing in northern China, because it was considered to be the centre of the Chinese world. Therefore the Emperor as the centre of the world should have his capital and throne likewise placed in the centre of the world. For the Japanese, Mount Fuji was associated with various gods and goddesses, so Mount Fuji, like the Indian mountain of Meru, became the centre of the Japanese world. Varanasi, to Hindus became the axis mundi of India, because of Varanasi’s association with the God Shiva and its location on the River Ganges. It is this degree of centrality that explains why pilgrims and people visit these sacred places. In addition to the symbolism of the centre, these places also possess as a vertical dimension, linking this world vertically with the world of the heavens. As well, the sacred centre not only expresses cosmological order with its links to heaven, it also condenses and expresses the order of this world. This helped to create harmony both here on earth and in heaven. These expressions can all be seen in the sacred places and in the way that they are classed as sacred as well as in the shared responses of the people visiting them.

Degree of sacredness

The notion of sacred space is clearly very important in both theory and practice. It demarcates certain places and spaces as having some particular religious association, and by definition sets them apart from the rest of geographical space. A sacred place symbolically represents the world; ultimately it reflects order and wholeness and is like a mystic web of the cosmos: its very own layout encloses a world and to humans, it becomes, at a deeply sensual level, the cosmos. There are four axioms associated with the character and layout of sacred places, particularly useful in understanding the relationship between human beings and their environment. These four axioms are, firstly, a sacred place is not chosen, it choses; secondly, a sacred place is an ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary; thirdly a sacred place can be walked upon without being entered; and fourthly, the impulse of a sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal. The Forbidden City, Mount Fuji, Varanasi and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha all share to some extent these four axioms to interpret the layout of their sacredness.

Sacred places may be broadly categorised into three groups: firstly, human-crafted buildings associated with the uniqueness of a specific locality that has become a special place for religious reasons; secondly, archetypal-symbolic space where a larger whole has become condensed into a limited space, maintaining a sense of order and displaying a harmonious relationship between human life and the cosmos; and finally a place in nature that bears no special marking, except perhaps for a well-worn footpath, and that is far more commonly found among tribal people. Churches, shrines and temples such as the Emerald Buddha are examples of the first category, while mandalic cities like Varanasi, Beijing and Bangkok belong to the second category, and Mount Fuji and the Ganges river belong to the third.

However, the four examples can also be analysed according to the following categories. Firstly, they are all places sanctified by events in the life of a exemplary individual, prophet, saint or deity; secondly, they are locales dedicated to special religious rituals; thirdly, they are shrines of a miraculous statue, icon or relic; fourthly, they are the ancestral or mythical abodes of the spirits; and lastly, they are places that manifest the energies or mystical powers of nature.

Each of the sacred places falls into one or more of these general categories. The Forbidden City, falls into the category of ancestral abodes of gods, in this case former Emperors, as well as a place that manifests the energies of nature, reflected in its selection by astrologers who observed the stars. Mount Fuji is also classed under the category of ancestral abode of gods, as well as a place dedicated to special religious rituals, a shrine of a relic, in this case the Sengen Shrine located on the summit of Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is also a place that manifests the energies of mystical powers of nature. Varanasi is classified as a place sanctified by events in the life of a deity such as Shiva and Vishnu. Varanasi is also a locale dedicated to special religious rituals, as the ancestral or mythical abode of the gods and as a place that manifests the energies or mystical powers of nature. Finally, the Emerald Buddha is categorised as a locale dedicated to special religious rituals, a shrine of a miraculous statue and as a place that manifests the energies of nature.

Another way of examining these sacred places is according to whether they were associated with a theophanic or hierophanic event. These two manifestations of the sacred are essential in understanding the relevancy and significance of the four case studies, as well as defining sacred space.

Contemporary relevance

Despite the increase of secularisation throughout much of the world, the sacred places that have been examined in this article still remain relevant and important to their adherents. The Forbidden City, despite 50 years of Communist rule, remains an important focus for the Chinese. It is a state-sponsored museum, but also a national site. Unlike their European counterparts, Chinese cities especially Beijing, were centres of administration from a central location, where trade flowed largely in response to the existing structure of officials, troops, the royal court of the Emperor, and a whole host of other supporters. The cities of China were microcosms and each was a symbol of imperial power, embedded in a hierarchy directly controlled by Beijing, which was seen, and is still seen, as the centre of China.

Hindus still believe that in dying in Varanasi, that person will be granted moksha, Varanasi continues to be a centre for the worship of the many Hindu gods that dwell there, such as Shiva and Vishnu. Varanasi is still one of the principal sacred cities of India because of its location on the River Ganges, and therefore remains an important thirtha for pilgrims.

Mount Fuji still retains its sacrality for many older Japanese. The Japanese have revered mountains since the beginning of their history as places where kami dwell. Mount Fuji, like the Forbidden City, may have become just another tourist attraction for mountaineers and younger people. Yet despite rapid modernisation, Ginza values and the rise of new religions, Mount Fuji, together with the Emperor, have managed to remain as an important national symbol. Moreover, the followers of Shugendo still climb Mount Fuji as pilgrims, to worship the kami and to renew their faith with the rising of the sun. Mount Fuji still remains to the Japanese a significant mountain because of its place in Japanese religion and history, as the centre of the world according to the classical Japanese worldview.

The Emerald Buddha, Thailand’s most sacred object along with the Thai Monarchy, is seen as important because it reinforces the Monarchy and the religion of Buddhism that unite Thailand. The history of the Emerald Buddha is a story of fantasy and reality. This gives the Emerald Buddha mystical powers that awe the faithful and the visitor. The Emerald Buddha, along with the Monarchy, is seen as the protector of Thailand. The Emerald Buddha, like the statues found in Western cathedrals, has become a focus of Buddhist worship. Chakri Day (April 6) is an important day, because the Monarch changes the Emerald Buddha’s garments and offers prayers to the Buddha petitioning him to be favourable to Thailand. The Emerald Buddha, like the other three case studies, has now become a tourist attraction. However, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha has managed to retain its sacrality with tourists removing their shoes before entering, to mark the sacred from the profane, and the subdued lighting inside makes the visitor feel dwarfed and transcended in the presence of this statue. Buddhism in Thailand today is undergoing subtle and important changes brought on largely by the fast-paced economic and Western-style shifts. However, the real story of Buddhism in Thailand is on the street next to the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok. Each hour, hundreds of people stop by to light a candle or incense sticks and pass a moment in humble prayer or mediation. They are not just the poor and the uneducated. They include students and office workers. Pressing their hands together in respect and bowing their heads for a moment, they demonstrate that Buddhism is still very much alive in modern Thailand.

Conclusion

The four sacred places share many common points. Despite the individual character of these four examples of sacred places, there nevertheless remains a strong degree of common ground. Most importantly is that each of the case studies has stood the test of time to remain a relevant and special, sacred place. Despite the impact of secularisation on religions in the world and the effects associated with this, the four sacred places remain and will continue to possess profound religious and/or national symbolic significance for the faithful and for the societies in which they are located.

David Harslett is a school teacher in Melbourne. His article is part of his academic work in comparative religion from the University of Southern Queensland.

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