I HOPE ..
MAKE NO MISTAKE .. I FULLY REALIZE HOW BLESSED AND HOW LUCKY AND HOW FORTUNATE I AM TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AS I DO. THE ENTIRE POINT OF MY WEBSITE HERE IS TO REALIZE MY DESIRE THAT .. IN SOME SMALL WAY .. ONE OF MY POSTS OR ONE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS WILL MAKE ONE PERSON'S DAY JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
TO FEEL GOOD .. DO GOOD !I HOPE THAT SOMEONE VISITING MY WEBSITE WILL SEE SOMETHING ON IT THAT THEY WILL NOT EVER BE ABLE TO SEE OR TO DO OTHERWISE .. AND THAT THIS EXPERIENCE WILL MAKE THEIR DAY OR THEIR LIFE JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER !
IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH AND ADEQUATE MONEY TO FOLLOW-YOUR-DREAM .. WITH DISCERNMENT .. FIND THE COURAGE AND HAVE THE GUTS TO DO WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO!
TRULY THIS IS MY DOXOLOGY .. MY PRAISE TO GOD!YOU CAN ALSO VISIT .. http://babakaps.net .. TO SEE MY OTHER WEBSITE.
During my time in Russian Siberia, if there was one truth, if there was one constant for me it was this : Every town / village / hamlet / all of the large metro areas, it made no difference, I found (actually I sought them out) a memorial to those who served in the military during WWII and other conflicts.
It was no different here in Arshan. Sadly Trip Advisor did not show the Arashan War Memorial as an attraction. I just stumbled upon it after visiting THE BLUE BUDDHA.
If you missed THE BLUE BUDDHA post, you may visit it by clicking onto the below link:
http://bobbacaps.blogspot.com/2019/11/nov-19-19-irkutsk-arshan-part-3-blue.html
Which brings me back to the beginning. As you can see, this is Part 4 in a series of five posts about the area I am calling IRKUTSK / ARSHAN. If you have not seen the previous posts, you can just continue to scroll down clicking on Older Posts (in very small letters on the right side at the bottom of each post).
We will begin with the end of THE BLUE BUDDHA.
Knowing no better, and out just exploring to see whatever I could see, as I walked from the grounds of THE BLUE BUDDHA, I saw a beautiful memorial of two moose.
Not looking for anything in particular, the instant I saw the War Memorial, I knew what I was looking at.
No further words are needed nor necessary.
I was there, in-the-flesh, and I could not for the life of me determine what he is holding.
The eternal flame.
For a small village such as Arshan, this was an outstanding Memorial.
By the time I got here, it was getting late on a Sunday afternoon. I was tired and we still had more things to do, so I did not fully explore the Memorial. At most (perhaps all) of the many War Memorials I have visited in Russian Siberia, the following words are posted:
No one is forgotten. Nothing is forgotten.
I salute all of our Russian Allies who served and perished in the war.
Cap
As you can see in the above title, this post is Part 3 in a series of posts about the area in Russian Siberia that I'm calling IRKUTSK / ARSHAN.
In case you have not seen Part 1, the below link will take you there:
http://bobbacaps.blogspot.com/2019/11/nov-12-19-irkutsk-arshan-getting-to.html
There are links to maps in Part 1 as well as other useful background information.
In Part 2, I showed the HOYMORSKY (ARSHANKSKY) DATSAN BODHIDHARMA, a Buddhist Temple here in Arshan.
In this post, I am going to show a second Buddhist Temple in Arshan.
I do not know its official name. It is not shown on Trip Advisor as an attraction and this is a surprise because, in my opinion, it certainly is a worthy attraction to see.
I am calling it the Blue Buddha because it IS blue in color.
Here we go, up to see the Blue Buddha.
In the below photo, in the distance, you can see the Blue Buddha.
In the above photo, to the left of center, do you see the three bears.
On the left edge of the above photo, you can see some colorful Buddhist decorations in the trees. Below, on other trees, are more colorful decorations. As I understand it, these are NOT Buddhist Prayer Flags which are rectangular with text and images on them. I think they are Buddhist khadag / hadag offering ribbons.
In the lower left corner of the above photo, down the hill in the distance is perhaps a Stupa. Below are close up photos of it.
I'm showing the below photo a second time.
Below are photos of the above quiet area on the right.
Perhaps it's a meditation area.
Now we are going to approach the Blue Buddha.
I am honored to have a very good friend here in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, who is an extremely knowledgeable Buddhist. Over lunch I asked him about this Blue Buddha.
He advised me that it is a Tibetan Medicine Buddha. This Medicine Buddha absorbs illnesses and problems from its followers. In so doing it turned blue.
In both the above and below photos, you can see Buddhist red Prayer Wheels in the background.
Below you can more clearly see these prayer wheels.
What would we do without Wikipedia?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_wheel
There you have it, our visit to The Blue Buddha in Arshan.
Cap and Patti..
Patti waited at the bottom of the hill as I hiked up to check things out. Now Patti can see what I saw.
Isn't that some title?
I've just spent over an hour researching this Buddhist Datsan here in Arshan.
HOYMORSKY (ARSHANSKY) DATSAN BODHIDHARMA.
HOYMORSKY (ARSHANSKY) - This is the location.
DATSAN is a term used for a Buddhist monastery.
BODHIDHARMA is the name of a famous Buddhist Monk (circa 440-528AD). For more information on him please see the below link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhidharma
Google translate comes up with БОДХИДХАРМА, his name in Russian.
What we are talking about is a Buddhist Datsan that is one of the top attractions here in Arshan.
I wrote a review of it on Trip Advisor as Kanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. See the below link:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g6214804-d6622886-r665740630-Hoymorsky_Arshansky_datsan_Bodhidharma-Arshan_Republic_of_Buryatia_Siberian_Dis.html
I concluded my review with the following words:
Our two karmas did not mesh during this visit.
"What now Captain?"
"Photos!"
We are now on the grounds of the Datsan. The two main buildings are on the right side of the below photo. On the left side of the below photo, in the distance, are two white Buddhist Stupas.
The fact NO photos are allowed took away some of the disappointment at not being able to enter the building.
Below is a closer look at the building in the distance (on the left) in the above photo.
Below are close up photos of two Buddhist prayer wheels adjoining the main buildings.
In the next three photos, in the distance are the two white Buddhist Stupas. Notice one of the prayer wheels in the below photo.
A close up look at the Stupas. The below link will tell you about Buddhist Stupas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa
One last look-back at the HOYMORSKY (ARSHANSKY) DATSAN BODHIDHARMA
Our visit to the Buddhist Temple was late on Sunday after two solid days of being on-the-go. Patti and I were 'bushed' to put it mildly.
A warm parting memory : As we were leaving, our friend Sergey told Patti that birds in the area often will fly to your hand for food. He then reached into his pocket and gave Patti some cookies. Patti put some crumbs on the palm of her hand and sure enough, out-of-nowhere, came a tiny bird to eat some cookie crumbs.
Smiling .. Cap and Patti
IF you want to see a truly amazing Buddhist Datsan, please see my post dated AUG 11, 17.
http://bobbacaps.blogspot.com/search/label/IVOLGINSKY%20Monastery
