Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koyasan, Japan: Celebrating Life and Beyond !!

Mar., 2018, Okunoin Cemetery, Wakayama, Koyasan, Japan –Okunoin is an ancient Japanese cemetery, considered to be highly sacred and steeped in religion, tradition, history, politics, various modern industries and its family members as well. Okunoin also houses the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi (known also as Kukai) who was instrumental in bringing Buddhism to Japan after being taught by a teacher in China. Kobo Daishi was a Buddhist monk, scholar and founder of Shingon Buddhism, a lineage that can be traced back to India, He lived from 774–835 A.D. and instead of having died, he is believed to rest within the mausoleum in a state of eternal meditation. Okunoin is considered to be a place for meditation, contemplation, and most importantly, a place to honour and thank ancestors.