Battersea Peace Pagoda
If I need a bit of peace and quiet, I’ll sometimes head to Battersea Park. It’s a great place for all kinds of fun – but it also possesses something quite unusual, a Buddhist pagoda.
The pagoda was built in 1985, and donated to the city by the Japanese Buddhist order, Nipponzan Myohoji, which had a monastery close to the park. (They had already built a pagoda in Milton Keynes, where they had first settled.)
Four gilded Buddhas watch from their niches on the four faces of the pagoda. Each one holds his hands in a different ‘mudra’, with a different meaning.
The pagoda is usually a peaceful place to meditate or just chill out. Occasionally, it hosts demonstrations – last year, protesters against the Burmese dictatorship headed to the pagoda for a prayer meeting.
I like it best on a misty morning, just after sunrise, when the river seems at peace and the city is hardly awake. And at sunrise, you may find Buddhist worshippers here, chanting, and a moment of calm before you head in to work.
Photo credit – Phillie Casablanca on Flickr
2 Comments
It’s a bit of an unusual style for a pagoda but it sounds like quite a peaceful place. Thanks for telling us about it.
Have went there twice before. A bit out of the way from where I live. Found the layout to be somewhat dated. I prefer Hyde Park though, give me a deck chair anytime. Cheers!