The Nipponzan Myohoji Japanese Buddhist Temple, Kolkata. Nichidatsu Fujii, a Japanese Buddhist monk , built this temple in 1935 to spread the teachings of Japanese saint Nichiren and Nichiren Buddhism. Saint Nichiren believed that the Lotus Sutra, a collection of teachings by Buddha, was the only means to attain enlightenment. 'Namu Myoho Renge Kyo', roughly translates to 'devotion to the sacred law of Lotus Sutra', is the central mantra of Nichiren Buddhism. Located near the Dhakuria Lake, this temple holds regular prayers even today. However, just four years after the temple was built in, the British colonial government in India drove all the Japanese away once World War II began in 1939. The colonial government had intended to take over the temple, but couldn't succeed following the strong resistance they faced from a Hindu monk Swami Dhirananda and his disciples. Post the war, Fujii returned to India and built several other Japanese temples across India. #temple #templesofinstagram #japanesebuddhism #japanese #buddhism #stupa #kolkatadiaries #kolkata #sokolkata #culture #culturegram #wearebengal #monastry #worship #like #like4like (at Japanese Buddhist Temple, Dhakuria Lake)