Mt. Sumeru Rock Formation

Just below the Shitoan Hall at Saihoji temple in Kyoto, a group of rocks represents Mt. Sumeru, the sacred mountain at the center of the Buddhist universe described in ancient Indian cosmology. The arrangement is said to resemble a turtle, an important Buddhist symbol evoking longevity, with the elevated section of the turtle's shell interpreted as a stupa. The overall composition draws on the proverb that cranes live a thousand years and turtles ten thousand, and the rock formation fits into the temple's broader meditation on longevity, Buddhist geography, and the natural world as a vehicle for spiritual ideas.