Leaving Zen'oji

 As I walked down the road, away from Zen'oji, I found a long pile of grave stones and other carved stone. They looked like they had been there before the earthquakes but I could not be sure. In any case, their purpose was not at all clear. Maybe it is the remains of an old graveyard.

 Turning around I could see all the way to the main temple building, even though I had almost left the temple grounds. This would have been a very impressive sight when the temple was new.

 Using my telephoto lens, I could see a woman making an offering at the entrance to the main hall.

 The two stone pillars mark the official end of the temple grounds.I should add that I saw a sign that indicated that this temple is recognized as important by the Sendai city government.

 I decided to try walking west and then turning north so that eventually I would arrive at a subway station. Along the way I found this old shack. Again a good subject for a picture.

After I had walked awhile, thinking that I knew where I was, I discovered that the roads were completely different from my map. Since errors of this scale were highly unlikely on the map, I concluded that I was lost.

Finally I found these stairs which according to a sign led to Dairenji, Big Lotus Temple. After a long search of my map, I discovered that I was about a kilometer and a half farther away from home than I had thought. Home was to the north and I had been walking, in a round about way, to the south. Now that I knew where I was again, I decided to go up the stairs and check out Dairenji.

Still at Zen'oji

 This is the front of the main building. There is another incense burner on the left. On the right  is a sign saying that this is the entrance to the meeting. Apparently there was going to be some sort of ceremony later in the day.

 Unrepaired damage from the earthquakes.

 Two large rocks are part of the garden that borders the path to the entrance.

 Back at the bottom of the stairs again. I looked at the old stone structure. Behind the bas-relief of a Bosatsu there was another rough sculpture that has a smiley fact and a cap but also looked suspiciously like a phalic symbol.

 Between the temple and the graveyard, I found another place with unrepaired earthquake damage.

I turned south and walked away from the main building, eventually finding another gate that marked the outer edge of the temple area.

At Zen'oji

 The entrance stairs to the temple, Zen'oji, were fairly impressive. I liked the combination of the modern stairs with the old stone structure on the right.

 Reaching the top of the stairs, I looked to my left and saw the Hanazono Kaikan, a large hall associated with the temple.

 There was a large display of bonzai, trees that by proper trimming and cutting of the roots stay small but take on the characteristics of older trees. Many bonzai are a hundred or more years old.

 I found this really pretty flower growing in a pot. I think that it is a kind of hazu, the lotus that was used in one of the Buddha's metaphors. Here is a short version of the metaphor that I found on line at http://trueheartlotus-lotus.blogspot.jp/2011/07/timeless-quotes-from-buddha.html. I should probably point out that there is a problem with this translation(?) because Buddha did not believe in souls, so it should really be something like "the essence of the person".

The Lotus rises through the murky waters of ponds and lakes yet when it blooms it floats upon the surface,its petals shining and untainted by the mud from which it emerged. The Lotus perfectly embodies the soul rising up through the murkiness of worldly experience until it reaches the surface of the Spiritual Realm and blooms vibrant and pure free from all taint and attachment.

You can see the same flower here. It is at the top a little to the right of center.