Lon Wa Buddhist Temple, located in the city of Davao City, is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the Philippines and the largest in the island of Mindanao. It is located on Cabagio Avenue 3-4 kilometres northeast of the the city centre. A Taoist temple stands 500 metres away from it, but as it is behind a fence, tourists rarely visit it.But Lon Wa is one of the city's main tourist attractions - it is unique in that it is one of the few Buddhist temples in the predominantly Muslim region. Buddhism began to penetrate Mindanao in the 7th century AD - archaeologists have found evidence of this. With the arrival of the Spaniards on the island, who widely introduced Christianity here, the number of followers of Buddhism decreased significantly - today they are only about 3% of the total population of Mindanao.
At the entrance of the temple guests are greeted by a statue of a smiling Buddha, calmly calmly welcoming visitors. The stairs to the temple are guarded by sculptures of lions - a traditional Buddhist defence against evil spirits. The simple architecture of the temple itself with its green roof and greyish walls gives it a very charming and serene appearance. Inside, on the Italian marble walls, you can see words of of prayers that can be recited if desired. Around the temple is a small cosy garden with palm trees and exotic flowers and walkways, lined with ordinary stones. A traditional lily pond serves as a true a real ornament of the garden.
Monks and novices also live on the territory of Lon Wa; when meeting them, it is customary to greet them with a slight bow. Sometimes you can see Chinese students dressed as monks praying in front of the Buddha statue and singing ceremonial songs. An interesting detail is that unlike the Taoist temple, inside the Lon Wa you can take photographs.
