Virtual Temple: Meditation

Walk into a quiet temple on your phone. Pass through the gate, cross the courtyard, bow in the main hall and strike the great bell yourself. Virtual Temple is a calm place to pause, with a Buddhist calendar for your own tradition and simple tools for daily practice. A TEMPLE TO WALK THROUGH • Drag the lower left to walk, drag elsewhere to look around, or tap a spot to walk there • Gate, courtyard, main hall, bell pavilion, sutra library, notice board and a bench to sit on • Day and night light follow the clock on your device • In the main hall, bow with a 108-bow counter (or let the bowing continue automatically), offer incense and listen to chanting • In the bell pavilion, swing the wooden log and strike the big temple bell REAL CHANTING • Chanting recorded in the main hall of a temple in Korea plays softly in the courtyard and grows clearer as you near the hall • One button on screen turns it off, and the ring/silent switch is respected • You can also listen privately, including in the background OTHER VISITORS, IF YOU WISH • A few walking visitors can appear, roughly as many as people in the temple right now • Only an anonymous signal is sent, and you can turn it off at any time BUDDHIST CALENDAR FOR 15 TRADITIONS • Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macau, Singapore & Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia and Bhutan • Uposatha, Wan Phra, Poya and fast days, plus festivals such as Vesak, the Buddha's birthday, Magha Puja, Asalha Puja, the rains retreat, Ullambana, Obon and Losar • Lunar dates shown in each tradition's own style • Short "about this day" notes explain what each observance means • Everything is computed on your phone and works offline REMINDERS YOU CONTROL • A notice the evening before and on the morning of observance days • An optional verse of the day • All reminders are local notifications and can be switched off MEDITATION TIMER • Set the settling time, the starting bell, interval bells and the ending bell • Choose a singing bowl, small bell or wooden fish • The bell rings even when the screen is locked • History and streak help you see your steady practice GUIDED MEDITATIONS • Breathing, 5 minutes • Loving-kindness, 7 minutes • Body scan, 10 minutes MALA AND MOKTAK • Mala counter for 108, 54, 27 or unlimited beads, with short traditional phrases • Moktak (wooden fish) to tap by hand, or set an automatic rhythm and speed TEXTS TO READ • Dhammapada, all 423 verses in translation • Daily chanting passages and about 20 suttas in translation • Heart Sutra in a public-domain English translation • Tibetan mantra and the Seven-Line Prayer, romanised with English PRIVATE AND SIMPLE • No ads and no account • Your records stay on your phone • Everything works offline, except the optional visitors signal • For iPhone and iPad, in light and dark mode • Available in 37 languages Take a few minutes whenever you need them. Walk the courtyard, ring the bell, and let the day settle.