Byodo-in is a Buddhist temple originally built during the Heian period in a mountainous region near Kyoto. Considered one of the most beautiful Pure Land Buddhist temples, Byodo-in is also known as Phoenix Hall because of two bronze phoenixes on the roof, and because the building’s upswept rooflines are considered bird-like. It sits in front of a reflecting pond designed in the shape of the Sanskrit letter “A,” which is the sacred symbol of the Amida Buddha.