Welcome to the fifth installment in my series of ten favorite photos of summer.  

Sacred Cedars

In the year 816, Kobo Daishi (Kukai) established a center for Shingon Esoteric Buddhism atop Mount Koya–Koyasan. 

Today, at least 200,000 people have their remains buried as close as possible to Kobo Daishi, who sits in eternal meditation at the end of a surreal 1.2 mile walk through cedar trees, alive since before Leonardo da Vinci was born. 

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is absolutely one of the most spiritually charged, sublime, beautiful places I have ever visited. With incense wafting through the forest, I walked among the tombs…