Buddhist Architecture (excerpt from Understading Buddhism, Venerable Master Chin Kung)

Buddhist architecture is also an artistic expression. From the exterior, the main cultivation hall appears to have two stories, but there is only one story inside. The external two stories represent “absolute truth” or the true reality of life and the universe, and “relative truth” or worldly views still clouded with delusion. The interior single story illustrates that both are the same truth. To the deluded, the two appear distinct and different; however, to the enlightened, they are one and the same.

Glossary
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