Zen temple in Berlin

·The temple was built during the Jian'an reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Before going west to India to learn Buddhist scriptures, Xuanzang came here to study from master daoshen.

·The main buildings in the temple are the mountain gate, the Berlin pagoda, and the puguangming hall. Among them, there is a ten ton white jade statue of Sakyamuni.

·Berlin Zen temple holds "life Zen summer camp" every year. Participants will stay in the temple for seven days, and participate in activities such as reciting in the temple, sitting in meditation, listening to Buddhist lectures, having tea and heart to heart talks, walking in Yunshui and so on.

Zen temple in Berlin

Located in the southeast corner of Zhaoxian County, Hebei Province (formerly known as Zhaozhou), the temple is far away from Zhaozhou Bridge. It was first built in the Jian'an period of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty (196-220). The temple covers an area of 80 mu. It was called Guanyin Temple in ancient times, Yong'an temple in Southern Song Dynasty, and Berlin Temple in Jin Dynasty. The current abbot is monk Minghai, President of Hebei Buddhist Association.

On May 12, 1988, the Zen temple in Berlin was opened as a religious place. On August 28, 1992, the puguangming hall was completed and the opening ceremony was held.

On June 25, 2001, the temple was listed in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Historical evolution

Built in the Jian'an period of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty (196-220), the temple was called Guanyin Temple in ancient times, Yong'an temple in Southern Song Dynasty, and Berlin Temple in Jin Dynasty. It has been called Berlin Temple since Yuan Dynasty.

Before going west to India to learn Buddhist scriptures, master Xuanzang came here to study Chengshi Lun from master daoshen.

In the late Tang Dynasty, the great master of Zen Buddhism lived here for 40 years, and formed a profound "Zhaozhou style". Therefore, the Berlin Temple became an important ancestral hall in the history of Chinese Zen Buddhism.

In the Jin Dynasty, the Buddhist temple in Berlin was once transformed into a Taoist center of the law school. Five great virtues of the law school were carried forward here for 50 years.

At the end of Jin Dynasty, guiyunzhi xuanchan master, the founder of Linji Buddhism, presided over the Dharma seat, and the Buddhist temple in Berlin was transformed into Zen.

In the Yuan Dynasty, there were yuanmingyuexi Zen master and luyunxingxing Zen master in the Berlin Zen temple, both of whom were the great virtues of zongmen. The temple became the Buddhist Center in the area of Yanzhao with its magnificent atmosphere.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the central court's organization for the management of Buddhist affairs in Zhaozhou area, Seng Zhengsi, was located in the Berlin Temple. At that time, the abbot of the Buddhist temple in Berlin often served as the chief monk at the same time.

The temple of Chan temple in Berlin suffered many calamities, and the halls and statues disappeared. In 1988, when the Buddhist temple of Berlin was re established as a Buddhist monk, there were only Buddhist relic pagoda and more than 20 ancient cypresses in Zhaozhou.

On May 12, 1988, the people's Government of Hebei Province officially approved the opening of the temple as a religious place, which was under the management of the Buddhist Association of Hebei Province, and gradually financed for restoration. Master Jinghui, President of Hebei Buddhist Association, personally presided over the restoration of ancestral court.

In 1989, the people's Government of Zhao county issued a special document for the demarcation of the Berlin Zen temple, which determined that the area of the temple was 38.5 mu, and the scope of the temple was delimited. The restoration of the Berlin Temple began.

On November 17, 1990 (the first day of October of the lunar calendar), the Buddhist temple in Berlin held a ceremony to seat the statue of Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara.

At the beginning of February 1992, the wood structure project of rebuilding puguangming Hall (main hall) was fully constructed.

On August 28, 1992, the opening ceremony of puguangming hall was held.

Subsequently, the restoration of the temple began in succession. 5、 In the past six years, it has successively completed: Mountain Gate, bell and Drum Tower, east west corridor, Guanyin hall, sutra collection building, Zen hall, huaiyun building, Kaishan building, Huixian building, Zhiyue building, Yunshui building, Xiangji building, ancient Buddhist nunnery and other buildings.

In March 1997, Singapore gaojiaren contributed 1 million yuan to renovate the Buddhist serretta in Zhaozhou. In June of the same year, Zhiyue building and Huixian building were completed.

In September 1998, Hebei Buddhist College opened its school in Berlin Temple.

On September 30, 1998, the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Zen temple in Berlin, the restoration and completion ceremony of Zhaozhou tower and the ascending ceremony of master Jinghui were held.

On June 25, 2001, the temple was approved by the State Council to be listed in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

architectural composition

There are five halls along the central axis of the temple, which are Weituo hall, puguangming hall, Guanyin hall, wumenguan hall and Wanfo tower.

On both sides are the pagoda courtyard, Dharma protection hall, bell and Drum Tower, Fuhui hall, Yuanhai hall, Zhiyue hall, Huixian hall, zushi hall, Jialan hall, abbot Liao, Wenchan Liao, Yunshui Lou, Chaxiang Lou, Xiangji Lou, Manjusri Pavilion, Puxian Pavilion, Gufo nunnery, Guiyun nunnery, Zhenxu Lou (teaching building of Hebei Buddhist College).

Main buildings

Shanmen

The Mountain Gate of the Berlin Zen temple, also known as the three gates, corresponds to the Buddhist doctrine: the three liberation gates of emptiness, nothingness, and Wuzuo. The couplet says, "the temple hides the Millennium Tower of Zhenji, and the gate faces the Zhaozhou Wanli Bridge.". The plaque of Weituo hall "zhenwo Mountain Gate" is dedicated to Weituo Bodhisattva, who is the Bodhisattva guarding the temple in Buddhism. There is a millennium old cypress on both sides of the mountain gate.

Puguangming Hall

The puguangming hall is located in the north of the Berlin Buddhist temple. It houses a ten ton white jade statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. The front and back of the hall are all decorated with steles and stones of all dynasties.

Berlin Temple Tower

Built in 1330 A.D. in the Yuan Dynasty, the pagoda is a dense eaves tower of brick and wood structure, with octagonal plane and seven levels. It is 39.5 meters high and sits on a square platform with a height of 2.5 meters. The platform foundation is divided into two layers, the lower layer is made of stone and the upper layer is made of brick. The lower part of the tower is made of brick. This tower was built by the emperor of Yuan Dynasty in memory of Zen master Cong Mian in the late Tang Dynasty. From 1997 to 1998, the gaojiaren family of Singapore donated money for reconstruction.

bell tower and drum tower

The bell and Drum Tower is located in the left front of puguangming hall, facing the Zhaozhou tower from east to west. The first floor bell tower is dedicated to the Tibetan Bodhisattva, and the third floor Drum Tower is dedicated to the pharmacist liuliguang Tathagata. On weekdays, at 4:30 a.m. and 21:00 p.m., there is no interruption. The bell and Drum Tower is divided into three floors. The hall of Dharma protection on the second floor is dedicated to the statue of the God of fortune in the black sky; the bell tower on the second floor is hung with a copper bell, 1.8 meters high, dedicated to the statue of Bodhisattva in Tibet; and the Drum Tower on the third floor is hung with a big drum, dedicated to the statue of Buddha, a pharmacist for eliminating disasters and prolonging life.

Buddism godness Guanyin Temple

Through the corridor on both sides of puguangming hall is Guanyin hall. The upper floor of Guanyin hall is the Sutra collection building, where there are rare Tripitaka. The lower level is the Guanyin hall, and in the middle is a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva carved and gilded from the trunk of a withered thousand year old cypress in the Buddhist temple of Berlin. On both sides of Guanyin hall are Zhiyue building (reception place) and Huixian building (guest hall: reception place for foreign monks, guests and daily affairs).

No door

Wumenguan (Zen Hall) comes from the famous case of "Wu" by Zen master Congxiang in Zhaozhou. The monastery is a place for monks to practice meditation and is not open to the public. On both sides are the abbot and Wen chanliao. In front of Wumen pass, there are several gold and stone inscriptions in the temple, such as the stone Sutra tablet of the Tianbao period in the Tang Dynasty and the three imperial edicts tablet of the Yuan Dynasty.

Wanfo tower

The Wanfo building was built on the 10th day of the 8th lunar month in 1999 and completed on the 10th day of the 8th lunar month in 2003. Wanfo tower is three seventeen meters high, with two floors up and down, covering an area of 5000 square meters. The first floor is the Bodhi hall. Five bronze Buddha statues, each 4.8 meters high, are worshipped in the center. A total of 1048 small bronze Buddha statues were made according to the five wisdom, five directions and five Buddhas. Among them, on both sides of the north wall on the first floor, 2106 are the central piluzana Buddha; on the east wall on the second floor, 2100 are the Oriental Ayi Buddha; on the south wall, 2100 are the southern Baosheng Buddha; on the west wall, 2100 are the Western Amitabha Buddha; on the north wall, 2100 are the northern Bukong Buddha. In 2009, on the East and west sides of the first floor, nine hundred of Manjusri, Puxian, Guanyin and dizang Bodhisattvas were consecrated respectively, with a total of 3600.

Eminent monks of all ages

Zen master Cong Mian: the great master of Zen in the late Tang Dynasty, who lived in Wuxi for 40 years, formed a far-reaching "Zhaozhou style", and thus became an important ancestral hall in the history of Chinese Zen.

Guiyunzhixuan: according to the law, Linji was orthodox, from which the law of Berlin Temple was changed into Zen, and the zongfeng was greatly promoted. Tanzhe Temple in the western suburb of Beijing still has its relic pagoda.

Lu Yun Xingxing Zen master: zongmen Dade, the Berlin Temple has become the Buddhist Center of Yanzhao area.

Zhao Zhou Zen master: (778-897), whose name is "Zong", is a master in the history of Zen. He became a monk when he was young. He was the fourth generation after master Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Zen. He has been preaching Buddhism for 40 years and is known as "Zhaozhou ancient Buddha".

Elder Jinghui, the former abbot of Berlin Zen temple, is a member of the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference. It passed away in the morning of April 20, 2013.

The great monk of Minghai, born in 1968, inherits the Dharma of the 49th generation of Cao Dongzong. He is now the vice president of China Buddhist Association, the president of Hebei Buddhist Association, the abbot of Berlin Buddhist temple, and the president of Hebei Buddhist College. Department 12

Chinese PinYin : Bai Lin Chan Si