Donglin Temple

The five hundred Arhats are vivid and elegant in style

Donglin Temple

Donglin temple is located at the West foot of Lushan Mountain in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, 16 kilometers away from Jiujiang City in the north and 50 kilometers away from Guling street in Lushan Mountain in the East. It is located to the east of Xilin temple, so it is called Donglin temple.

Donglin temple, built in 384, is one of the temples with a long history on Lushan Mountain. Donglin temple is the birthplace of Pure Land Sect of Buddhism (also known as lotus sect). It is also regarded as the ancestral court by Japanese Pure Land Sect and Pure Land Sect.

In 1983, it was listed by the State Council as a national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area, a national famous Buddhist Taoist center, and one of the three major international exchange Taoist centers in Jiangxi Province.

Since its construction, Donglin temple has a history of more than 1600 years up to 2014. It has experienced many vicissitudes and has been abandoned and prospered repeatedly.

Historical evolution

Donglin temple is the birthplace of Buddhism (Pure Land Sect), which is also regarded as the ancestral court by Japanese Pure Land Sect and Pure Land Sect.

In the first year of Taihe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (366 AD), Tao fan of Xunyang, Guanglu Qing, built Xilin temple for master Huiyong.

In 383 of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, master Huiyuan came to Lushan to take master Huiyong with him to Luofu Mountain, Guangdong Province. He passed through Xunyang and found that Lushan Mountain was quiet enough to be at ease. He kept Longquan jingshe and later moved to Xilin.

In 384, Huan Yi was appointed governor of Jiangzhou. He accepted Huiyong's proposal to build Donglin temple for Huiyuan.

In 386, Donglin temple was built. Huiyuan lived in Donglin temple since then.

In 392, Huiyuan sent his disciples Fajing and faling to the western regions to seek Dharma, and then he got back many Sanskrit classics. On July 28, Huiyuan and 123 people, including Liu Yimin, joined the Bailian society, hoping to live in the west, and ordered Liu Yimin to write a vow.

When Tanmo Liuzhi came to Guanzhong, Huiyuan sent his disciples to write a letter asking them to translate the unfinished part of the ten chanting laws. Huiyuan wrote a letter to kumarashi and asked Mahayana what he wanted. Kumarashi answered one by one.

In the sixth year of the reign of Yixi (410), Fubin Zen master Buddha Tuoba Tuoluo went to Lushan Mountain and was invited by Huiyuan to translate the Sutra of convenient practice. Huiyuan wrote a preface to introduce and praise it.

In 416, Huiyuan died in Donglin temple. Ruan Kan, the governor of Xunyang, built a tomb, Xie Lingyun built a tablet, and Zongbing erected the gate of the temple.

Liang taiqingzhong (547-549) reopened the altar of manna abstinence and used Huiyuan's method of preaching the golden light Sutra in the forest.

During the 12-15 years (592-595) of emperor kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty, master Zhiyi of Tiantai Sect stayed in Donglin. At the request of the monks, he wrote a book and asked the king of Jin Yang Guang (i.e. Emperor Yangdi of the Sui Dynasty) to "prohibit public and private berthing forever" so that the monks could gather for meditation. Yang Guang, at his request, was ordered to carry out by the secretary.

During the reign of Tang Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong visited Donglin temple and inscribed the stele of "Congming spring".

In 835, Bai Juyi collected 60 volumes of his works in Donglin scriptures. Later, ten volumes of the collected works and the statues of Xiangshan residents were sent to the temple.

In the 12th year of Baoda (954), Tuoba Tuoluo relic pagoda was built and recorded by Peng bin. Later, in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Zhu sent 500 pieces of cast iron Arhats to Donglin temple, where monks built pavilions to worship them.

In 1079, the second year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, Shenzong promoted Donglin as a Buddhist temple, and Wang Shao, the prefect of Nanchang, asked Chang Zong to be the abbot of Donglin.

In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), the great painter Li Gonglin (named longmian) drew the painting of eighteen high sages for Donglin.

In 1084, President Chang accompanied Su Shi and Huang Tingjian, the great literary scholars, to visit the scenic spots of Donglin. Su Shi wrote the quatrains of "the chief Zen master of sudonglin Temple".

In the second year of Shaoxing (1132), Yue Fei, a national hero, was stationed in Jiujiang. He wrote a poem to Huihai people in Donglin, urging Huihai to "rebuild the Lotus Society" in order that he would come to the mountain to die.

In the ninth year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty (1305), monk Pudu, the leader of lianzong shanfa hall in Donglin temple, wrote ten volumes of lianzong Baojian, which was published and circulated at home and abroad.

In 1520, the great philosopher Wang Shouren (named Yangming) visited Donglin temple and wrote seven character poems. His stone carvings were embedded in the walls of Sanxiao hall.

In 1889, Kang Youwei visited Donglin temple. He saw fragments of inscriptions in the kitchen. Among them, there were some tablets written by Liu Gongquan. He asked the monks to keep them properly.

In 1900, the buildings of Donglin temple were restored. The three characters of "Donglin Temple" at the gate of the mountain are written by Kang Youwei during his old tour.

In the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915), abbot Miaoli of Donglin rebuilt Manjusri Pavilion and placed the inscription of the painting of three smiles given by Peng Zunian beside chumuchi.

In 1934, master Huiyuan's paper money of Lushan Mountain, compiled by Sha Jian'an, Jiangsu Province, was first published and circulated. In the winter of the same year, the inner wall of Yuangong shadow hall was inlaid with 18 high carved images of Shixian.

In 1967, Donglin temple was devastated by the "Cultural Revolution". Buddhist statues and magic weapons were smashed. The bronze pagoda of the King Kong Sutra of the Ming Dynasty was demolished and sold as waste. Monks scattered. Master Guoyi was sent to Jiufeng farm.

In 1978, Lushan administration decided to restore Donglin temple. On June 18, master Guoyi was invited to return to Donglin to preside over it. In the same year, with the approval of Jiangxi Provincial People's government, Donglin temple was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiangxi Province, and officially opened to the public at home and abroad as the first Buddhist holy land in Jiangxi Province.

In 1983, Huiyuan pagoda and Buddha Tuoba Tuoluo relic pagoda were rebuilt. On the next year's Buddha's birthday, the two pagodas of Kaiguang ceremony was held. The delegation of Japan's Pure Land Sect to China, dohegu and Suzuki Shin Kwong, came to the ceremony and presented the new Sutra of Dazheng.

In 1983, it was listed by the State Council as a national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area, a national famous Buddhist Taoist center, and one of the three major international exchange Taoist centers in Jiangxi Province.

In 1984, with the support of eminent monks and believers at home and abroad, the hall was rebuilt and completed in 1989.

In 1990, Donglin Temple held a ceremony for the completion of the main hall.

In 1990, Lianchi was rebuilt. On October 1 of the same year, Teng tanggongjing, chairman of the Japan China friendship pure land Association and professor of Buddhist University, made a special trip to return the seeds of white lotus originally introduced from Donglin to the ancestral court.

In 1991, the lotus Dharma association was held in Donglin temple to celebrate the revival of ancestral court and the reappearance of lotus pond.

On June 1, 1992, Donglin Temple held a ceremony for the completion of the reconstruction of the Lotus Society and the establishment of the legal society of the Lushan Donglin Pure Land Sect Culture Research Association.

On February 28, 1993, the "Jiangxi Buddhist College" founded by Donglin Temple officially opened. Abbot Guo Yi concurrently served as the president. In summer, the first Lushan Buddhist College Summer Camp was held. In autumn, we reopened the manna altar to teach the great precepts of the Thousand Buddhas.

During the Spring Festival of 1994, master Guoyi led two people to make a wish to build a 48 meter statue of Amitabha.

At 4:10 on March 6, 1994, Guoyi Shangren died.

In the autumn of 1994, it was said that the great monk of India lived in xidonglin and was promoted to abbot.

In September 2003, master Da'an, entrusted by the great monk Chuanyin, became the acting abbot of Donglin temple and took charge of all the work of Donglin temple.

geographical position

Donglin temple, located at the northern foot of Lushan Mountain, is the birthplace of Pure Land Sect of Chinese Buddhism. It was founded in 386 by Huiyuan, a famous monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is one of the temples with a long history in Lushan Mountain. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, it became one of the Eight Buddhist temples in China. Jianzhen, an eminent monk in Tang Dynasty, once brought Donglin doctrine into Japan. Up to now, Huiyuan is still the ancestor of Donglin religion in Japan. Now all the temples and Congming spring have been restored.

Architectural pattern

At the beginning of Donglin Temple pure land garden planning, it was designed on the premise of natural landscape control planning. The location of the core landscape Giant Buddha, the direction of the central axis of the whole garden area, the main building scale and building elevation basically maintain the original control planning and design intention requirements.

The buildings in the garden area adopt the classical spatial hierarchical layout of ancient Chinese mountain forest buildings, so that the whole Donglin pure land garden is in accordance with the situation of the mountain. The central axis is planned as several areas, such as Shanmen Hall (and Tianwang Hall), Sansheng hall, Daxiong hall, Buddha worship platform, access bridge and Buddha worship platform, and is carefully planned as seven garden areas, such as Sansheng hall, Buddha worship platform and Buddha worship platform. The opening and closing of the space in the garden area are well matched. The bell and Drum Tower, climbing steps and service area are connected to form a whole space which is scattered and echoed. The route of Chaoli is gradual and steep, with Hongqiao flying across it and Lianshan connecting the road. In front of the broad platform for worshiping Buddha.

Main landscape

In front of the Mountain Gate

There is a pure land culture street in front of the mountain gate, which is used for logistics services, psychological counseling, dissemination of Chinese culture, vegetarian culture, etc. Shanmen hall is located at the south end of the central axis of the building complex in dafoyuan District, and the main hall is Tianwang hall.

Tianwang Hall

Tianwang hall is adjacent to the road around Lushan Mountain. A five entrance stone archway is designed as a barrier to serve as the southern boundary of the garden area. Through the archway, there are four trees, eight columns on the lawn platform, and white elephant stone carvings on the left and right sides of the mountain gate. The entrance space is ingeniously composed of Aconitum gate style screen wall, Mountain Gate and the auxiliary halls on both sides in front of the mountain gate. Behind the wing rooms on both sides of the central axis is the parking lot in the entrance area. Tianwang hall is dedicated to Maitreya, Weituo and four heavenly kings, forming the first landscape.

Three temples

The total length of Sansheng hall is 90 meters, with qibaolian pool as the core, left and right side halls, and the main hall is connected with the corridor, forming a slightly similar area

Chinese PinYin : Dong Lin Si