Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple

Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple

Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple, formerly known as the Great Buddha Temple, is located in the west of Handan City, Hebei Province, south of Zhaoyuan Park, covering an area of 66 mu. It was built in the Xiangxiang period of the northern and Southern Dynasties, more than 1400 years ago.

Here once famous monks gathered, incense is exuberant, for the Central Plains temple. After several ups and downs, it was destroyed by war. However, according to Handan county annals, up to 1942, there were still more than 300 monks living here.

The Mahayana Jade Buddha temple covers an area of more than 40 mu. It has all kinds of buildings, halls and pavilions. It was destroyed in the war after the July 7 Incident. In the 1980s, with China's social reform and opening up, the government approved the reconstruction of the Great Buddha Temple as a place for the disciples to cultivate scriptures and worship Buddhism, and the reconstruction was started in 1994.

After the reconstruction, the Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple has a grand scale with magnificent buildings, halls and pavilions. In 1995, Chinese Buddhists from Myanmar donated 18 medium-sized jade Buddhas. In 1997, a Buddhist entrepreneur donated several jade Buddhas one after another. One of them is 6.5 meters long and weighs 18 tons. It is the treasure of the Jade Buddha Temple in Mahayana. He also invested in the construction of the reclining Buddha Temple.

The Mahayana jade temple is now dedicated to the Mahatma jade hall, the reclining Buddha Hall and the Maitreya hall. According to the proposal of master Kuanren of China Buddhist Association, the temple was renamed as "Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple in Handan". The newly-built Mahayana temple has a large scale, rigorous layout and red palace walls, which are like principle and law. The main buildings of the temple include the main hall, the heavenly king hall, the Guanyin hall, the reclining Buddha Hall and the Sutra collection building, as well as the Buddhist hall, the Zen temple and the Buddhist Chanting hall. We have collected three Buddhist scriptures and 28 steles.

Historical evolution

Located in Handan City, Hebei Province, Mahayana jade Buddhist temple, formerly known as "Mahayana Temple", was built in the northern and Southern Dynasties, with a history of more than 1400 years. Handan, the capital of the ancient Zhao Dynasty, is located at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces. Only by relying on the piety of the four people and the protection of the Heavenly Dragon can it be passed down through the ages. After Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, song, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mahayana temple still flourished. It once occupied an area of more than 40 mu, with all kinds of buildings, halls and pavilions. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the war after the July 7th incident. However, according to the records of Handan county annals, there were still more than 300 monks here by 1942.

In the 1980s, China's social reform and opening up. The government approved the reconstruction of the Mahayana temple as a place for the four disciples to worship Buddhism. The new temple is located in the ancient zhaonanyuan with strong national culture, north of Sijiqing village. Sijiqing village donated 30 mu of land, and the government approved another 30 mu, a total of 60 mu, which was started in 1994. This place is adjacent to zhaomeichi in the East and Wushan in the West. It can be called a geomantic treasure land. The newly-built Mahayana temple has a large scale, rigorous layout and red palace walls, which are like principle and law. The main buildings of the temple include the main hall, the heavenly king hall, the Guanyin hall, the reclining Buddha Hall and the Sutra collection building, as well as the Buddhist hall, the Zen temple and the Buddhist Chanting hall. We have collected three Buddhist scriptures and 28 steles.

In 1995, Chinese Buddhists from Myanmar donated 18 medium-sized jade Buddhas. In 1997, the temple invited three large-scale jade Buddhas and more than 200 miniature jade Buddhas, which are now worshipped in the main hall, the reclining Buddha Hall and Maitreya hall. The temple worships many jade Buddhas, which is the only one in China. On the proposal of master Kuanren of China Buddhist Association, the temple was renamed as "Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple in Handan".

With the successive placement of the Jade Buddha, the temple is becoming more and more popular with worshippers. It is expected to become one of the centers to carry forward the Buddhist culture in Handan and even the Central Plains.

Expansion period

In 2007, the second phase of the expansion project of the Mahayana temple in Handan city was officially launched. The project will build the Sleeping Buddha Hall and the Sutra collection building. The second phase project of Mahayana Temple mainly includes the construction of the Sleeping Buddha Hall, the Sutra collection building and the reconstruction of the surrounding environment of the temple, which takes about one year. After completion, the reclining Buddha Hall and the Sutra collection building are Ming and Qing style antique buildings, with a total construction area of 2000 square meters.

On the morning of January 13, 2008 (the sixth day of December in the year of Dinghai in the lunar calendar), Hebei Buddhist Association held a 7-day activity of "prosperous, harmonious and auspicious China - opening ceremony of Dacheng Jade Buddha Temple". Jinghui, vice president of China Buddhist Association, Minghai, vice president of Hebei Buddhist Association, Zhang Xingtang, deputy director of Hebei minzong department, and leaders of Handan Municipal Party committee and Government participated in the activities. The ceremony was mainly conducted by Zhushan elders, Dade and mages.

Today, the Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple has become the Buddhist cultural center of ancient Zhao Dynasty and a tourist attraction in Southern Hebei. The temple has beautiful scenery, lush trees, beautiful mountains and clear waters, surrounded by the sound of Dharma, and the morning bell at dusk. It is really a good place for Buddhist exchange and practice.

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architectural style

The main buildings in the temple are all of Ming and Qing Dynasty style, simple and elegant, including Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, Guanyin hall, reclining Buddha Hall, etc. The main landscape of the temple is the Daxiong hall, with carved beams and painted buildings, resplendent in gold and jade. The plaque of "Daxiong hall" written by Mr. Zhao Puchu is hanging in the middle of the hall door.

The supporting buildings in the temple include relic tower, Luohan hall, nine dragon wall, free pool, bell and Drum Tower, etc. The Mahatma hall is the main landscape of the Mahayana jade Buddhist temple. It is resplendent in gold and jade, with carved beams and painted buildings.

There are more than 300 large and small jade Buddha statues in the temple, all from Myanmar, which is the largest number and the best quality of jade Buddha in China, so it is called Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple. One of the largest Buddha statues, the reclining Buddha Tathagata, is 6.5 meters long and weighs 18 tons.

It is the treasure of the Mahayana Jade Buddha Temple, and has invested a lot to build a reclining Buddha temple for reclining Buddha. It is now dedicated to the Mahatma jade hall, reclining Buddha Hall and Maitreya hall.

In addition, there are more than 40 pieces of wood carvings in the temple, such as Jiulong verve, Phoenix wings, dragon exploring the sea, Dapeng wings, Yingbin pine, peacock peony, Longfeng Chengxiang, Maitreya Buddha and so on. All of them are made of Phoebe, Cinnamomum camphora and sandalwood. The lines are smooth, vivid and exquisite. Some of them are works of the early Qing Dynasty, which are of high artistic value.

Prosperous period

On January 13, 2008 (the sixth day of December in the year of Dinghai in the lunar calendar), the Hebei Buddhist Association held a seven day activity of "prosperous, harmonious and auspicious China - the opening ceremony of the Jade Buddha Temple in Dacheng" in Handan.

Address: South of Zhaoyuan scenic spot, Fuxing District, Handan City, Hebei Province

Longitude: 114.47032165527

Latitude: 36.6027297363

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Da Cheng Yu Fo Si