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Where the soul can retreat with history and mist

By Shen Ke | March 24, 2009, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE Lingyin Temple (Temple of Soul's Retreat) in Hangzhou, one of China's largest and most famous Buddhist temples, attracts people from all walks of life who come to pray and find peace. Shen Ke looks over this extraordinary place of calm

A young man, wearing a pair of glasses and dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, holds incense and stands before the staircase that leads to the Grand Hall of the Great Sage, the second hall of the five-hall axis that stretches up the Lingyin Hill.

He kneels down, eyes closed, touches the ground with his forehead, rises, steps up one step and repeats the ritual on every stair.

Every day, thousands of worshippers, in different age, gender and profession, come to pray the same way this young man does, at the Lingyin Temple in northwest Hangzhou, one of China's largest and most famous Buddhist temples.

The temple's five-hall axis starts with the Tian Wang Dian, or Hall of the Heavenly Kings. On the entrance door of the hall hangs a tablet inscribed Yun Lin Chan Si, or Cloud Forest Temple, contributed by Emperor Kangxi, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The inspiration for the tablet is said to have been triggered by the sight of the hall in a misty forest. People can only enter through a side door as the formal entrance door is usually closed.

The first statue welcoming visitors is the Laughing Buddha, who "can endure everything unendurable and laughs at everyone laughable in the world." Standing on both sides are the four heavenly kings, each holding their special weapons: a pipa (Chinese lute), a small dragon, an umbrella and a sword.

At the back of the hall is the Weituo Buddha, who is regarded as a devoted guardian and an honored bodhisattva in Buddhist monasteries.

Go through to the large courtyard and the long staircase and you'll see Da Xiong Bao Dian, or the Grand Hall of the Great Sage. The courtyard attracts most of the worshipers because the second hall is the most important one along the axis.

The hall is one story high and triple-eaved. Standing 33.6 meters, it houses a statue of Sakyamuni.

Built in 1956, the statue was carved from 24 pieces of camphor wood in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) style and is eventually to be coated with more than 2.25 kilograms (60 taels) of gold.

The figure sits on a 3-meter-high lotus podium and is backed with a screen featuring seven Buddhist images. At 24.8 meters, it is the largest wooden Buddhist statue in China.

Standing under the colossus, you'll feel that Sakyamuni is staring at you wherever you are. Along both sides of the hall stand 20 saints protecting justice and on the back wall sit his 12 disciples serving as guards.

At the back of Sakyamuni is a statue of Guanyin. The background of the statue is carved with images of some 150 Buddhist personalities, including the pilgrims of the Journey to the West, Daoji, and arhats.

In China, Guanyin is revered because of her unconditional love, compassion and mercy, especially for women, children and the poor.

Many young couples also come to pray here because she is believed to be a fertility goddess capable of granting children.

After the main hall all the way up the hill, you'll find the Hall of the Medicine Buddha, where people usually pray for health, the Sutra Library, which is closed to the public and not open for worship, and the Huayan Hall, the fifth and last hall on the main axis.

Built in 2002, this hall houses statues of the three sages of the Avatamsaka Sutra, known as the Huayan Sutra in Chinese - Shakyamuni, Manjusri and Samantabhadra.

Scattered around the hill are historical relics including Buddhist figures, stone pagodas, ancient steles, paintings and calligraphy.

Standing at the top the hill, you will have a panoramic view of the five-hall axis in a sea of greenery covered with some mist (if you are lucky).

Majestic buildings, historic relics, rejuvenating air and mysterious legends, that's why Lingyin Temple attracts people from all walks of life - it can give their souls a retreat.

If you go

Lingyin Temple

Opening hours: 6am-6pm

Address: 1 Fayun Lane, Lingyin Road

Admission: 30 yuan

You can take a bullet train from Shanghai South Railway Station to Hangzhou - it only takes 78 minutes. Or drive yourself via the A8 Expressway which takes about two hours.

After arriving in Hangzhou, you can take the transit buses 7, 807 and Sightseeing Bus No. 1, 2, 4.

Hangzhou


 

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