It was drizzling a little bit while we were touring Fei Lai Feng, but by the time we made our way to the Lingyin Temple, it really stared to rain, and it seemed that the rain was increasing with each level that we climbed.
Lingyin Temple - Temple of the Soul's Retreat, is part of a monastery founded in 328AD during the Eastern Jin Dynasty by an Indian monk, Hui Li. During the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), King of the Wu Yue State, initiated a development of the temple as a sign of his devotion to Buddha. At its peak (907-978 AD) the temple consisted of nine multi-story buildings, 18 pavilions, 72 halls and over 1300 dormitory rooms inhabited by more than 3000 monks. The temple and the grounds suffered some damage at the hands of the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.
All I really knew about the Temple were just some simple facts: it was next to Fei Lei Fang and it was really worth seeing. I usually over prepare when it comes to travel, I read a lot about the places we are about to visit, I see all the photos and plan each day carefully but with plenty of free time and some opportunity to "get lost". I saw plenty of photos of the park but really didn't see any photos of the Temple. So, as my husband and I reached the first pavilion and saw that there was another, and another behind that one, we were thrilled.
Lingyin Temple is one of the largest and wealthiest Buddhist temples in China and contains numerous pagodas and Buddhist grottoes, and it is divided into different halls.
The Hall of the Heavenly Kings is 60 high and the ceiling is painted with phoenixes and dragons.
Maitreya - laughing Buddha sits in the center.
King of the East and Leader of Heavenly Musicians as well as the other three Heavenly Kings stand on each side of the Buddha.
The Huayan Hall houses three sages: Shakyamuni, Manjusri and Samantabhadra.
Kwan-yin Statues.
This spectacular cluster of clay sculptures and reliefs is over 65 feet tall. It represents the classical allusion of "Fifty three Pilgrimages" portraying a devout boy who traveled southward and visited 53 famous masters before he cultivated himself.
As I turned the corner, this marvelous wall was in front of me. The photographs really do not do it justice, especially since the space is very narrow making it difficult to show the scope of this piece. It is breathtakingly stunning, meticulously detailed and very well preserved.
One of the twin pagodas located on both sides in front of the Grand Hall. Dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty, these ancient stone pagodas are over 1000 years old.
The Grand Hall of the Great Sage.
Sakyamuni - carved from 24 sections of camphor wood is 82 feet tall and covered in gold leaf.
Medicine Buddha, of serenity and solemnity is flanked by two Bodhisattvas, Suryaprabha and Candrapragha, who symbolize sunlight and moonlight.
The Twelve Divine Generals of Medicine Buddha or the Twelve Divine Guardians of Medicine Buddah, stand on both sides of the Medicine Buddha.
We just happened to be there for the procession of the monks which culminated at the Screen Wall.
It was magical to watch them rhythmically walk, sing, chant and ring bells, all while holding colorful umbrellas and lanterns.
The Screen Wall is a large wall opposite the front gate. The wall has four large Chinese characters on it: Zhi, Chi, Xi, Tian - which roughly means "entering Lingyin Temple means coming into the western pure land of ultimate bliss. Burnt offerings at the wall.
We spent about two and a half hours touring the temple and did not see everything. The rain made the touring difficult but it definitely contributed to smaller crowds. The temple area is usually terribly crowded, and almost unpleasantly packed on weekends.We went back to the hotel soaking wet but happy, feeling so grateful to have seen such an amazing place.
Transportation and cost details are in the Fei Lai Feng Post.
Joanna
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