Donglin Temple (Jiujiang)

Donglin Temple (simplified Chinese: 东林寺; traditional Chinese: 東林寺; pinyin: Dōnglín sì; lit. 'Eastern Forest Temple') is a Buddhist temple approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Jiujiang, in the north of Jiangxi province, China. Built in 386 CE at the foot of Mountain Lu by Huiyuan, founder of the Pure Land Buddhism, it is well known for how long it has stood without collapsing.[1][2]

For the temple of the same name in Shanghai, see Donglin Temple (Shanghai).
Donglin Temple
东林寺
Mahavira Hall at Donglin Temple.
Religion
AffiliationBuddhism
SectPure Land Buddhism
LeadershipShi Da'an (释大安)
Location
LocationMountain Lu, Jiujiang
CountryChina
Geographic coordinates29°36′16″N 115°57′20″E
Architecture
StyleChinese architecture
FounderHuiyuan
Date established386
Website
lsdls.cn

In the Tang dynasty, Jianzhen made several trips to Japan for the mission of preaching Buddhism. As a result, Huiyuan and the doctrine of Donglin Temple began to spread in Japan. Donglin Temple made contributions to improve cultural exchanges and friendly visits between China and Nepal, India, Japan.[3]

The monastery reached its peak of influence during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), but was severely damaged during the Taiping Rebellion and was almost destroyed during the Republican period (1912–1949) of Chinese history.[2]

History

Eastern Jin dynasty

Donglin Temple was originally built as "Longquan Jingshe" (龙泉精舍) in 386 by a prominent Buddhist monk named Huiyuan, founder of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism, under the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420). During his time as abbot, he disseminated Pure Land Buddhism for 30 years, and attracted large numbers of practitioners. He organized the White Lotus Society (白莲社), a community gathered 123 Chinese and foreign monks and scholars. Indian Buddhist monks Tanmoti (昙摩提) and Sengjia Tipo (僧加提婆) also delivered Buddhism at that time. [4]

Tang dynasty

The temple experienced unprecedented growth during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and it had more than one thousand monks and was 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) in size, with 310 halls and rooms.[1][4] Jianzhen, an exceptional Buddhist monk, lectured the sutras and precepts in the temple before going to Japan. In 753, in the 12th year of Tianbao period, Zhi'en (智恩), a monk in Donglin Temple, arrived in Japan with Jianzhen.[4]

Structures

Guest houses

Guest houses are provided free of charge for tourists for living there up to three days. Like monastic living, they are sex segregated and rooms have to be shared.

Big Buddha of Donglin

After decades long donation campaign, the temple built a 48-metre (157 ft) tall statue of the buddha Amitābha surrounded by an 80-metre (260 ft)-tall flame sculpture.

Public Access

Unlike many tourist sites in China, visitors are not required to buy any tickets in this temple. On the contrary, tourists can have free vegetarian meals together with monks (at 6:00–6:30, 11:00–11:30, 17:00–17:30) after joining their religious nianfo exercises.

Abbot

The current abbot of the temple, Master Da'an (大安), was a professor of Beijing University of International Business and Economics.

See also

Various other places are named for the temple, including Donglin Academy and Tōrin-in.

References
  1. Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 157.
  2. Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 235.
  3. Wang Jia (2012), p. 19–20.
  4. Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 236.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donglin Temple (Jiangxi).

Bibliography
  • Wang Jia (2012). "Peculiar Beauty Under Heaven: Mount Lu". Famous Mountains in China (in English and Chinese). Hefei, Anhui: Huangshan Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5461-2704-0.
  • Zhang Yuhuan (2012a). "Cradle of Pure Land Buddhism: Donglin Temple in Mount Lu" 《净土宗祖庭之一：庐山东林寺》. 《图解中国著名佛教寺院》 [Illustration of Famous Buddhist Temples in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5154-0135-5.
  • Zhang Yuhuan (2012b). "Huiyuan and Donglin Temple" 《慧远与东林寺》. 《图解中国佛教建筑》 [Illustration of Buddhist Architecture in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5154-0118-8.
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