1,600 Years! It is the oldest temple of China.

2017年11月22日 17:11:50 | 来源:ourjiangsu.com

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  The Suzhou Giant Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Temple was built 1,592 years ago in 425 A.D. and originally was known as Huashan temple. It is the oldest Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva temple in China.

  In Buddhism, Bodhisattva is the Sanskrit term for anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated Bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish and a compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. And Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, or in Chinese Guanyin Pusa, stands for great compassion.

  A smaller version of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva stands at the gate of the Ruyi square. The name of the square comes from the object in Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s hand – Ruyi, an S-shaped ornamental object that is usually made of jade, standing for good luck.

  Staff from the temple said that the smaller version is just 1/10 in size of the Giant Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the mountain. The smaller one was built and consecrated in 2011.

  On the right side of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva lies the Bodhisattva’s hand that has the same size of the Giant Bodhisattva’s. On the left side is the duplicated Ruyi of the Giant Bodhisattva’s.

  Walking through the gate of the temple, you will see different gods in Buddhism. They all look scary and ferocious. The temple has 6 halls that worship different gods. The most impressive one to most people must be the Hall of Caishen, or the god of wealth. The floor of the hall is made by pure gold. That’s right! Pure gold.

  The Hall of Great Mercy is somewhere that makes you calm down. It is pure white, delivering a sense of holiness and sacredness. The staff said the raw material of the hall - white jade comes from Myanmar because the white jade in China is always mixed with grey lines.

  The most typical place of the temple is the Buddha’s Square. It is surrounded by 10 colored Avalokitesvara Bodhisattvas that are 10 meters tall. And 4 floors are designed on the way to the Giant Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Each floor has 108 ladders, representing the 108 kinds of worries for human.

  Finally, we come to the Giant Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. It is as tall as a 30-floor building and weighs more than 1,000 tons. The ribbon around the Bodhisattva’s arms is actually separated from the main body to create a feeling of elegancy.

  The temple has a history of almost 1,600 years. Many literates of different periods have visited here and written about it, including Bai Juyi and Lu Guimeng from Tang Dynasty, Fan Chengda and Su Shunqin from Song Dynasty, Zhang Yu from Yuan Dynasty, Wen Zhengming and Wang Ao from Ming Dynasty, and Wang Weide and Yao Chengxu from Qing Dynasty. 263 poets about the temple have been found so far.

  November 24th marks the anniversary of the Giant Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Temple. And the ticket has been reduced to 50 RMB per person until December 3rd.

  Address: The Great Ruyi Holy Land, Jinting County, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.

  Buses: South Square of Railway Station (Bus 69) – Quanli Bridge Station (Transferring to bus 695) – Qili station.

     

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