Donglin Temple (Jiujiang)
Donglin Temple (Donglinsi 東林寺; "Eastern Forest Temple") is a Buddhist temple near Jiujiang, in the north of Jiangxi province, China. The temple was built in 386 CE at the foot of Mount Lu by Lushan Huiyuan, an early advocate of pure land practices.[1][2]
During the Tang dynasty, the Chinese monk Jianzhen lectured on the sutras and precepts in the temple before going to Japan. As a result, the teaching of Lushan Huiyuan and the Donglin Temple spread in 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 Lushan Huiyuan under the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420). During his time as abbot, he 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 metres (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]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 157.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 235.
- ↑ Wang Jia (2012), p. 19–20.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 236.
Bibliography
- Wang Jia (2012). "Peculiar Beauty Under Heaven: Mount Lu". Famous Mountains in China (in English and 中文). 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 中文). 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 中文). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5154-0118-8.
External links
Donglin Temple (Jiujiang), Wikipedia
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