TEMPLE OF THE SOURCE OF THE LAW

In the south-west of the Forbidden City, Fayuansiqian Jie has a less visited treasure than others, but the enchanting atmosphere.

History

Sanctuary, because it was erected in 654 under the Emperor by Emperor Tai Zhong to honor the memory of the many fallen soldiers in Korea, this temple ported the name Minzhongsi («Temple to deplore the loss of the faithful») until 1734. The building served successively with multiple uses: prison for Emperor Hui Zhong of the Song, captured by the Jin; examination room for Mongols under the Yuan; theater of a major annual fair in the seventeenth century; soldiers' barracks; and finally college of Buddhist studies, aimed at training new young bonzes. Today, teachers teach them not only Buddhism in all its forms, but also foreign languages such as Japanese or English. The Temple Library has over 100,000 books of great value.

Visit

Architecture is a bit like the other temples of the capital. A large door that gives over a succession of courses and flags. Two stone lions keep the main door.

In the first courtyard, you will notice the Tower of the Drum and the Tower of the Cloche, in the background, the room of Celestial Guards or Celestial Kings (Tianwangdian), which contains the statues of the guards of the four cardinal points, of Maitreya (as a Buddha laughing) and of Wei Tuo (Protector of Buddhism).

A second court adorned with stalls and a bronze tripod reveals the treasure room of the great hero (Daxiongbaodian), which contains the three bronze statues (Qing epoch) depicted by the two bodhisattva (Puxian and Wenshu) and Luohan, the ten Eight disciples, who have acquired a perfect knowledge of the Buddhist law will reach nirvana after their death.

A stone reliquary is then placed at the pyramid roof to arrive in front of the Guanyin Pavilion, also known as the Grande Compassion Hall (Dabei). You will find a golden wood statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin with eleven faces and thirty-two arms and other statues and ritual objects, some of which would go back to the Han dynasty.

In the last pavilion, which is dedicated to the Buddha of the Future, you will be amazed at a gigantic ensemble of the Golden Bronze era, representing the five Buddhas (those of the four cardinal points and the Buddha of the center) sitting at the top of a sphere that rests on the mountain of the Ten Thousand Buddhas. At the top, Buddha is sitting on a lotus flower.