WHITE HORSE TEMPLE

Located 13 km east of the city center, this temple is known as the first place of Buddhist worship in China.

History

It was built with government funds in 68 ap. A few years after the introduction of Buddhism in China. The tradition is that Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han (25-220) dreamed of a gold divinity; His vassals having certified him as a Western Buddha, the emperor would have sent a missionary in Central Asia (current Afghanistan) to report Buddhist texts. The envoy would have returned to China with the sacred texts carried on the back of a white horse escorted from two Indian monks in 67. The temple was built the following year. The disciples of Buddha have always recognized the temple of the white horse as the founding stone of the religion of Sakyamuni in China. The establishment of buildings scrupulously respects the Chinese geometry tradition: located at the foot of the Mangshan hills and facing the Luo River, the temple runs its architecture on a north-south symmetry axis. He was extremely active under the Tang (618-907) and renovated in his current form during the Ming dynasty in 1555.

Visit

The temple has a provision that will be traditionally adopted in Buddhist temples in China with the aesthetic richness of an emerging religion.

In the entrance hall of the temple (Shanmen) is a great stun erected under the Yuan (1279-1368) which traces the history of the temple. On his right, another stack echoes a text of the hand of a famous Song calligrapher whose upper part has been broken. The current building is a renovation of Ming.

Right behind, the room of the divine kings (Tianwang Dian) houses the effigy of Maitreya, always placed in the first building after entry: it warmly welcomes the faithful. The statue is made of lawn ramp, a very widespread technique in the region under the Ming. Four divine kings or warriors are placed on either side of the room, protecting the Buddha from all their ferocity. Turning back to Maitreya is a statue of Skanda, one of the protectors of the doctrine. In the backyard, a tripod dating back to the 1930 s, where incense was burned; to his left, a stun erected in 1716 by Kangxi des Qing to commemorate the renovation of the temple (she describes its history as well as the enlargements and modifications made to the temple).

The hall of the Grand Buddha (Dafo Dian) is the second temple building, where important ceremonies were held. The building dates from Ming. In the center, a representation of Sakyamuni in terracotta adopts the posture of his last sermon where he does not say a word, simply raising a flower in front of the crowd. In the center of the room, on a trade show, there are seven statues: Sakyamuni in the center surrounded by two bodhisattvas (Manjusri and Samantabhadra), two disciples (Kasyapa and Ananda) and two servants; behind them, the statue of Guanyin (the Chinese name of Avaloktesvara, bodhisattva of compassion). In the corner of the hall, a very big bell whose sound can be heard at 5 km in the round: tradition is to ring the bell on the night of New Year.

Right behind this room, the Mahavira Hall (Daxiong Dian) houses a statue of Sakyamuni surrounded by Bhaisajyaguru (Buddha of Medicine) and Amitabha (Buddha of infinite light). On both sides, 18 arhats adopting each of the different attitudes: This Yuan statue of lawn ramy is one of the treasures of the temple.

The Reception Room (Jieying Dian) is the smallest structure in the temple, containing a statue of Amitabha: According to Buddhist doctrine, when the faithful has reached the final degree of meditation, he will be welcomed by the Amitabha Buddha. This building built under the Qing is the most recent of the whole.

At the back of the temple, the pavilion of the Terrace, fresh and shady. It is in this very calm place that Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Han would have spent long moments reading, and later two Buddhist monks would have translated some Indian sacred writings into Chinese in this courtyard preceding the Pilu Pavilion. Just inside the entrance of the temple are the graves of two Indian monks.

A pagoda of 13 levels (24 m high) is held a few kilometers southwest of the temple. Erigée at the end of the Tang, it was destroyed during the Song dynasty and rebuilt under the Jin (about 800 years ago). If you are standing at the foot of the building and hitting in its hands, a sound similar to that of a frog returns to the top of the pagoda.

Very pleasant small garden (free) on the main position of the main position and the Grand Store of Luoyang: The Chinese come here to sing, make music, play cards or mah-jong… authentic tea house, angling!