The White Horse Temple
The White Horse Temple is located on the north bank of the Luo river, is about 12 kilometers east to the Luoyang city,it was established in the 11th year of Yongping(68AD),Eastern Han Dynasty ,has been with nearly 2000 years’ history,.This is the first Buddhist monastery ordered to be founded by the Emperor Ming of Easten Han Dynasty ever since Buddhism was introduced into and spread in our country.The White Horse Temple is regarded as “the Ancestral Chamber of Chinese Buddhism ” and “the Origination of Chinese Buddhism “,it is also known as “the first ancient temple of China” and “the famous temple in the world”. It was said that the Emperor Ming of Easten Han Dynasty named liuzhuang one night dreamed about a golden god who is over 20 meters tall and with halo above his head,came from the west land,flied around his palace.A minister told him that is just the Buddha of india,the Emperor Ming felt very pleased at it and assigned Caiyin,Qinjing etc.eighteen officials to going to the westen regions to ask for the Budfhist scriptions,they met the indian hierarches Shemoteng and Zhufalan at Darouzhi(Afghanistan today) and invited them to come to Luoyang to preach buddhism.Thus in the 10th year of Yongping(67AD ), two hierarches, together with the Easten Han’s envoys came to Luoyang, carrying the Buddha statue and Buddhist scriptions on a white horse’ back. Emperor Ming received them ceremoniously by himself and they were treated as distinguished guests to live in the State Guesthouse “Honglu Temple “.Next year, Emperor Ming appropriated fund to build a Buddhist temple in the suburbs 1.5km from the Xiyong Gate of Luoyang city, in memory of the white horse carrying scriptions, named it “The White Horse Temple “.Living here,hierarches Shemoteng and Zhufalan completed translating the first chinese buddhist scription ——《Sutra in Forty-two Sections 》,and during the following 150 years , many hierarches from the west came to stay in The White Horse Temple to translate scriptions , totally 395 volumes of Buddhist scriptions has been translated into chinese here. The White Horse Temple was fully deserved the first place of sutra translation of China. During the nearly 2000 years from Easten Han Dynasty ,the White Horse Temple has experienced several times of rise and fall, it has the largest scale and most worshippers especially during the reign of Emperor Wuzetian. Restauration in the 34th year of Emperor Jiajing of Ming Dynasty formed its scale and layout today. The White Horse Temple is a rectangle courtyard faces south, covers the area of 40000 square meters,the main buildings are the Hall of Heavenly King, the Hall of Great Buddha, the Grand Hall of Mahavira:In, the Hall of Guide,the Cooling Terrace and the Pilul Pavilion. They were built along the south -north central axis successively, the whole layout was designed regularly with classical and simple style.In the square in front of the temple’s gate , there are newly built Stone Memorial Gateway,Free Life Pond and Stone Arched Bridge, On both sides of the gate, there is individually one tamed white horse same size as the true being laden with heavy things,just like was back from the Westen regions five minutes ago. Hung above the t emple’s Main Gate,there is a wooden tablet inscribed with three gilded Chinese characters of “White Horse Temple ” written by Zhaopuchu, the former President of China Buddhist Association .The Main Gate is called Shan Gate, consists of three arched gateways, resembles the three gates of liberation in Buddhist doctrine:emptiness liberation, no-aspects liberation, desireless liberation .When you walk through this gate, means you will get spiritual relief and be a free person. Entering the gate, same with other temples, stands a bell tower in the east and a drug tower in the west, but differently,there is a tomb successively beside them two,they are temple’s founders ——Shemoteng and Zhufalan’s places of eternal sleep. On the Bell Tower,hunging a big bell, every new year’s day,the White Horse Temple will hold a Ceremony of Striking Bell to welcome … Read More