Baoguo Temple () is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located on

Mount Emei Mount Emei (; zh, c=峨眉山, p=Éméi shān, O2-mei2 shan1), alternatively Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of th ...

, in

Emeishan City Emeishan () is a county-level city in Sichuan province, China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading and Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu River, Dadu an ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is the site of the Buddhist Association of Mount Emei. The temple mainly enshrines

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, ''Enlightenment in Buddhism, bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal n ...

as well as sages of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

and

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, which makes it a unique temple of three spiritual traditions.

History

The temple traces its origins to the former Huizong Hall (), founded by Mingguang () in the Wanli period (1573–1619) of the Ming dynasty. During that time, the temple enshrines deities of the three religions with the Buddhist bodhisattva Puxian in the middle,

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

deity

Guangchengzi Guang Chengzi ({{zh, s=广成子, t=廣成子, p=Guǎngchéngzǐ, w=Kuang ch'eng-tzu) (Literarily "Person Who Knows All" ) is a Taoist deity and a character in the classic Chinese novel ''Fengshen Yanyi''. Taoist mythology From the idea of Ta ...

and

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

sage

Lu Tong Lu Tong (; ; 790–835), pseudonym Yuchuanzi (), was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty, known for his lifelong study of Chinese tea culture. He never became an official, and is better known for his love of tea than his poetry. Biography Lu ...

on the left and right sides. This represents the prevailed idea of Three Teachings Harmonious as One in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the reign of Shunzhi Emperor in the Qing dynasty, monk Wenda () moved the temple to the present site. In 1703, in the Kangxi era, Kangxi Emperor named it "Baoguo Temple". The temple was enlarged in 1866 by monk Guanghui (). Baoguo Temple was inscribed as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

in 1983.

Architecture

Now the existing main buildings include the

Shanmen The Gate of Shanmen or Hall of the Shanmen or simply Shanmen (), is the entrance gate of a Buddhist temple. In ancient times, nearly all Buddhist temples had a single Shanmen gate leading into a large hall for the temple. Today, it is observed t ...

, Hall of Mi Le,

Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encoun ...

, Seven Buddha Hall and

Zangjing Ge A Zangjing Ge () (lit: “Buddhist Sutra Pavillion”) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing '' The Chinese Buddhist Canon'' (). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Budd ...

Shanmen

Under the eaves is a plaque with the Chinese characters "Baoguo Temple" written by

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

and inscribed by calligrapher Wang Fan.

Hall of Mi Le

In the center of the hall enshrines the statue of Mi Le with the dharmapala

Weituo Skanda (), also known as Weituo () and Idaten (Japanese: 韋駄天), is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who protects the teachings of Buddhism. He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition " ...

standing at his back.

Mahavira Hall

The

enshrining the Three Saints of Hua-yan (華嚴三聖). In the middle is Shijiamoni, statues of

Wenshu Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents '' prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word " mañju" and an honorific " śrī"; it can be literally translat ...

and Puxian stand on the left and right sides of Sakyamuni's statue. The statues of

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Eighteen Luohans) () are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha ('' arhat'') who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the ...

sitting on the seats before both sides of the gable walls.

Seven Buddha Hall

Behind the Mahavira Hall is the Seven Buddha Hall enshrining the statues of

Kassapa Buddha Kassapa Buddha (Pali), is one of the ancient Buddhas that are chronicled in the Pali Canon's '' Buddhavamsa'', ''Chapter 24''. He was born in Deer Park at Sarnath, where he later delivered his first teaching.Ven. Mingun Sayadaw, "Buddhavamsa Chapt ...

Kakusandha Buddha Kakusandha (Pāli), or Krakucchaṃda in Sanskrit, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 22 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, Kakusandha is ...

Sikhī Buddha According to the ''Buddhavaṃsa'' and Buddhist mythology, Sikhī (Pāli) is the twenty-third of twenty-eight Buddhas. The penultimate Buddha of the '' Alamkarakalpa'' (Adorned Eon), Sikhī was preceded by Vipassī Buddha and succeeded by Vessab ...

Vipassī Buddha In Buddhist tradition, Vipassī (Pāli) is the twenty-second of twenty-eight Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa''. The ''Buddhavamsa'' is a Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-seven Budd ...

Vessabhū Buddha According to the ''Buddhavaṃsa'', Vessabhū is believed to be the 24th Buddha. He was born in the pleasance of Anoma (Commentary, Anūpama), his father being the khattiya Suppatita (Supatita) and his mother Yasavatī.* He is venerated by the Th ...

Koṇāgamana Buddha Koṇāgamana (Pāli), also known as Kanakamuni in Sanskrit or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23 of the ''Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. B ...

and Shijiamoni Buddha. At the back of the hall are statues of the bodhisattvas

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

and Dashizhi.

Longnü Longnü (; Sanskrit: ''nāgakanyā''; Vietnamese: ''Long nữ''), translated as ''Dragon Girl'', along with Sudhana are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhism. Her presence in Guanyin's iconograph ...

and

Shancai Sudhanakumāra (), mainly known as Sudhana and Shancai or Shancai Tongzi in Chinese, and translated as ''Child of Wealth'', along with Longnü "Dragon Girl" are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhism ...

are placed on the left and right sides.

Hall of Puxian

The Hall of Puxian houses a statue of Puxian on the back of white elephant.

Huayan Pagoda

A fourteen story, tall,

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

bronze

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

named " Huayan Pagoda" () is preserved in the temple. The body is carved with '' Avatamsaka Sutra''.

Bell

The bell was cast by Huizong Biechuan () in 1564 in the late Ming dynasty. It is high and weighting . It sounds deep and sonorous when beaten. Outside of the bell cast over 60 thousand words of '' Āgama'' and other

Buddhist scriptures Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli Canon of the Therav ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baoguo Temple Buddhist temples in Sichuan Buildings and structures in Leshan Tourist attractions in Leshan 16th-century establishments in China 16th-century Buddhist temples