Luohou 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 in Dongyang Town of

Liuyang Liuyang () is a county-level city, the List of County-level divisions of Hunan by population, most populous and the easternmost county-level division of Hunan, Hunan Province, China; it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

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 adjacent to the Lens Technology.

History

Lingsheng Temple was first established in 693, the 2nd year of Changshou period, at the dawn of

Zhou dynasty (690–705) Zhou, known in historiography as the Wu Zhou (), was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty that existed between 690 and 705. The dynasty consisted of the reign of one empress regnant, Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian), who usurped the throne of her son, ...

, the modern temple was founded in 2008. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

had attacked the temple and it was completely destroyed. In 1984, the local people reconstructed the temple on a small scale. In early 2008, the temple started the reconstruction project. The construction began in August 2008 and the temple was completed in 2013.

Architecture

Lingsheng Temple consists of more than 10 buildings.

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

is enshrined in the

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the Heavenly Kings”) is the first important hall inside a shanmen (mount gate) in Chinese Buddhist temples and is named due to the Four Heavenly Kings statues enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha i ...

and at the back of his statue is a statue of Skanda. Statues of

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

stand on the left and right sides. They are the eastern

Dhṛtarāṣṭra Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Sanskrit; Pali: ''Dhataraṭṭha'') is a major deity in Buddhism and one of the Four Heavenly Kings. His name means "Upholder of the Nation." Names The name ''Dhṛtarāṣṭra'' is a Sanskrit compound of the words ''dh� ...

, the southern Virūḍhaka, the western

Virūpākṣa Virūpākṣa (Sanskrit; Pali: Virūpakkha; traditional Chinese: 廣目天王; simplified Chinese: 广目天王; pinyin: ''Guǎngmù Tiānwáng''; Japanese: 広目天 ''Kōmokuten'') is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly ...

, and the northern

Vaiśravaṇa (Sanskrit: वैश्रवण) or (Pali; , zh, s=多闻天王, t=多聞天王, p=Duōwén Tiānwáng, ) is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is considered an important figure in Buddhism. He is the god of warfare and usually portrayed as ...

Mahavira Hall

The

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 ...

is the second hall and main hall in the temple. In the middle is

Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, statues of

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

and

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

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 ...

stand on both sides of the hall. At the back, Statues of

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 ...

(left),

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 ...

(middle) and

Sudhana 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 Buddhis ...

(right) are enshrined in the hall.

Hall of Medicine King

The Hall of Medicine King is the third hall of the temple for the worship of Hua Tuo,

Sun Simiao Sun Simiao (; 541-682)Chen, J. (2007). Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician: the Many Lives of Fazang (643-712). Netherlands: Brill. p. 242. was a Chinese physician and writer of the Sui and Tang dynasty, who was from Tongchuan, central Shaan ...

Zhang Zhongjing Zhang Zhongjing (; 150–219), formal name Zhang Ji (), was a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han dynasty. He estab ...

Bian Que Bian Que (; 407 – 310 BC) was an ancient Chinese figure traditionally said to be the earliest known Chinese physician during the Warring States period. His real name is said to be Qin Yueren (), but his medical skills were so amazing that peop ...

and

Li Shizhen Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, the '' Compendium of Materia ...

. The name of the Hall of Medicine King derives from Sun Simiao's honorific title "Medicine King" ().

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lingsheng Temple Buildings and structures in Liuyang Buddhist temples in Hunan Tourist attractions in Changsha 2008 establishments in China 21st-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 2008