Linji Huguo Chan 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 Zhongshan District of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

History

In 1900, then Japanese Governor of Taiwan Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎), who himself was affiliated with the same sect, requested monks from the Rinzai school (of Zen Buddhism in Japan) to come to Taiwan, build a temple, and promote Zen Buddhism on the land nearby the (then) newly constructed Taiwan Grand (Shinto) Shrine (台灣神社). The first abbot who also oversaw the construction was Kodama Gentaro’s university classmate, Iori Genshu (梅山玄秀), at the time of the invitation, already a well known monk in Osaka. The temple was to be named later Rinzai Gokokuzen-ji (臨済護国禅寺), and it was a branch temple of

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhism 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 ...

in Japanese rule period. Construction of the temple started in 1900 and was completed in 1911 (明治44年) with the original name Chin'nanzan Gokoku-ji Temple (鎮南山護國禪寺) which means that the temple was meant to help Protect the Southern Lands of the Japanese Empire. The statue of

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 ...

was consecrated on June 21, 1912. In April 2007, the Taipei Municipal Government has allocated NT$18.05 million for the reconstruction project.

Temple Buildings & Architecture

The extant 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 ...

, Four Heavenly Kings Hall,

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 ...

, Lotus Treasury Hall,

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, drum tower and a pagoda.

Amitabha Hall

Mahavira Hall

Inside of Mahavira Hall of Huguo Linchi Zen Temple in Taipei

The

was built with double-eaves gable and hip roofs. It modeled the architectural style of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. On each of the main ridge is a tile named "

Onigawara are a type of roof ornamentation found in Japanese architecture. They are generally roof tiles or statues depicting an ''oni'' (ogre) or a fearsome beast. ''Onigawara'' were historically found on Buddhist temples, but are now used in many tradi ...

". The Mahavira Hall houses statues of

(center),

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 ...

(right) and Ksitigarbha (left).

Lotus Treasury Hall

Sunday Meditation & Dharma Discussion with Tea

On most Sunday mornings a more than a hour long meditation session is held starting at 8:30 am. Principally this program is only open to temple members and regular participants, however based on individual evaluation exceptions can be made on preliminary consultation and agreement by the monk in charge of this program. After the meditation session there is an hour dedicated for Dharma discussion while having tea, led by the monk in charge of the meditation class and a tea expert.
Sunday Morning Walking Meditation in the Mahavira Hall (30 sec. video hosted on YouTube)

Morning Tea and Dharma Discussion After the Sunday Meditation Class (5 sec. video hosted on YouTube)

Coffee is Brewed During Teatime (10 sec. video hosted on YouTube)

References

1911 establishments in Taiwan 20th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Taipei Religious buildings and structures completed in 1911 Temples of Gautama Buddha Linji school temples

External links

Sutra Recitation in the Mahavira Hall of Linji Huguo Temple (30 sec. video hosted on YouTube)

The Inside of Mahavira Hall and View of Non-duality Dharma Gate (不二法門) of Linji Huguo Temple (short video hosted on YouTube)
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