Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Qingyun Si (庆云寺) of Dinghu Mountain

On 24.10.2008 I visited Dinghu Mountain in the Zhaoqing district. One of the famous Chan temples in Guangdong lies on this scenic mountain - Qingyun Si. Built in the last days of the Ming dynasty (1635 CE), it was formerly known as Lianhua An. On the way to the temple we were greeted by this colourful praying mantis. Afraid that others might step on the little guy, my wife moved it away from the mountain pavement into the undergrowth.
The first mountain gate of Qingyun Si, with the big words, "宗律名山 Famous Mountain of the Vinaya School".
The impressive temple gate.
Climbing up the steps we come face to face with this majestic 9-Dragon wall. Usually these kind of bas-reliefs were reserved only for the Imperial Palace in ancient times.
The Maitreya Hall.
The main entrance of Qingyun Si.
The Grand Hall.
Inside the grand hall are the Buddhas of the 3 Worlds. Actually quite common for Chinese Mahayana temples.
On the left side of the Grand Hall are statues of the 3 Chan Patriarchs - Bodhidharma (centre), Huineng (left) and Hongren (right). The Hall of Vairocana, the Dharmakaya Buddha.
The Hall of the Past 7 Buddhas, namely Buddha Vipassi, Buddha Sikkhi, Buddha Vessabhu, Buddha Kakusandha, Buddha Konagamana, Buddha Kassapa and Buddha Shakyamuni. One of them is missing from the picture though.
The Arahant Hall. Interestingly, the bearded Arahant in the centre turned to smile for the camera. One of the "live" Arahants of Haizhuang Si perhaps?
The Hall of Japanese Ven Rongrui, who stayed at this temple with Chinese Ven Jianzhen during the Tang dynasty. Both of them were responsible for the propagation of Buddhism in Japan more than 1,200 years ago.
The Dharma Hall.
The Hall of the 3 Sages of the West - Amitabha, Avalokitesvara and Sthamaprapta.
A host of goddesses singing and venerating the Enlightened Ones.
The golden bowl of Qingyun. People make wishes and throw coins inside.
A stone tortoise at the back of the temple. According to the sign above, coins thrown at different parts of the tortoise have different auspicious meanings.
This is the pavilion with the stone tablet to commemorate Ven Rongrui, located outside of the temple. With such a good environment, fresh air and clean water, this is truly an ideal place to cultivate oneself.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, I am Amanda from Dinghu Zhaoqing. I see your blog by searching DINGHU MOUNTAIN. I like this article so much, and thank you!! You make Dinghu Mountain more famous to all the world.

Wayne Woo said...

I'm glad you like it, Amanda. Dinghu mountain is really a nice place, 所谓山清水秀,人杰地灵; that's the best description I can think of.

Unknown said...

Hi~Wayne, actually I am working for a travel service company. Can I use some of your pics on my web?
Thanks

Wayne Woo said...

You can, but whatever pics you use, pls state that they are from this blog.

Unknown said...

of course I will. BTW, my boyfriend named Wayne too. (*^__^*)

Wayne Woo said...

Good for you. Hope he is a nice guy, haha..