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.
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:
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.
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.
Hi~Wayne, actually I am working for a travel service company. Can I use some of your pics on my web?
Thanks
You can, but whatever pics you use, pls state that they are from this blog.
of course I will. BTW, my boyfriend named Wayne too. (*^__^*)
Good for you. Hope he is a nice guy, haha..
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