Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Temples in Guangzhou - Liurong Si (六榕寺)

Liurong Si is not far from Guangxiao Si and also one of the oldest temples in Guangzhou. It was first built in 537 CE during the Southern Liang dynasty and named Liurong or "6 Banyans" by the great poet Su Dongpo of the Song dynasty. It was given such a name due to the 6 flourishing Banyan trees that Su saw in the temple. Above we see the main entrance of the temple.
The back of the Hall of Heavenly Kings. Quite small compared to Guangxiao Si.
The famous Liurong Flower Pagoda, the tallest in Guangzhou and almost a thousand years old. It had been repaired and reinforced many times up till today, otherwise it would have collapsed long ago.
The base of the Flower Pagoda. Now people are no longer allowed to climb up the Pagoda.
The altar at the base of the Pagoda. The Hall of the 6th Patriarch. See the hexagon-shaped orb on the roof. It's the same one I saw at Hualin Si! Must be the 6th Patriarch watching over me, haha..
The statue of the 6th Patriarch inside the Hall. Above and to the left and right of the statue we see verses of the Diamond Sutra. Huineng attained complete enlightenment after the 5th Patriarch Hongren recited the Sutra to him in secret.
The Dharma Propagation Hall.
A Burmese Jade Buddha statue under one of the Banyan trees outside.
The Burong Pavilion with a Bodhisattva statue inside it.
The Grand Hall.
Inside the Grand Hall are large bronze statues of the Buddhas of the 3 Worlds, namely Shakyamuni, Amitabha and Bhaisajya-guru. They were forged in 1663 CE during the early days of the Qing dynasty, in the 2nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign.
The Yuantong Gate, with a statue of Su Dongpo inside.
Inside the Friendship Hall, I was surprised to see this Chiang Saen Buddha from Thailand being worshipped. This friendship referred to the good relations of China and Thailand, as this Buddha Image was presented to Liurong Si by the Thai Education Ministry in 1985.
The Guanyin Hall.
Inside the hall we see a bronze image of Guanyin in the meditation posture. It exudes a powerful aura of bliss. This image was forged together with the 3 Buddhas inside the Grand Hall. I think you can easily understand why Liurong Si is another one of the must see ancient temples of Guangzhou.

No comments: