On Friday we took a class trip to the Lingyin Temple! I didn't know much about it before I went, but we were briefed on a few things about Buddhism and temples before we took our excursion. Turns out the Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou was first built in AD 326 and it's one of the most renowned temples in China!!! It's absolutely beautiful, with its 1600 years of history, it's a place for a "soul's retreat"- the literal meaning of Lingyin Temple.
Next to the temple is the Fei Lai Feng Grottoes and caves. Fei Lai Feng means "Peak flown from Afar" and the legend is that an Indian monk once visited ths rocky region and claimed that it looked exactly like a peak in India, so the peak must have "flown" from India. It's really cool with a bunch of Buddhist stone carvings, around 1000 years old!!!! The carvings weren't all made at the same time though. They were made through different dynasties, spanning over 500 years of time. The damp and dark caves even contained some awesome statues and carvings.
Once we got inside the temple, we were told we weren't allowed to take pictures. I managed to snap a few, though.
The temple was huge- and is made up of many individual buildings and temples. Each building contained statues of buddhas and different dieties or monks. Many of the statues were huuge and overwhelming when you looked up at them. Each had an intricate face and outfit on. In the middle building, there is the most "important" and biggest Buddha.
The temple was crowded, with many people burning incense and paying their respects to the buddhas and various statues. I even got to see some monks!!
No comments:
Post a Comment