Zizhulin Temple

TAIWAN, Kaohsiung

Zizhulin means Purple Bamboo Grove. It is a branch of Xiangguang (Fragrant Light) Temple in Chiayi. Its construction started in 1987 and was completed in 1992. The naming of buildings, spatial planning, and symbolic images are based on the Lotus Sutra.
The south-facing temple has three main buildings located at the front, middle, and rear, which symbolizes the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. At the front, there is the five-story Dharma Gem Building with two basement levels. The first story consists of the main temple gate and the Single-Minded Gate. The rest of the building is occupied by classrooms. The Buddha Gem Building in the middle has the same configuration as the Dharma Gem Building, and contains the Great Hero Hall, chanting hall and sutra repository. The rear Sangha Gem Building is the administrative building for monastics and devotees. The hall contains the monastic living quarters.
The main temple gate is called the Lotus Gate. Its bronze panels are cast with field-like grids, and the frames are inscribed with a couplet. The Single-Minded Gate is located at the east end of the Dharma Gem Building and represents the focused resolution of practitioners. Within the gate, there is a statue of Sadaparibhuta Bodhisattva standing with palms joined.
The Great Hero Hall houses a statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha. It has a vaulted ceiling decorated with a suspended golden lotus. The walls and floor are filled with circular luminous ring motifs. A stairway to the east of the Great Hero Hall symbolizes the path to Buddhahood. The pavilion at the halfway point represents a scene from the “Chapter on the Parable of the Phantom City.” The Prabhutaratna Pagoda, which relates to the “Chapter on the Emergence of the Prabhutaratna Pagoda,” is located at the top of the stairway. Although the temple is designed in traditional Chinese palatial style, elaborate decorations have been omitted. Pebble wash and granolithic finishing is employed in grays and blacks to create a calm spatial quality conducive to inner spiritual peace.