Xuedou Temple

CHINA, Zhejiang, Ningbo

Xuedou means Snow Hole. The temple is located on Xuedoushan (Snow Hole Mountain). According to historical records, during the Jin dynasty (265–420) a monk built a hut on Xuedoushan which later became the temple. In 841 during the Tang dynasty, the temple was relocated from the mountaintop to its current location. When Changtong became the new abbot in 892, he converted the temple to a Chan monastery. In 952 during the Five Dynasties period, Chan Master Yongming Yanshou resided here. In 1022 Chan Master Xuedou Chongxian became the abbot and spent the next thirty years expanding the temple and advocating the Yunmen branch of Chinese Chan school. In 1932, when Master Taixu became the abbot, the temple became dedicated to Maitreya. Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), leaving only the eastern subsidiary buildings still standing. The temple was reconstructed in 1986.
The temple was built according to the contours of the mountain. The buildings cover 1.98 ha. Along its central axis are the main temple gate, Free Life Pond, screen wall, Heavenly King Hall, Maitreya Hall, Great Hero Hall, and the sutra repository. On either side there are the bell and drum towers, the Sangharama Hall, Avalokitesvara Hall, Jade Buddha Hall, Patriarch Hall, and the Ksitigarbha Hall. The Maitreya Hall has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof that is covered with yellow glazed tiles. The two-story sutra repository also has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof and is 26.6 m high. On the first story there is the Dharma Hall, while the second story houses the sutra repository. The temple houses several precious artifacts, such as a jade seal granted by an emperor, a jade statue of a Buddha, an imperial alms bowl, an imperial gown, and other similar items.