Jingju Temple

CHINA, Jiangxi, Ji’an

The temple is located on Qingyuan Mountain in Ji’an city. It was built between 705 and 707 during the Tang dynasty. In 714, Master Qingyuan Xingsi, one of the disciples of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, came to this temple to propagate the sudden enlightenment teachings of the Chan school. This resulted in the immense popularity of Chan Buddhism. The temple has flourished and been abandoned a number of times throughout its history. It was repaired in recent years, and was listed as a key Buddhist temple in the Han region of China in 1983.
Along the central axis of the temple are the main temple gate, Heavenly King Hall, Great Hero Hall, and the Vairocana Pavilion. On either side there are the memorial hall, Patriarch Hall, meditation hall, dining hall, Sangharama Hall, reception hall, and the Ksitigarbha Hall. At the rear of the temple, there is the Seventh Patriarch Stupa, which was erected to commemorate Master Xingsi. Apart from the main temple gate, there are two other mountain gates. The three-bay wide Great Hero Hall has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof. The corners of the eaves are curved steeply upward. Surrounding the hall is the Free Life Pond. Four bridges connect the Great Hero Hall to the Heavenly King Hall, meditation hall, Vairocana Pavilion, and the dining hall. The temple also contains artifacts, such as a large bell which weighs 500 kg, an incense burner which weighs 50 kg, and a bronze pot said to feed a thousand people.