Nanputuo Buddhist Temple

Nanputuo Temple situated at the foothill of Wulaofeng (Five Old Men Peak) and next to Xiamen University.

 The Buddhist temple is over 1,000 years old and  Xiamen's oldest sight.

The temple was once called Puzhao Temple (Universal Grace Temple).

It was first built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907),but was later was destroyed in the warfare during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

 During the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), it was rebuilt and renamed Nanputuo Temple. There is a path behind the temple where visitors can climb up the hill to the very top and have a panoramic of the city and nearby islands.

A multi-storey pagoda with the Kah Kee Building Complex in nearby Xiamen University's vicinity.

 Buddhist stupas and temples first introduced in China did not appear in the same form they look in India.

Rather than keeping the structure of the stupa as it had appeared for centuries in India and Central Asia, the Chinese adapted them to fit their architectural styles.

 Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (reigned 59-75BC) was the first to devote to Buddhism and he instructed the building of the White Horse Temple and Yongning Temple near Luoyang ,Henan Province Central China.

Luoyang was one of the four great ancient capitals of China. The temple covers 30,000 square meters with four main buildings on the north-south axis.

 The buildings include :
1) Devajara Hall (the Hall of Heavenly Kings),
2) Mahavira Hall (Daxiongbaodian),
3) Dabei Hall (the Hall of Great Compassion) and a Pavilion built in 1936 in which Buddhist scriptures, Buddha images from Burma, ivory sculptures and other works of art were stored.

The many rooms flanking the main buildings include dormitories, libraries and study rooms for monks.

  Devajara Hall: Also called the Hall of Heavenly Kings (Tian Wang Dian).
Devajara Hall is the location of the statues of four ferocious Heavenly Kings.
 In the center of the hall stands a fat Buddha, Maitreya or Milefo.
With a broad smile, bare chest and exposed paunch, Maitreya represents the Buddha of the future, also known as the Laughing Buddha.

  Mahavira Hall: Mahavira Hall is built in 1921 and features the statues of the Trinity of the Three Ages (Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the Present; Kasyapa, the Buddha of the Past; and Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future), Avalokitesvara (Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy) and Avalokitesvara's disciples.
Most of the attractive murals on the wall depict Buddhist stories and figures from India.





  Dabei Hall: The Dabei Hall is an octagonal tower which was rebuilt in 1928.
Inside, four Statues of Avalokitesvara were enshrined on a lotus-flower base.
The Bodhisattva with his arms crossed in front of his chest has 48 hands stretching out.
Each hand features a miniature scared eye.
Two banyans were planted on each side of the hall.

Sutra-Keeping Pavilion(pinyin:Ge): The Sutra-Keeping Pavilion was built in 1936 and houses thousands of Buddhist scriptures, Buddha images from Burma, ivory Sculptures, wood sculptures, bronze bells, incense burner and other works of art.
One particular porcelain Avalokitesvara in the Pavilion is said to be very precious.

This Chinese Phoenix or Fenghuang sculpture sits near the top of the temple.
 Images of an ancient bird have appeared in China for over 4,000 years.
 It was believed that the phoenix only appear in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness.
It is a symbol of high virtue and grace.
 In ancient and modern Chinese culture, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons.




 
The Celestial Chinese Dragon is comparable as the symbol of the Chinese race itself.

Chinese around the world, proudly proclaim themselves "Lung Tik Chuan Ren" (Descendents of the Dragon).

Dragons are referred to as the divine mythical creature that brings with it ultimate abundance, prosperity and good fortune.

As the emblem of the Emperor and the Imperial command, the legend of the Chinese Dragon permeates the ancient Chinese civilization and shaped their culture until today.
Its benevolence signifies greatness, goodness and blessings.

The Chinese Dragon, or Lung , symbolizes power and excellence, valiancy and boldness, heroism and perseverance, nobility and divinity.
A dragon overcomes obstacles until success is his.
He is energetic, decisive, optimistic, intelligent and ambitious.
Occupying the 5th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs.
Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. Dragons prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful.

Monks ritual ceremony at the Dabei Hall.
Monks robes are usually orange in colour but most of the monks here have additional red robes overcoat which must be a symbol of their highest hierarchy equals to that of an Abbot.

Chinese Buddhist monks have been traditionally and stereotypically linked with the practice of the Chinese martial arts or Kung fu, and monks are frequently important characters in martial arts films.

 This association is focused around the Shaolin Monastery at Song Shan, near Zhengzhou City, Henan Province in Dengfeng, China.

The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma is traditionally credited as the founder of Zen Buddhism in China and most Chinese practise Mahayana Buddhism similar to those in Vietnam,Thailand and Cambodia except for Laos is Theravada Buddhism.

One feature about the Chinese Buddhist monks is that they practice the burning marks on their scalp, finger or part of the skin on their anterior side of the forearm with incense as a sign of ordination.

The elephant(pinyin:Xiang) in Chinese art is a symbol of strength and wisdom.
It also bears some reference to Buddhism as the elephant is a sacred animal in Buddhist traditions.
 In China the Buddha is sometimes depicted riding an elephant, which may reference the religion’s origin as transported from India.
A stone elephant emphasizes the concept of strength or power while an elephant with a vase can be interpreted as a sign of peaceful times.

  Bell (pinyin:Zhong),the symbol of peace and good luck.

The Big Bell Temple, or Da Zhong Temple located on Beisanhuan Road in Beijing, China built in 1733 during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) has the famous "Yongle" Big Bell weighing about 46 tons, with a height of 5.5 meters and a diameter of 3.3 meters.

The bell is famous not only because of its size, but probably more importantly because of the over 230,000 characters of Buddhist scriptures engraved on it.

The sound of the bell could be heard 50 kilometers away from the temple in the depth of night.

Ancient Chinese buildings were very unique as they don't require any nails in timber wood joinery.
 A fundamental achievement of Chinese wooden architecture is the load-bearing timber frame, a network of interlocking wooden supports forming the skeleton of the building.
Buildings in China have been supported by wooden frames for as long as many centuries.
The craftsmen cut the wooden pieces to fit so perfectly that no glue or fasteners were necessary.
 In traditional Chinese architecture, the layered pieces of the ceiling are held together by interlocking bracket sets (斗拱,pinyin: dǒugǒng).



Buddha in 3 different postures.
 Protection Buddha: Signifies courage, offers protection from fear, delusion and anger
Teaching Buddha : Signifies wisdom, understanding, and fulfilling destiny Enlightenment Buddha: Signifies insight, purity of character, self-mastery Decorative sculptures.

Of the 6 million overseas Chinese whose hometowns are in Fujian Province, most set off from Xiamen.
 It is said that before embarking on their journeys many of these emigrants came to Nanputuo Temple to ask the Buddha's blessing for their safety and prosperity.
In return, they promised to donate money to the temple.
Many of these people have kept their promises, and a number of the temple's construction projects have been financed by their donations.





  Looks like a Warrior God holding a sword.
He must be a tyrant during ancient kingdom where the peasants will most likely fear of.
Hence the result of worshiping till today.
Legend never dies.