Main Buildings in Lama Temple

The Gate of Harmony and Peace and The Hall of Heavenly Kings

The Gate of Harmony and Peace used to be the front entrance to the Mansion of Prince Yong. When the mansion was converted into a lamasery the name was changed to the Hall of Heavenly Kings. Inside this hall a gilded wooden statue with a smiling face is placed i the center and flanked by the four heavenly kings.In Chinese, this Buddha is popularly known as the Big Belly Buddha, Laughing Buddha or Smiling Buddha and the Bag Buddha. Because Buddah Maitreya always smiles with his breast and his big belly exposed, people called him Big Belly Buddha Maitreya, nicknamed Laughing Buddha or Smiling Buddha. Because he is carrying a smiling face all the time, after his death, monks enshrined his figure in the first hall of the temple where he could be worshiped, and where he would always greet people with a smiling face; he then became the symbol of welcome to guests and pilgrims.

The Statues of Four Heavenly Kings are standing on both side of the hall, two on each side. Based on the Buddhist theory, people believed that the earth is divided into four worlds in four directions: the northern, southern, eastern and western. Each of the four worlds is guarded by one of the kings, all known as heavenly kings.

Behind the shrine of the statue is the statue of Weituo. Weituo is believed as a law protector, who is always seen at the back of the first hall in a temple, serving as the symbol of a loyal protector. Behind the Hall of Heavenly Kings there is a big bronze tripod incense burner, which was cast in 1747. The pavilion behind the Bronze Tripod Incense Burner is the Imperial Tablet Pavilion. Inside the pavilion a big stone stele carved with an inscription On Lamaism written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty in 1792 when he was 82 years old, so this pavilion is also called the Pavilion with Imperial Calligraphy.

The essay tells us the history, the origin and the development of the Tibetan Lamaism. In puts stress on explaining the system of ” drawing lots from the gold vase” which was used to draw lots to decide who would be the future baby Living Buddha in Tibetan region. There are two gold vases named the gold vase of Bampa, one placed in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa and the other one placed in the Yonghegong Lamasery of Beijing.

Behind the Imperial Tablet Pavilion people can see a 1.5 meter-high bronze mountain, which is called Sumeru Mountain, The wold “Sumeru” came from a translation of Sanskirt, an ancient Indian fairy tale. According to theBuddhist Sutra, Mount Sumeru represents the Buddhist world outlook, It is supposed to be the center of the world that consists of three parts: Top, middle and bottom. On the top there is a small altar city of the legendary paradise where Sakyamuni and men of moral integrity live; on the slopes are the dwellings for mankind and the Four Heavenly Kings; at the bottom of the sea or beneath the water, is the hell for evil spirits, devils, ghosts and criminals.

The Hall of Harmony and Peace

There are three big bronze Buddhist statues in the middle of the hall. They are Buddhas of the three Ages: in the center is the Present Buddha Sakyamuni; on the left is the Past Buddha of Fixed Light and the Future Buddha Maitreya is on the right. On both sides of Sakyamuni stand his two favorite disciples named Ananda(Anan) on the west and Kasyapa(jiaye) on the east. There are eighteen figures of arhats placed on both sides of the hall, nine on each side.

The four wooden turning wheels, known as Scripture-Turning Wheels, are placed in this hall, two on each side. When people makea full turn of the wheel, it means he has read the Buddhist scripture on it once. The painting of Thousand-Hand-and-Eye Guanyin Bodhisattva is on the west wall. The painting of White umbrella Goddess or the “White Para” is on the east wall.

The Hall of Eternal Blessing

This hall used to be the bedroom and reading room for prince Yinzhen when emperor Yongzheng was still a prince. The name of Eternal Blessing was given by his son Emperor Qianlong in 1744 when Emperor Qianlong changed the residence into a lamasery. After Emperor Yongzheng died in 1735, his coffin was kept here for more than a year before it was moved to the Western Qing Tombs. Eternal Blessing means everlasting blessing, which indicated that his father emperor Yongzheng was blessed, and through a blessing his father’s soul would go to paradise.

There are three big gilded Buddha statues all made of white sandalwood placed in this hall. The one in the middle is the Longevity Buddha. The statue to its west is the Buddha of Pharmacy, and the Lion-roaring Buddha is to the east. The silk embroidery painting of White Para is hung on the east wall and the Green Para is on the west wall. Actually, the Green Para is handmade silk embroidery, personally made by Madame Niugulu, Emperor Qianlong’s mother, with the help of her palace maids. It is 2 meters long and 1.2 meters wide, made out of four thousand patches of silk and satin in different sizes and colors.

Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion

The Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion is a three-story-sturcture, 25 meters high, located at the rear part of Yonghegong Lamasery. It is the most magnificent building and the highlight in Yonghegong Lamasery.

The huge Buddha statue standing in the center is the Future Buddha-Buddha Maitreya. The Buddha statue was carved out of a single trunk of white sandalwood. It is 26 meters high, 8 meters in diameter, 18 meters above the ground and 8 meters underground. Such huge wooden Buddha statue is rarely seen in the world.

According to historical record, this was a gift for Emperor Qianlong from the seventh Dalai Lama. In 1744, when Emperor Qianlong converted Yonghegong into a lamasery, the seventh Dalai Lama spent a lot of antiques and jewellery in Nepal and finally got this huge white sandalwood trunk from Nepal. He then sent it to Beijing as a gift to Emperor Qianlong in order to express his thanks because Emperor Qianlong had helped him by sending troops to put down a rebelling in Tibet and returned the power back to the seventh Dalai Lama.

It took three years to ship this huge tree trunk to Beijing and another three years for the carving, 8 million taels of silver were spent on the carving and 1,800 meters yellow satin for the Buddha’s kasaya. In August 1990, the huge Buddha statue was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Buddha statue in the world.

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Author: AmoyTrip.com--Main Buildings in Lama Temple
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