On the left side was a densely wooded rocky hill. Its steep slope was carved into fantastic figures of unicorns, leogryphs and other mythological animals, and statues of gods and saints. They had been fashioned out of rock by the monks more than fifteen centuries ago. Under the hill were grottoes and caves filled with Buddhas and genii, where pilgrims were burning incense. Mantras in Sanskrit and archaic Chinese adorned the rocks, chiselled by the long departed hermits.]
Walking a little farther we came to the spacious entrance hall of a monastery which was unique in China in its grandeur, sanctity.
‘The Monastery of the Spirit’s Retreat’, softly exclaimed Chungan pointing to the three huge golden characters over the wide-open doors of the hall.
‘What a deep and secret meaning these words possess ! ‘ he continued. ‘It is a fitting name for this place, for it is difficult to conceive a better hermitage for the spirit of a man tired of the world and seeking concealment amidst the beautiful and tranquil.
Having emerged from this hall with its golden statue of Maitreya, the Lord Buddha of the Future, we stepped out into a large stone-flagged courtyard bounded by ancient trees. In front of them, on a high stone platform, flanked by two small pagodas and with a massive bronze incense burner in the middle, stood the main temple hall. its great height and immense size dwarfed all other buildings around it. The roof rose in three nobly curved tiers supported by colossal red wooden pillars.
The latticed gates of the hall were open as we came in. A mysterious semi-darkness, heavy with the odour of sandal-wood incense, pervaded the place. Right in the middle of the vast temple sat three golden Buddhas of such unbelievable majesty and of such gigantic proportions that when I saw them I was astonished. The images rested on lotus flowers which, in turn, were supported by stupendous stone pedestals. A colossal lantern, richly carved and decorated, with a perpetually-burning oil-lamp within, was suspended in front of the Trinity.
The central figure was that of the Lord Buddha himself with his royal coiffure and a sign of urna on his forehead. With the eyes turned inwards, gazing not at the world outside before him but at the world within himself; with his enigmatic smile, he sat there a true image of the man that he once was, but who had transcended all human emotions, desires, all suffering and mundane joy; who had found the lost path to Heaven and shown it to suffering mankind, and who at last had entered Nirvana and became himself a God. I gazed enchanted at the mystic statue. I felt mesmerized by the utter stillness of the temple. Clouds of incense floated in spirals towards the lofty ceiling and gently dissolved there in the golden rays of the sun coming through the narrow windows. The very silence was pregnant with the meaning of things unsaid, of prayers uttered and of petitions yet unoffered.
After we had finished our tour of the golden statues of arhats, lining the walls, and paused before an enormous image of the gentle Goddess Kwanyin, which stood against an altar piece representing the Western Paradise, we made our exit by a side door into a commodious guest hall where a young novice brought us cups of the monastery’s own tea. He smiled at Chungan and Tsungpoo, evidently recognizing them as frequent visitors. After a good rest we were ready to proceed to the next famous temple.
Goullart, Peter. Monastery of the Jade Mountain.
Peter Goullart. The monastery of Jade Mountain.
More posts on Chinese culture
Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality
Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality Reality is an illusion, say Buddhist texts. And each of Zhang Yonggzheng's (Gansu, 1978) works plays with this concept to remind us again and again that there is no immutable reality but a fluid universe of forms that...
The book Hanzi for HSK 1-3 now available in Greek language
The book “Hanzi for HSK 1-3” now available in Greek language This April, the translation of my book Hanzi for HSK 1-3 has been published in the main digital bookstores in Greece. The Greek version of this book, from the pen of Stefanos Karampalis, has been one of...
Portrait of a Mandarin in 1800
Portrait of a Mandarin in 1800 This was the year in which a very interesting book was published, which through 60 portraits, tried to show some aspects of life in China to the western public. A book now in the public domain, from which we adapted "A Mandarin of...
The art of laying out gardens among the Chinese
The art of laying out gardens among the Chinese In the 1740s, William Chambers travelled on three trading voyages to China with the Swedish East India Company. He was the first European to study Chinese architecture methodically. In a book published in 1757, Designs...
The secret treasure of ancient Chinese art
The secret treasure of ancient Chinese art China has a fabulous artistic treasure hidden from the eyes of the public and specialists. It is her best kept treasure, because given the dispersion of its location, the difficulty of conservation and even evaluation and...
2,000-year-old paintings in a Chinese tomb
2,000-year-old paintings in a Chinese tomb It has been more than 10 years since the publication of The complete collection of murals unearthed in China, a dozen or so books describing with abundant full-color photographs the frescoes discovered in Chinese tombs....
More posts on China ethnic groups
Sexual aspects of Gu venom
Gu illness resulted from a contamination by gu poison, which a recent analyst has characterized as “an alien evil spirit which entered [the] body and developed into worms or some similar animal that gnawed away at the intestines or genitalia.” This poison was thought...
Sunset in Dali
No Words Fuxing Rd from the South Gate. Dali, Yunnan.Corner in Fuxing Rd, Dali, Yunnan.Night market at the south of the South Gate. Dali. YunnanLast posts
The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang
The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang Religions of Lijiang Although the city of Lijiang is known primarily for the Dongba religion practiced by the traditional shamans of the Naxi, also called Dongba, who with their rituals administered the religious and...
The Local Lords cult of the Bai nationality
The worship of the Local Lords (benzhu) is the most characteristic of the Bai people. Their religious life revolves around the Benzhu temple of each village, as each village venerates a local lord, sometimes a historical figure who sacrificed for the people. In other...
The tiger hero of the Naxi
The tiger hero of the Naxi[1] A long time ago, a man named Gaoqu Gaobo lived in the Baoshan area. He had a strong body, lively intelligence, and certain magical powers. He was always willing to help people. One day he went on a trip with a group of villagers. After a...
Wonderful- yaks most precious treasure is their manure
Wonderful- yaks most precious treasure is their manure Most of the travelers who visited Tibet in former times noticed the importance that, for the maintenance of the living of the Tibetan nomads and travellers, had the Yak manure, known among the...