imported>Ciic at 03:35, 14 May 2013

2013-05-14T03:35:12Z

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The predecessor of the Youmin Si ('''Youmin Temple''' Chinese:佑民寺) in [[Nanchang]] was the Dafo (Great Buddha) Temple founded in 547 (1st year of the Taiqing reign, [[Liang Dynasty]]). Legend has it that the temple's large statue of the Buddha was cast by the dragon that dwelled underneath the town well. In the intervening years the temple has assumed a succession of names: "Chengtian Temple," "Nengren Temple," "Yongning Temple" during the [[Ming Dynasty]], and "Youqing Temple" after it was burned down by fire and rebuilt during the Shunzhi reign (1644-1661) of the [[Qing Dynasty]]. It was not until the Republican years that it assumed its present name.

The Youmin Temple had played a major role in disseminating the doctrines of the Chan school of Chinese [[Buddhism]]. After the celebrated monk [[Mazu]] (709-788) achieved enlightenment as a disciple of the Chan master [[Huai Rang]] (677-744) at [[Southern Holy Mountain]] and arrived in [[Hongzhou]] (present-day Nanchang), he settled in the Youmin Temple (then known as "Kaiyuan") and devoted himself to preaching the Chan discipline. He eventually acquired a following of more than 130 disciples who helped spread Huai Rang's theories in the [[Yangtze River]] valley and formed a school of their own – the Hongzhou school of Chinese Buddhism with the Youmin Temple as its cradle.

Only a small number of buildings of the Youmin Temple today are of the Qing legacy; the others were built in recent years. The temple is in a place of fabulous scenic beauty with the limpid [[Nanhu Lake]] right beside it, which is thronged with visitors on weekends and during holidays. It is also the headquarters of the [[Jiangxi Provincial Buddhist Association]].
[[category:temple]]

Youmin Temple - Revision history

imported>Ciic at 03:35, 14 May 2013