Jile Temple
The Jile Temple in Harbin is a large monastery founded in the 1920s by Tanxu (1875-1963), a famous monk and a native of Ninghe County, Hebei Province, who was tonsured at the age of 43. During his lifetime he had the building of a number of temples to his credit, and the Jile Temple was one of them.
The Jile Temple occupies an area of 57,500 square meters, and its architecture is marked by an elegance that reveals no traces of ostentation. Four major halls form the centerpiece of the complex. Behind the gate hall stands the Hall of Deva-kings dedicated to a 2.7-meter-tall bronze statue of Maitreya, who is habitually in the company of the lokapalas of four directions that stand on both sides with Skanda behind him. Behind the Hall of Deva-kings are the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. The center of the complex is occupied by the Mahavira Hall, and the sculpture of Sakyamuni enshrined in it is also cast of bronze at a height of 3.34 meters. Sitting in attendance on the Buddha are his disciples, Kasyapa and Ananda, while behind him is Guanyin with 1,000 hands and 1,000 eyes. All these statues are remarkable for their graceful images and flawless craftsmanship. The Trinity Hall behind the Mahavira Hall is the domain of Amitabha, Guanyin, and Mahasthamaprapta portrayed in bronze statues 2.84 meters in height.
Bringing up the rear of the complex is the Tripitaka Pavilion known for its three treasures on its second floor: the Qianlong edition of Tripitaka printed during the 1735-1738 period, an edition of Tripitaka engraved and printed in Qisha (present-day Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province) in 1322, and the Kalavinka edition of Tripitaka of 1913. The monks’ meditation rooms, incantation chanting rooms, and residential quarters are found in the ancillary compounds and anterooms on both sides of the temple. The pagoda outside the compound stands more than 30 meters tall. Built in 1941, it is dedicated to a number of 1.6-meter-high bronze statues of the Buddha and bodhisattvas in stately images, and its walls are covered with murals. The Jile Temple is a major site of religious life in Harbin, and a popular tourist spot as well.
