Monday, March 17, 2008

The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees

On Sunday morning we visited the beautiful Temple of the Six Banyan Trees so the babies could be blessed by a monk for long life and happiness. It was a lovely ceremony and Naomi and I had fun climbing to the top of the 9 story main Temple.

Here is some background info I pulled of a random travel site:

The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is over 1,400 years old and is one of the four best knownBuddhist temples in Guangzhou. It is located on Liurong Road (meaning the Six Banyan Trees Road) and has a rich collection of antiques.

Originally built in 537, the temple has been rebuilt several times, and the name has changed several times. The great Chinese poet Su Dongpo who lived during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) gave the temple its current name. It is said he visited the temple while returning to the north. During the visit, he found the six banyan trees there particularly striking. The vitality of the trees put him in a good mood and cheered him up. When the abbot of the temple invited him to suggest a name, Su Dongpo wrote down its present name.

There are multiple Buddas in the various buildings of the temple. Tianwang Hall has a laughing Budda and Weituo Hall has the statue of legendary General Weituo who recaptured Buddhist relics that had been stolen.

The most impressive architecture is the Six Banyan Pagoda. This pagoda is home to the most intricate and valuable Buddhist relics. Its roofs curve upwards and look like dark red flower petals. The tip of the pagoda is like stamens leading people like to call it the Flowery Pagoda.

To the west of the Six Banyan Pagoda is Daxiong Baodian Hall - the main hall of the temple. Three large copper Buddhist statues there are among the biggest and most ancient Buddhist statues in Guangdong province. They stand for present, past and future.

Burning joss (incense) sticks is a big event when visiting the temple. Every year during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, the temple becomes a busy area. People line up in droves in order to be blessed by gods in the coming year.