Monday, December 13, 2010

O data in viata, China ep.18 Templul cu Buddha culcat / Once in a Lifetime, China 18th.ep. Temple of Reclining Buddha

The Temple of Reclining Buddha is situated at 20 km of Beijing, at the foot of Jubao Mountain. The access is through the Botanical Garden.


The first construction is from the period of Tang dynasty (627-649). The name of the temple was Temple of Peaceful Longevity. This was changed during the Yuan dynasty when a bronze Buddha was made up of 250000 kg of bronze. Around the 5.2 m long reclining Buddha there are 12 much smaller Buddha, his disciples.


Visiting the temple, you may see, among others, a beautiful shanmen, the entrance gate made of marmor and placated with glazed tiles, a nice bronze burner, a stela put on a BiXi (animal from Chinese mythology). You may not photograph the reclining Buddha as you may not go inside and also because of the dim light. This is not to mention that it is not allowed.


La 20 km de Beijing, la poalele Muntelui Jubao, se afla Templul cu Buddha culcat. Deoarece se afla in interiorul Gradinii Botanice, vei plati mai intai un bilet de 10 RMB pentru accesul acolo si inca 5 RMB pentru intrarea in templu.

Prima constructie in aceasta zona dateaza din perioada dinastiei Tang (627-649), cand a fost construit aici un templu numit Templul Longevitatii Pasnice. Constructia sa a costat 5 milioane de taeli de argint. Pe atunci exista aici o statuie reprezentandu-l pe Buddha culcat, cioplita in lemn de santal. Mai tarziu, in timpul dinastiei Yuan, la 1321, s-a confectionat un Buddha din bronz de 5.2 m lungime si inconjurat de 12 Buddha mai mici. Se spune ca scena il reprezinta pe Buddha bolnav, dand instructiuni discipolilor sai. Pentru statuia, la care au lucrat 7000 de muncitori, au fost necesare 250000 kg de bronz. Cu aceasta ocazie s-a schimbat si denumirea templului, el devenind ceea ce este astazi. Ultimele renovari mai importante au avut loc in 1949. Sala in care se afla aceasta statuie este slab iluminata si, oricum nu poate fi vazuta decat de la usa. In consecinta, nu va pot arata nici o fotografie a sa.

Intrarea in templu se face prin poarta principala, numita shanmen. Este construita din marmora si placata cu placi glazurate de diferite forme si culori.
 intrarea spre templu
 shanmen
In prima curte interioara se afla un iaz semicircular, peste care trece un pod de piatra. Simetric, de o parte si de cealalta, se afla cate un pavilion care adaposteste un clopot, respectiv o toba.
In curtile interioare se afla mai multe sali. Buddha culcat se afla in sala principala. In curtea dinaintea sa se afla un clopot mare si o stela funerara, asezata pe un BiXi, si un frumos arzator din bronz.
sala principala, cu Buddha culcat
Intrucat templul se afla mai departe de oras si nu toata lumea doreste sa viziteze o gradina botanica, acesta ramane un obiectiv rar vizitat de catre turisti.

12 comments:

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots of colorful temple. The sculptures outside the temple are marvelous.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you for the visit Rajesh!

Teri said...

I love the Stele and animal holding him up. Too bad you can't go inside to photograph the Buddha...I would have loved to see that. I also love the colors of the buildings there. I love the colors black and red and these buildings somehow make me feel at peace...happy! Thank you.

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Teri! That animal is a fantastic one, called BiXi. I wrote about him in a previous post about Beijing.

VP said...

Another interesting place, still I am not fully convinced by the Chinese approach to religious buildings...

Traveling Hawk said...

They are not that impressive as the churches we are used to in Europe, But then, on the other side, they may think...One has to be a specialist in their religion to better understand the situation. Thank you for visiting :)

RIZALENIO said...

Wow, cherry blossoms in China. It's always interesting to see statues in china, they have so many characters that make China more exciting to see.

Thanks for bringing us here again. Bon Voyage. Have a safe trip to India and enjoy. :)

Traveling Hawk said...

Thanks, Rizalenio. If you want to see more cherry blossoms, see the post about the Botanical Garden in Beijing.

joo said...

Another impressive and charming place to see! How lovely:)

Traveling Hawk said...

Yes, the place is lovely, Joo! The entire Botanical Garden was marvelous but the weather was not good!

VertAnge said...

Pare un loc ideal pentru a te indeparta timp de cateva ore de agitatia orasului.

Traveling Hawk said...

Intr-un fel da, VertAnge, daca te gandesti ca, pe ici pe colo, mai este cate un coltisor mai putin populat. In rest, fiind dumineca, desi vremea nu era favorabila, Gradina Botanica - in care se afla templul - era plina de oameni.