Thousand Buddha Mountain
Origin
of Buddhism was from India but if you want to learn the rich cultural lineage
about Buddhism and the influence that created in the society, you must visit
China. By all means, China is a blessed land of wonders where you can find out
Chinese culture amalgamated with Buddhism and at the mean time kept the ethnic
identities intact. The great influence of Buddhism is visible in various forms
of art works, sculptures and mountain scenic spots. Various Dynasties have been
competing on their on way to enrich Buddhist culture and life style by
promoting the preaching of Lord Buddha-who preached love, compassion and
tranquility.
Very much within the city
Thousand Buddha Mountain is a rich example to
show case, how the Dynasties contributed their efforts to promote and maintain
Buddhism in China. The Thousand Buddha Mountain is situated two and half
kilometer away from Jinin city, towards south east side. It is a public park
since 1959 and state is putting all its effort to maintain its delicacy and
tranquility to keep the mountain premises without losing its sacredness. The
top hill is 285 meters above sea level and from the base of the hill the
altitude is calculated as 200 meters. It is a small hill covering an area of
1.66 square kilometers.
Construction of Thousand Buddha Temple
The Thousand Buddha Mountain is renowned for the
number of Buddha images carved on the hill rocks and also free standing
sculptures, which was beleived to be done during the Sui Dynasty in 518-618 BC.
Buddhism became very predominant during Sui Dynasty under Emperor Wen. The
Emperor encouraged monks to throng in to Jinan Mountains and the monks started to
chisel out various huge carving and creating sculptures of Buddha. At that time
the hill was called as Miji Hill or Li Hill. Later, a temple was constructed in
the base portion of the hill and mountain was re-named as Thousand Huddha
Mountain". The road that links Thousand Buddha Mountain and Jinan is named
as Lishan Road, which denoted the old name of the hill Li Hill otherwise Li
Shan.
The Thousand Buddha Statue
Apart from the Buddha carving and statues, lots
of temples and annex buildings were also constructed on the hill. Out of these,
Xingguochan Temple is a very famous structure, which was built during Tang
Dynasty while under the rule of Emperor Taizhong. During Song Dynasty the
temple has undergone extensive expansion works, but these temples were severely
damaged and destroyed by various invasions and wars. In 1468, during Ming
Dynasty, the structures were underwent massive restoration works and during
Qing Dynasty so many halls namely, Guanying Hall, Foye Hall and the famous land
mark Thousand Buddha statue were also added to the complex.
Negative impact of Cultural Revolution and
the resurrection
The Cultural Revolution was considered as one of
the worst time for Thousand Buddha Mountain. Many of statues and carvings were
destroyed or damaged or lost forever. But the government started to recreate
its fame and restoration works have started in 1979. Many statues and
sculptures were re-created and some of them are added to boosts its tourist
attraction. The largest new statute added to the complex was the 20 meter tall
Maitreya Buddha which was completed in the year 2000. The entire complex has
undergone lot of revamping and lots of new road and promenades are constructed
to enhance local and international visitors. Be among them!
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