📜[Intro]
White Horse Temple (Chinese: 白马寺) is a Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan that, according to tradition, is the first Buddhist temple in China, having been first established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han dynasty.
The site is just outside the walls of the ancient Eastern Han capital, some 12-13 kilometres (7.5-8.1 mi) east of Luoyang in Henan Province. It is approximately 40 minutes by bus No. 56 from Luoyang railway station.The temple, although small in comparison to many others in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism".The geographical landmarks to the south are Manghan mountain and Lucoche River.
Here are several forms of the legends relating to the foundation and naming of the temple:
Following Emperor Ming's dream vision about a Buddha who established Buddhism, two of Ming's emissaries departed to search for Buddhist scriptures. They encountered two Indian Buddhist monks in Central India and persuaded them to join them and return to China, bringing their book of Buddhist scriptures, relics and statues of Buddha with them on two white horses. Pleased with their arrival in China, the king built a temple in their honour and named it the White Horse Temple or Baima Temple, as an appreciation of the white horses that had carried the monks. The monks resided at the new temple and here they translated the Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. The Buddhist religion prospered from here and with the arrival of Bodhidarma, another monk from South India in the 5th century, Chinese Buddhism evolved, spreading to other countries.
At the invitation of the Chinese Emperor Ming Di, two Indian monks named Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna or Gobharana, translated the Buddhist classics at the Baimai Temple at Luo Yang, which was then the nation’s capital. They translated many scriptures, the notable of these was the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters (四十二章經), which was translated by Matanga. This was the first Buddhist sutra in Chinese and has the pride of place in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Gobharana translated the 'Dasa Bhumi' or the 'Ten stages of Perfection', apart from five others.The temple then increased in importance as Buddhism grew within China and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The introduction of Buddhism in China was a significant influence on Chinese morals, thought and ethics.
The temple's story begins with the dream of Emperor Mingdi and his establishing the temple in 68 AD honouring the two Indian monks and the white horses that brought them to China with Buddhist scriptures. The two monks translated many scriptures while living in the temple, which was named as White Horse Temple. They died in the temple precincts and are buried in the first courtyard of the temple. Following the establishment of the temple, 1000 monks lived here practicing Buddhism.
According to 'The Chapter on the Western Regions' of the Hou Hanshu (Book of Later Han), which was based on a report to the Emperor c. 125, but was not compiled until the 5th century:
"Tradition is that Emperor Ming dreamt that he saw a tall golden man the top of whose head was glowing. He questioned his group of advisers and one of them said: "In the West there is a god called Buddha. His body is sixteen chi tall [3.7 metres (12 ft)], and is the colour of gold." That is why the Emperor sent envoys to Tianzhu [South or Central India] to inquire about the Buddha’s doctrine, after which paintings and statues [of the Buddha] appeared in the Middle Kingdom."
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🔻Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:16 Chinese Style Temple Part
23:27 Thai Style Temple Part
36:21 Burmese Style Temple Part
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