Lingguang Temple (Beijing)


Lingguang Temple is a Buddhist temple located on the east hillside of Mount Cuiwei, in the Shijingshan District of Beijing. The temple is renowned for its collection of the tooth relic of the Buddha.

History

Tang dynasty

The temple was originally built between 766 and 779 in the Dali period of the Tang dynasty, it initially called "Longquan Temple".

Liao dynasty

In 1071, in the Xianyong era of the Liao dynasty, Lady Zheng, the mother of the then prime minister Yelü Renxian, elected the Zhaoxian Pagoda to worship the tooth relic of the Buddha.

Jin dynasty

Lingguang Temple was refurbished in 1162, in the 2nd year of Dading period of the Jin dynasty, and was renamed "Jueshan Temple".

Ming dynasty

The temple was largely extended in the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming dynasty, and the name was changed into "Lingguang Temple", which is still in use now.

Qing dynasty

Lingguang Temple was badly damaged in 1900 in the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance. While monk Sheng'an supervised the reconstruction of the temple, he founded a stone box in the ruins which preserved the tooth relic of the Buddha.

Republic of China

The modern temple was rebuilt in the 1920s.

People's Republic of China

After the establishment of the Communist State in 1956, Beijing Municipal Government listed the temple among the first batch of municipal cultural preservation unit.
In 1955, the tooth relic of the Buddha was transferred to Guangji Temple.
Construction of the Stupa of the tooth relic of the Buddha commenced in 1959 and was completed in 1964.
During the ten-year Cultural Revolution, the religious activities were discontinued.
Lingguang Temple has been designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the State Council of China in 1983.

Architecture

Shanmen

A gilded statue of Sakyamuni is enshrined in the Shanmen, it was presented by the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand in July 1989. Statues of Guan Yu and Skanda are enshrined on the west and east sides.

Stupa

The stupa was built in 1957, under the support of Beijing Municipal Government. The stupa is multi-eaves style brick pagoda with 13 stories. It stands at a height of about, built on a high stone foundation. The tooth relic of the Buddha is preserved in the stupa. It was consecrated by exceptional monks on June 25, 1964.

Zhaoxian Pagoda

The Zhaoxian Pagoda was built in 1071 during the Liao dynasty. It was known as "Thousand Buddha Pagoda" due to more than one thousand exquisite niches with small statues of Buddha were carved on the body of the pagoda. The pagoda was completely destroyed by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900 with only the stone foundation remaining.

Jade Buddha Hall

The Jade Buddha Hall was established in 2000 by the Buddhist Association of China. The hall enshrining the Three Life Buddha, namely Sakyamuni, Amitabha and Bhaisajyaguru. The statue of Bhaisajyaguru was presented by Than Shwe, chairman of State Peace and Development Council.

Reclining Buddha Hall

In the middle of the Reclining Buddha Hall placed the statue of Maitreya, with statue of Reclining Buddha at his back.

Hall of Dragon King

The Hall of Dragon King enshrining the statue of Dragon King.

Great Compassion Temple

The Great Compassion Temple is divided into three halls: the Shanmen, the Hall of Thousand Armed and Eyed Guanyin and the Reclining Buddha Hall.
A wood carving statue of Thousand Armed and Eyed Guanyin is enshrined in the middle of the hall, at the back of Guanyin's statue is a statue of Guan Yu.
The Reclining Buddha Hall enshrining a wood carving statue of Reclining Buddha, which was carved by Ito Shinjo, the founder of Japanese Buddhism Shinnyo-en.