The Pengjian Jue Miao Jing Yuan

Jue Miao Jing Yuan was founded in 1852 (the second year of the Xianfeng era). Originally it was the ancestral house of the Li family, with a construction area of about 160 square meters for residential housing. The courtyard was originally named 'Sheng Le An', and by the time of liberation, it was said to have gone through six abbots. It was destroyed in the 1960s due to dilapidation. Later, from 1986 to 1990, overseas Chinese from Hong Kong and Macau, along with mainland benefactors, raised funds to rebuild it on the original site. Furthermore, in 1997, with the approval of higher authorities, the expansion included the construction of the scripture hall, Shijia hall, Guanyin pavilion, Dizang hall, ancestral hall, and merit hall, among others. To date, the building covers an area of about 6000 square meters, with a construction area of 3000 square meters.
A brief exploration of the name change from Jing Yuan reveals the concept of 'two enlightenments' in Buddhist temples, namely 'equal enlightenment and wonderful enlightenment'. Equal enlightenment refers to the ultimate position of a Bodhisattva, while wonderful refers to the Buddha. The couplet at the gate also reflects this idea, suggesting that enlightenment is the Tathagata, and the wonderful Dharma saves all beings. The enlightened one is the Buddha, and the Tathagata is also the Buddha. The wonderful Dharma is another name for the Buddha's teachings, but the couplet suggests a shift from the self-salvation of the Theravada to the universal salvation of the Mahayana, representing a self-revolutionary process within Buddhism. Additionally, from the couplet at the gate of the Lotus Pond Guanyin, 'realizing the two truths is all-encompassing', which refers to the truth of sainthood and the truth of the secular world. The secular truth is 'understanding that existence is emptiness'. The sacred truth is 'understanding that emptiness is existence'. There is a difference in understanding nature and the material world, hence the distinction between the two truths.

Post by WESTLEY MANNING | Mar 25, 2024