Baolin Temple is located at the west foot of Taiping Mountain in Shunde District in Foshan. Today's Baolin Temple was rebuilt in 1996, covering an area of 130,000 square meters, which is very magnificent and solemn. On the top of the mountain people can have the entire view of Shunde with quiet surroundings. Now there are still endless pilgrims coming for worship the gods and praying.
History of Baolin Temple
Baolin Temple was built in the late Tang Dynasty, about AD942. At that time, it was called Liubo Temple dedicated to Guanyin. It was much more prosperous during the Song Dynasty, when the famous monk Deqin arrived and he made the preachment in the temple. The scale and influence of Baolin Temple largely expanded, which shows the importance status in history.
In AD1452 of Ming Dynasty, Shunde County was established. The name was presented by Emperor Zhu Qiyu, meaning for complying with the rules of Heaven. Therefore, Shunde has such a saying, “Baolin was earlier built than Shunde City.” At that time, whenever there were the national ceremonies to be held, the local officials would gather in the temple court.
Later, in 1661 of Qing Dynasty, due to the monk Yuan Qing from Qingyun Temple inherited Zen Buddhism in Baolin Temple, the temple gained more reputation than ever before. The name of the temple changed to "Baolin Temple" instead of "Liubo Temple". “Balin” in Chinese means precious forests in Buddhist legend.
Due to historical reasons, some original halls of Baolin Temple were later used for other purposes. Later, due to the reconstruction of the city, the original appearance of the temple was difficult to restore. In the 1950s, with the approval of the local government, the funds were raised for the reconstruction, which had won the strong supports of people, so that the reconstruction work of went through smoothly.
Today's Baolin Temple
There is the main gate, the Tianwang Hall, the drum tower (the diameter of the drum is 2.6 meters), the bell tower (the bell weighs for 2.8 tons), the Nine Dragon Screen (18.3 meters wide and 7.9 meters high), Zhaitang Hall, Guest Hall, Daxiong Hall, Dizang Hall, Guanyin Hall, Luohan Hall, Meditation Hall and the Storeroom of Buddhist Scriptures.
The Guanyin Hall is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva, which is surrounded by mountains and water. The lake is clear, elegant and exquisite. The garden in front of the hall is dotted with the bamboos, quiet and tranquil.