Explore Kaiyuan Temple: Encounter the Zen of a Thousand-Year-Old Buddhist Kingdom

Explore Kaiyuan Temple: Encounter the Zen of a Thousand-Year-Old Buddhist Kingdom You must visit Quanzhou to fulfill a thousand-year-old promise with Kaiyuan Temple. Stepping into the temple is like traveling through time, as the charm of the ancient temple greets you. Kaiyuan Temple was built in the Tang Dynasty and has a mysterious origin. Legend has it that Master Kuangfu asked Huang Shougong for land to build a temple. Huang Shougong said he would give him the land if the mulberry tree bloomed. Miraculously, the mulberry tree bloomed with white lotus flowers the next day, and thus the "Lotus Temple," the predecessor of Kaiyuan Temple, was born. Half of it is the world of mortals, and the other half is the world of Buddhism. The purple cloud screen separates the mortal world from the Buddhist world, making it a place of tranquility. The East and West Twin Pagodas in the temple are a must-see. The "Zhenguo Pagoda" and "Renshou Pagoda" stand tall. They have evolved from wooden pagodas to brick pagodas and then to stone pagodas, with each stone bearing the wisdom of the ancients. They have cleverly resisted coastal typhoons and stood firm to this day. The East Pagoda's reliefs depict the five realms, while the West Pagoda represents the Western Pure Land. It is said that the West Pagoda was a filming location for "Black Myth: Wukong," and the monkey relief on the fourth floor is the prototype of Sun Wukong. The Mahavira Hall is equally impressive. The five Buddhas enshrined in the hall follow the esoteric tradition, and the brackets in the hall are composed of 24 flying musicians, symbolizing the 24 solar terms and reflecting the folk culture of balancing work and rest. The diabase stone pillars in the rear corridor are carved with ancient Hindu stories, which are exquisite. There are also inscriptions by Master Hongyi, the Heart Stone Carving, the Kirin Wall, and more, each worth savoring. At Kaiyuan Temple, you can feel the traces of time and experience the fusion of Zen and culture. This journey is a spiritual baptism and a tribute to history and culture.