Yunmen Temple

Located 6 kilometers north of the county seat of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, Yunmen Temple sits at the foot of Ciyun Peak and is the birthplace of one of the five major schools of Chinese Zen Buddhism, the Yunmen School. The temple was founded in the first year of the Tongguang era of the Later Tang Dynasty (AD 923) by Zen Master Wenyan, a ninth-generation disciple of Huineng, the sixth patriarch of the Yunmen School. The main structures of Yunmen Temple include the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Mahavira Hall, the Dharma Hall, the Bell Tower, the Zen Hall, the Dining Hall, the Teaching Building, the Merit Hall, the Longevity Hall, and so on. The entire complex, with more than 180 halls, pavilions, and towers, is interconnected.