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Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai is one of the most visited
monasteries of Shanghai. This ancient temple has a history
of over 100 years. This monastery was set up in time
of the reign of Guang Xu, in the Qing Dynasty. This
dynasty existed between 1875 AD and 1909. A Huigen monk
from Putuo Mountain situated in Zhejiang province accepted
five Jade Buddha statues of various sizes from Burma.
Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai was named after the jade
Buddha. It was rebuilt in 1918 after it was demolished
in the war.
The architecture of the Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai
resembles the style of the Song Dynasty. The monastery
includes many halls, namely the Heavenly King Hall,
Devajara Hall, the Mahavira Hall, Kwan-yin Dian Hall,
the Amitabha Dian Hall, the Zen Tang Hall, the Dining-Room
and the Recumbent Buddha Hall, the Grand Hall, the Reclining
Buddha Hall and the Jade Buddha Hall. This monastery
is also a living place for monks. It has also been the
home of the Shanghai Buddhism Institute. You will find
many paintings, ancient statues and a series of Buddhist
scripture printed in the Qing Dynasty. There are over
7,000 Buddhist scriptures kept in the monastery.
Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai
mainly follows principles from the Pure Land and Chan
heritage of Mahayana trend of Buddhism. The statues
imported from Burma had one sitting Buddha and a smaller
reclining Buddha statue. The smaller one indicates Buddha's
death. These two jade Buddhist statues are made of fine
porcelain. The sitting Buddha statue is almost 190 centimeters
high. It is adorned by emerald and agate. The recumbent
Buddha statue is 96 centimeters long and strikes a pose
known as the 'lucky repose'. Now, there is a bigger
reclining Jade Buddha statue in the temple. This statue
came from Singapore as a donation.
The Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai is a popular place
of visit.
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