(at the back of the Grand Hall)
Ladies and gentlemen, behind the statue of Sakyamuni there is a giant mural sculpture. In the middle is the statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin. Guanyin was originally named Guanshiyin but later abbreviated into Guanyin because the character “shi” was one of the characters in the Tang Emperor Li Shimin’s name and was considered a forbidden name. Guanyin often takes the image of a goddess in order to convert women to Buddhism. Actually he can incarnate into 32 images to convert people from all walks of life and relieve people from all kinds of sufferings. Any living creature in trouble needs only to recite his name and he will respond to the cry and readily come to help riding on the head of a huge turtle. That’s why he is described as a Bodhisattva of Great Mercy. By her two sides are her two disciples, San Cai the boy and Long Nu the girl. Above Guanyin is a statue of Sakyamuni when he was doing ascetic practices in a forest. A monkey on the right is offering preaches to him and a deer on the left is giving him milk to drink.
Now a few words about San Cai, the boy and Long Nu, the girl. It is said that when San Cai was born, a number of treasures came with him, hence his name. By the way, “Can” in Chinese means “wealth”. He was later converted by Bodhisattva Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, and went on a pilgrimage to the south in search of teaching. He was going to call on 53 teachers and then met Guanyin, hoping to obtain the guidance to buddhahood. There are altogether 53 statues on the mural sculpture, excluding the 18 arhats. They were all supposed to be San Cai’s teachers. He came to them one after the other. Guanyin was his 27th teacher. Long Nu, the daughter of Dragon King, was a genius. At the age of 8 she often attended lectures by Manjusri. Later she met the Buddha and attained buddhahood.
Below are 18 arhats, all disciples of Sakyamuni. According to Buddhist scripture, Sakyamuni asked them to stay permanently on the earth to help convert people to Buddhism. Arhats have three characteristics, namely, they can rid of all worries, they should be supported and offered by all people, and they enter nirvana once for all and never incarnate again.
(in the Hall of the Reclining Buddha)
Ladies and Gentlemen: in the middle of the hall we can see a jade statue of the reclining Buddha. This is Sakyamuni in his deathbed, or say, entering nirvana. We can see him looking slightly upward and reclining on his right arm. Some may ask why he looks so calm and carefree. It is said that in his entire life-time he had taught 500 disciples, therefore, he felt no worry because he firmly believed that his disciples would carry forward his principles and preach his doctrines to emancipate mankind. This statue, 96 cm long, is carved out of a single piece of jade. It was brought from Burma together with the other statue in sitting posture. The carving was exquisitely done with delicate features and a slender figure, it is considered a rare Buddhist relic, which contributes to Jade Buddha Temple’s reputation. Now ladies and gentlemen, over here we can see four pictures on the wall of the hall which describe the life story of Sakyamuni. The first one, “Tonsure”, describes Sakyamuni having his head tonsured and clothes changed into a monk’s robe when he came a monk at the age of 29; the second, “Enlightenment”, after six years ascetic practice he became enlightened and attained buddhahood at the age of 35; the third, “Preaching”, Sakyamuni is preaching to his first five disciples; and the fourth, “Nirvana”, Sakyamuni entered nirvana at the age of 80.
(before entering the Jade Buddha Chamber)
Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to visit the last main structure on the axis---the Jade Buddha Chamber. It is located on the second floor. Please do not take pictures or video tape-recording in the chamber.
(in the Jade Buddha Chamber)
Ladies and Gentlemen, the statue in front of us is the Jade Buddha in sitting posture. Since Buddhism is a leading religion in China, there are a great number of statues of Sakyamuni all over the country, and most of them are made out of stone, clay, or wood, but a jade statue of the Buddha of this size is rare. It is 1.92 meter in height and 1.34 meter in width. The jewels on his head, arms and feet are all genuine ones. They were donated by Buddhist believers. The statue was carved out of a single piece of jade. It is soft in luster, even in color, pure and flawless in texture and exquisite in workmanship. This statue reflects Sakyamuni’s getting enlightened. We can see that his left hand rests on his left knee showing his great determination of deep meditation while his right hand stretches out onto the ground indicating that he had devoted himself to the emancipation of all mankind and this could only be witnessed by the great earth. When monk Hui Gen found the jade in Burma, he had it excavated under the permission of the Burmese King and had the an artisans carve it into a Buddha Statue, so it is a crystallization of the friendship of different nations. This statue looks life-like, with gentle and soft features and is considered a precious relic of Buddhist art. This is the reason why the temple enjoys a high reputation.
In the cabinets on both sides are kept a complete set of Buddhist scripture, Da Zang Sutra, which was block-printed in 1870. this set of scripture covers Sakyamuni’s teachings by moth, Buddhist doctrines, and Buddhist theories.
(in the courtyard in front of the Abbot’s Room)
This is the Abbot’s Room, where the abbot priest lives. It is also a sermon hall where the monks attend lectures by the abbot priest. On the middle wall is hung the portrait of Priest Dharma, honored as the founder of the Chan Sect in Chinese Buddhism.
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