Guangji si 廣濟寺

Current revision as of 00:26, 16 January 2011

Guǎngjì sì 廣濟寺 is the headquarters of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會 in Běijīng 北京.

History

This temple was founded as an ancestral temple for the Liú 劉 clan during the Jīn 金 Dynasty (1115-1234). It was renovated once during the Yuán 元 Dynasty (1279-1368). An excavation during the Jǐngtài 景泰 Years (1450-1456) of the Míng 明 Dynasty yielded a number of Buddhist artifacts carved in stone.

In 1457 a monk from Shānxī 山西, Shànhuì 善慧, and his disciple Yuánhóng 圓洪 rebuilt the temple and named in Hóngcí guǎngjì Temple 弘慈廣濟寺. The temple was renovated several more times over the following years. In 1466 (Chénghuà 成化 2), 1584 (Wànlì 萬曆 12), and 1694 (Kāngxī 康熙 33). Before the modern period they temple was destroyed by fires at least three times. In the early Qīng 清, the monk Héngmíng 恒明 changed the lineage of this temple from Línjì Chán 臨濟禪 to Vinaya, and he established an ordination platform. This attracted the attention of the Emperor, and made this temple an important part of Buddhism in China.

In 1916, the various Buddhist elders of Běijīng selected Xiànmíng 現明 to be abbot of the temple and to lead its restoration. Reconstruction began in 1918 (Mínguó 民國 7) and was completed in 1924, at which point the temple's name was officially shortened to Guǎngjì Temple 廣濟寺.

In January 1934 a fired destroyed half of the temple complex, including many of the temple's rare treasures, such a Míng Dynasty copy of the Lotus Sūtra, a white sandalwood Buddha image that was a gift from foreign Buddhists, and a number of ritual implements made of jade. The temple was rebuilt the following year, and again in 1952 and 1972.

Guǎngjì Temple was a very important site for Buddhism in Běijīng during the Republic. In the early years of the Republic, Zhāng Kèchéng 張克誠 lived at this temple, using it as a base to teach a number of people who became important in Republican Buddhism, such as Jiǎng Wéiqiáo 蔣維喬, Xú Wèirú 徐蔚如, and Gōng Jīxī 龔緝熙 (later ordained as Nénghǎi 能海). In 1920, Hú Zǐhù 胡子笏 and others sponsored a lecture series by Tàixū 太虛 at this temple. Many important Buddhists, both lay and ordained, attended these lectures.

In 1924, Dàojiē 道階 began the Hóngcí Buddhist Seminary 弘慈佛學院 here. it ran until 1934. In 1928, the important northern scholar of Consciousness-Only Hán Qīngjìng 韓清淨 lectured here. It is likely that at some point in the late 1920s or 1930s, the periodical Fóxué yuèkān 佛學月刊 was published here.^[1]

The Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會 was established here in 1955.

In 1983, this temple was designated an important location for Hàn 漢 Buddhism.

Personnel

Important Abbots

• Qīngyī 清一
• Xiànmíng 現明 (1916 - 1928)
• Xiǎnzōng 顯宗 (1928 - 19??)

Notable Residents

• Zhāng Kèchéng 張克誠

Temple Institution

Important Buildings or Artifacts

• Guānyīn Hall 觀音殿
  • This hall contains a bronze image of Guānyīn that dates to the Yuán 元 Dynasty
• The Scripture Pavilion 藏經閣
  • Until 1964, this building housed a tooth-relic of the Buddha

Associated Organizations and Groups

• Headquarters of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教協會 (1953 - 1966; 1980 - present)
• Hóngcí Buddhist Seminary 弘慈佛學院 (1924 - 1934)

Notes

1. ↑ Welch, Holmes. The Buddhist Revival in China. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. P. 282.

References

• Luó Zhéwén 羅哲文, et. al. Zhōngguó zhùmíng fójiào sìmiào 中國著名佛教寺廟 (Famous Buddhist Temples of China). Beijing: Zhongguo chengshi, 1995. Pp. 50-52.
• Sū Zhèshēng 蘇浙生. Shénzhōu fójìng 神州佛鏡 (Buddhist Regions of Shénzhōu). Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 2003. Pp. 121-123.
• 敕建弘慈廣濟寺新志 (1704/Kāngxī 康熙 43), from Dharma Drum's Temple Gazetteer Project.
• Entry for 廣濟寺 from Chinese Wikipedia.