What are the transportation options at Dongting Xishan Baoshan Temple?

Dongting Xishan·Baoshan Zen Temple Transportation Guide: You can reach it by taking Route 91 on the west side of Suzhou Railway Station, or you can take Route 53 from Wuzhong Bus Station.

It is located in Baoshanwu northwest of Linwudong. According to historical records, the temple was founded at the beginning of the Southern Dynasties. It was originally named Fuyuan Temple and was officially built in the second year of Liang Datong (536). In the ninth year of the Yuan Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, named the temple "Xianqing Temple"; because the West Mountain is surrounded by water, it is commonly known as Baoshan Temple, and the temple is the largest temple on the mountain. Emperor Suzong Li Heng of the Tang Dynasty also named it Baoshan Temple. Shanwu was also named Baoshanwu, and the name has been used to this day. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Baoshan Temple was known as a famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River. There were many eminent monks and the temple also experienced many rises and falls. Baoshan Temple was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province in the early days of liberation. The temple was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution" and reconstruction began in 1995. It was basically completed in the autumn of 1999 and was officially consecrated on October 23.

During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Monk Shanxiao, the abbot of Baoshan Temple, went to Beijing to preside over Buddhist temple activities at the funeral of Concubine Dong E in response to an imperial edict. He was appreciated by the Emperor Shunzhi and was given the imperial pen "reverence to Buddha", which became a treasure of the temple. , the "Respecting Buddha" stele in the Royal Mo Pavilion on Shigong Mountain was engraved by Zhen Linmo during the Guangxu period. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, in order to prevent the Japanese invaders from seizing more than 40 boxes of precious ancient books in the Suzhou Library, they were moved to the Full Moon Pavilion of Baoshan Temple. The abbot, Master Wen Da, was not afraid of hardships and took eight years to finally make the cultural relics available. The preservation was awarded by the Jiangsu Provincial Government and the Provincial Department of Education in the Republic of China. The Tripitaka in the temple is a square woodcut volume originating from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It is known as the Wanli Collection, Jiaxing Collection, and Jingshan Collection. It is currently the most complete and one of the only two extant volumes in the country. It is very precious and is now preserved in the Nanjing Museum.

Baoshan Temple has a long history and a large scale. It is said that there were 1,048 monk rooms in its heyday. , sheltering thousands of monks." At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the monks were divided into six rooms, from bottom to top: Jingshan Hall, Nianhua Hall, Zen Hall, Dayun Hall, Lower West Room, and Upper West Room, collectively known as Xianqing Zen Forest, of which Dayun Hall is the main temple. . In addition to the Shanmen Hall, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, and Dayun Hall, the temple buildings also include Kongcui Pavilion, Nengui Pavilion, Zushi Hall, Xiangzheng Pavilion, Ningxiang Pagoda Courtyard, Wen Sutra Mountain Room, etc. Literati from past dynasties visited Baoshan Temple and left many poems, such as Pi Rixiu, Lu Guimeng, Fan Chengda, Wang Chong, Shen Deqian, Ye Shengtao, Tian Han, Zhou Shojuan, etc. From the late Qing Dynasty to the early liberation, the abbots of Baoshan Temple were Taixu, Daxiu, Wenda and Yungu. There were originally many inscriptions and couplets in the temple. The most famous one, in addition to the imperial pen "Respecting Buddha", is the Dayun Tang couplet written by Yu Jue, a famous Shihu master in the late Qing Dynasty: "There are not many good tastes, white rice, fragrant vegetables and bitter tea; I heard this, pine trees The sound of birds singing in the wind and the sound of springs. "After Baoshan Temple was destroyed, many believers still went to the site to offer incense. After the Taihu Bridge was opened to traffic in 1994, preparations for the reconstruction of Baoshan Temple began. In July 1995, a preparatory group for the restoration of Baoshan Zen Temple was established. Zhao Puchu, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and President of the Buddhist Association of China, inscribed the name of the temple and the plaque of the Main Hall for Baoshan Zen Temple. On October 15, 1995, the Baoshan Temple restoration project officially started. The project was invested by Xishan Town Tourism Development Service Company and designed and constructed by Suzhou Xiangshan Ancient Construction Group Company. The first phase of the project mainly includes the Shanmen Hall, the Heavenly King Hall, the Main Hall, walls, some attached houses, roads, etc. The total land acquisition is 70 acres, with a total investment of 10 million yuan. In May 1997, the main building of the first phase of the project was completed and the construction of the second phase of the project began. The second phase of the project mainly includes Buddha statues, wing rooms, archways, sutra collection buildings, Dayun Hall, Jade Buddha Hall, Patriarch Hall, Royal Stele Pavilion, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, various appliances and supporting facilities, parking lots, roads, etc. The total investment is also Nearly ten million yuan. On October 23, 1999, Baoshan Temple held a consecration ceremony for the Buddha statue. Master Guanche was appointed abbot, and there were more than 40 monks in the temple. In front of the reconstructed gate of Baoshan Zen Temple is a Xianghua Bridge with a mountain stream below. In the middle of the mountain gate is the Budai monk (the incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva). In the middle of the Hall of Heavenly Kings is the true body of Maitreya Bodhisattva Ajita, on the back is Wei Tuo Bodhisattva, and on both sides are the four heavenly kings. In the middle of the main hall, there are Buddhas of the third generation, Sakyamuni in the middle, Medicine Buddha in the east, and Amitabha in the west. Sakyamuni's attendants on the left and right are Venerable Kaysapa and Venerable Ananda; on the back of the Buddha of the third generation is Island Guanyin. Guanyin Bodhisattva, Shancai Boy, Dragon Girl and twenty heavens; on both sides are eighteen Arhats, Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. The Sutra Collection Tower (Funyue Pavilion) is located behind the main hall, and on the west side is the Imperial Stele Pavilion. The Jade Buddha Hall is located on the southwest side of the main hall and houses the white marble Sakyamuni. The Patriarch Hall is located in the south of the Jade Buddha Hall and is dedicated to Patriarch Bodhidharma.