Twenty kilometers outside of Beijing, the Temple of the Recumbent Buddha houses the largest Recumbent Buddha statue in China. Built during the Tang Dynasty, the original temple is over 1300 years old, but it was renovated and constantly in use during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The statue for which the temple is now named was not added until the Yuan Dynasty. The statue is bronze, weighs fifty-four tons and is five meters long. The Buddha lies on his right sight, his right hand supporting his head.
There’s a beautiful, glazed archway leading to the temple. The temple itself has three major halls, the Recumbent Buddha Hall, the Three Buddha’s Hall and the Heavenly Kings Hall. The Recumbent Buddha Hall contains not only the statue itself, but also twelve other Buddha statues. They all seem to be grieving, in representation of the time when Buddha sat ill beneath his bodhi tree, giving instructions to his followers. The Three Buddha’s Hall contains, as you would expect, three Buddha statues, surrounded by their arhats. The Four Heavenly Kings Hall contains a statue of the Buddha with the four heavenly kings to either side, showering him with gifts and asking for his blessing for their countries.
There are a number of bodhi trees on the temple grounds, said to have been transported all the way from India. In addition, there’s an extensive garden of peonies to the west of the temple.
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