鼎湖庆云寺中英文.doc

Temple Qingyun in Mountain Dinghu [Garden] – [Stone Torri & Step Path] – [Maitreya Hall] – [Gate of Temple] – [Heavenly Guardian Hall] – [Main Buddha Hall] – [East Hall] – [Monks’ Dining-hall] – [Middle Halls] – [Rear Halls] [Introduction] Good morning, everyone! I am very glad to meet my friends from afar! Today we are going to visit the famous Mountain Dinghu and the well-known Temple Qingyun built there. First of all, allow me to give you a general introduction to the mountain and the temple before we have a close look at them. Mountain Dinghu is located 18 kilometers northeast of Zhaoqing City, 86 kilometers away from Guangzhou. It is next to the Tropic of Cancer. The mountain is seated, to be exact, in 23 degrees 8 minutes north latitude, and 112 degrees 35 minutes east longitude. As it lies in the transition area of the subtropical zone, the mountain boasts pleasant climate, flush rainfall and luxuriant forests. A favorable place like this attracts Buddhists to settle in. as early as Tang Dynasty in the 7th century (that is, the years between 676 and 679), Buddhist Zhichang had a temple called Baiyun Temple built there. Later another 36 temples were erected nearby. They are affiliated to his temple. Buddhist Zhichang is also called Chan Master Zhichang. He is a disciple of Liuzu Huineng, the sixth founder of Zen (Chan) Buddhism. A visit to the relics today would give you a hint about how grand these temples used to be. Temple Qingyun, the one we are going to enter, was first built in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was named Temple Lotus (or Lianhuaan) at that time. The Zen Sect, one of the dominations of Buddhism, was and is its main school. Pure Land Sect and Vinaya School were and are also practiced there. In 1982, the Star Lake district, where Mountain Dinghu is located, was listed by the State Council as one of the 44 major national scenic spots. One year later, Temple Qingyun entered the list of the 142 key temples in Chi