(no photos allowed)

 

玉佛禅寺 Jade Buddha Temple

170 An Yuan Rd Putuo Shanghai China

(no photos allowed) As a Buddhist this really irks me. These beautiful sacred statues where donated by kind hearted individuals to help Buddhism flourish and where entrusted to Buddhist monks in order to help prorogate the Buddhist concepts and ideals. The current situation in the Temple is this: The Reclining Jade Buddha doesn't have a place for lay followers to properly pray. It's the corridor of the walk way which is not an appropriate area to pay ones respects. So after you pay the quicker you see it and leave the better. The Sitting Buddha was locked up so we didn't even get a change to view it. I had to go to a website in order to see a statue I should have been able to see when we visited.

During my visit I tried to speak with the head monk but due to language difficulties couldn't get answers to any questions as to why they have this ridiculous policy. I know the Chinese authorities monitor religious activities and monks but this doesn't seem to be of their doing rather the policy of the head monk which nobody is willing to challenge. They seem more pre-occupied with trying to sell Buddhist Antiquities in there shop area (which by the way does have some very up market Buddhist art deco) then to propagate the Buddhist ideals.

Karma: If one prevents others from seeing and paying respects to the Buddha he intern will be blocked from reaching Nirvana at the end of the day Monks are trusted guardians of the Buddhist teachings and what kind of message is this. If people have a photo they will reflect on the Buddha's teachings. This is not the right path.

In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. In 1882, an old temple was built to keep two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk named Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple.

Location: 170 An Yuan Rd Putuo Shanghai China
Bus Routes:
bus 19, 206, 738 and get off at Jiangning Road Anyuan Road Station.
bus 54, 68, 112, 206, 316, 738, 950 and get off at Jiangning Road Haifang Road Station.
By Subway:
Take Subway Line 7 to Changshou Road Station. Get out from Exit 5 and then walk along Xinhui Road, turn right till Jiangning Road to look for the temple on the right side.
Admission Fee: CNY 20
Evaluation: Recommended Time for a Visit One hour
Recommendation Index: ☆☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours:
Opening Hours: 8:00-17:00 (ordinary days) 5:30-17:00 (Lunar New Year's Day, the 1st and the 15th day of every lunar month) Recommended Time for a Visit One hour

In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. In 1882, an old temple was built to keep two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk named Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple.

The two precious jade Buddhist statues are not only rare cultural relics but also porcelain artworks. Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with whole white jade. The sparkling and crystal-clear white jade gives the Buddhas the beauty of sanctity and make them more vivid. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald, portraying the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long, lying on the right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg, this shape is called the 'lucky repose'. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. In the temple there is also another Recumbent Buddha which is four meters long and was brought from Singapore by the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. Furthermore there are many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.

Although the history of the Jade Buddha Temple is not very long, the old-time and classical architectural style makes the temple unique and inimitable in this modern city. Devajara Hall, Mahavira Hall and the Jade Buddha Tower make up the main structure of the temple and at sides are the Kwan-yin Dian Hall, the Amitabha Dian Hall, the Zen Tang Hall, the Dining-Room and the Recumbent Buddha Hall. The Sitting Buddha is in the Jade Buddha Tower and the Recumbent Buddhas are in the Recumbent Buddha Hall. More than 7,000 Dazang sutras are kept in the Jade Buddha Tower; these are all the inestimable culture relics.

The Jade Buddha Temple is a good place to go whether you are a Buddhist or not, the peaceful and transcendent atmosphere adds a kind of richness to our busy modern society.^[1]

Photo: The prized jade Buddha is a Mandalay-influenced, white marble Buddha

Perhaps one of the most famous Buddhas in China, the Jade Buddha (no photos allowed) is actually carved marble. A Chinese monk lugged this treasure all the way from Myanmar many, many years ago. Imagine the karma points!

Web Reference: http://www.heybrian.com/travels/buddhas/index.php

The Jade Buddha Temple (Chinese: 玉佛禅寺; pinyin: Yùfó Chán Sì, literally Jade Buddha Chan Temple) is a Buddhist temple in Shanghai, China. As with many modern Chinese Buddhist temples, the current temple draws from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 metres tall, 3 tonnes), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha's death. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Buddha made of marble, donated from Singapore, and visitors may mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece.

History

During the rule of emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908), Hui Gen, an abbot from Mount Putuo went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. After Tibet, he arrived in Burma. Whilst there, Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Jiang-wan, Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with donated funds, and died shortly thereafter. This temple was occupied during the 1911 uprising, and the statues were moved to Maigen Road.

An Abbot by the name of Ke Chen later had a new temple built on land donated by a Mr. Shen. The construction took ten years, and lasted from 1918-1928. Ke Chen also invited Reverend Di Xian from Tian Tai mountain to come and lecture on Buddhism in a magnificent ceremony.

In 1956, a ceremony was held at the temple by the Shanghai Buddhist Association to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment.
In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, the monks made a living by selling handicrafts.
In 1983, Shanghai Institute of Buddhism was established at the temple under the Shanghai Buddhist Association.
In 1985, Monk Zhizhi Xuan and others made a trip to Dunhuang via Xinjiang. Shortly after their return, regular scripture lectures, meditation and other features of temple life were resumed.

Abbots

?-1942 Abbot Yuan Chen
1942-? Monk Zhen Hua (d. 1944, age 39)

Temple layout

The front sign on the eaves of Jade Buddha Temple.

Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings

The Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings contains the statues of Maitreya, Wei Tuo Bodhisattva and the Four Heavenly Kings, who represent favorable circumstance. The chamber is located on the southern-edge, or 'front' of the temple.

Grand Hall

Also called the Great Hall, this hall contains many statues. Three Golden Buddhas. The central sculpture is of Gautama Buddha, the left Amitabha and the right Bhaisajyaguru. Gods of the Twenty Heavens. The Gods of the Twenty Heavens, covered in gold, line the eastern and western sides of the Grand Hall. 18 Arhats. 18 unique golden Arhats stand in two groups of nine. Guanyin, Shen Cai and his 53 teachers. A large golden statue of Guanyin stands on at northern entrance to the Great Hall, with Shan Cai at her side and sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life above.

Jade Buddha Chamber

The Jade Buddha Chamber is in the northern section of the temple, on the second floor. A fee of 10 yuan is charged to ascend to it. Some additional Buddhist sculptures are also viewable in the antechamber.

Public restaurant

The public restaurant is located on level two at the eastern edge of the temple and equipped with its own street entrance. Open daily, it serves a range of noodle dishes for five yuan per bowl, the most popular of which is 'double mushroom noodles' (双菇面). Other dishes are served at moderate prices. Tickets are sold by color and this ticket is turned in inside the main eating room and your soup is then delivered to your table which you might share with others. Upstairs is a much more upscale restaurant at much higher prices.

Other

The temple also contains a private restaurant for the use of monks and temple volunteers, which is at the western edge of the temple complex. There is a visitor services office adjacent to the southern entrance, and a Buddhist library is also on the premises.^[2]