Zongfo Temple, a sacred place revered by believers in Xishuangbanna

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Zongfo Temple, a sacred place revered by believers in Xishuangbanna

If you want to have a taste of the different Theravada Buddhist culture, and visit it as comfortably as a scenic spot, then Xishuangbanna Mengle Great Buddha Temple Scenic Area can meet your expectations. If you are truly pious, you should go to the Zongfo Temple in Xishuangbanna.

Xishuangbanna Mengle Great Buddha Temple

Jinghong is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. Around the middle of the 7th century, Theravada Buddhism was introduced from Burma to the Dai area in Yunnan. Affected by culture, almost all the people of the Dai and Blang people believe in "Theravada Buddhism from the South". There are Buddhist temples in every village and monks in villages.

Zongfo Temple is located in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna, and it is called "Wabaji" in Dai language. "Wa" is a temple, "Ba" is a forest, and "Ji" refers to the dojo where the Buddha used to practice meditation and practice Buddhism. "Wabaji" means that this place is like the garden where the Buddha once practiced. Wabaji was built in 615 A.D. According to legend, it was presided over by two Burmese monks who came to Xishuangbanna to promote the Dharma. It has a history of more than 1,400 years. It is the first Buddhist temple built after Theravada Buddhism was introduced to Xishuangbanna. It has a long history and profound legal ties.

About 700 years ago, Wabaji was established as the highest-level Buddhist temple in Xishuangbanna by Xishuangbanna Xuanwei. It enjoys a high reputation among Theravada Buddhist believers in Southeast Asia, and is a holy place revered by all believers in Xishuangbanna.

Since the completion of the "Wabaji" Buddhist temple, it has been rebuilt five times after various reasons such as wars.

The fourth restoration started in 1989, and the following year the "Wabaji" Buddhist Temple was renamed "Xishuangbanna General Buddhist Temple", restoring its status and social attributes in the Buddhist circle of Xishuangbanna.

In 2009, the Xishuangbanna Zongfo Temple was re-planned and rebuilt. The main building of the newly planned and reconstructed Xishuangbanna Zongfo Temple consists of the main hall, the precept hall, the Agamuni stupa, the drum tower, the bell tower, the elder's dormitory, the monk's dormitory, the welcome building, the Zhaitang and the high-rise building. It is composed of a standing Buddha of about 7.9 meters, and the main buildings are restored and built according to the excellent traditional architectural techniques of the Dai people. The rebuilt Zongfo Temple is by far the largest and most influential building in the Theravada Buddhist area in Yunnan.

The main hall of the Zongfo Temple has a history of hundreds of years and has been destroyed many times. The current main hall was rebuilt in 2009. The main hall has two floors. The first floor is a place for monks to preach scriptures and believers to worship Buddha. A bamboo woven Buddha is enshrined inside.

In the world, there are stone Buddha statues, gold Buddha statues, and bronze Buddha statues, but the Buddha statues made of bamboo and rattan can only be seen in Yunnan. She is a magical culture and art of the Dai people, and it is also the Dai people's admiration and admiration for Buddhism.

The second floor is a place for Buddhist ceremonies, enshrining a bronze Buddha cast and carved by Thai craftsmen in Thailand, consecrated by the Thai monk king, and members of the Thai royal family participated in the consecration process. It is the largest bronze Buddha in Xishuangbanna so far. It reflects that the Theravada Buddhism has been passed down in one continuous line between China and Thailand from ancient times to the present, and the rituals and regulations are consistent.

The outer wall of the main hall is inlaid with traditional reliefs of the twelve zodiac signs and eight zodiac figures, and ten dragon and heaven guardians are carved on the ten halls.

The silver tripods on the top of the main hall are shining under the reflection of the sun; the whole body of the temple is shining with golden light, just like the light of Buddha shining on all living beings. The main hall of the Zongfo Temple is a perfect combination of Dai traditional crafts and modern architectural culture. It has become the largest and most magnificent building in the Theravada Buddhism area in the frontier of Yunnan.

The bell tower and drum tower are the Buddhist temples to convey information to the believers and respectfully invite the gods and Buddhas of the ten directions when holding Buddhist activities. They use various changing bells and drums to convey auspicious and safe messages to the people. It is also the largest Bell and Drum Tower in Xishuangbanna.

bell tower

drum tower

The precept hall, "Bosu" in Dai language, is a place for storing Buddhist scriptures and holding precept ceremonies. It was completed and opened in 1998.

There is a saying among Buddhists: "Where the Bodhi tree is, the Buddha is there!"

More than 2,000 years ago, the Buddha Sakyamuni sat in lotus under a bodhi tree, subdued the army of demons, and at the dawn of the sky, when the morning star rose, he became enlightened and became a Buddha. Since then, the bodhi tree has become a sacred tree of Buddhism.

In 2005, a Buddhist delegation composed of a Sri Lankan monk-level master teacher, the Minister of the Tooth Relic, and the Bodhi Elder traveled across the ocean and escorted a precious holy Bodhi tree to Yunnan, China, and enshrined it in the General Buddhist Temple in Xishuangbanna.

This Bodhi tree is the third-generation sapling of the Bodhi tree that Buddha became a Buddha, and is regarded as a holy Bodhi tree. There is also a Bodhi tree planted in the Zongfo Temple by Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand when she visited the Zongfo Temple.