Buddhism is one of the world religions that are widespread in Asia. At the state level, Buddhism is adopted in China, Thailand, Tibet, India, Cambodia, Nepal and other countries. In the Russian Federation, Buddhism is practiced by Kalmyks, Buryats and Tuvans.
The followers of Buddhism venerate Sidhart Gautama, or Buddha - God, who was a man, but was able to achieve enlightenment as a result of travel, self-restraint and conversations with the sages about the meaning of life. The image of the Buddha is immortalized in sculpture. There are many statues of Gautama in the East. One of them is located on the territory of the temple, which they call it - the Temple of the Spring Buddha.
Why is Spring Buddha?
The temple received such a name due to the fact that it has a hot spring with healing power. The name of the geyser is translated into Russian as “hot spring”. The water temperature in Tianrui hot spring reaches sixty degrees Celsius.
The Foshan Temple Complex, built during the Tang Dynasty, is also famous for the fact that the belfry has a huge bell, whose weight is more than one hundred tons and a diameter of more than five meters. This bell is inferior in size to the Tsar Bell of the Kremlin. However, the Kremlin giant is just a tourist attraction (certainly worthy of attention), and the bell of the Spring Temple (in other words, the Bell of Fortune) is valid.
According to ancient traditions, marble deities and demons located at the entrance to the shrine guard against the territory of the temple from evil forces. In the temple, prayers and services are performed. Temple of the Spring Buddha - the haven of Buddhist monks. Lay people come here to pray, to renounce daily worries, to be alone with their thoughts and feelings.
Temple location
The monastery is located in a desert area on the outskirts of Henan Island. Since monks prefer privacy, there is nothing around the temple except the ticket office and one parking space.
The Spring Buddha Temple attracts pilgrims and tourists from all over the world, but in addition to a hot spring, a huge bell and marble sculptures at the entrance, travelers seek to see the highest Buddha statue in the world.
Statue Description
In the form of the Spring Buddha, the Buddha Vairochan symbolized wisdom is immortalized. The Buddha Statue of the Spring Temple is the tallest in the world. Its height, along with the hill on which the Buddha stands, is two hundred and eight meters. For comparison: the famous Statue of Liberty barely reaches the knee of the Buddha. Much lower is the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the sculptural composition "Mother Mother Calls!" In Volgograd and other monuments. The statue of the Spring Buddha is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
The sculpture of the Buddha of the Spring Temple seems unbelievable also because the Buddha stands on a giant pedestal, which is a lotus flower.
To get to the statue, you must overcome 365 steps, divided into 12 spans. It is easy to guess that such a division denotes the number of months and days in a year.
Buddha is made of gold, copper and special steel. At first the parts of the statue were sculpted, then they merged together. A total of one thousand one hundred parts were made. After combining them, the weight of the Buddha was a thousand tons.
The history of the construction of the statue
Buddha statue of the Spring Temple, the height of which is amazing, was erected in 2010. The decision to create the highest statue in the world was made after the Taliban blew up ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan. Destroyed sculptures were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Chinese government expressed dissatisfaction with the incident and determined the place of creation of the sculpture - Zhaoqun village in Henan province.
Construction began in 2001. The work was very intensive, and a year later the residents and guests of China had the opportunity to see a giant statue. True, then the height of the Spring Temple Buddha was 153 meters. Buddha's record sizes were achieved by transforming the hill on which Vairochan stands on stone steps.
The Buddha of the Spring Temple symbolizes the respect of the Chinese people for Buddhism.
How to behave in the temple?
The Temple of the Spring Buddha is a holy place. Therefore, the behavior should be such as not to violate religious traditions (even if the visitor professes a different religion), not to offend the monks and parishioners.
Tourists keep the image of the highest Buddha in their memory, since photo and video shooting in the temple are prohibited. Moreover, photographing makes the inhabitants of the monastery worry, and this is not surprising. You can’t take pictures of people without their consent.
Before entering the temple, you need to remove your hat and shoes. Clothing should cover hands to the forearm and legs to the ankles. It is forbidden to talk on the phone and talk to each other.
Buddhist monks cannot communicate with women, and some clergymen cannot communicate with men. Therefore, it is better not to try to start a conversation with the ministers of worship. If desired, a prayer service and offerings can be ordered in the temple.