iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Part I of a journey through the life of Huineng, the most important patriarch of Chan (Zen) in China, Check it out! templetales.substack.com/p/ep-183-in-...

templetales.substack.com

Ep. 183: In the Footsteps of Huineng, Part I

Following the topography of Chan's foremost patriarch

140

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Merry Christmas from the Philippines! These two Belgian Mals belong to different neighbors; King (l) lives on a 48" chain, and Storm (r) in a 40" x 40" cage, so every day I take them out and walk them, play with them, train them, and feed them. (That's in addition to my own six big dogs.) My deers!

230

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Here's this month's FREE episode of my Temple Tales newsletter. Enjoy! templetales.substack.com/p/ep-177-tal...

templetales.substack.com

Ep. 177: Tales of Caotang Temple

A tongue, two wells, and a bell

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Dear Friends, Since December of last year I have made daily posts--I don't think I ever missed one. I'm tired, so I'll be slowing down in September, with occasional posts here and there. Thanks for your support! If you want to see what else I'm doing, check out my Temple Tales Newsletter (in bio).

060

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Here's a brief account of my short visit. I LOVED the Muslim Quarter! chinaskeytemples.thetempleguy.org/2010/04/no-1... Click "Previous Article" (not Previous at the bottom) to see what else I did in Shandong. (The piece was originally written for a Shenzhen newspaper.)

chinaskeytemples.thetempleguy.org

110

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Two Buddhas, seen in the grottoes at Xingguo Temple on Qianfo Shan ("Thousand-Buddha Mountain") in Ji'nan, Shandong. The temple is located about halfway up the hillside. Aside from several halls with some fine statues, there are numerous small grottoes with statues carved into the native rock.

1255

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Main Hall, Qingyun Temple, Zhaoqing, Guangdong--mostly unrestored and therefore beautiful. Founded in 1633, the temple is now inside the lush Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve, China's first (est. 1956), which is bisected by the Tropic of Cancer. The stroll down the mountain is delightful.

050

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

This stone lion looked amazing in golden hour light at Jingju Temple, Ji'an, Jiangxi. The temple was the seat of Qingyuan Xingsi (660-740), a claimant to be the Seventh Patriarch of Chan (Zen). Three of Chan's five recognized schools can be traced through him: the Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan Schools.

050

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

This dragon is on the Nine Dragon Wall in Datong, Shanxi, built to screen a prince's palace in 1392. The palace, alas, is long gone, but the wall remains, and at 45.5 meters (150 ft) long and eight meters (26 ft) high, it is advertised as China's oldest and largest screen wall made of glazed tile.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

The Bronze Hall is near the rear of Xiantong Temple, Wutai Shan, Shanxi. Its inside is lined with small bronze figures of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Built in the Ming Dynasty, it is one of only three bronze temple halls in all of China. The pagodas that stand before it are bronze as well.

082

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

The gateway to Bukenqu Guanyin Yuan on Putuoshan in Zhejiang. The temple's founding story tells of a Japanese monk who tried to take a statue of Guanyin back to Japan; the statue would not leave, giving the temple its name: Bukenqu, the "refused to leave" Guanyin.

030

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

It's time again for the monthly FREE post on my "Temple Tales" Newsletter. This one addresses the problem of sacred statues that are no longer wanted--"Discarded Deities." Enjoy! templetales.substack.com/p/ep-160-dis...

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

The pagoda at Longhua Temple in Shanghai stands outside the front gate, and is its most famous feature. It is the only ancient pagoda remaining in the city; while the foundations may be older, and there have been extensive repairs, the core of the current structure dates to 977.

0105

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

The pond in the background once was home to two ancient turtles in the West Garden of Xiyuan Jiechuang Temple in Suzhou, Jiangsu. An unsourced statement on Wikipedia says, "One turtle died in 2007 at the age of 400, and the other has disappeared." All we have left is this statue.

061

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

The Buddha and Arhats in the grottoes behind Qixia Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu. You can clearly see that the heads--replaced after vandalism--are a different color. The area is the so-called "Thousand Buddhas Cliff" (started in 484), which has grottoes actually containing 515 statues and 294 shrines.

050

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

The "True Relic Pagoda" at Famen Temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi, collapsed in 1981; relics, including a finger bone of the Buddha, were found in a vault underneath it in 1987. The relic is now on display in a modern (and, IMO, "ugly") structure nearby. The reconstructed pagoda here was completed in 1988.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

The pool is the centerpiece at Guanyin Temple, Shenzhen, Guangdong. New halls were going up around it when I visited in 2011. It's located not far from one of Shenzhen's best folk temples, Fenghuang Shan, or "Phoenix Mountain" in Fuyong Town, which is in turn quite near Shenzhen Airport.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

The streetside gate at lovely Tongjiao Temple in Beijing, the city's only nunnery. A place of strict discipline, it is open to the public only on new moon and full moon. The ultra-urban location was used as a police station during the Cultural Revolution, but was restored and re-opened in 1981.

051

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Dhrtarashtra, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, in the then-newly-built Huayan Temple in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The Chinese call him Chi Guo for "supporting the country." His lute can bring comfort and represent harmony, but also its TWANG! can raise a wind, fanning fires which destroy the enemy camp.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

The Mountain Gate at Guangyuan Temple, Chengde, Hebei, is closed with adobe. The abandoned temple's grounds are used as a plant nursery. Built by the lama in charge of nearby Puning Temple in 1780 under Emperor Qianlong, it was one of the "Eight Outer Temples" of Chengde. Few of its halls remain.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

The "Soul Cow" at Zhiti Huayan Temple in Ningde, Fujian. It's said that the cow went down on its knees whenever anyone said "Namo Amitofo" (the name of Amitabha Buddha) to it. It had been saved from butchering and brought to the temple for refuge--and this was as recent as the 1980s!

041

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

The White Horse at Baima Temple in Luoyang, Henan, represents one of those who gave the temple its name: "Baima" is Chinese for "White Horse." It is said that this was the lodging for the first two official missionaries from India (who rode white horses); it would thus be China's oldest temple.

0101

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

This Spirit Door at Longshan Temple, Jinjiang, Fujian, shows the current building's originally-Daoist design. Now converting to a more Buddhist style, Longshan has a long history of Buddhism, having fostered many by the same name throughout the world--no fewer than five across the straits in Taiwan.

000

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

These small Buddhas are waiting to be placed in a repainted 10,000 Buddha Hall at Tiantai Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. The highest temple (though not the highest peak) on Jiuhua, Tiantaisi is said to be where the Korean monk Jin Qiaojue built his hut when he came up the mountain to practice in 719.

062

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

I had started my morning by climbing up to Roushen Dian on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. On the opposite descent, I stopped in at Shangchantang Temple. When I reached the courtyard of tiny Jingjie Jingshi, it was fairly crowded--a sign I was nearing the main road at bottom of the trail.

030

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Erzu (Second Patriarch's) Temple in Yuexi County, Anhui, is one of the most remote I've been to. It sits at the foot of Sikong Mountain. The mountain is called "Sikong Yuan" as it was the retreat of an official named Chunyu Dasikong, from the time of Confucius--testimony to how remote it is.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Gate to the Dragon Spring at the quaint Longquan (Dragon Spring) An Nunnery in Badachu Park, Beijing. The temple dates to the 1420s, and the nuns sell simple snacks in an outdoor dining area above the titular Dragon Spring. There is also a fine collection of very old statues in a dilapidated hall.

041

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

The Thousand-Armed Guanyin at Kaifu Temple, Changsha, Hunan. A general named Ma Yin (852-930) became "King of Chu" and built his palace here. His son, Ma Xifan, donated the land in 927 to a monk named Baoning, who built the first temple. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since.

0166

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

In a clever use of limited space, Jinge Temple, Wutai Shan, Shanxi, arranged its 500 Arhats in the rafters over the floor of the main hall. Impressive--and a little creepy. The temple is associated with the Indian Vajrayana master Amoghavajra, and was built to promote devotion to Manjushri.

041

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

The 250-foot (75.3 m) stupa (properly called the "Great White Pagoda") at Tayuan Temple is the symbol of Wutai Shan, Shanxi. Built in 1302, it originally belonged to nearby Xiantong Temple. In 1407 it was separated and became a temple in its own right, named simply Tayuan, the "Pagoda Compound."

041

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

The entry to Huiji Temple, Putuoshan Zhejiang, seems almost defensive: a long narrow corridor with right-angle turns as though to repel an invading army. It approaches the temple's front gate through a forested area, from the top of the famed Xiangyun (Fragrant Cloud) Road, the traditional approach.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

The buildings at Yuanming Jiangtang in Shanghai look like office buildings, but some fine statues inside include this Jade Buddha. It was founded in 1934 as a study center by Master Yuanying of Ningbo's Tiantong Temple. Yuanying was also the first chairman of the Chinese Buddhism Association.

051

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

A rakshasa or demon is crushed under the foot of Virudhaka in the Heavenly Kings' Hall at Wenshu Yuan in Chengdu, Sichuan. These figures represent the "crushing" of unhelpful desires. They also sometimes serve to hold up the unsupported leg of a statue.

092

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

The tomb of the parents of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan (Zen) stands at Guo'en Temple, Xincheng, Zhaoqing, Guangdong. He was born a short walk away in what is now called "Sixth Patriarch Village." After a lifelong association with this temple, he spent his last years and passed away here.

183

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

I enjoyed seeing these two old men seated in the Mountain Gate at Yushan Xingfu Temple in Changshu, Jiangsu. It sits at the foot of Yushan, which is named for a rather shadowy figure known as Yu Zhong who lived in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (c 1600-771 BCE); his tomb is found on the mountain.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

The Konghai Memorial is dedicated to a Japanese monk also known as Kukai or Kobo Daishi, who studied at Qinglong (Green Dragon) Temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi, during the Tang Dynasty. It stands on the temple's original grounds, as does a replica of the main hall where Huiguo initiated Kukai.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Did you know...? FREE subscribers to my newsletter get pictures like these in their mailbox every day! Sure, they're recycled, but: --in a different order; --reaching back several months; and --with explanations freed from the tyranny of the 300-character limit Take a look! templetales.substack.com

templetales.substack.com

Temple Tales | James Baquet | Substack

Thrilling accounts and short "fiction" from one man's journey to over 700 sites in Japan and China, with plenty of Buddhist teachings thrown in. Click to read Temple Tales, by James Baquet, a Substack...

000

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The Qiyun Pagoda in Luoyang, Henan, has a long history. Its compound is attached to Baima Temple, which is supposedly the first temple in China. This is an 1165 reconstruction; it is said the original was built of wood in 64 (!) over a "mystical" mound containing a Buddha relic sent by King Ashoka.

083

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Qiongzhu Temple in Kunming, Yunnan, is famous for its late-Qing Dynasty set of 500 Arhats. Li Guangxiu, a folk clay artist from Sichuan, took students to Kunming where they created the sculptures over a seven-year (1883–1890). About one meter tall, each has a unique facial expressions and gestures.

040

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

The grounds of Xihuang Temple, Beijing, are closed to the public. I tried to enter several times, and was always turned back. Too bad: It features a "Diamond Throne" (complex pagoda) built by the Qianlong emperor to house the clothing and books of the Sixth Panchen Lama, who died in Beijing in 1780.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

These three Buddhas at Dafo (Big Buddha) Temple in Guangzhou, Guangdong are just 20 feet (6 metres) high--not bad, but not really so big after all. Only a few decades old, they are located in a much older hall, the only surviving building from the temple's earlier days.

040

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

The Mountain Gate at Shuxiang Temple, Chengde, Hebei. The temple is closed to the public, but it's part of a pleasant stroll among the outer temples of Chengde.

020

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Statue of Master Zhiyi (or Zhizhe), founder of the Tiantai Sect for which he was also called Dashi Tiantai. This photo was taken at Guoqing Temple, Zhejiang, which was built at the base of Mount Tiantai as his last wish. His pagoda stands inside a small hall farther up the mountain.

031

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Hi, Friends. I've just published this month's FREE newsletter. It's called "Three Monks, Three Generations, Three Countries," and tells the story of how Esoteric Buddhism traveled from India through China to Japan in just three generations. Take a look! templetales.substack.com/p/ep-156-thr...

templetales.substack.com

Ep. 156: Three Monks, Three Generations, Three Countries

How Esoteric Buddhism traveled from India through China to Japan

050

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

The bamboo forest behind tiny Shuiyun Temple at the foot of Zhiti Mountain in Ningde, Fujian. My monastic friend Deru brought me here after we visited Huayan Temple farther up the mountain; we continued from here into Fu'an to visit more temples.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

A newly-carved Dizang (Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva) and his freshly-primed attendants at Guanyin Feng Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. One can see this when starting down the trail from Gu Baijing Tai (below Tiantai Temple) to Huiju Temple at the bottom of the mountain.

030

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

An unusual, newly-built Black Hall at Lingshan Temple, Shantou, Guangdong. It's marked as a "Memorial Hall," and sits behind the small "Tongue Pagoda" of the great Chan Master Chaozhou Dadian, who founded the temple in 791.

000

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

China's four Buddhist mountains have their "main attractions," the big temples that everyone wants to visit. But one of the best things about these places is the general atmosphere. Coming down from a "big temple" on Jiuhuashan, Anhui, I saw humble little Jingtu Nunnery next to my hotel.

010

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

These ancient trees are the only remaining feature of the former Dajian Temple, Shaoguan, Guangdong. The front hall seems to have been created from an apartment building; the small new main hall is the only one that looks like a temple. This is where Huineng is said to have given the Platform Sutra.

030

The Temple Guy @thetempleguy.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

The Sixth Patriarch of Chan (Zen), Huineng, was born at what is now called Liuzu ("Sixth Patriarch") Village, a short walk from Guo'en Temple, where he buried his parents. The village includes two small temple halls; this is one of them. At Xinxing (Zhaoqing), Guangdong.

071