Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Rebuilding The North Shaolin Temple




The North Shaolin Temple has unveiled plans to build a new addition to the Temple grounds. The Da Xiong Bao Dian or Mahavira Hall will be constructed in partnership with the Baoding District government.  Local officials and government representatives visited the North Shaolin Temple this week to unveil the plans.  The Temple’s Abbot and resident monks joined their guests in celebrating the occasion by blessing a ceremonial plot.


The hall will become the centre piece of the Temple complex. Upon completion, it will be the crowning achievement of the Temple. Historically, the North Shaolin Temple has been constructed and destroyed numerous times and based in a number of locations. But during its formative years in the Qing Dynasty, it was a beacon of Chan wisdom and was an important site in the local community. The current Temple was commissioned in 1990s by The Shaolin Temple’s Abbot Shi Su Xi.


The North Shaolin Temple’s Abbot Shi De Xiang is overjoyed by this generous gift, as the Da Xiong Bao Dian marks a realisation of his honourable task: to rebuild the North Shaolin Temple and restore it to the glory of its yesteryears.