Shaolong Zen Temple is located in the Cuishan Scenic Area in the eastern suburbs of Zhenjiang and at the foot of Wufeng Mountain. Inside the temple, ancient cypresses tower into the sky, camphor trees are lined up, and purple bamboos are swaying. Outside the temple, there are patches of bamboo forests. The scenery is pleasant. It is a good place for spiritual cultivation. Shaolong Zen Temple was first built in the Baoli period of the Tang Dynasty (825 AD) and rebuilt in the Shaoxing period of the Song Dynasty (1132 AD). Later, it was destroyed again. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt through the fundraising of Buddhist nuns. In the 14th year of Wanli, it was named Lianjue Temple. In the 23rd year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi made his first southern inspection tour and came to Lianjue Temple. Seeing that it was surrounded by mountains on three sides with majestic momentum and seemed like a fairyland, he bestowed Lianjue Temple with the name of Lingjue Treasure Temple. In the 28th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi made another southern inspection tour and came to Lingjue Treasure Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. After careful observation, he found a dragon land. The entire temple resembled a dragon vein. ‘Only those with high virtue and great wisdom can inhabit it.’ So he bestowed Lingjue Treasure Temple to Jinshan as a subordinate temple and personally inscribed a plaque with the words ‘Lingjue Treasure Temple’ and a pair of pillar plaques with the inscription ‘There are strange and prominent peaks above, and a true dragon vein is revealed below’, which are preserved in the temple forever. However, the monks and laypeople still call it by its old name. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. There is still a legend of ‘the mystery of the Buddhist land’. This dragon land is still slowly protruding upward. Now there is a plaque and a pair of pillar plaques written by Master Mingshan as a commemoration. The specific business hours and opening status are subject to the actual opening situation on that day.
Shaolong Zen Temple
Shaolong Zen Temple is located in the Cuishan Scenic Area in the eastern suburbs of Zhenjiang and at[...]
