White Horse Temple () is a Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan that, according to tradition, is the first Buddhist temple in China, having been first established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han dynasty.
The site is just outside the walls of the ancient Eastern Han capital, some east of Luoyang in Henan Province. It is approximately 40 minutes by bus No. 56 from Luoyang railway station.Elmer, et al. (2009), p. 463. The temple, although small in comparison to many others in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism". The geographical landmarks to the south are Manghan mountain and Lucoche River.
The main temple buildings, a large complex, were reconstructed during the Ming (1368 to 1644) and Qing (1644 to 1912) dynasties.Cummings, et al. (1991) p. 283. They were refurbished in the 1950s, and again in March 1973 after the Cultural Revolution. It has numerous halls divided by courtyards and manicured gardens, covering an area of about . The display plaques in Chinese and English give ample descriptions of the Buddhist deities installed in the halls. Significant statues include Śākyamuni Buddha, Maitreya (the laughing Buddha in China), Amitābha, the Jade Buddha, Bodhisattvas such as Guanyin, and arhats and stone statues of the two white horses which brought the Indian monks to China and two mythical lions at the entrance. Under international funding, the temple has undergone many changes, both structurally and internally. The most recent cooperative project, with India, was completed in 2008 when the Sanchi Stupa and the Sarnath Buddha statue were erected.
Etymology
On arrival of the two monks from India, they were housed in the temple. This temple was called the "White Horse Temple" (), where means "white", means "horse", and means "shrine, temple, monastery".
Notably, the emperor ordered the suffix () to be used in the temple's name, as a display of respect. This character had been used to denote the ministries of the government.Revised Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary, Entry 寺 In later periods, all temples, even mosques, came to use this character in their name and it was dropped from the names of government ministries. As a result, the temple's name is sometimes translated as White Horse Ministry, a translation true to the time. White Horse Temple is the modern, literal reading.
However, this may be a folk etymology as there were other early temples in different centres with the same name. The monk Zhidun (or Chih Tun) (314–366), who was a famous propagator of Buddhism in the southern capital is recorded as having discussions with Fenghui at the Baima si (Pai ma) monastery in Jiankang (previously Jianye), the capital of the Eastern Jin (317-420).Zürcher (1972), pp. 8, 59, 107, 119, 129. There was also a Baima si at Xiangyang where Daoan and his disciples stayed .Zürcher (1972), p. 187, To further complicate the search for the origin of the name, there were peoples known as the 'White Horse Qiang' and 'Di' who lived in the 'White Horse Valley' on the upper reaches of the Min River, which flows south from the Min Mountains near the town of Zhangla ([Chang-la]: 32.50° N, 103.40° E) and there are still people calling themselves the 'White Horse Di' living there.Draft translation of the Chapter on the Peoples of the West from the Weilũe by John E. Hill. It is possible, but unprovable, that the name Baima derived from some of these peoples, who may have been influenced by Buddhism at an early period, rather than from literal white horse(s) carrying scriptures.
Background, legends and importance
Here are several forms of the legends relating to the foundation and naming of the temple:
Following Emperor Ming's dream vision about a Buddha who established Buddhism, two of Ming's emissaries departed to search for Buddhist scriptures. They encountered two Indian Buddhist monks in Central India and persuaded them to join them and return to China, bringing their book of Buddhist scriptures, relics and statues of Buddha with them on two white horses. Pleased with their arrival in China, the king built a temple in their honour and named it the White Horse Temple or Baima Temple, as an appreciation of the white horses that had carried the monks. The monks resided at the new temple and here they translated the Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. The Buddhist religion prospered from here and with the arrival of Bodhidarma, another monk from South India in the 5th century, Chinese Buddhism evolved, spreading to other countries.
At the invitation of the Chinese Emperor Ming Di, two Indian monks named Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna or Gobharana, translated the Buddhist classics at the Baima Temple at Luo Yang, which was then the nation's capital. They translated many scriptures, the notable of these was the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters (), which was translated by Matanga. This was the first Buddhist sutra in Chinese and has the pride of place in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Gobharana translated the 'Dasa Bhumi' or the 'Ten stages of Perfection', apart from five others. The temple then increased in importance as Buddhism grew within China and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The introduction of Buddhism in China was a significant influence on Chinese morals, thought and ethics.
The temple's story begins with the dream of Emperor Mingdi and his establishing the temple in 68 AD honouring the two Indian monks and the white horses that brought them to China with Buddhist scriptures. The two monks translated many scriptures while living in the temple, which was named as White Horse Temple. They died in the temple precincts and are buried in the first courtyard of the temple. Following the establishment of the temple, 1000 monks lived here practicing Buddhism.
According to 'The Chapter on the Western Regions' of the Hou Hanshu (Book of Later Han), which was based on a report to the Emperor , but was not compiled until the 5th century: "Tradition is that Emperor Ming dreamt that he saw a tall golden man the top of whose head was glowing. He questioned his group of advisers and one of them said: "In the West there is a god called Buddha. His body is sixteen chi tall [], and is the colour of gold." That is why the Emperor sent envoys to Tianzhu [South or Central India] to inquire about the Buddha’s doctrine, after which paintings and statues [of the Buddha] appeared in the Middle Kingdom."Hill (2009), p. 31, and nn. 15.10 to 15.13 on pp. 363–366.
There are differing accounts explaining how the temple was established. Yang Hsüan-chih says in the preface to his book, A Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Lo-yang (completed c. 547 CE), that, after his dream, Emperor Ming ordered that statues of the Buddha be erected at the [K'ai-]yang Gate (Opening to the Morning Sun Gate) of the Southern Palace and on near the [Ch'ang]yeh Terrace (The Eternal Night Terrace).Yang (1984), pp. 3–4. He, however, makes no mention of the temple.
The Emperor is said to have sent a monk or monks to India or Scythia who returned carrying the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters on a white horse. The Sutra was received by the Emperor and housed in a temple built outside the walls of Luo Yang. It was China's first Buddhist temple.
Other versions mentioned in the book Indian Pandits in the Land of Snow by Sri Sarat Chandra give the following legendary versions:
The legends related to this temple have direct link to the emergence and spread of Buddhism in China. Two visions are stated in this context.
The first vision was witnessed by Chow Wang, the fifth ruler of the Tang dynasty. The Emperor saw, in the southwestern region of China, a very bright light in the sky, like a halo or aureola from the west which lit the whole space. The astrologers of his court predicted that a saint was born in that quarter of the world where he saw the bright halo light. It was also prophesied that the religion practised by the saintly person, would spread to China. This was recorded by the king in his royal register. This year happened to be the year when Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal.
The second vision happened at Luoyang during the reign of Mingdi, the second emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. In 60 CE, on an auspicious day, the Emperor had a vision (dream) of a saintly person of golden complexion with the Sun and the Moon shining behind his back came near his throne from the heavens and then circled his palace. This incident was correlated with the ancient recorded version and the events were interpreted to mean that the period prophesied in the past, of Buddhism coming to China, was now. History chronicler Fu Hi interpreted this vision as that of the divine person known as Buddha who was born in a place to the west of China in India. Emperor Mingdi forthwith selected emissaries named Taai Yin, Tain King, Wangtrun and others, in all 18 people, to go toward the west to India in search of the religion practiced by Buddha. After travelling through several countries bordering India such as Getse and Yuechi (the Saka Tartars), they reached (Gandhara country) where they met two Buddhist monks (Arhats) named Kasyapa Pandita (a Brahmin from Central India) and Bharana Pandita from South India. They accepted the invitation of the emissaries to go to China. They then proceeded to China on two white horses accompanied by the emissaries. They carried with them a few sacred texts of sutras — the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters — statues of Buddha, portraits and sacred relics. They reached Louyang where they were put up in a temple. The king met them in 67 CE, with due reverence and was pleased with the presents the monks had brought for him. It was the 30th day in the 12th month of Chinese calendar. The Emperor was particularly happy with the Buddha image which had striking similarity to the one he had seen in his dream vision. At this time, the monks performed some miracles, which further strengthened the belief of the Emperor in Buddhism.
However, some Taoist priests protested and wanted the Emperor to test the merits of both parties. The Emperor agreed and convened a meeting at the southern gate of the White Horse Temple. He ordered that the sacred texts and religious paraphernalia of the Taoists be placed on the eastern gate and the sacred texts, relics and Buddha image of the westerners in the hall of seven gems on the west. He then ordered that the objects be thrown into the fire, and whichever documents survived the fire then that religion would receive his patronage. The Taoists expected that their texts would survive. This did not happen as all the texts of Taoists were burnt and that of the Buddhists from the west survived. With this test, the Emperor was convinced of the Buddhist religion. He with all his entourage of ministers and kinsmen embraced Buddhism. He built several temples, which included 'Pai-masai', the White Horse Temple and three convents for nuns.
Now that there are many contradictory versions of this story, most modern scholars accept it as a Buddhist fable and not a valid historical event.Maspero (1901), pp. 95 ff.Pelliot (1920b), pp. 395–396, n. 310Chen (1964), pp. 29–31.Zürcher (1972), p. 22. The White Horse Temple is not recorded in contemporary sources before 289.Zürcher (1972), p. 31. However, there is a Poma si mentioned in Chang'an in 266 and another of the same name at Jingcheng in central Hubei at about the same date.Zürcher (1972), p. 330, n. 71.
It is said that the next year, the Emperor ordered the construction of the White Horse Temple on the south side of the Imperial Drive three li outside the Hsi-yang Gate of the capital Luoyang, to remember the horse that carried back the sutras. After the death of the Emperor a meditation hall was built on his tomb. In front of the stupa luxuriant pomegranate and grape vines were grown which were said to be larger than those elsewhere.Yang (1984), pp. 173–174,