Kaiyuan Pujue Temple

Kaiyuan Pujue Temple

Kaiyuan Pujue Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Pujue Temple is located within the "Pujue Temple" residential community on Shengli Street in Kaiyuan City, a famous town in Liaobei.

The origins of Kaiyuan’s "Pujue Temple" date back a long time. It is said that during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, the Kaiyuan area was plagued by war, chaos, and banditry. At that time, a wealthy man surnamed Chai from Dajiushe, a wealthy man surnamed Hao from Xiaosuntai Village, and a wealthy man surnamed Yang from Erzhaizi sold their properties, purchased land in what is now the Pujue Temple area, and then the three elders went to the White Horse Temple in Luoyang to become monks. After returning from their spiritual practice, they began constructing the temple at its current location in 1930.

After the September 18th Incident, the puppet state of Manchukuo was established, and Kaiyuan came under the jurisdiction of the puppet Fengtian Province. At that time, the Buddhist Association of the puppet Fengtian Province set up a branch in Kaiyuan, which was located at Pujue Temple. Initially, the temple was managed by monks. On the site where the current Metrology Bureau stands, south of Pujue Temple, a nunnery was built during the puppet Manchukuo period and was managed by nuns.

After the founding of New China, only one monk remained at Pujue Temple. The relevant authorities relocated this monk and demolished the nunnery, relocating its two nuns to Pujue Temple—thus beginning the era of nun-managed Pujue Temple. In 1953, Master Debao was invited back, and from then on, Kaiyuan Pujue Temple flourished.

In the 1960s, Chai Hanglin, the grandson of Chai—the wealthy man who was one of the temple's founders—returned specially from Taiwan to his hometown to visit Pujue Temple. During the Cultural Revolution, Pujue Temple suffered an unprecedented catastrophe: statues were smashed, nuns were dispersed, and religious activities were halted.

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, religious policies were implemented, and freedom of religious belief was restored. The dispersed nuns returned to monastic life, and the incense offerings at Pujue Temple gradually flourished again.

In recent years, under the leadership of Master Huiming, Pujue Temple has raised funds from various sources and carried out major construction projects. The Mahavira Hall was renovated, the mountain gate, Heavenly King Hall, and southern side rooms were rebuilt, and Buddhist statues such as Amitabha Buddha and the Four Heavenly Kings were brought in from places like Zhejiang, giving the temple a completely renewed look. Master Huiming also contacted Master Guojie, a disciple who studied at Xiamen Buddhist College, who then asked Mr. Zhao Puchu, President of the Buddhist Association of China, to inscribe the three powerful characters “普觉寺” (Pujue Temple). Mr. Zhao’s wife later stamped it with the “Zhao Puchu Seal.” In 1990, the Taiwan Youth Buddhist Foundation gifted a complete set of Buddhist scriptures to Pujue Temple.

Today, Pujue Temple has been listed as a key open monastery in Liaoning Province. During temple fairs, the temple is filled with the scent of incense, the sounds of bells and drums, and the resonant, pleasant chanting of scriptures—it is truly bustling with activity.

To further implement policy, the relevant government departments returned the original temple land to Pujue Temple and redrew the temple’s layout. The planned temple grounds measure 68 meters east-west and 45 meters north-south, separated from the surrounding areas by small lanes. The entire temple complex includes structures such as the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Scripture Depository, Bell and Drum Towers, and meditation rooms.