LIngfeng Mountain Forest Park

LIngfeng Mountain Forest Park

LIngfeng Mountain Forest Park is located 6 kilometers southwest of Anji County in Zhejiang Province. It belongs to the LIngfeng Scenic Area of the Anji Bamboo National Forest Park, covering a total area of 155 hectares. LIngfeng Mountain is a branch range of the Tianmu Mountains, and its shape resembles a grand, north-facing, south-facing armchair—solid and stable—which ancient people called a “geomantically auspicious site.”

The park boasts overlapping green peaks, long-flowing streams, and distinct seasons, offering abundant scenic resources. LIngfeng is renowned for its unique features—the LIng Peak, LIng Rock, LIng Pool, LIng Spring, LIng Tree, and LIng Temple—making it a place filled with spiritual energy. Tourist attractions include the “Thirty-Two Scenic Spots of LIngfeng,” characterized by their spirituality, antiquity, beauty, and serenity. Among them, the “Ten Scenic Spots of LIngfeng” captivate many visitors, making it an ideal destination for returning to nature and resting.

LIngfeng Mountain is home to numerous ancient and famous trees, as well as bamboo forests stretching as far as the eye can see. The park has 231 species of woody plants across 64 families, over 1,500 acres of deciduous and evergreen broadleaf forests, and more than 400 acres of bamboo groves. The most spectacular sight is the ancient tree cluster in front of LIngfeng Temple, spanning hundreds of acres, with towering trees and uniquely shaped trunks—rare and magnificent.

Another highlight of LIngfeng Mountain is its peculiar peaks, rocks, caves, and clear, cool springs. There are peaks with shapes and spirits that closely resemble each other, such as Baizhang Peak, Daxiong Peak, Independent Peak, Wulian Peak, and Erru Peak. Notable rocks include the Wangyun Platform, “hundred feet wide, where one can seemingly touch the clouds,” the Sutra-Chanting Platform where Master Yilin chanted scriptures morning and evening, and the LIngfo Stone that resembles the Buddha sitting upright. There are also natural caves such as Jinxian Cave, Zhuxian Cave, and Huayan Cave, each with its own enchanting legend. On both sides of LIngfeng Mountain lie valleys holding Dongqing and Meihua Streams, with fast-flowing, crystal-clear waters that run ceaselessly all year round. Yingyue Pool reflects the moon’s image with stunning clarity on bright nights; at the mountain’s summit lies Beitianmu, a deep and expansive pool that never dries up throughout the year. Other sites include Huanxi Spring, Anyang Spring, Yingyun Pool, and Zaoyue Pool—all with crystal-clear, sweet-tasting water.

LIngfeng Temple was built because of the mountain, and the mountain is famous because of the temple. The park’s main attraction, LIngfeng Temple, was first built in the first year of the Kaiping era of the Liang Dynasty (907 AD) and has a history of over a thousand years. It is known as the “sister temple” of Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple.

Unlike typical temples, LIngfeng Temple is a preaching monastery that emphasizes academic activities such as the study of Buddhist doctrines and principles. In its time, abbots and leaders from major temples across southern China came to LIngfeng Temple to study and were only considered qualified after reaching a certain depth of Buddhist knowledge.

On the west side of LIngfeng Temple’s walls lies the tomb of Master Yiyi and the Dali Pagoda. In his youth, Master Yiyi opposed Buddhism and wrote many works criticizing it. Around the age of 21, after his mother passed away, the filial son began to take an interest in Buddhism. A few years later, when his father also died, he had already gained deep insights into Buddhist studies and decided to become a monk, dedicating himself entirely to the research of Buddhism. He wrote over 40 treatises on Buddhist studies in his lifetime, organizing and interpreting the scriptures of all Buddhist sects, and guiding and systematizing the theories of Pure Land Buddhism. He further promoted the Sinicization of Buddhism, being among the first to theoretically integrate Confucian concepts of loyalty and filial piety into the Buddhist worldview of the “four noble truths” and “six senses purity.” He advocated chanting the Buddha’s name as a way to repay parental kindness, thereby advancing the spread and popularization of Buddhism among the public. Pure Land Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, which generally has relatively lenient precepts for believers—sincerely chanting the Buddha’s name is enough to reach the Western Pure Land in the next life. Master Yiyi took this theory further. In his most important work, the LIngfeng Zonglun (Treatise of LIngfeng Sect), he proposed that faith in the Buddha is sufficient as long as one has the aspiration to believe; chanting the Buddha’s name is not absolutely necessary. Elevating religious aspiration above ritual form was a world-first concept.