Tianjin Lay Buddhist Association

Tianjin Lay Buddhist Association

The Tianjin Lay Buddhist Association is located at No. 669 Chengxiang Middle Road, Nankai District, southeast of the Drum Tower, covering an area of 752.27 square meters with a construction area of 700.52 square meters. It consists of the Mahavira Hall and side halls, and was built in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period.

The predecessor of the Lay Buddhist Association was the "Qingxiu Courtyard," originally the family temple of Li Chuncheng, known as one of the Eight Great Families of Tianjin, the "Mr. Li of Benevolence." In 1917, the Li family invited Monk Qingchi from Zifu Temple in Huairou County, Beijing, to preside over the Qingxiu Courtyard. Xu Shichang, then President of the Beiyang Government, inscribed the plaque “Qingxiu Chan Monastery.” Later, during the warlord conflicts, the Zhili-Shandong Allied Forces occupied Tianjin and closed the Qingxiu Courtyard. After the fall of the Beiyang Government in 1928, the Qingxiu Chan Monastery was returned to the Li family. In 1933, Lian Yunpeng, together with Sun Chuanfang and others, negotiated with Li Chuncheng’s eldest grandson, Li Songju, to transform the Qingxiu Chan Monastery into the “Tianjin Buddhist Lay Buddhist Association.” Lian Yunpeng served as the head of the association, Sun Chuanfang as deputy head, and he also appointed himself as the “Chief Lay Buddhist.” It was stipulated that lay Buddhists would gather every Sunday to recite scriptures, with Master Fuming giving the lectures. At that time, there were over a thousand followers.

After 1948, Master Bao Han took over as the presiding monk. In 1950, Lian Yunpeng passed away. In 1952, the Lay Buddhist Association was closed. During the Cultural Revolution, it was damaged and later repurposed as a neighborhood workshop. In 1982, with the support of the Nankai District People's Government, the workshop was relocated, the Lay Buddhist Association was restored to its original appearance, religious activities resumed.

The Lay Buddhist Association houses two gilded bronze Buddha statues: "Vairocana" and the Bodhisattva Manjushri, cast during the Ming Dynasty's Xuande era. These statues were moved to the Great Compassion Temple during the Cultural Revolution. In December 1982, after the restoration of the Lay Buddhist Association was completed, the statues were returned and reinstalled on February 24 of the following year.