Min Gong Chan Temple

Min Gong Chan Temple

Min Gong Chan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

On the east side of Jiuhua Street stands a tomb of Min Gong. The tomb owner was a local wealthy man from Jiuhua Mountain. It is said that Min Gong had abundant family wealth and was kind-hearted, offering meals to 99 monks every day. To commemorate this charitable man, later generations built this Min Gong Chan Temple. Min Gong Temple is an ancient temple, with its original construction date unknown, but it was destroyed by Japanese bombing during the Anti-Japanese War. It has since been rebuilt under the leadership of the current abbot, Venerable Miao Xing.

Jiuhua Mountain is one of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains and the sacred site where the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha manifested. The Mahāvaipulya Mahāsannipāta Sūtra of Ksitigarbha says: “Unmoving as the earth, yet patient; profound in meditation, yet hidden as a treasure.” Hence the name Ksitigarbha. Ksitigarbha is the bodhisattva with the greatest vow power in Buddhism. He pledged, “Not until all beings are saved will I attain Buddhahood; not until hell is empty will I become a Buddha.” Thus, the merits and benefits of Ksitigarbha are boundless, and he shares a profound karmic connection with the sentient world. The spirit of Ksitigarbha holds a lofty status in the Buddhist community.

It is said that during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, the Golden Ksitigarbha (Jin Di Zang) arrived in China by sea after enduring many hardships and visiting numerous famous mountains. He chose Jiuhua Mountain as his place for spiritual practice. After ascending the mountain, he asked the owner of Jiuhua Mountain, Min Rang He, for a piece of land the size of his kasaya (monk's robe). Min Rang He readily agreed to let him choose freely. Jin Di Zang took off his kasaya, held it up into the air, and as a sudden mountain wind rose, it covered all ninety-nine peaks of Jiuhua Mountain. Min Rang He was deeply impressed and thus offered the entire Jiuhua Mountain to Jin Di Zang. He also brought his son to become a disciple of Jin Di Zang. His son became a monk known as Dao Ming, and soon after, Min Rang He also renounced secular life to follow Buddhism. From then on, Min Gong and his young son Dao Ming both entered the monastic path. Though father and son in the worldly sense, within Buddhism they were merely fellow disciples. According to the Buddhist rule that the first to enter the path is the senior, Dao Ming, who entered first, became the elder brother, while Min Gong, who entered later, became the younger brother. In Buddhism, a father and son may serve the same bodhisattva, and on Jiuhua Mountain, people often say, “In the family, they are father and son; in the monastic life, they are brothers.” This refers to Min Gong and Dao Ming.

Today, Min Gong Chan Temple on Jiuhua Mountain is constructing a series of temple halls centered around the Min Gong Hall, precisely to promote the spirit of Ksitigarbha and add brilliance to this sacred site. The spirit of Ksitigarbha is vast and immensely powerful, and Min Gong is a classic embodiment of that spirit. Min Gong and his son offered land and dedication to Ksitigarbha, helping establish the bodhisattva’s sacred manifestation site and integrating Jiuhua Mountain with the profound and boundless spirit of Ksitigarbha. The merits of Min Gong further demonstrate the divine power of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Building the Min Gong Hall makes the sacred site even more complete.

Min Gong Chan Temple currently has halls such as the Maitreya Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Golden Ksitigarbha Hall, and the Guanyin Hall. These structures were all rebuilt by Venerable Miao Xing starting in 1993. Venerable Miao Xing and the monastic community are dedicating their utmost efforts to the temple’s construction. On December 18, 2012, the grand inauguration ceremony and consecration ritual for the Ksitigarbha Hall and Guanyin Hall of Min Gong Chan Temple on Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui were solemnly held. Nearly a thousand participants attended the celebration, including some monastics from Jiuhua Mountain and masters and lay practitioners from Shanghai, Guangdong, Hubei, Anhui, and other regions. The President of the Jiuhua Mountain Buddhist Association, Venerable Hui Shen, Vice President Venerable Hui Guang, Deputy Secretary-General Venerable Kai Hao, and Abbot of Huacheng Temple Venerable Chang Min all attended the event and presided over the ceremony.

Min Gong Chan Temple is located on the mountainside next to Tonghui Temple. It also has no main gate or signboard. As you ascend the slope, you immediately see a two-story-high “Golden Ksitigarbha Hall.” The hall itself is very small, but the full-body statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva enshrined inside stands over three meters tall and shines brilliantly in gold. To commemorate the contributions of Min Gong and his son in serving Ksitigarbha, statues of them are placed on either side of the Ksitigarbha statue—Dao Ming on the left and Min Gong on the right. Next to the temple lies the tomb of Min Gong. It is said that Min Gong was buried here after his passing. Now, a huge ancient tree with a trunk several people could hug grows on the tomb, forming a unique scenic spot on Jiuhua Mountain.