Zhao’an Jinguangming Temple

Zhao’an Jinguangming Temple

Zhao’an Jinguangming Temple is nestled at the foot of “Sea-Gazing Lion” Mountain in the mystical landscape of Fengshan Mountain Range, Zhao’an County, Fujian Province. Blessed with natural treasures and a uniquely shaped mountain, it features the four celestial animals—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—naturally forming the ancient Yin-Yang symbol. With mountains behind and the sea in front, lush pines, fragrant breezes, drifting auspicious clouds, and layers of propitious omens create a breathtaking scene of a natural sacred site.

The temple’s layout harmonizes with celestial configurations, serving as a cultivation site that aligns heaven and humanity to purify body and mind. The temple complex is planned across four ascending levels—Mortal Realm, Heavenly Realm, Sacred Realm, and Ultimate Realm—from low to high, featuring seven Buddhist halls, nine heavenly palaces, and two shrines. Designed according to traditional Chinese cosmology of the Yin-Yang four symbols and the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams, it unfolds elements such as the Seven-Star Nine-Luminaries Stone Pillars, Heavenly Symbols Five-Elements Altar, Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions Heavenly Street, and a painted archway-style mountain gate. Additional structures include the Tea Immortal Tower, Calligraphy Sage Tower, Zen Hall, Incense Marshal Tower, Harmony Tower, Cultural Center, Longevity Village, and Green Plum Stronghold, reflecting Zhao’an’s local culture. Complemented by rockeries, waterfalls, water features, small bridges, gardens, and winding paths, the entire site embodies a grand, open, and benevolent garden landscape. It centers on Buddhist culture while promoting the essence of Chinese traditional culture including Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Medicine, the I Ching, and folk heritage. It is a high-end, unique, and positively charged cultural space—a large-scale public welfare garden dedicated to benefiting all beings.

Zhao’an Jinguangming Temple primarily enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha and the Great Golden Peacock King Buddha, an incarnation of Shakyamuni. It also houses nearly 104 sacred statues including Dipankara Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Vimalakirti Bodhisattva, as well as numerous statues of heavenly kings and guardian deities.

Zhao’an Jinguangming Temple is both the sacred site of Shakyamuni Buddha himself and a tangible realization of the positive public welfare mission of authentic Buddhist teachings. Upholding the orthodox principles of Shakyamuni Buddha, the temple practices the bodhi path of “purifying body and mind to attain enlightenment, benefiting the nation and its people through concrete actions” and “engaging in public welfare to benefit the local community and maintain social harmony and stability.” It advocates for a “liberated Buddhism, joyful life,” and spreads the positive energy of the finest traditions from Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Medicine, the I Ching, and folk wisdom of the Chinese nation.