Anyuan Dongyuan Temple

Anyuan Dongyuan Temple

Anyuan Dongyuan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Dongyuan Chan Temple, originally named Wulijie Guanyin Hall, was first built during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, over four hundred years ago. In the late Ming and early Qing periods, it was destroyed due to war. Later, a nun led efforts to rebuild a small shrine. It is said that the main deity enshrined here is Guanyin, and a nun resided in the temple, practicing asceticism in patched robes, begging year-round and eating only one meal a day. In a year of severe drought, swarms of mosquitoes infested the temple. The nun, holding a broken fan, swept around while chanting, “Fan sends forth compassionate wind, blowing mosquitoes to the sky; Guanyin sprinkles sweet dew, sending mosquitoes westward.” Instantly, the mosquitoes swarmed out noisily. Since then, people called the nun “Compassionate Aunt,” and thus a folk saying spread: “Wuli Guanyin delivers all beings; if the people’s wishes are sincere, they will be answered.”

In the autumn of 1992, at the earnest request of devotees, the reconstruction of Wulijie Guanyin Hall was initiated by local patrons Guo Fushan, Li Wenxing, Wang Shengde, and Ye Quankun, later joined by lay Buddhists Tang Shizong, Wang Youjin, Hu Xiying, Huang Laixiu, and Ye Xitian. They formed a nine-member council led by Wang Youjin to raise funds from devotees everywhere to purchase land from the Ye family to rebuild the hall. The new structure had three rooms: the central hall served as the worship space, with living quarters on either side. Since then, the temple has seen increasing incense offerings. Due to the small size of the worship hall, which could not accommodate the growing number of worshippers, devotee Mr. Ye Liuqing generously donated additional land to expand the front hall, bringing the total floor area to 118 square meters (including a 68-square-meter worship hall and 50-square-meter living quarters). The site lies by the Lian River, surrounded by lush trees, verdant bamboo, fresh air, and harmonious natural sounds.

To revive Mahayana Buddhism in Anyuan, which had been interrupted for over sixty years, local Buddhist disciples urgently requested the presence of an ordained monk to lead the practices. With the approval of the Anyuan County Party Committee’s United Front Work Department, lay Buddhist Zheng Juanlin was entrusted to make three trips to Shicheng’s Ruri Mountain Puzhao Chan Temple. She invited Venerable Yao Yun, Executive Council Member of the Third Shicheng Buddhist Association Council and Abbot of Ruri Mountain Puzhao Chan Temple, to lead the temple in Anyuan. On the second day of the twelfth lunar month in 1993, Venerable Yao Yun arrived in Anyuan with his 16th-generation disciples Gan Guang and Gan Xiong. They initially stayed at Lotus Temple, and on the sixteenth day of the fifth lunar month in 1995, they settled permanently at this temple. After Venerable Yao Yun’s arrival, on October 18, 1995, with approval from the local ethnic and religious affairs office, the temple was officially registered and opened to the public in accordance with the law. The Wulijie Guanyin Hall was renamed “Xinshan Dongyuan Temple.”

In recent years, with strong support from devotees and Buddhist communities in Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ganzhou, and locally, the temple’s floor area expanded from 128 to 915 square meters, becoming a key Buddhist temple open to the public in Anyuan County. The temple now includes a main worship hall housing a 4.54-meter-tall statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, with plans to add statues of Manjushri and Samantabhadra in the future, forming a trinity of the Three Great Bodhisattvas. The Ksitigarbha Hall enshrines a 3.6-meter-tall statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, along with 2.37-meter-tall statues of his two attendants, Dharma Master Daoming and Elder Min. Other facilities include a meditation hall, Great Compassion Pavilion, scripture depository, and monastic quarters. Administrative roles include an abbot’s office, monastic supervisor, guest reception, recruitment officer, accountant, and cashier. The abbot is Venerable Yao Yun.

To enhance the quality of Buddhist practitioners, in the autumn of 1993, the Anyuan County Buddhist Study Retreat and Buddhist Library were established. A study session is held every Saturday morning, managed by advisor Ouyang Zongyi.

Address: Wulijie, Anyuan County, Jiangxi Province