Lu Mountain Norla Pagoda

Lu Mountain Norla Pagoda

Lu Mountain Norla Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The Norla Pagoda Monastery was originally built during the Wanli era of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty by Monk Wuran. Initially named Fahai Temple, it was also called Xiaotianchi Temple.

The monastery enshrines the stupa containing the relics of the renowned patriotic lama Norbu Hutuktu from modern times. The uniquely Tibetan-style lama stupa, along with the tantric deities, patriarchs, and lamas enshrined within the monastery, is extremely rare.

The restored Norla Pagoda Monastery is solemn and majestic. The main hall enshrines the successive patriarchs of the Yuanjue School; to the left of the main hall is the Tara Hall, which houses the Green Tara, an incarnation of Guanyin; further left is the Wealth God Hall, which venerates the Wealth God Vaiśravaṇa and the Yellow and White Wealth Gods. Not far below the front of the main hall is the statue commonly known as the “Four-Faced Buddha,” Brahma, whose four faces represent the Four Immeasurable Minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. To the right of Brahma is the Lama Hall, which enshrines the Thousand-Armed Guanyin’s wrathful forms—the fierce guardians Mahakala and Mahakali (also known as Mahakala and Shri Devi, or the Great Black One and the Goddess of Fortune)—transformed to subdue evil beings. A staircase to the right of the main hall leads to the stupa of Norbu Hutuktu. The stupa is predominantly white, with a stepped square Sumeru base, atop which rests a hemispherical body. At the center of the middle section is a niche-like “eye door,” while the upper part consists of a thirteen-tiered conical spire topped with a bronze umbrella and a gemstone finial. Below the stupa is an inscription detailing the life of Norbu Hutuktu. The Norla Pagoda is a unique architectural structure of Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhism. Although such pagodas are common in Tibet, they are very rare on the Chinese mainland. Coupled with the distinctly Tibetan-Mongolian tantric deities, patriarchs, and lamas enshrined in the monastery, the Norla Pagoda Monastery stands out uniquely on Mount Lu. It is not only a sacred site for Buddhist devotees from around the world but also a scenic attraction. Every year, it draws hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors to see the Norla Pagoda, and it is also a place of worship and pilgrimage for followers and disciples of the Yuanjue School from home and abroad.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units