Dabu Wanfu Temple Scenic Area

"Wanfu Temple is located at the foot of Yinna Mountain in Yingya Township, Dabu County, about sixty kilometers from downtown Meizhou. Currently, there is no entrance fee, and many devout worshippers come here to burn incense and pray."

Dabu Wanfu Temple Scenic Area

Dabu Wanfu Temple Scenic Area is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wanfu Temple is located at Yinna Mountain in Dabu County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province. The mountain was later renamed Yingya Mountain. It was founded by Master Cankui in the seventh year of the Dazhong era during the Tang Dynasty. The master, a native of Shenjian, became a monk at the age of fourteen and came here to study Buddhism on foot at the age of seventeen. He built a stone hut and devoted himself to rigorous meditation. On the evening of the nineteenth day of the first month the following year, amid thunder, lightning, and torrential rain, a fire burned the maple tree in front of his hut—, whereupon he recited the verse: “Flash of lightning, thunderous roar, stun the dazed and blind, / Storms rage wild, confusion leaves no guiding sign. / The eight consciousnesses’ field is no bright mirror true, / The Two Vehicles’ gates are innately whole and through. / Unattached, unburdened, why should one feel shame? / Going or coming, all is but the void the same. / This stone-built room becomes ‘Ten Thousand Blessings’ Hall, / Waters flow west while moonrise graces eastern wall. / Ah—where lies the heart of Zen? The moon above, the clouds on hill.” From then on, he widely spread the doctrine of sudden enlightenment across western Fujian and eastern Guangdong. The stone chamber was also called the Wanfu Meditation Chamber. Later followers expanded it continuously, and it came to be known as Cankui Temple. In the eighth year of the TianShun era of the Ming Dynasty, when Master Lishi took charge of the temple, it was first named Wanfu Temple. His disciple, Master Zhixing, succeeded him in the ninth year of the Tianqi era and vigorously promoted the teaching of sudden enlightenment, gaining great renown at the time. In the first year of the Republic of China, Yinna Mountain was renamed Yingya Mountain, meaning “Heroic Spirits Stirred, Refined Virtue Flourishes.”

Since the reform and opening-up, in 1980, Master Weitian took charge of Wanfu Temple. Through his efforts and with the support of government departments at all levels, as well as connections with devotees from home and abroad, the temple was restored and expanded. After 1982, Indonesian overseas Chinese devotees Liao Maochang and Guo Langxing, as well as Singaporean devotee Zeng Qingxi, donated funds respectively to expand the Buddha Hall and remodel the statues of the Three Buddhas. In 1987, Hong Kong devotee Tian Jiabing donated to build the Landscape Platforms of Lanzhui, Renshan, and Zhishui, for which Vice Chairman Yang Yingbin of the Provincial CPPCC gladly composed an inscription. In 1991, Master Weitian mobilized people from all walks of life at home and abroad to raise over 210,000 yuan to build a road from Yingya Town government to Wanfu Temple. In 1992, the municipal government allocated 300,000 yuan to expand Wanfu Road. Master Weitian raised another 100,000 yuan to build the Guest Hall and 130,000 yuan to renovate the main hall’s roof. The county government approved the allocation of over 240 acres of forest and land originally belonging to Wanfu Temple back to the temple, reviving the traditional practice of integrating farming with Chan practice. Master Weitian and transportation departments at the provincial and municipal levels raised 300,000 yuan to build the Ying (Ya) – Yan (Yang) Highway. In 1993, overseas Chinese devotee Xiao Kaijian from Singapore donated 68,000 yuan to renovate Fuyu Retreat. Master Weitian raised 100,000 yuan to build the Arhat Hall, Dining Hall, and related facilities at Wanfu Temple. In 1994, Malaysian devotees Yang Hongyao and Chen Wumao donated to build the Fulu Hall. In 1995, Thai devotee Tian Suorong donated 158,000 yuan to build the mountain gate. In 1996, Zhang Qingsi, President of the Dabu Association in Thailand, along with Vice President Liu Jiaqi and over twenty fellow townsmen, donated over 100,000 yuan to build scenic pavilions and the Heavenly King Hall.