Chongqing Luohan Temple

　　Luohan Temple is situated on Minzu Road in Yuzhong District and is one of the key Buddhist temples in Han Chinese regions across China. The Chongqing Buddhist Association is headquartered here. The temple was first built during the Zhiping era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1064–1067), originally named Zhiping Temple. It was established due to the presence of the Luohan Cave. As recorded in *Records of Scenic Spots in Shu*: “Zhiping Temple… has two caves, the Luohan Cave and the Xiantian Cave, both ancient.” Inside the temple, there is an over 20-meter-long Ancient Buddha Cliff featuring more than 400 cliff-carved Buddhist statues from the Song Dynasty, including the Reclining Buddha (commonly known as the “Sleeping Buddha”), the Guanyin statue, and the offering donor figures. Their style closely resembles the stone carvings at Baoding Mountain in Dazu.

　　The Great Buddha’s Hall of Luohan Temple houses many treasures of Buddhist art, such as the sixteen arhat statues—representing the sixteen best students of Shakyamuni Buddha—and the Ming Dynasty bronze statues of the “Three Saints of the West,” the jade Buddha of “Shakyamuni Attaining Enlightenment” from Myanmar, and a copy of the Indian mural “Shakyamuni Leaving the Palace to Become a Monk.” The scripture depository on the temple grounds stores a large collection of Buddhist scriptures, Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, as well as ancient books and paintings, most of which are treasures from the Tang and Ming Dynasties. The Hall of Arhats contains a total of 524 clay sculptures. These exquisitely crafted and lifelike statues often attract devout worshippers who count the arhats to divine their fortunes.

　　The history of Luohan Temple can be traced back to the Zhiping era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1064–1067) or even earlier. According to *Old Records of Scenic Spots in Shu*, “There are stone inscriptions on the temple that read ‘West Mountain Buddha,’ with the name of the founding monk Yue inscribed nearby. Master Yue was a monk during the Zhiping era of the Song Dynasty.” Master Yue founded the temple and named it “Zhiping Temple” after the reign title of Emperor Yingzong of Song, Zhao Shu. However, in the *Appeal for the Renovation of the Scripture Repository* by Qing Dynasty’s Long Weilin, it is written: “The ancient temple is surrounded by clear pools, with a path leading in through crevices in the rocks. Since the Tang Dynasty, its grand halls have towered majestically above the mundane world,” proposing the “Tang Dynasty theory.”

　　Which of these two accounts is true remains uncertain. But that doesn’t matter—what’s important is that this ancient temple has thrived through a thousand years of trials.

　　What Luohan Temple has lost is not just the history of its founding days. Over the centuries, the temple has risen and fallen, flourished and declined many times. These stories have faded like the lingering chants of sutras, leaving only fragments for later generations to ponder.

　　During the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty (1426–1435), a monk named Xi’an built monastic quarters, side rooms, and a lotus pond on the barren land of the West Buddha Cliff to welcome visitors. A sunflower he planted behind the lodging was elegant and fragrant, earning him the nickname “Monk White Sunflower.” The Ancient Buddha Cliff was constructed in the first year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty.

　　In the fifth year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1666), Governor Li Guoying renovated the temple, and it was rebuilt again in the seventeenth year of the Qianlong era (1752).

　　In 1912, Monk Haiqing further expanded the Dharma Hall, Ordination Hall, Meditation Hall, Guest Hall, and Dining Hall, giving Luohan Temple greater scale.

　　The name “Luohan Temple” originates from the eleventh year of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty (1885), when the then-abbot, Monk Longfa, built a Hall of Five Hundred Arhats modeled after the Hall of Arhats at Baoguang Temple in Xindu, Sichuan. From then on, the temple became widely known as Luohan Temple.

　　The rise and fall of the Hall of Arhats reflect the temple’s own fortunes. During the Anti-Japanese War, in July 1940, the temple was bombed by Japanese aircraft, reducing it to ashes, leaving only the main gate and the group of carved statues on the Ancient Buddha Cliff. Soon after, over twenty monks braved enemy fire to begin rebuilding the temple and the Hall of Arhats amid the ruins. By 1947, under the leadership of Abbot Zongxian, the main hall, scripture depository, Hall of Arhats, and the mountain gate archway were restored.

　　During the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards stormed into the Hall of Arhats and smashed the five hundred arhats to pieces—the very pedestals that held them were also torn apart. In that era, faith, Buddhism, sanctity, history, and dignity were all ruthlessly shattered amidst the fervor of youth, let alone these five hundred sculptures that only symbolized certain spiritual meanings.

　　Just as the Red Guards were setting up a ladder to destroy the Great Buddha’s Hall, the ladder suddenly broke. Someone arrived in time to prevent even greater destruction. Today, when followers of the temple recount this tale passed down among the people, they prefer to believe it was the manifestation of the bodhisattvas.

　　On May 1, 1986, Luohan Temple witnessed another grand celebration in its thousand-year history. After two years of restoration, the Hall of Arhats reopened. At the consecration ceremony held that day for the five hundred arhats, over three hundred elders and devotees from various Buddhist mountains in Sichuan gathered. Under the leadership of Venerable Kuanlin, then-president of the Sichuan Buddhist Association and abbot of Chengdu Wenshu Monastery, they prayed together for the everlasting Dharma and world peace.