The Jade Buddha Temple (玉佛禅寺)
A Beacon of Spirituality in Modern Shanghai
Phone: (021) 6266-3668
Hours: 8:30 - 5:00 Daily
Admission: 15 RMB
Nearest Public Transit: West Nanjing Road Station, Line 2
Jade Buddha Temple Website
The Jade Buddha Temple, like most modern Chinese Buddhist temples, draws from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 meters tall & 3 tons) and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha's death. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Jade Buddha, donated from Singapore. Don't mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece!
During the rule of emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908), Hui Gen, an abbot from Mount Putuo went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. After visiting Tibet, he travelled on to Burma. While there, Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with donated funds. The temple was occupied during the 1911 uprising, and the statues were moved.
Later a new temple was built on donated land and construction took ten years until 1928. In 1956, a ceremony was held at the temple to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment.
During the cultural revolution, the monks made a living by selling handicrafts and the temple went through tough times.
The Shanghai Institute of Buddhism was established in 1983 and after a pilgrimage Dunhuang in 1985 meditation and other features of temple life were resumed.
Modern Temple Layout
The Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings contains the statues of Maitreya, Wei Tuo Bodhisattva and the Four Heavenly Kings, who represent favorable circumstances. The chamber is located on the southern-edge, or 'front' of the temple.
Also called the Great Hall, this hall contains many statues. Three Golden Buddhas stand in the center of the hall. The central sculpture is of Gautama Buddha, to the left is Amitabha and the on the right is Bhaisajyaguru.The Gods of the Twenty Heavens, covered in gold, line the eastern and western sides of the Grand Hall. A large golden statue of Guanyin stands on at northern entrance to the Great Hall, with Shen Cai at her side and sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life above.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amed sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, eu feugiat nulla at vero eros et accumsan et odio qui blandit praesent luptatum augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.
The Jade Buddha Chamber is in the northern section of the temple, on the second floor. An additional 10 RMB fee is charged to enter.
Although this temple is the newest in the city it is in many ways the most authentic. Jingan Temple was built from scratch just a couple years ago and looks more like an addition to the neighboring shopping center than an active temple. Longhua Temple's use by the Nationalists as an execution ground for communists taints its Buddhist tradition with communist lore. Jade Buddha is different. The temple is usually full of older folks deep in prayer. The monks pray, chant and teach on the premises. The Jade Buddha's themselves remain displayed but the rest of the temple is full of ambience and spiritual dedication.
The temple is not close to the subway and is best reached by Taxi. You can take the subway to West Nanjing Road (Line 2) and then the taxi will only be the base fare (11 RMB) to save money.
