Guo'en Temple 国恩寺

About Guo'en Temple

Its central sequence runs through the Heavenly Kings Hall, Mahavira Hall and Sixth Patriarch Hall, separated by courtyards and terraces. Side corridors reinforce the symmetry, while mature trees soften the spaces between buildings. The temple’s association with Huineng gives the visit its religious context, but its stepped layout and surviving planted courts provide the most immediate things to observe.

Guo'en Temple, also called Longshan Temple (龙山寺) after the hill on which it stands, was first built in the first year of the Tang Hongdao era (683). Together with Guangxiao Temple and Nanhua Temple, it forms one of the Three Great Ancestral Courts of the Sixth Patriarch (六祖三大祖庭); it is the place where Huineng (惠能) entered nirvana and where the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (六祖坛经) was compiled. On 28 December 2006, relics and other artifacts were discovered in the underground chamber of the temple's Bao'en Pagoda (报恩塔). It was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) on 7 October 2019.

What to look for

• Three principal halls form a stepped central axis up the slope.
• Courtyards, terraces and side corridors frame mature bodhi trees.

Location & getting there

Getting to Guo'en Temple

Travel to Guo’en Temple at the foot of Longshan in Liuzu Town, Xinxing County, near Tajiao Village. Use the temple entrance within the Longshan tourism area, rather than a nearby hot-spring hotel as the final destination.