東林寺/Donglinsi (Dong=East, Lin=Forest) was founded by Pure Land Buddhist Master HuiYuan in 384 AD. Master HuiYuang understood Sanskrit and was very important in creating many Buddhist literatures.
In Tang Dynasty, Master Jianzhen came to Donglinsi to practice. He later brought Pure Land Buddhism to Japan. on his sixth trip to the country. Not unexpected, lots of Japanese come visit here.
Walking into the temple complex, all I could see was construction everywhere, from no-nail wooden beams to concrete structures. It was only when far inside the back did I see the main temples. This is a very big temple complex and it has a sister Donglin temple which we will visit the following day.
Donglinsi, Lushan, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, China