BaiZhangChanSi was built more than 1,200 years ago in the Tang Dynasty, again up high into the mountain amongst the mists. Master Huahai, ninth patriarch, who presided for over twenty years at this temple, officially wrote down the rules of conduct for the monastics. His rules were taken by the Emperor, who spread the rules across the country as a code of conduct for Buddhist monasteries.
At around 800 AD, prior to being Emperor XiangZong of Tang Dynasty, Prince Li Chun (personal name) escaped from the capital Xian to this temple and became a novice monk. The distance he traveled to was almost 750 miles. He subsequently went to Huangbo Chansi, the next temple that we are going to visit.
We ate at a temple, our third or fourth time. Long thin wooden tables set parallel in large room with just enough room except the center walkway acting as dividing line between the men and the women. No spare wood was wasted on the long thin backless bench as I almost tipped backwards when I sat down. With two metallic bowls and a pair of chopsticks already set, a volunteer distributed down the row rice, vegetable, and soup. We ate quietly, washed the dishes, and set them in a bucket to be sanitized.
After the meal we visited historic sites located in the bamboo forest behind the temple complex. I've posted the description of each historic site as well.
In the pic below, we saw this dog going about her way. When we tried to feed her some bread she was eager, but as soon as the abbot of the temple walked close, she acted as if she's disinterested. We inquired her, the abbot told us that he saved her around ten years ago. This "smart" dog came by to say hello again as we were leaving.
Baizhangchansi, Fengxin, Yichun, Jiangxi, China