11/10 Origin of the Caodong School (Soto Zen)
Pulichansi, 普利禅寺, was first built in Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago. This is the original temple for Caodong School. It was recently rebuilt in 2010 and completed around 2013. This new construction also includes a divinity school.
It has traditional Tang style architecture in the temple ground and also a very modern feel. The Buddha’s sculpture is white and looks more like what you may find in Southeast Asian temples.
There were Korean writing hung on walls of certain buildings. I discovered that practitioners of Korean Caodong Zen/Chan school have come and supported in the re-building of the temple.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the temple commemorates Late Master Nan Huai Jin. He initiated and gathered funds to renovate this temple. Master Nan is renown and was considered a modern Chinese scholar treasure in Buddhism and Taoism; he’s written many books. While I am studying with Dharma Drum Mountain as a Zen/Chan practitioner, I am also a student of Master Nan Huai Jin, though not directly.
Pulichansi, Dongshan, Tong’an, Yifeng, Jiangxi, China