Mahavira. This hall isenshrined with three main Buddhas in the central part.
They are Sakyamuni Buddhasitting in the middle and Pharmacist Buddha of the
Eastern Glazed World andAmitabha Buddha from the Western Paradise sitting on
both sides. Along the gablewalls, sit 18 Buddhist Arhats, who were enlightened
Buddhist monks. On bothsides in front of the Hall of Mahavira, stand the Bell
Tower and the Drum Towersymmetrically. They were rebuilt in 1994 used to
report hours for the temple.Normally the bell is used in the morning, while
the drum, in the afternoon,hence the saying “morning bell and afternoon
drum”. In front of the Bell Toweris the stele called “the Stele of Li
Shimin” telling the story about how themonks from the Shaolin Temple rescued
Prince Li Shimin from being pursued andattacked by Wang Shichong during the
late Sui Dynasty. Li Shimin, who laterbecame the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty
wrote the inscriptions on the stelepersonally,and left with a signature of Shi
min on the stele. Ok please comewith me, we are going to the next hall. So
now, the pavilion in front of us, notlike the Zangjingge and the Abbot’s
rooms we visited just now, enjoys a movingstory. It’s named Dharma’s
Pavilion or Lixue Pavilion, that is “Standing in thesnow” in English. It
says: After Boddhi Dharma came to China, many ChineseBuddhist believers wanted
to be his followers, and Shengguang was the mostprominent of all of them. He
always followed him whenever and wherever he went and served Dharma
withheart and soul. But Dharma didn’t agree to accept Shengguang as a
disciple.Shengguang didn’t lose heart and became even more steadfast. On a
snowy night,he begged as usual with Budhidharma outside, standing in the knee-
high snow. Themaster set forward a prerequisite: he would not meet his demand
unless it wouldsnow in red flakes. Suddenly Shengguang drew out the sword and
cut off his leftarm and stained the snowy ground. Bodhidharma was so moved
that he passed hismantle, alms bowl and musical instruments on to Shengguang
and gave him aBuddhist name of Huike. He was regarded as the second founder of
the Zen sect.Emperor Qianlong wrote a phrase on a plaque in commemoration
Alright everyone,now we are in the last hall, Pilu Hall, also called a
Thousand Buddha Hall. It’salso the largest structure of the Shaolin Temple.
This is just the highlight ofthe sightseeing zone. So until now, the visit in
the Shaolin Temple is almostover. I think you may have some questions about
the temple, or you want to takesome photos. So, please do remember, you have
half an hour. After half an hourwe will gather in our bus, and make sure
you’ll be there on time. And then weare going to the Pagoda Forest. Thank you
for your attention!
The longmen grottoes Around 13 km south of Luoyang, there are
twopicturesque hills confronting each other with the Yi River flowing
northwardbetween them, connected by an arched stone bridge resembling a
natural gatetower. This is the right place named Longmen, where the well-known
LongmenGrottoes is located. The grottoes, which earns the fame of one of the
ThreeTreasure Houses of Stone Sculpture in China, was created over 1500 years