Ep. 103: Mao Protects the Buddha
With a little help from some clever locals
In September of 2011--just ten years ago--I took a trip through Zhejiang Province, starting in the mountains of Xinchang County, through Tiantai Shan (home to an esoteric sect known in Japan as Tendai), and finally to a river-island not far from the ocean in Wenzhou: six days overall.
First stop was the Dafo (Great Buddha) Temple, located in a "Scenic Area" comprised of over 25 square kilometers of mountain scenery, grottoes, and historic architecture. With little time to see things, my traveling companion and I headed straight for the Big Guy.
He is magnificent. This Great Buddha was carved in the native rock by a succession of three monks beginning in 486 CE. The work took approximately 30 years. Monk Senghu began the work, after having a vision of the Buddha's halo shining from the cliff face. He was able to finish only the Buddha's head. The work was taken up by Sengshu, who also failed to finish. Finally, Sengyou came and finished the carving in 516. A three-storied pavilion was built in front of the figure in 845, and was converted some time later to the five-story pavilion we see today. (Incidentally, the seng element in each name means "Buddhist monk.")