Ep. 107: Hangzhou's "Peak That Flew from Afar"

The beginning of a temple-by-temple tour of China

Here we go again! I'm uploading a couple of short posts a week, just a picture or two, traipsing through my China pilgrimage in order. Enjoy!

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For a brief account of my visit to Feilai Feng and nearby Lingyin Temple, see my Shenzhen Daily article or the slightly longer version here on Temple Tales.

When I arrived at the first temple on my list, Lingyin Si, I was forced to buy a very pricey ticket. After passing through a large ticket gate, I discovered why: there was much more to this site than just my target temple.

What I saw was a huge pile of limestone along a babbling brook, the so-called Feilai Feng or "The Peak that Flew from Afar" that really did look as though it had plopped down out of the sky. At its southern (?) end was this little plaza with a pagoda dedicated to an Indian monk whom the Chinese called Huili. He it was who named the ridge nearly 1700 years ago, claiming it looked as though the famed Vulture Peak--where the Buddha preached near Huili's home in India--had flown all the way to China! (This may be a metaphor for the spread of the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching.)