Big Wild Goose Pagoda - Xi'an, China
Posted by: MeerRescue
N 34° 12.853 E 108° 58.144
49S E 312905 N 3787773
As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Pagoda) is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.
Waymark Code: WME7QT
Location: China
Date Posted: 04/15/2012
Views: 15
As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Pagoda) is a
well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It is located in
the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometres (2.49 miles) from the
downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Ci'en Temple complex, it attracts
numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but
appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple.
Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty
(618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from
India by the hierarch Xuanzang. Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient
Xian), along the Silk Road
and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism. Enduring
17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of
sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor
Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised
the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he asked 50
hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit in sutras into Chinese,
totalling 1,335 volumes, which heralded a new era in the history of translation.
Based on the journey to India, he also wrote a book entitled 'Pilgrimage to the
West' in the Tang Dynasty, to which scholars attached great importance.
First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now
64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two stories. It was said that
after that addition came the saying-'Saving a life exceeds building a
seven-storied pagoda'. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand
and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure
is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and
overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of
each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned
artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace
the pagoda.
As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend.
According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of
which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon
seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we
have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very
moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the
monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order
them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and
stopped eating meat. Hence it got the name 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.
Visit Instructions:Include in your log one or two complete sentences. Logs containing a few words like "visited it" are subject to deletion.
Photos of the shrine are strongly encouraged when permitted otherwise please refrain from taking pictures inside and in any case, generally have respect for the religious nature of the site.