Ganlu Temple (Sweet Dew Temple) is located in the north of the mountain, and originally named “Ganlu An”(The Nunnery of Nectar), and “Ganlu Buddhist Temple”. In 1667, the sixth year of the Kangxi Period in the Qing Dynasty, when the Prime Minister Yulin paid his homage in Mountain Jiuhua and passed here, he said in his praise: “What a beautiful place it is with mountains and rivers! Generations of dignitaries will be born here if a temple is built up.” Monk Dong'an, who lived in fuhu (taming the tiger) Cave, heard this and went out, prepared to build a temple with the help from Wu Erjun and his fellows in Laotian Village, Qingyang. In the eve of the beginning day of this project, pine needles all over the mountain were hung with nectars, which people called a wonder, and henceforward the temple was named as “Ganlusi (nectar)”. After preaching for twice in the temple, Dong'an resumed his life in fuhu (taming the tiger) Cave. In the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty, Abbot Youtan openned the altar again and began to preach, for which the temple became one for Buddhism. With a construction space of 3,500 square meters, the temple has now been left with the cultural relics such as the Precious Hall of The Great Hero, the Side Hall, the Small House, the Bell and Drum, the Stele Inscription, etc.. It is now one of the key national temples. In 1990, Jiuhua Buddhist College was established. Courses included Buddhist theology, sutra, history of buddhism, medicine, philosophy, old Chinese, calligraphy, foreign languages and computer were opened. The college has developped lots of excellent monks, and it is praised as a cradle for masters in buddhism. |