Jingju Temple (Xinyang)

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Guangshan Jingju Temple is in Guangshan County, Xinyang, Henan, China. It is also known as the “Emperor Entitled Brahma Temple” because five large plaques with Emperor Song Zhenzong’s inscription hang on its gate. The temple sits on Jingju Mountain, a place long linked to Maitreya preaching, and is considered the birthplace of Tiantai Buddhism.

The main hall (Daxiong Hall) is a Ming dynasty building. The site preserves more than 30 steles from history, including the Ming-era “Emperor’s powdered gold” stele and a Kangxi-era stele about rebuilding the temple. It also contains a stele with Su Shi’s poems from visiting Jingju Temple.

Historically, Jingju Temple is tied to the Tiantai Sect. Huisi (515–577) founded Jingju Temple on Dasu Mountain and is regarded as the third patriarch of Tiantai Buddhism; he was the teacher of Zhiyi, who is widely seen as the founder of Tiantai Buddhism. Zhiyi, whose surname was Chen and style name De’an, became a monk after losing his parents young. In 560 AD, at age 23, he came to Dasu Mountain to study under Huisi, where he learned Zen and the Dharma Samadhi.