Buddha’s Return Temple on Purple Cloud Mountain Cliff
About 4 kilometers east of Lanzhou, in the eastern part of Limiao County, (Xudi Dongcun) within the Purple Cloud Mountain, lies the Buddha and Moral Stone Pagoda Temple. The environment is beautiful and the scenery is pleasant.
On March 22nd, a group of tough friends drove from Lanzhou to Limiao's Purple Cloud Mountain, which was 100 kilometers away, and slowly climbed to the Buddha's Return Temple, which locals call 'Little Hua Shan' (Small Hua Mountain).
Purple Cloud Mountain has a peculiar terrain, with three mountains embracing it, naturally forming a gorge area. The mountain path has a 'phoenix crown' shape. The Buddha's Return Temple is built on a cliff face, with a concrete road and steps about 1 meter to 1.5 meters wide approaching the temple,
We toured the temple, visiting the Guan Yin Grand Hall, the Sun Wukong (Son of the Great Sage) Hall, the Dharma Master's Cave, the Three Courts Hall, Wang Lingguan (King Lingguan), the Lady Sending Children, the Jizang (Jizang) Cave, and the Lei Zu (Lei Zu) Cave etc.
When we reached the innermost corrugated iron building, we were fortunate enough to meet Mr. Zhao, a 76-year-old folk artist who had put in a lot of effort for the reconstruction of the temple, and Mr. Ma Daochang (Ma Daochang), who was stationed at the temple. Mr. Zhao had a deep affection for the temple,
He told us that the temple was first built during the Tang Dynasty. Due to years of neglect, many murals in the Dharma Hall and other Daoist temples were destroyed. The current temple is a reconstruction completed in recent years,
He also told us the origin of the Sun Wukong Grand Hall. Legend has it that during the Journey to the West, Master Tang and his disciples traveled west to obtain the scriptures. The Great Sage, Sun Wukong, was granted a meritorious title by the Buddha, and after returning to Chang'an, he passed through Limiao and discovered that Purple Cloud Mountain was a treasure land. People then built the Sun Wukong Grand Hall and created the statue of the Great Sage, Sun Wukong,
At 3:30 PM, we said goodbye to Mr. Zhao and Ma Daochang stationed at the temple and returned to Lanzhou.
