Lingyang Temple locates in Mashan County, Nanning City. It is a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in Mashan County and the largest cave-style temple in Guangxi. The temple was built during 1078-1085 of the middle Song Dynasty. It was built by the descendant of the Sixth Patriarch, Huiyuan, who was a famous Zen Master. At that time, the scale of the monastery was very huge, which once could contain more than 1,000 resident monks.
Due to historical reasons, Lingyang Temple has undergone several changes. It suffered a big fire in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, which caused its destruction. It was rebuilt under the strong support of the local government in spring 1998.
Features of Lingyang Temple
Lingyang Temple is different from other temples. Besides being built on a cliff halfway up the mountain, the most attractive thing is that it is a large-scale lava cave temple. The main hall of the temple is located in a cave on the mountain. The cave is called "Lizhi Cave". People climb up the steep stairs from the foot of the mountain to the halfway of the mountain, bypass the huts and guest rooms, and then enter into the cave. Mashan County has the unique karst landform especially the special and magical stalactite resources. These strange natural landscapes of stalactites in different shapes have the high ornamental values.
Lingyang Temple has a total area of about 6,000 square meters, and the main hall in the cave occupies about 600 square meters. There are 7 halls in the temple, including the Sanbao Hall, Guanyin Hall, Wofo Hall, Mile Hall, Weituo Hall, Hufa Hall, and Yuanji Hall.
There are 15 Buddha statues enshrined in the halls. These Buddha statues are all made from the refined white marble, which are transported from Myanmar, the hometown of Buddhism. These statues had been blessed by the Taoist monks from the famous temples of Mount Wutai and Mount Emei.
In addition to the main hall in the cave, there are other buildings beside the cave, such as the guest hall, the dining hall, and pavilions. These buildings have the grand and extraordinary momentum, forming the stunning views.