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There is an ancient temple in Pingyao called Shuanglin

Shuanglin Temple, located six kilometers southwest of Pingyao County in Shanxi Province, covers an area of about 15,000 square meters, divided into two major parts, east and west. The west part is the temple, along the central axis are three courtyards, composed of ten halls. The front courtyard of Shuanglin Temple includes the Sakyamuni Hall, Arhat Hall, Wusheng Hall, Earth Hall, Yama Hall, and Heavenly King Hall; the middle courtyard includes the Great Buddha's Hall and the Thousand Buddha Hall and Bodhisattva Hall on both sides; the back courtyard includes the Niangniang Hall and Zhenyi Shrine. The east part of Shuanglin Temple is the Zen Hall, Sutra Room, etc. (now used by a primary school). During the Ming Dynasty, a tall rammed earth wall was built around the temple, with arrow slits on it, and it looked like a small castle. The oldest existing stele in Shuanglin Temple is the 'Aunt's Stele' from the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu of the Northern Song Dynasty (1011). It has been worn down over the years, and the 20th line 'Reconstruction of the temple in the second year of Wuping' can still be recognized. 'The second year of Wuping' (571) is the era of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and since it was a reconstruction, the creation must have been earlier than this. Even if it starts from the Northern Qi Dynasty, Shuanglin Temple has already gone through more than 1,400 springs and autumns. The name of Shuanglin comes from the Buddhist scriptures. According to the Buddhist scriptures, the place where Buddha Sakyamuni entered Nirvana was between the two Sala trees beside the Batih River in the ancient Indian city of Kushinagar. At that time, the Buddha was under the two trees, with his head to the north and facing the west, lying on his right side, and passed away. The two trees on all sides suddenly bloomed white flowers, which was called 'Shuanglin Enters Extinction'.
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*Created by local travelers and translated by AI.
Posted: Feb 7, 2024
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Shuanglin Temple

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