The White Horse Temple in Luoyang is actually the ancestral home of Buddhism in China. In many people's eyes, the White Horse Temple is the original birthplace of Buddhism in China. Because of its long history and reliable background, the name of the White Horse Temple has not been broken for such a long time. Official construction
In 6 BC, Buddhism appeared in the land of ancient India. In the Kingdom of Kapilowei, a man named Sakyamuni created Buddhism with his own wisdom. However, there was still a very long blank period before Buddhism was introduced to China. At that time, in order to welcome this foreign Sect, China officials solemnly ordered the construction of the White Horse Temple. Since then, the orthodox status of the White Horse Temple has been accepted by China people. Special name
In fact, many people will wonder why such an ancient temple is named after a horse. In fact, it was the emperor who named the first temple in China after the horse in order to commemorate the great contribution of the white horse.
According to legend, during a dream of Emperor Hanming, he found that there was always a golden man in his dream. He was puzzled by the picture for a long time. When he couldn't think of the answer for a long time, a minister in the court told Emperor Hanming the answer. The minister said that it was a Buddha named Sakyamuni in Tianzhu. In order to better dispel his doubts, Emperor Hanming ordered people to go directly to the western Tianzhu to learn from it.
Immediately, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent his men Cai Cheng, Qin Jing and others to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures. On the way, both Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues were supported by two white horses. After successfully obtaining the scriptures and returning to China, Emperor Han Ming directly built the first temple in China in the name of white horses to commemorate their selfless dedication. Buddhism spread from China
The establishment of the White Horse Temple is actually of great historical significance. At the earliest time, Buddhism in China actually only allowed people from the western regions to preach, but with the establishment of the White Horse Temple, this restriction was gradually diluted. Since then, Buddhism in China has opened the way to its origin. Since the White Horse Temple, China people have also habitually called the buildings used by monks to practice as temples.