Waguan monastery, (near) Nanjing, Jiangsu, CN

Raw data

"T'ien-t'ai [天台] (538–597) (PY Tiantai; Jpn Tendai)
Also known as Chih-i [same as ven-zhiyi]. […] In 560 he visited Nan-yüeh (also known as Hui-ssu) on Mount Ta-su to study under him, […] After seven years of practice under Nan-yüeh, T'ient'ai left the mountain and made his way to Chin-ling, the capital of the Ch'en dynasty [= Nanjing], where he lived at the temple Wa-kuan-ssu and lectured for eight years on the Lotus Sutra and other texts. His fame spread, and he attracted many followers." - (The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism) http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2399

"Wang Meng’ou (2:36, no. 8) notes that the [Waguan monastery 瓦棺寺] monastery was established in the Liang dynasty and was initially known as Shenyuan ge 昇元閣." - Zhou (2012:72)

"Li Jianguo’s version (Li, Cidian, p. 289) notes that the Ox Head Mountain, located in the southwest of modern Nanjing 南京, was an important Buddhist sacred Mountain, where the Monk Farong 法融 established Ox Head school of the Zen Buddhism."
- Zhou (2012:72)

""Tao Sheng was born in 355 in Jiangsu Province, on the east coast of China, into a professional family. His father was a county magistrate. When Tao Sheng was less than ten years old, he followed his parents to the capital, today's Nanjing, where his father went on official business. One afternoon, his father took his mother and him to visit the famous Wakuan Temple, which was originally a graveyard. Prime Minister Wang bought it because he wanted to build a pottery factory there, but he died soon after and the construction was stopped. A monk named Hui Li arrived at the city and decided to build a temple at the same site. He asked for help from the late prime minister's sons, who quickly agreed. Even the emperor sanctioned it and ordered his subordinates to help build what came to be a de facto state temple. After the temple was completed, many renowned monks came to live and preach there. Tao Sheng and his parents encountered Chu Fa Tai, a distinguished monk from northern China. Chu Fa Tai had studied under Fotucheng for several years before Tao An, and he had brought him and several other monks south from northern China. Each set out in his own way to spread Buddhism. Chu Fa Tai led a few disciples to Nanjing and settling in Wakuan Temple."
http://enquarterly.tzuchiculture.org.tw/tzquart/2002fa/qf14.htm

"The first Śrī Lańkan image, a jade Buddha, arrived during the years 405-418, and was placed in the Waguan temple. This important temple outside the southern capital was founded on the advice of Huili in the 360’s." http://longquanzs.org/articledetail.php?id=4814
Input by: tmciolek Aug 03 2013

Q: "Does anyone know where tile coffin Temple [瓦官寺]?
2006-11-23 19:47
[A:]
Come in watts official temple in Jiqingmen Farrow is 35 post on the road next to the car at the end station alley has been down, and then turn left, uphill, walk you can see, just repaired, "
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/15694088.html [automated google translation]
Input by: tmciolek Aug 04 2013

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 04 Aug 2013

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Waguan monastery, CN.

General location of the Waguan monastery, CN.
Lat 32.0276 Long 118.7473
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2013.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.0276+118.7473+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Waguan%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=32.0276,118.7473&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Waguan monastery - books.google.com/books?isbn=082482170X

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China: Jiangsu Sheng

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx. Lat 32.0276 Long 118.7473 - based on visual identification of the the abstract location marked by the T-junction of the Jiqingmen St., & the Changwei St., maps/satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 04 Aug 2013.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

11. Date-early

MBM chrono-tag 0333-66c - tmciolek 04 Aug 2013
0333-66c 0367-99c 0400-32c 0433-66c 0467-99c 0500-32c 0533-66c 0567-99c 0600-32p dated-xl

12. Date-intermediate

  • "The monk Shisenghong, who lived in the capital at Waguan Monastery, was putting the finishing touches on a six-zhang bronze image of Guanyin. It so happens that during that time, in the twelfth year of the Yixi reign period of the Jin dynasty (416), it was prohibited to cast bronze." - Campbell (2008:87)
  • Chih-i [same as ven-zhiyi] from 557 till 665 taught at the Wakuan monastery - (The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism) http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2399

MBM chrono-tag 0533-66c 0567-99c 0600-32p - tmciolek 04 Aug 2013

13. Date-late

  • [missing data]

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)
  • The monastery has or had a 350-foot tall pagoda - Zhou (2012:71)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Known monks and nuns associated with this monastery

19. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

end of page

0333-66c0367-99c0400-32c0433-66c0467-99c0500-32c0533-66c0567-99c0600-32p2kmchinadated-xleast-asiapagodaplacesect.tientaitrad.mahayanaven.huiliven.zhiyiw
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License