Wofo Temple

Wofo Temple is a located in the Beijing Botanical Garden from Beijing, China. The temple is best known as the location of the 'Recumbent Buddha', a large sculpture of the Buddha lying down created in 1321.

History

The temple was first built in the 7th century and known as the Doulu temple. During the following centuries temple was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times while also undergoing name changes. The current incarnation dates from 1734. The temple's first recumbent Buddha was carved in carved in sandstone. In 1321, during the Yuan dynasty the sandstone carving was replaced by a 5.2 meter long statue made of bronze and weighing 2.5 tons.

Layout

Following a north-south axis, the temple contains an entrance gate followed by three halls. On either side of the axis are buildings used by the monks for lodging as well as to accommodate guests. The first hall is called the Tianwang hall, the second the Sanshi Buddha hall, followed by the Recumbent Buddha hall.