Lama Temple

Today was a free day or you could take an optional tour to the Lama Temple and the Hutongs (walled houses). Six of us chose to go on the tour. The first place we visited was the Lama Temple in Beijing. We entered the 16–acre temple grounds through the Memorial Archway.

Lama Temple

Entrance archway.

Lama Temple

Walking along the Imperial Way to the Zhaota Gate.

Lama Temple

The Bell Tower.

The Drum Tower.

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The West Tablet Pavilion.

Lama Temple

The East Tablet Pavilion.

Lama Temple

The Hall of Heavenly Kings.

Lama Temple

Incense burners in front of the hall. The Chinese are allowed to practice Buddhism and also other religions.

Lama Temple

Close–up of the incense burners.

Lama Temple

Entering the Hall of Heavenly King.

Lama Temple

We weren’t allowed to take photos in the temple, which is usually the case for Buddhist temples. I found this photo of one of the statues in this hall: of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future.

Lama Temple

The next hall was the Hall of Harmony, which (I believe) contained three Buddhas: the Sakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of the Present; the Kasyapa Buddha, the Buddha of the Past; and the Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the Future. I really wish that photos were allowed inside the temples. It is hard to remember what you saw in them. I bought postcards at a souvenir shack so I could share what I had seen, but they turned out to be for another temple. You can find some photos on the Internet but most are copyrighted and can’t be reproduced here. The Buddha statues are really striking.

Lama Temple

Other buildings of the temple. Here, the monks study Esoteric Buddhism, Exoteric Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, and astronomy and geography.

Lama Temple

The Hall of Everlasting Blessings, which was the residence of Prince Yongzhan.

Lama Temple

In front of the hall, written in four languages: Mongolian, Tibetan, Han Chinese, and Manchurian.

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Art work in front of the hall.

Lama Temple

Monks in front of the Hall of Everlasting Blessings.

Lama Temple

We took this sign to mean “No Photos Inside.”

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Eaves of some of the buildings.

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The same water and dragon figures that were on the eaves at the Forbidden Palace are also here.

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Close–up.

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Another temple building.

Lama Temple

And another.

Lama Temple

Close–up of the interesting trash cans.

Lama Temple

On the other side of the Hall of Everlasting Blessings is the striking Pavilion of Infinite Happiness.

Lama Temple

Inside this hall is a gigantic statue of the Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the Future. The 7th Dalai Lama presented it to Emperor Qianlong, the son of Emperor Yongzheg. The entire statue was carved from a rare sandalwood tree. The statue is 85 feet in height and 26 feet in diameter. Twenty–six feet is buried underground. Photo taken from the Internet.

Lama Temple

Another photo of Maitreya, also taken from the Internet.

Lama Temple

On one of the pavilion’s pillars from the Guinness Book of World Records: “This is to certify that the statue of Maitreya in the Lama Temple in Beijing was carved out of a single white sandwood tree 26 meters high.”

Lama Temple

Another view of the Pavilion of Infinite Happiness.

Lama Temple

And another.

Lama Temple

And one more.

Lama Temple

Advertisement for a Yong He Gong luck bracelet at a religious store at the temple, representing the Eight Guardianship Diety: mouse; horse; dog/pig; ox/tiger; cock; rabbit; dragon/snake; and sheep/monkey. The eight include all the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.

Lama Temple

A lioness and two turtles.

Lama Temple

Souvenir stand near the exit.

Lama Temple

Close–up of some of the items for sale.

Lama Temple

Close–up of part of the close–up. I think these would be interesting souvenirs to take home.

Lama Temple

The exit gate.

Lama Temple

On our walk out, we passed these men carrying statues of Buddha. Kathy told us that people take these Buddhas into the temple to be “enlightened” by a monk. Then the statue owner is closer to God through their statue. The statues can be purchased at a store outside the temple.