James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    THE Huayan Temple on Zhiti Mountain in Ningde, Fujian, holds a special place in my heart. I taught about 100 young people there for a week back in 2006, and met one of my best monk friends, venerable Deru.

    In 2011, I accepted Deru’s offer to take me back to Huayan Temple when my pilgrimage brought me there. This was especially nice because the temple is 19 kilometers off the highway, on a narrow mountain road with an undependable mini-bus route going only part way.

    In the five years since my first visit, the temple had added a large mountain gate, and was replacing a couple of the halls.

    During my first stay, I heard a story about the Ming-Dynasty statue of Vairocana in the temple’s topmost hall (a gift from an empress). A temple legend says that some robbers once tried to steal it; after struggling to carry it all night, they discovered at sunrise that they were still in the hall!

    Another famous story tells of “The Spirited Cow of Zhiti Mountain.” A local farmer was about to kill a cow, who fell to her knees and began crying out. Unable to kill her, the farmer donated the cow to the temple. She lived out her life there, and had an interesting trait: Whenever one said the name of Amitabha Buddha to her, she would again fall to her knees, as if praying! And — surprise — this was not an ancient story, but happened in 1981. There are many people alive who claim to have seen this cow’s behavior.