James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    IT has long been my practice first to try to reach the most remote temples in any area I visit. Jinge (Golden Pavilion) Temple fits the bill perfectly.

    A small temple marks the summit of each of Wutai Mountain’s five peaks. Aside from these, Jinge, at 1,900 meters, is the highest temple on the mountain. It’s also 15 kilometers from the town of Taihuai, making it quite a challenge.

    I went down to the town center, bustling with summer visitors, and asked around for transportation. A kind policeman called a friend who had a car. Though he asked an exorbitant price, he lowered it when I convinced him that I was a pilgrim, not a tourist.

    The temple would have justified almost any expense. A huge establishment in a lonely location, it was founded in 767 by Amoghavajra (Chinese Bu Kong), an Indian monk and translator who had come to China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He promoted the veneration of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, to whom the mountain is dedicated.

    Despite the mountain’s harsh winters, the halls of Jinge were resplendent. One contains a 17-meter-tall statue of Guanyin made of bronze, the tallest statue on the mountain. The top hall houses a typical Buddha triad — Shakyamuni, the Medicine Buddha and Amitabha — with unusual, cartoonish arhats around them.

    But above these figures was something most uncommon: the rafters were decorated with small figures of the 500 arhats, hovering as though ready to pounce. Delightful!