A Free Life Pond is a type of
pond at
Han Chinese Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
s. It is usually located in front of the
Shanmen or the
Hall of Four Heavenly Kings. The Free Life Pond embodies Buddhist thoughts of compassion and understanding of all living beings.
History
The Free Life Pond was firstly mentioned in the ''Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom'' (), which read: "".
The Free Life Pond was originate erected by
Zhiyi, founder of
Tiantai school, in the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
(589–618). In 759,
Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty (618–907) ordered all Buddhist temples to set up Free Life Pond. According to ''Duo Po Ming Jing'' (), at that time, 81 Buddhist temples set up free life ponds under the emperor's command.
Function
The Free Life Pond can regulate the air, inhibit dust, but also has the role of fire prevention. If the Buddhist temple is on fire, the water in the pond can be used to fight the fire.
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Buddhist temples in China
Chinese Buddhist architecture