Dizang in the Bell Tower

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on April 18, 2016.)

Dizang with Ming Ranghe and Daoming at Gubaijingtai, Jiuhua Shan, Anhui

As we leave the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings, we see to our left the Drum Tower, which contains a statue of Guanyin, whom we have already met. To the right, balancing the Drum Tower, is The Bell Tower. It contains a prodigious Chinese bell which hangs over the head of a monkish figure called Dizang.

Master Xuyun

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on June 12, 2017.)

Statue of Xuyun at Yunmen Temple, Guangdong

Perhaps the greatest Buddhist Master of the 19th and 20th centuries was the monk called Xuyun ("Empty Cloud"). From Quanzhou to Kunming, and especially around northern Guangdong, it is hard to find a major temple untouched by his efforts.

Yama and the Ten Judges

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on Sep 25, 2017.)

Souls are purified before Yama, the
Fifth Judge, at Zhiyuan Temple, Jiuhua Shan

The popular bodhisattva Kshitigarbha (in Chinese, Dizang Pusa) has vowed to save all souls out of the Six Hells assigned to each of the Six Realms of Existence.