Audio 0011 English
Amituofo! Welcome to the Main Dharma Hall, the iconic centerpiece of Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden in Canada, a perfect blend of Buddhist culture, ancient Chinese architectural art, and classical Chinese garden art.
The Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden’s wooden architectural complex consists of the Main Dharma Hall, the Guanyin Hall, the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Manjushri Hall, and the Wooden Archway, forming a spectacular ancient temple cluster. The Main Dharma Hall is a three-tiered structure, with the first and second floors serving as the base of the main hall, constructed with reinforced concrete and occupying an area of 35,000 square feet. These levels are used for memorial halls, art galleries, scripture repositories, office areas, living quarters, and reception areas. The third floor houses the Main Dharma Hall, built entirely with wooden structures.
The wooden structure of the Main Dharma Hall covers an area of 1,418 square meters, with a total length of 44 meters, a depth of 30 meters, and a height of 15.72 meters. It is an all-wooden hall constructed using the traditional Chinese wooden tenon and mortise architectural technique. The Main Dharma Hall at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden in Canada is modeled after the Eastern Hall of the Dafoguang Temple in China's Wutai Shan, a structure with a history dating back 1,200 years. The primary material used for the Main Dharma Hall is precious rosewood imported from Laos, which emits a unique fragrance. The roof tiles of the hall are all made of cast bronze, surpassing the materials used in the Fuguang Temple on Wutai Shan in China.
Within the Main Dharma Hall are enshrined five sacred Buddha and Bodhisattva statues. In the center of the hall, on a Sumeru pedestal, are three colossal Buddhas, each standing at 6.85 meters in height, arranged from left to right: the Medicine Buddha in the east, the central Shakyamuni Buddha, and Amitabha Buddha in the west. Following common convention, they are known as the "Three Worlds Buddhas." Flanking these Buddhas are two Bodhisattvas, representing the wisdom and vows of Mahayana Buddhism: Manjushri and Samantabhadra, each standing at 5.4 meters in height. Additionally, the four walls of the Main Dharma Hall are adorned with precious redwood bas-reliefs gilded with gold, featuring the Eighty-Eight Buddhas.
The Main Dharma Hall possesses four distinct and noteworthy architectural characteristics: First, it exhibits a grand scale, strict planning, and imposing wooden structures in the style of Tang Dynasty architecture. Second, it seamlessly combines beauty and strength, featuring architectural elements such as arches, pillars, and beams inspired by Tang Dynasty architecture, with each element showcasing its unique shape and structural interplay, achieving an unparalleled unity of strength and beauty. The colour scheme is simple and vibrant, with a spacious and expansive roof, simple and unadorned doors and windows. Third, the building materials are of great value, as the entire wooden structure, both inside and outside, is crafted from precious rosewood imported from Laos. Fourth, the entire roof of the Main Dharma Hall is covered in bronze tiles, with a total of 24,220 bronze tiles and an approximate weight of 61 tons, bringing the total roof weight to about 600 tons.
The unique bracketing structure used in the Main Dharma Hall is a highly skilled architectural artistry unique to China, silently showcasing the charm of traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the grandeur of Tang Dynasty Buddhism and Chinese culture once again.
Amituofo! Welcome to the Main Dharma Hall, the iconic centerpiece of Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden in Canada, a perfect blend of Buddhist culture, ancient Chinese architectural art, and classical Chinese garden art.
The Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden’s wooden architectural complex consists of the Main Dharma Hall, the Guanyin Hall, the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Manjushri Hall, and the Wooden Archway, forming a spectacular ancient temple cluster. The Main Dharma Hall is a three-tiered structure, with the first and second floors serving as the base of the main hall, constructed with reinforced concrete and occupying an area of 35,000 square feet. These levels are used for memorial halls, art galleries, scripture repositories, office areas, living quarters, and reception areas. The third floor houses the Main Dharma Hall, built entirely with wooden structures.
The wooden structure of the Main Dharma Hall covers an area of 1,418 square meters, with a total length of 44 meters, a depth of 30 meters, and a height of 15.72 meters. It is an all-wooden hall constructed using the traditional Chinese wooden tenon and mortise architectural technique. The Main Dharma Hall at the Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden in Canada is modeled after the Eastern Hall of the Dafoguang Temple in China's Wutai Shan, a structure with a history dating back 1,200 years. The primary material used for the Main Dharma Hall is precious rosewood imported from Laos, which emits a unique fragrance. The roof tiles of the hall are all made of cast bronze, surpassing the materials used in the Fuguang Temple on Wutai Shan in China.
Within the Main Dharma Hall are enshrined five sacred Buddha and Bodhisattva statues. In the center of the hall, on a Sumeru pedestal, are three colossal Buddhas, each standing at 6.85 meters in height, arranged from left to right: the Medicine Buddha in the east, the central Shakyamuni Buddha, and Amitabha Buddha in the west. Following common convention, they are known as the "Three Worlds Buddhas." Flanking these Buddhas are two Bodhisattvas, representing the wisdom and vows of Mahayana Buddhism: Manjushri and Samantabhadra, each standing at 5.4 meters in height. Additionally, the four walls of the Main Dharma Hall are adorned with precious redwood bas-reliefs gilded with gold, featuring the Eighty-Eight Buddhas.
The Main Dharma Hall possesses four distinct and noteworthy architectural characteristics: First, it exhibits a grand scale, strict planning, and imposing wooden structures in the style of Tang Dynasty architecture. Second, it seamlessly combines beauty and strength, featuring architectural elements such as arches, pillars, and beams inspired by Tang Dynasty architecture, with each element showcasing its unique shape and structural interplay, achieving an unparalleled unity of strength and beauty. The colour scheme is simple and vibrant, with a spacious and expansive roof, simple and unadorned doors and windows. Third, the building materials are of great value, as the entire wooden structure, both inside and outside, is crafted from precious rosewood imported from Laos. Fourth, the entire roof of the Main Dharma Hall is covered in bronze tiles, with a total of 24,220 bronze tiles and an approximate weight of 61 tons, bringing the total roof weight to about 600 tons.
The unique bracketing structure used in the Main Dharma Hall is a highly skilled architectural artistry unique to China, silently showcasing the charm of traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the grandeur of Tang Dynasty Buddhism and Chinese culture once again.