華林寺,始建於梁朝武帝時期,距今已有近一千五百年歷史,廣州佛教四大叢林之首,主供中國佛教禪宗祖師達摩
Hualin Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty, and has a history of nearly 1,500 years. It is the first of the four major Buddhist monasteries in Guangzhou and is dedicated to Bodhidharma, the founder of Chinese Zen Buddhism.
The temple was formerly known as Xilai Temple, which has been renovated many times throughout the dynasties. During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the courtyard was opened up, the temple was expanded and renamed Hualin Temple. It was once crowded with monks and was very popular.
Due to wars and historical reasons, Hualin Temple was severely damaged. Only existing buildings include Bodhidharma Hall, Hall of Five Hundred Arhats, Pagoda, and Patriarch Hall. The temple is exquisite, tall and wide, and the Buddha statues are solemn and peaceful. Especially the five hundred golden arhats in the Arhat Hall, they have different postures and expressions, showing joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, anger, and stupidity, with extremely rich expressions.
As it is located in a bustling area in the city center, Hualin Temple has a constant stream of pilgrims. The temple sells incense and candles at a reasonable price. It's a pity that the temple staff always rudely pull out the unburned incense in the incense burner and throw it into an iron bucket beside them to force it out. I wonder why? This move made the believers who came to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha quite unhappy.
Hualin Temple is open to the public free of charge. There is a Guanglin Temple Station on Guangzhou Metro Line 8, which is just a few minutes' walk from the subway exit. At the entrance of the temple alley, there is an ancient Lingnan-style building called "Jinlun Hall". It is free to visit and you can stop by if you are interested.