Buddhist texts library
The Buddhist Texts Library at White Horse Temple, in Luoyang, Henan, China.
Traditional Chinese蔵經閣
Simplified Chinese藏经阁
Literal meaningBuddhist Texts Library
Buddhist Sutras Library

A Buddhist texts library (simplified Chinese: 藏经阁; traditional Chinese: 蔵經閣; pinyin: Cángjīnggé) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing The Chinese Buddhist Canon (大藏經). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Buddhist Kyōzōs (経蔵). The Chinese Buddhist Canon is the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical and was called "all the sutras" (一切經) in the ancient time. With four thousand kinds, it includes Āgama (經), Vinaya (律) and Abhidharma (論) texts. Āgama are theories made by Buddha for disciples to practice, Vinaya are the rules formulated by Buddha for believers and Abhidharma is the collection of theories explanations by Buddha's disciples.[1][2]

A Buddhist texts library is generally two-storey buildings built at the highest point of the temple. The upper storey is for storing sutras and the lower layer is the "Thousand Buddha Pavilion" (千佛閣).[3]

References

  1. ↑ Wei Ran (2012-06-01). Buddhist Buildings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. ISBN 9787112142880.
  2. ↑ Han Xin (2006-04-01). Well-Known Temples of China. Shanghai: The Eastern Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 7506024772.
  3. ↑ Zi Yan (2012-08-01). Famous Temples in China. Beijing: Time Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. pp. 48–50. ISBN 978-7-5461-3146-7.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buddhist Texts Libraries.
  • Wang Guixiang (2016-06-17). 《中国汉传佛教建筑史——佛寺的建造、分布与寺院格局、建筑类型及其变迁》 [The History of Chinese Buddhist Temples] (in Chinese). Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. ISBN 9787302427056.
  • Zhang Yuhuan (2014-06-01). 《图解中国佛教建筑、寺院系列》 (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 9787515401188.
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