Sanye Temple, also known as Cunxiang Temple and Wubian Temple, is located in Sanye Town, Zhanang County, Shannan City, Tibet, at the foot of Habu Mountain on the north bank of Yarlung Zangbo River.
The full name of Sanye Temple is "Bezama Sanye Minji worships ancestors for a long time", which means "auspicious red rock turns into a temple with endless thoughts" in Tibetan.
Samye Temple was built during the Tubo Dynasty in the 8th century, and it is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet to be shaved and become a monk. The buildings in the temple are arranged according to the Buddhist cosmology. The central Buddhist temple has three styles: Tibetan, Chinese and Indian, so Sanye Temple is also called Sanyang Temple.
At the end of the 8th century, Chisong Dêzain, the three treasures at that time, believed in Buddhism. He invited two Indian Buddhist masters and Lotus Peanut to Tibet to promote Buddhism and decided to build a temple for them.
According to the records of Sanye Temple, in 762 AD, Chisong Dêzain laid the foundation stone for the temple, which took 12 years to build and was completed at the end of 775. Because there is a legend that when it was just built, Chisong Dêzain was anxious to know the scene after it was built, so the lotus peanut changed from his palm to the illusion of the temple. When Chisong Dêzain saw it, he couldn't help exclaiming "Samye" (meaning "unexpected" and "unimaginable"), and later took this warning as the name of the temple, so he named the temple Samye Temple because of the king's warning.
The whole temple of Samye Temple faces south. Temple plane is oval, arranged according to the world structure in Buddhist scriptures. It looks like a long courtyard, covering an area of about 25,000 square meters. It was built on the basis of Odanda Bordet, who was built by the ancient Indian polo dynasty in Mojeto.
The layout of the whole temple is designed with reference to the structural layout of the "boundless universe" in Buddhist scriptures, and it is built according to the tantric mandala: Wuzi Hall represents the center of the world, four halls around the hall represent four continents and eight small continents in the Four Aral Seas, Sun Moon Hall symbolizes two temples in the universe, and the temple wall symbolizes Tiewei Mountain on the periphery of the world; Four towers, red, white, green and black, are built around the main hall to subdue all evil spirits and prevent natural and man-made disasters. There are gates on all sides of the fence, and the east gate is the main entrance.
1996, Sanye Temple was announced as one of the fourth batch of key cultural relics protection units in China. In 2007, Sanye Temple was rated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.
In the past, going to Sanye Temple required taking a boat from Sanye Ferry in Zhaliang County. In ancient times, cowhide boats were used, and a square boat was made of a whole piece of cowhide. I can't see it now. Nowadays, the traffic to Sanye Temple is very convenient, and it can be reached from Lhasa to Shannan by Jiangbei Highway.
There is a flying stone in Sanye Temple. It is said that a sacred stone flew from India during the construction fell on the Samye Temple. Monks in temples roll sacred stones on people's backs, which is said to dispel the pain.
Many years ago, when my husband and I went to Samye Temple, the tour guide said that we were predestined friends with the Buddha. It happened that a Buddhist monk, a Buddhist relic, came from India to worship in the temple. A Buddhist relic was solemnly placed in a glassware, and on the solemn Buddhist shrine, against the background of butter lamps, it gave off a faint light, which made people respect!