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Buddhist temple in Luoyang, China

White Horse Temple is a Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan that, according to tradition, is the first Buddhist temple in China, having been first established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han dynasty. The site is just outside the walls of the ancient Eastern Han capital, some east of Luoyang in Henan Province. It is approximately 40 minutes by bus No. 56 from Luoyang railway station. The temple, although small in comparison to many others in China, is considered by most believers as "the cradle of Chinese Buddhism". The geographical landmarks to the south are Manghan mountain and Lucoche River. The main temple buildings, a large complex, were reconstructed during the Ming (1368 to 1644) and Qing (1644 to 1912) dynasties. They were refurbished in the 1950s, and again in March 1973 after the Cultural Revolution. It has numerous halls divided by courtyards and manicured gardens, covering an area of about The display plaques in Chinese and English give ample descriptions of the Buddhist deities installed in the halls. Significant statues include Śākyamuni Buddha, Maitreya (the laughing Buddha in China), Amitābha, the Jade Buddha, Bodhisattvas such as Guanyin, and arhats and stone statues of the two white horses which brought the Indian monks to China and two mythical lions at the entrance.]] On arrival of the two monks from India, they were housed in the temple. This temple was called the "White Horse Temple" (t=白馬寺), where means "white", means "horse", and means "shrine, temple, monastery". Notably, the emperor ordered the suffix lang=zh to be used in the temple's name, as a display of respect. This character had been used to denote the ministries of the government. In later periods, all temples, even mosques, came to use this character in their name and it was dropped from the names of government ministries. As a result, the temple's name is sometimes translated as White Horse Ministry, a translation true to the time. White Horse Temple is the modern, literal reading. However, this may be a folk etymology as there were other early temples in different centres with the same name. The monk Zhidun (or Chih Tun) (314–366), who was a famous propagator of Buddhism in the southern capital is recorded as having discussions with Fenghui at the Baima si (Pai ma) monastery in Jiankang (previously Jianye), the capital of the Eastern Jin (317 420). There was also a Baima si at Xiangyang where Daoan and his disciples stayed c. 365. To further complicate the search for the origin of the name, there were peoples known as the 'White Horse Qiang' and 'Di' who lived in the 'White Horse Valley' on the upper reaches of the Min River, which flows south from the Min Mountains near the town of Zhangla ([Chang la]: 32.50° N, 103.40° E) and there are still people calling themselves the 'White Horse Di' living there. It is possible, but unprovable, that the name Baima derived from some of these peoples, who may have been influenced by Buddhism at an early period, rather than from literal white horse(s) carrying scriptures.

In 258 a royal Kuchean monk, Po Yen, translated six Buddhist texts into Chinese at the temple, including the important Infinite Life Sutra. The famous Indo Scythian Buddhist translator Dharmarakṣa , active ca. 266–308 CE, came to Luoyang in 266 and resided at the White Horse Temple from at least the spring of 289 to 290 CE. Furthermore, the renowned monk Xuanzang of the Tang dynasty, who spent 16 years on a pilgrimage to India (630–635 CE) as a result of his desire to visit the Buddha's homeland, started his pilgrimage from this temple. On his return, Xuanzang remained the abbot of the White Horse Temple until his death. During his stay, apart from his teaching duties and other religious activities at the temple, he translated many Buddhist scriptures that he had brought from India, skillfully rendering Sanskrit into Chinese.

Under the People's Republic of China, the temple has seen many renovations in the period between 1952 and 1973 following the Cultural Revolution. As an ardent Buddhist, Sihanouk expressed a wish to Premier Zhou Enlai to visit the White Horse Temple. This put the administration into a frenzy, since many parts of the temple had been damaged during the Cultural Revolution and items were missing.

The symbolic importance of the temple for the ancient cultural relations between China and India was demonstrated when the Prime Minister of India P. V. Narasimha Rao visited the temple in 1993. A decade later, in 2003, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also visited the temple. To enhance the Buddhist cultural links between India and China, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on 11 April 2005. It stipulated that India would build an Indian style Buddhist temple to the west side of the White Horse Temple, in the International Garden of the complex. Under this agreement, India was to provide the architectural design, material for construction, the Buddha statue, landscaping and technical advice from architects and experts during construction. Chinese authorities were to allot a piece of land of
Following the MOU, a Buddhist shrine that is a close replica of the Sanchi Stupa was completed in 2008. Its presence in the precincts of China's first temple was inspired by Buddhist saints from India. The architectural features of the new temple closely recreate those of Sanchi's Stupa, including Sanchi's east gate. An image of the Buddha was transported from India and consecrated in the new temple, in conformity with the Indian Buddhist tradition. It is worth noticing that this temple was built on land donated by the Chinese government. The shrine is a two storied structure with circular walls on both floors. Its circular walls are embellished with murals of scenes from the Jataka tales and the life of Buddha. The temple was executed in close co ordination with the Indian design experts selected for the project, and Architects Akshaya Jain & Kshitij Jain made several visits to the site in relation with their work as consultants. The Buddha statue was designed following the pattern of the 5th century image of the Buddha kept at Sarnath, and it has been consecrated in the temple's central congressional hall. The president of India, Pratibha Patil, inaugurated this temple on May 27, 2010. The new temple incorporates features from the most revered Indian Buddhist shrines of Sanchi and Sarnath. The founders of the temple whose statues are worshiped in the ‘Hall of Six Founders’ belonged to the sect of Chan. The names of the founders as displayed in the order of their succession: Bodidharma, the first founder who hailed from ancient India where he was the 28th generation patriarch preaching the Buddhist philosophy; the second was Huike; the third founder was Sengcan; the fourth was Daoxn, the fifth founder was Hongren; and the sixth was Huineng. Subsequent to Huineng, five schools of Buddhism and Seven Orders were established. In the "Hall of the Jade Buddha," stands an image of the Sakyamuni Buddha. The tall image made in jade was donated in 1988 by a Chinese man who had settled in Burma. This elegantly sculpted and cherished statue has a precious stone embedded in its forehead. Before it was shifted to this temple in 1992, it had been stored in the Pilu pavilion. The first large hall in the temple complex is known as "The Hall of Heavenly Kings," where a statue of the Maitreya, known in China as the laughing Buddha, is the main deity located in the hall's front. This statue is flanked on the eastern and western sides by four heavenly kings, each representing one fourth of the universe. The eastern side is ruled by Chigua (guardian of the State) carrying a Pipa, the western side is controlled by Guangmu (Sharp seer) with a dragon in his hand, the southern direction is represented by Zengzhang (Growth Protector), carrying an umbrella and the northern direction is represented by Duowen (Knowledge Preserver), carrying a Pagoda. In addition, there is a statue of Wei Tuo (a high ranking heavenly general and defender of Buddhist law) at the rear of the Maitreya statue. The Hall of Changing Ge, built in 1995, is a repository of ancient scriptures, which has more than ten types of Buddhist texts, including the Longzang Jing Dazong Jing, the Dazeng Zong Jing, the Tibet Jing and so forth. An ancient Buddha statue of China is installed at the centre of the repository. The making of this Buddha statue is traced to the Eastern Han dynasty. The statue was misplaced at the early 20th century. However, it was later found in Thailand and was replicated in bronze into two tall statues and then gilded. One of these is deified in the library and the other was sent to Thailand. The Mahavira Hall enshrines the statues of three principal Buddhas. The central image is of the Sakyamuni Buddha. This statue is flanked on the left by Bhaisajyaguru and on the right by Amitabha; these in turn are flanked by two heavenly generals named Wei Tuo and Wei Li. Statues of the Eighteen Arhats adorn the side of the hall. All the statues were made in ramie cloth during the Yuan dynasty. The walls on both sides are adorned with carvings of ten thousand Buddhists. A statue of Jialan is installed facing north of the backdoor. The inscription on the bell reads: "The sound of the Bell resounds in Buddha's temple causing the ghosts in Hell to tremble with fear." The living quarters of the monks are in an exclusive pagoda, with restricted entry, called the "Qiyun Ta," or Qiyun Pagoda. It is approachable after crossing the manicured garden and a bridge to the left of the main temple. This pagoda was built in the 12th century in the fifteenth year of the Dading reign of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). It is a 13 tiered, ), high cubic shaped brick tower. It has been renovated in subsequent periods.

Peony Festival (mudan huahui) is an important flower festival, which is held in Luoyang every year on April 10–25 and which attracts large crowds to the city and the White Horse Temple. The legend linked to this festival is that peony flower did not follow the orders of the queen Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty to bloom during winter and she became enraged that it did not obey her command. As a result, she ordered that peony flowers be banished from Xi'an to Luoyang. It is this banishment which is celebrated as the Peony Festival in Luoyang.