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Information on the LA Zen Center Pilgrimage
This tour, in association with Zen Center of Los Angeles, will journey to the Dharma Seat of China's most famous woman Zen teacher, Moshan Liaoran. That's just the beginning, in addition, the tour will participate in the annual ceremony held at Bodhdidharma's burial temple, a site opened only a few years ago and highlighted in this video of the site's discovery by Andy Ferguson and Bill Porter (Red Pine). Practice at Zhaozhou (Joshu)'s monastery with the English speaking Chinese abbot Ming Hai (Bright Sea), whose grace, wisdom, and exceptional presence has impressed all who've met him. The tour also visits a dharma seat of the Second Zen Ancestor, Huike, now being rebuilt as a nunnery, plus the burial temple for his relics, destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, where South Mountain is participating in the rebuilding campaign.
Basic Tour Information
Oct 23: Depart LAX to Beijijng
Oct 24: Arrive Beijing Evening.
Oct 25: Visit Great Wall and Great Bell Temple in Beijing.
Oct 26: Oct 26: Visit Forbidden City and Yong He Gong Temple in Beijing.
Oct 27: Leave Beijing and travel to Bai Lin (Cypress Grove) Monastery.
(Zhaozhou's Dharma Seat). En route, visit Yunju Temple and Linji (Rinzai) temple. Yunju Temple, built about 625 AD, is a repository for the Buddhist Canon that was carved into stone tablets to preserve the Dharma from destruction. This massive project took a total of nearly 800 years to complete. Linji's temple contains his burial stupa and it is also a working monastery.
Oct 28: Stay and practice at Bailin Monastery, the largest working monastery in Northern China. It contains many important and impressive features, such as Zhaozhou's burial pagoda, Ancient Cypress trees ("the Cypress Tree in the Garden"), the Gateless Gate of Mumonkan fame, plus grand practice halls, a Zen study institute, and more.
Oct 29: Continued stay and practice at Bailin Monastery. Day visit to Zhaozhou's bridge.
Oct 30: Travel to the temples related to Zen's 2nd Ancestor Huike, including his burial temple Yuan Fu Si and his dharma seat Kuangjiao Si, now a nunnery. Evening travel to Dengfeng City.
Oct 31: Visit Shaolin Temple and Bodhidharma's cave. Evening stay at Luoyang City.
Nov 1: Visit the Longmen Grottos and White Horse Temple. The Longmen Grottos is a Unesco World Heritage Site where thousands of Buddhas were carved into the cliffs overlooking the Yi River during a four century period from the Sixth through the Ninth Centuries. It was the site of ancient Fragrant Mountain Temple. White Horse Temple is where Buddhism is said to have arrived in China from India around the year 68 AD. Stay another night in Luoyang.
Nov 2: Visit Kong Xiang (Empty Form) Temple and participate in the annual ceremony commemorating Bodhidharma along with tens of thousands of Chinese Chan supporters. See his burial stupa and ancient relics of that place. Travel to Xian City.
Nov 3:Visit the great sights of Xian, including the Terra Cotta Warriors and Wild Goose Pagoda. Flight to Nanchang City.
Nov 4: Day trip to visit the famous Zen temples of the 4th and 5th Zen ancestors, including the site of the famous poetry contest between Huineng and Shenxiu at the 5th Ancestor's temple at Huangmei. Nov 5: Travel to visit Moshan and Tozan dharma seat temples.
Nov 6: Travel to Shanghai. Visit Museum and Bund.
Nov 7: Flight to USA