China's Key Temples: No. 31: Gaomin Temple, Yangzhou, Jiangsu

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on August 13, 2012.)

The main compound (大院) seen from the top of the pagoda
(塔) at Gaomin Temple (高旻寺), Yangzhou, Jiangsu (江苏, 扬州市)

July 25, 2010 - Leaving Zhenjiang, I took a highway bus to Yangzhou. I had lived there before, so going there was a little like returning to my hometown.

After checking in, I took a bus out to Gaomin Temple. This was just "tagging up," as in 2007 I had had a thorough tour of the temple (with a busload of monks and nuns from Fo Guang Shan in Gaoxiong, Taiwan Province).

But this time, there was only ONE monk on my bus. And as it turned out, he was born in Canada. Venerable Sheng Xing's mother used to attend yearly ceremonies regularly at Gaomin Temple, and he came with her once--and was hooked. He was now studying Chinese medicine in Beijing, and was back at Gaomin for the school holiday.

He got permission to do something I hadn't done with the other monks and nuns: we were permitted to climb the pagoda. (How could I tell him: I hate stairs!) Anyway, we made it, and the views were spectacular.

Aside from that, we spent a little time in the main hall, with its amazing statuary.

And then I was off, for I had another mission. Although Master Xingyun's Fo Guang Shan Monastery is in Taiwan, he was born in the Jiangdu area of Yangzhou. Using his biography, I set out to find his birthplace.

After many hours, and the kindness of many strangers, I was able to locate a house occupied by his niece and her husband, where they kept a small altar. Not exactly his birthplace, they said, but very near: the Mainland roots of a global Buddhist organization.

All in all, another great day on the pilgrim path.

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