Mahavira Hall

Mahavira Hall

Mahavira Hall of Nam Tin Chuk Temple (南天竺寺) in Hong Kong
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 大雄寶殿
Simplified Chinese 大雄宝殿
Literal meaning Precious Hall of the Great Hero
Korean name
Hangul 대웅전
Japanese name
Kanji 大雄宝殿

A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining idols of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas.[1][2] It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Buddhist Main Halls.

Names

From their importance and use, they are often simply known in English as the temples' "Main" or "Great Halls". The term "Mahavira Hall", also encountered as "Mahāvīra Hall" or "Hall of the Mahāvīra", is a reverse translation, employing the original Sanskrit term in place of its Chinese or English equivalent. They are also known as the Precious Hall of the Great Hero, the Hall of Great Strength, or the Daxiongbao Hall. Less often, a main hall is called an "adytum", after the equivalent area in Greco-Roman temples.[3] It is also sometimes misunderstood as the "Great, Powerful, and Precious Palace".[4]

Examples

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fotopoulou, Sophia (September 15, 2002). "The Layout of a Typical Chinese Buddhist Temple". Newsfinder.org. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ "The Art of Buddha Teaching (佛法教学的)" (in Chinese). Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ Thomson, John (1874), Illustrations of China and Its People: A Series of Two Hundred Photographs with Letterpress Descriptive of the Places and People Represented, Vol. I, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, "Honam Temple, Canton".
  4. ↑ Wright, G.N. (1843), China, in a Series of Views, Displaying the Scenery, Architecture, and Social Habits, of that Ancient Empire, Vol. III, London: illustrated by Thomas Allom for Fisher, Son, & Co., p. 66.
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