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
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dàxióng Bǎodiàn Wade–Giles Ta-hsiung Pao-tien Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tōa-hiông Pó-tiān
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

• The Main Hall of Shanghai's Jing'an Temple
• The Main Hall of Datong's Shanhua Temple
• The Main Hall of Xincheng's Kaishan Temple
• The Main Hall of Yixian's Fengguo Temple
• The Main Hall of Henan's Ocean Banner Temple

See also

• Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings, another common hall in Chinese temples
• Japanese Buddhist Main Halls, some of which are Chinese-style Mahavira Halls

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.

External links