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White Horse Temple ( ch. 白馬寺 also White Horse Ministry) was the first Buddhist temple in China, established under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han capital Luoyang in the year 68.

1 Founding

One night, the emperor was said to have dreamed of a deity flying over his palace. The next day he told his ministers, and the minister Zhong Hu explained to him that he probably dreamed of Buddha in India. The emperor then sent a delegation of 18 headed by Cai Yin , Qin Jing and Wang Zun to seek Buddhism. They returned from Afghanistan with an image of Gautama Buddha, the Sutra of Forty-two Sections and two eminent monks.

The monks names have been variously romanized as Kasyapamatanga and Dharmavanya , Moton and Chufarlan .

The next year, the emperor ordered the construction of White Horse Temple three li west of the capital Luoyang, to remember the horse that carried back the sutras. It was China's first Buddhist temple.

2 Significance

The first version of the Chinese Sutra of Forty-two Sections was produced within the temple. The temple then increased in importance as Buddhism grew within China, and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The introduction of Buddhism in China was also a significant influence on Chinese morals, thought and ethics.

3 Location

The temple is located within Han and WeiThe Northern Wei Dynasty ( 386- 534) is most noted for the unification of northern China in 440, it was also heavily involved in funding the arts and many antiques and art works from this period have survived. In 493 AD the dynasty moved its capital from Dynasty Luoyang, which lies approximately 12km east of modern Luoyang, in HenanHenan ( in pinyin: he nan, Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the middle east of the country. Its pinyin spelling is written, though not officially, as He'nan to avoid syllable ambiguity. Its name Henan means province.

4 History

• 258Events Sun Xiu succeeds Sun Liang as ruler of the Chinese kingdom of Wu The Goths ravage Asia Minor and Trabzon Gaul, Britain and Spain break off from the Roman Empire to form the Gallic Empire Nanjing University first founded in Nanjing, China Births Emp A royal KucheanKucha (Modern Chinese Simplified: , Traditional: , pinyin ku che also romanized Chiu-tzu Kiu-che Kuei-tzu . Ancient Chinese ; ; , also Po bai in pinyin?)) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern e monk, Po-Yen , translated six Buddhist text in to Chinese at the temple, including the important Infinite Life SutraThe Infinite Life Sutra or Longer Pure Land Sutra is a Mahayana Buddhist text associated with Pure Land Buddhism. It was translated in to Chinese by Po-Yen, a royal Kuchean monk, in 258 at the famous White Horse Temple in Luoyang, which was then the capit.
• 1992 With the assistance of Thai and Chinese donors, the Hall of the Thai Buddha was constructed slightly west of the old temple.