Tibetan Buddhist Lamasery and the Confucius Temple and University

The Happy Dragon Courtyard staff was very helpful as we prepared to leave Beijing for Vietnam. They kindly allowed us to stow our luggage for the day and arranged taxi service to the Capital International Airport.

On another cold morning, we set out by subway to visit the Tibetan Buddhist Lamasery. This enclave was once the home of the Crown Prince of China.  The oldest buildings date back to 1694. In 1744, the Qing Dynasty donated the estate to Buddhist monks.  It became a lamasery, a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet.  The “Yonghe Lamasery” became the national center of Lama administration, the conduit for relations with these outer territories. It is an active religious site again, with monks in clear presence supervising the grounds.

East Stele Pavillion - Contains Stele Recording Reasons for Establishing the Lamasery

The final of four large pavilions is the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses, which contains an amazing 60 ft tall (with an additional 25 ft underground) gilt statue of the Maitreya Buddha carved from a single piece of White Sandalwood. This was a gift from the seventh Dalai Lama to the Qianlong Emperor and took three years to transport from Tibet to Beijing.

Buddha

Incense Burner

Prayer Wheel

It was in the expanse of the lamasery that Dwayne and Carla lost contact with Brian and Janet.  We were separated, and after over an hour of searching, unable to reconnect. We later discovered we missed each other again while touring the Confucius Temple and University which were just down the street from the lamasery. 

Confucius

The Confucius Temple was built in 1302, and officials used it to pay their respects to Confucius until 1911. The reason for such respect by officials is that Confucius created the first civil service merit system, with rigorous examinations for government administrative positions, opening the Emperor’s staff to all regardless of birth. 

Stairs Leading to an Inner Courtyard

Numerous stone steles were preserved and disbursed throughout the walled compound.  These stele serve as a record of Chinese law and historical achievements.  Most of the tablets rest upon the back of Bi Xi or a tortoise.  Bi Xi is one of the nine sons of the Dragon King, a Chinese water and weather god, who controls all creatures in the sea.

Stone Stele Atop a Bi Xi (Dragon With The Shell of A Turtle)

One of the more interesting discoveries was the Chu Jian Cypress.  This tree is over 700 years old and reported to be able to distinguish between wicked and loyal courtiers.  Legend has it that Yan Song, a wicked minister in the Qing Dynasty had his distinguished official hat knocked off his head by a branch of the Chu Jian Cypress identifying him as a wicked courtier.  From that time forward, the tree was believed to be able to distinguish the wicked from the loyal courtiers.

700 Year Old - Chu Jian Cyrpress (Wicked Courtier Distinguishing Cypress)

We all eventually returned to the Happy Dragon Courtyard.  Brian and Janet sat in the central gathering room waiting…and waiting. They figured once we were all together again, we’d go for dinner. At about 6:30 we came in after having already eaten. Janet and Brian were very hungry and went back to the Da wan ju for servings of the excellent crispy chicken with peanuts, which they had also enjoyed the night before with the duck. Their bill, including drinks, was 140 yuan, about $22.  We ate there as well with a bill of about the same amount.  The food was wonderful and service outstanding.

Dinner at Da wan ju

After dinner, we all decided we’d rather hang around a warm airport than a cold hostel. We had our taxi called. The taxi fare amounted to 82 yuan, or just over $12.  Brian was still a bit ticked over the earlier train station “robbery”. We gave the driver 100 yuan.  He was pleased with the tip.  We soon discovered we would have to wait three hours until our Air Asia check-in time for our 2:30 AM flight to Saigon via Kuala Lampur.  Thank goodness we had airport lounge access so we could wait in relative comfort.  We were really surprised that the lounge was so full that we couldn’t find four seats together.  We were lucky to find seats at all.  At least, the food was warm and we literally had a Midnight Snack.