The Ming dynasty clay Amitabha Buddha, gilded and dedicated to single-mindedly chanting the dharma name by Buddhist devotees

❤️ In Longxing Temple of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, after exiting the Great Compassion Pavilion and continuing northward, you will arrive at the Amitabha Hall. Built in the fifth year of the Zhengde era of the Ming dynasty (1510), it was extensively repaired during the Qing dynasty. The hall features a single-eave hipped-gable roof, is five bays wide and four bays deep. As the hall does not have bracket sets, the entire beam frame is constructed by connecting large and small extra beams, purlins, etc., with the columns, displaying a style reminiscent of the Yuan dynasty. 🧡 In the center of the hall, on a 1.57-meter-high Sumeru pedestal, the Ming dynasty clay Amitabha Buddha is enshrined, gilded and magnificent. To the west, stone sculptures of the Eighteen Arhats are offered. The Buddha has a flesh bun and snail-like hair, long earlobes, eyes looking downward, is draped in a kasaya, with hands folded in front of the abdomen in a meditative gesture, seated in a lotus position on a lotus base, measuring 3.99 meters in height. It is said that Buddhist devotees believe that as long as one chants the name 'Amitabha Buddha' wholeheartedly, Amitabha Buddha will guide the chanters to be reborn in the Pure Land. 💜 Some compare Longxing Temple to a beautiful symphony with ups and downs, pleasing to the eye and heart. If the Great Compassion Pavilion is the climax of this symphony, then the Amitabha Hall is the subdued and gentle passage that follows the climax.