A Buddhist texts library (simplified Chinese: 藏经阁; traditional Chinese: 蔵經閣; pinyin: Cángjīnggé) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing The Chinese Buddhist Canon (大藏經).[1] It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese BuddhistKyōzōs (経蔵).[1]The Chinese Buddhist Canon is the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical and was called "all the sutras" (一切經) in the ancient time.[1] With four thousand kinds, it includes Āgama (經), Vinaya (律) and Abhidharma (論) texts.[1] Āgama are theories made by Buddha for disciples to practice, Vinaya are the rules formulated by Buddha for believers and Abhidharma is the collection of theories explanations by Buddha's disciples.[2][3]
A Buddhist texts library is generally two-storey buildings built at the highest point of the temple.[1] The upper storey is for storing sutras and the lower layer is the "Thousand Buddha Pavilion" (千佛閣).[1]
References
^ abcdefZi Yan (2012-08-01). Famous Temples in China. Beijing: Time Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. pp. 48–50. ISBN978-7-5461-3146-7.
^Wei Ran (2012-06-01). Buddhist Buildings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. ISBN9787112142880.
^Han Xin (2006-04-01). Well-Known Temples of China. Shanghai: The Eastern Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN7506024772.
Wang Guixiang (2016-06-17). 《中国汉传佛教建筑史——佛寺的建造、分布与寺院格局、建筑类型及其变迁》 [The History of Chinese Buddhist Temples] (in Chinese). Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. ISBN9787302427056.
Zhang Yuhuan (2014-06-01). 《图解中国佛教建筑、寺院系列》 (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN9787515401188.
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