Zhenru Temple attaches importance to farming

Journalists at the 7th national network media tour in Jiangxi visited the Zhenru Temple in Jiujiang, East China's Jiangxi province on April 16. The temple is famous for agriculture.

Journalists at the 7th national network media tour in Jiangxi visit Zhenru Temple on April 16, 2015. [Photo by Xu Yinjuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhenru Temple, known as the "cradle of Buddhist leaders", is the birthplace of the Chinese Buddhist Caodong Clan. Listed as one of the three exemplary monasteries in 1988, Zhenru Temple is visited by domestic and foreign Buddhists as a meditation center.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, four presidents of the Buddhist Association of China had deep relationships with the temple, including master Xuyun and Haideng.

A monk waters vegetables in Zhenru Temple on April 16, 2015. [Photo by Wu Tong/chinataiwan.org]

The temple values farming. Master Daoying (835-902), previous abbot of the temple, demanded that monks cannot have food without doing work. The rule has been passed down for hundreds of years.