Yunlin Library, Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou

Books spread dharma just like incense wood diffuses scent

Delving into Buddhist classics and diving into the sea of wisdom

Diligence is the path to the mountain of knowledge;
and hard-working is the boat to the endless sea of learning.

It is said that the unbounded Buddhist wisdom lies in its canons and classics.The historical Lingyin Temple, dating back to over 1,700 years ago, has been attracting prominent monks and famous literati since it was built in the first year of Xianhe Period, East Jin Dynasty (AD326). To organize and display Lingyin’s rich cultural heritage and resources, the construction of Yunlin Library was proposed in 2003 and finally completed after ten years of effortful work. The recently opened Yunlin Library aims to revive the Ling Yin Collection established by Ruan Yuan(1764-1849), and to benefit monks from all eight major temples in Hangzhou, teachers and students of Hangzhou Buddhist Academy, and staff of Lingyin Temple who are interested in learning Buddhism. It is the hope that the Library will help spread Buddhist Dharma, purify readers’ mind, broaden people’s scope, and enlighten the believers with Buddhist wisdom.

Yunlin Library is located to the west of the Hall of Medicine Buddha. Its collection of over 30,000 volumes consists of three sections: books, journals and multimedia materials (still in construction). Buddhist books, which constitute the majority of the collection, are complemented by works of social sciences. The rich library collection includes Buddhist theology (sūtrapiṭaka, vinayapiṭaka and abhidharmapiṭaka), records of Buddhist missionary work and rituals, studies on Buddhist sects, history of Buddhism and Buddhist temples, and biographies of prominent monks. For Chinese Buddhist Canon alone there are over a dozen important versions such as the Taishō Tripiṭaka, Qianlong Tripiṭaka, Dunhuang Tripiṭaka, Tripiṭaka Koreana, and The Kalaviṇka Canon, indicating the unprecedented amount and quality of the library collection.

According to Venerable Wenhai, Head of the Yunlin Library, traditional ways to preach Buddhism no longer suffice in the modern society; new methods are urgently needed for contemporary Buddhist missionary work. Although the Library is currently only able to serve a small readership due to its limited conditions, Linyin Temple will strive to offer a quiet, pleasant learning environment to Buddhist believers from all walks of life in the future, so as to help people eliminate false belief, establish the right views, to broaden people’s scope, and purify their mind.

Opening hours:

Daily 9:00am-11:00am; 2:00pm-5:00pm

Borrowing procedure:

Readers are welcome to apply for library cards with their National Identity Cards. Each card holder can borrow a maximum of three books for up to one month.