Bailin Buddhist Temple lies in the southeast corner of Zhaoxian County town, 30 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang.
It was first built at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (196-220), and has a history of more than 1,700 years. In the Song Dynasty, it was called Yong'sn Temple" The name "Bailin Buddhist Temple"appeared in an imperial decree issued to the temple by an emperor in the Yuan Dynasty. Because at that time there were so many cypresses as to form a forest, it was named "Bailin" ("Bailin"in Chinese means "cypress forest")
In ancient times, Bailin Buddhist Temple had always been the Buddhist center of the State of Yan and Zhao. Before going to study Buddhism in India, Sanzang, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty, studied here for more than one year. There are many eminent monks in Bailin Buddhist Temple history, such as Zhaozhou Chan Master (an honorific title for a buddhist monk) in the Tang Dynasty, Guiyun Old Man in the Song Dynasty, Yuexi Chan Master and Luyun Chan Master in the Yuan Dynasty. Among them, Zhaozhou Chan Master is a master who was remarkable and influential both in the past and at present, and well-known at home and abroad.
Nowadays, ministered by Jinghui Chan Master, Bailin Buddhist Temple has taken on a new look, and Buddhism is still flourishing. Jinghui Chan Master's "Life's Dhyana"produced a telling influence on the Buddhist world.
Each year in May, "Life's Dhyana Summer Camp"attracts students and lay Buddhists from home and abroad to come to sightsee and study. Now, Bailin Buddhist Temple has become a tourist attraction which combines sightseeing, worshiping and vacationing.