Who Is Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva?

Introduction to Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva

Mahāsthāmaprāpta is the Chinese semantic translation of the Sanskrit Mahās-thāmaprāpta, with the phonetic rendering "Mohe Nabo".

Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, known as Mahāsthāmaprāpta in Sanskrit and Mthu-chen-thob in Tibetan, serves as the right attendant of Amitābha Buddha. He is also called the Great Effort Bodhisattva, and often shortened to Shìzhì. Together with Amitābha Buddha and Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (Amitābha’s left attendant), the three are known as the "Three Sages of the Western Pure Land".

As recorded in the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life Sutra: "With the light of wisdom, he illuminates all beings, liberates them from the three lower realms, and grants them supreme power. For this reason, this bodhisattva is named Mahāsthāmaprāpta." He is also sometimes referred to simply as Dàshì. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty wrote: "He follows in the footsteps of Avalokiteśvara, aligned with Shìzhì." He is also known by the variant written form Shìzhì. Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva’s Sanskrit name carries the semantic meaning of “Great Power Arrived” or “Great Effort”. He is often shortened to Shìzhì Bodhisattva, or the alternate written form Shìzhìzhī Bodhisattva. As his name suggests, when he moves, the very ground of all ten directions quakes, a sign of the great power he commands. Together with Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, he is one of the two attendants of Amitābha Buddha in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and one of the Three Sages of the West. He currently resides in the Pure Land as the second-ranked bodhisattva, next in line to inherit the Buddha’s position. When the Sagely King (Amitābha Buddha’s previous incarnation before his enlightenment) attained Buddhahood, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta took their places as his left and right attendants respectively. Also known as “Mohe Nabo” in Sanskrit, he holds this second position in the Pure Land today.

According to Chapter 2 of the Mahāmegha Sūtra (Sutra of the Great Cloud), in the world of Sha-ti-lan (删提岚世界, the World of Freedom from Strife), there lived a king named Without Contention (无诤念王) who had a thousand sons. His eldest son was named Buxun (不眴), and his second Nimo (尼摩). After King Without Contention attained Buddhahood as Amitābha Tathāgata, the eldest prince became Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, and the second prince Nimo became Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas follow the Buddha to study the Dharma and walk the bodhisattva path, progressing through many stages before they can ultimately attain Buddhahood. A bodhisattva who has traversed every stage to reach the highest rank is called a one-life bodhisattva: they are but one lifetime away from full enlightenment. Once they complete their bodhisattva path, they are guaranteed to attain Buddhahood in their very next existence. When the Buddha is depicted in a triad (三尊) of honored figures, a one-life bodhisattva always attends on either side of him, and this pairing is fixed. The two attendants of Amitābha Buddha are Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattvas; together, the three are called the "Three Sages of the Western Pure Land" or the "Amitābha Triad".

The influence of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva in Chinese folk practice is far smaller than that of Avalokiteśvara. He is almost never worshipped on his own. According to the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life Sutra, he radiates purple-golden light, and his sacred form and adornments are nearly identical to Avalokiteśvara’s. The key difference between the two lies in their crowns: Mahāsthāmaprāpta’s is marked with a sacred vase, while Avalokiteśvara’s bears a small Buddha effigy. When Amitābha comes to welcome practitioners to the Pure Land, Avalokiteśvara holds a golden lotus dais, while Mahāsthāmaprāpta stands with palms joined in greeting.

As recorded in the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life Sutra, he "illuminates all beings with the light of wisdom, liberates them from the three lower realms (referring to hell, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm, the three evil paths) and grants them supreme power", which is why he is called Mahāsthāmaprāpta. He carries a vase of wisdom light in the crown of his head, pouring its radiance over all sentient beings to free them from the disasters of bloodshed and war, and granting them supreme power. The sutra further notes that this wisdom light grants sentient beings supreme power and unhindered, sovereign authority. For this reason, he is regarded as the foremost in wisdom and light. Wherever he travels, heaven and earth tremble, and he shields sentient beings from harm wrought by evil demons. It is said he can bestow the light of wisdom upon practitioners, smoothing their life’s path, supporting success in their endeavors, bathing their lives in Buddha light, turning misfortune into blessing, and guiding them to walk the Buddha’s path of light. This allows all their innate wisdom to shine forth, leading them to their highest ideal. In iconography, he holds a lotus, his right hand bent with the middle three fingers resting against his chest, and he sits atop a red lotus. His esoteric honorific is the Diamond Wheel Holder, and his samaya symbol is the unopened lotus.

Origin of the Name of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva

O virtuous son, at that time the prince sat before the Buddha, palms joined, and spoke to him: “World-Honored One, I spent three months making offerings to the Tathāgata and the sangha of bhikshus, and carried out all pure actions of body, speech, and mind. I now dedicate all the merit from these deeds to attaining anuttarā samyaksambodhi, or supreme perfect enlightenment. I do not wish for a defiled, impure world. I pray that my Buddha land and my bodhi tree will be adorned exactly like the precious bodhi trees in all of Avalokiteśvara’s pure lands. When I attain supreme perfect enlightenment, I also wish to be the first to ask the Buddha named ‘Universal Light of Meritorious Virtue’ to turn the Dharma wheel when he first attains awakening. For as long as he teaches the Dharma, I will practice the bodhisattva path. After that Buddha enters parinirvāṇa and his true Dharma fades from the world, I will then successively attain supreme perfect enlightenment. All the Buddha activities I perform after my own awakening, all the adornments of my world, and the span of my true Dharma after I enter parinirvāṇa will be exactly identical to his, with no difference at all.”

At that time, the Buddha said to the second prince: “Virtuous son, you have vowed to claim the greatest of worlds. In a future life, you will gain exactly such a world, just as you wish. Virtuous son, in that future life you will attain supreme perfect enlightenment in this greatest of worlds, and your name will be ‘Good Abiding, King of Precious Mountain Tathāgata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, One of Perfect Knowledge and Practice, Well-Gone, World-Understood, Unsurpassed Lord, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One.’ Virtuous son, because you have vowed to take on a great world, you shall be named ‘Attainer of Great Power.’” At that, Attainer of Great Power stood before the Buddha, bowed his head to the ground, and said: “World-Honored One, if my vows are fulfilled and I gain the benefit I seek, I now pay homage to the Buddha, and may all Buddha worlds in the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, shake in six ways, and may mandāra flowers rain down from heaven. May all the Buddhas present in these worlds each grant me a prediction of my future Buddhahood.” Virtuous son, at that moment Attainer of Great Power bowed his head to the ground before the Buddha, and immediately all the worlds in the ten directions as numerous as the Ganges’ sands trembled in six ways, heavenly mandāra flowers poured down as rain, and all the Buddha World-Honored Ones present granted him predictions of his future Buddhahood.

Birthday

Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva’s birth celebration falls on the 13th day of the seventh lunar month. Known for illuminating all beings with wisdom light, freeing them from the three lower realms, and granting them supreme power, he earns his name from the fact that the very ground of all ten directions trembles when he moves. Together with Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, he serves as one of Amitābha Buddha’s two attendants in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and the three are collectively called the Three Sages of the West. Avalokiteśvara embodies compassion, while Mahāsthāmaprāpta embodies joyous generosity. According to the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life Sutra, his heavenly crown is adorned with five hundred jewel flowers, each bearing five hundred jewel platforms, each of which manifests the pure, wondrous lands of the Buddhas of the ten directions. The fleshy protuberance atop his head resembles a lotus flower, and a sacred vase is placed within this protuberance. His other physical features are nearly identical to those of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva.

Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva's Chapter on Buddha Recitation Samādhi

Mahāsthāmaprāpta is the originator of this teaching. Among the twenty-five bodhisattvas who each expounded their own method of pure land practice, he taught us to focus exclusively on reciting the Buddha’s name, with the vow to be reborn in the Pure Land. He is widely regarded as the First Patriarch of the Pure Land School. Lay Dharma Master Xialianju was the first to propose this in his book Essentials of the Pure Land Path, noting that Mahāsthāmaprāpta holds this title because he is the only bodhisattva in the entire dharmadhātu who propagated the practice of Buddha recitation. He has recited the name of Amitābha Buddha single-mindedly from the very moment his bodhicitta arose, all the way through to his attainment of Buddhahood, without ever deviating. Even after attaining full awakening, he continues to recite Amitābha’s name, using this single phrase to teach and guide sentient beings across the ten directions. The title of First Patriarch of the Pure Land School fits him perfectly.

Practicing with the mind of Buddha recitation, one enters the state of no-birth forbearance — the realization that all phenomena are unborn, without arising or ceasing. It is generally taught that only bodhisattvas at the 7th, 8th, and 9th grounds of the Perfect Teaching attain this state. "Gather in the six sense faculties, continue in pure mindfulness" are the two core phrases of the Buddha recitation method. No external skillful means are needed; one will naturally attain an opened mind, with no need to rely on any other auxiliary practices. An opened mind aligns with the great, complete enlightenment of the Chan (Zen) school, and corresponds to the Mantrayana school’s path of immediate Buddhahood through the harmony of the three secrets (body, speech, and mind). Naturally attaining an opened mind is the state of unified, undisturbed mindfulness focused on the ultimate principle (理一心不乱), while entering samādhi is the realization of the great samādhi of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra (首楞严大定). These two great bodhisattvas, Mahāsthāmaprāpta and Avalokiteśvara, currently dwell in this sahā world, and never abandon those who practice Buddha recitation. They free them from the three lower realms and guide them to rebirth in the Pure Land. Buddha recitation is a simple practice, but only those with wisdom can practice it with true effect. Worldly intelligence does not equal true wisdom. Worldly cleverness and rhetorical skill (世智辩聪) count as one of the eight hindrances (八难), and any of these eight hindrances obstruct spiritual practice, prevent liberation from the three realms, and block the end of birth and death, escape from the cycle of rebirth, and the attainment of Buddhahood. The universal, all-pervading nature of the essence of being is called “perfection” (圆), and its unobstructed, spontaneous functioning is called “penetration” (通). The term also refers to the perfect penetration of the ultimate principle realized through sublime wisdom. Through the practice of Buddha recitation, one can attain this state of perfect penetration.

Manifested Forms

Recorded in the Sūtra of Contemplation of Immeasurable Life

According to the Sūtra of Contemplation of Immeasurable Life, this bodhisattva's stature is equal to that of Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin). His radiant halo extends 125 yojanas in every direction, illuminating up to 250 yojanas. His entire body glows with a purple-golden light that reaches across all ten directions, allowing sentient beings with karmic affinity to behold him directly. Even catching a glimpse of the light from a single pore is the same as seeing the pure, sublime radiance of all the immeasurable Buddhas throughout the ten directions — which is why Mahāsthāmaprāpta is also called the Bodhisattva of Immeasurable Light. The glow from even one pore shines as boundlessly as the combined light of all those Buddhas. Just as Avalokiteśvara pervades all beings with the light of compassion, this bodhisattva pervades all places with the light of wisdom, possessing a supreme luminous power that frees sentient beings from the suffering of the three lower realms. That is the meaning of his name, Mahāsthāmaprāpta: the great power of wisdom reaching all ten directions.

Mahāsthāmaprāpta's heavenly crown bears 500 precious lotus blossoms, and each blossom holds 500 precious platforms, on which the pure lands of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions appear. His ushnisha resembles a red lotus, and atop it rests a precious vase filled with the light of wisdom, used to deliver all sentient beings. His other marks of excellence are identical to Avalokiteśvara's.

When Mahāsthāmaprāpta lifts his foot to walk, every world in the ten directions trembles, and where the earth shakes, 500 billion precious lotuses bloom — each one noble and majestic, as splendid as the Land of Bliss itself. When he sits, the seven-jewel ground of his own land quakes all at once. The tremor gradually spreads, reaching from the Golden Light Buddha Land below to the Bright King Buddha Land above. Between these two lands, emanations as countless as dust motes appear — triads of transformed bodies — all gathering in the Land of Bliss, filling the sky as they sit upon jeweled lotus thrones, expounding profound Dharma to rescue afflicted beings.

According to the Ālāduōluó Tuóluóní Ālūlì pǐn, both Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta appear in pure golden bodies with white-flamed halos, holding white fly-whisks in their right hands and lotuses in their left. Mahāsthāmaprāpta's form is slightly smaller than Avalokiteśvara's. In the esoteric Womb Realm Maṇḍala, he occupies the second position in the upper row of the Avalokiteśvara enclosure: flesh-toned, holding a half-open lotus in his left hand, the middle three fingers of his right hand folded against his chest, seated on a red lotus. His esoteric name is Vajra Holder of the Wheel, and his samaya symbol is an unopened lotus.

Recorded in the Sūtra of the Buddha's Contemplation of Immeasurable Life

Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva: This bodhisattva's stature is also equal to that of Avalokiteśvara. The radiant halo surrounding him extends 225 yojanas in each direction, illuminating 250 yojanas. His entire body emits light that shines across the realms of all ten directions, appearing in purple-gold. All sentient beings with affinity are able to see him. Even seeing the light from a single pore of this bodhisattva is equivalent to seeing the pure, sublime light of all immeasurable Buddhas throughout the ten directions. For this reason, this bodhisattva is called Boundless Light. He uses the light of wisdom to illuminate all things, enabling sentient beings to leave the three lower realms and attain supreme spiritual power. For this reason, this bodhisattva is called Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Great Power Arrived). This bodhisattva's heavenly crown bears 500 precious lotus flowers. Each precious lotus has 500 precious platforms, on every one of which the vast, expansive forms of the pure, sublime lands of all Buddhas throughout the ten directions appear. The ushnisha atop his head is like a red lotus flower. Atop this ushnisha sits a precious vase filled with light, manifesting all Buddhist activities in every direction. All other bodily marks are identical to those of Avalokiteśvara, with no differences. When this bodhisattva walks, all worlds across the ten directions tremble. Wherever the earth shakes, 500 billion precious flowers bloom. Each flower is noble, majestic, and lofty, as splendid as the Land of Bliss. When this bodhisattva sits, all seven-jewel realms quake at once. From the Golden Light Buddha realm below to the Bright King Buddha realm above, innumerable emanations of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta — as numerous as dust motes — all gather in the Land of Bliss, filling the entire sky. They sit on lotus thrones, expounding wondrous Dharma to deliver suffering sentient beings.

The Origin of the Precious Vase Atop Mahāsthāmaprāpta's Head

On the ushnisha atop Mahāsthāmaprāpta's head sits a precious vase — something quite different from what appears on Avalokiteśvara's head. In the center of Avalokiteśvara's crown stands a small emanated Buddha figure, while atop Mahāsthāmaprāpta's ushnisha rests a vase. This vase "holds" light — the character 盛 is read chén, meaning "to contain" — so inside the vase, there is light. What purpose does this light serve? It manifests all Buddhist activities: reciting the Buddha's name, bowing in worship, expounding sūtras, offering food to the Sangha — anything connected with the Triple Gem counts as a Buddhist activity, and all of them can appear within the radiance of that precious vase.

Mahāsthāmaprāpta has another honorific title: the Bodhisattva of Boundless Light. His bodily illumination reaches all ten directions, and the light from every pore can likewise illuminate all ten directions. So why does he need to balance a vase on his head, one that holds light to manifest Buddhist activities? There's a profound reason behind it.

Originally, the vase didn't hold light — it held his parents' remains. He had heard Amitābha Buddha teach that the kindness of parents is the deepest and hardest debt to repay. A child can truly repay that kindness only by practicing the Dharma and liberating their parents from the three realms. When Mahāsthāmaprāpta first resolved to cultivate the path, his parents had already passed away. Had they still been living, he could have encouraged them to take faith in the Dharma, practice, and transcend the three realms. But they were gone, and this became his greatest sorrow. How could he possibly repay them? So he gathered his parents' remains into a vase, placed it on his head, and set out to cultivate the path. Day after day, he dedicated the merit of his practice to them, praying that the Triple Gem would bless his parents so they might attain liberation and transcend the three realms.

At that time, Mahāsthāmaprāpta had just left home to become a monk — he was still an ordinary, unenlightened being, and his parents' bones were ordinary bones too. But through fierce, unwavering diligence in practice, he shed the ordinary and attained sagehood, rising to the rank of a great bodhisattva. Every day he practiced, every day he transferred merit to his parents. And so the contents of the vase began to change. What had been an ordinary vessel became a precious vase. His parents' ordinary bones dissolved — transformed into radiance.

Once Mahāsthāmaprāpta attained the bodhisattva fruit, he could employ all manner of spiritual powers and transformations to benefit sentient beings. His parents' remains, now turned to light, could do the same — manifesting Buddhist activities through miraculous transformations, bringing benefit to all. That is how the light in the vase on his head came to be.

Sacred Site

The Historical Grounds of Guangjiao Temple

Guangjiao Temple sits on Langshan (Wolf Mountain) in the southern suburbs of Nantong City. In 1983, the State Council designated it a key national Buddhist temple in Han Chinese regions. Langshan is a well-known natural scenic area in Jiangsu Province and a popular destination in central Jiangsu. It comprises five peaks — Langshan, Ma'anshan, Huangnishan, Jianshan, and Junshan — of which Langshan rises the most steeply and gracefully, facing the Yangtze to the south. With mountains and water intertwined, the scenery is so beautiful that it's been called a "natural water-and-stone bonsai." In Chinese Buddhist annals, Langshan is the sacred site of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva and ranks first among China's "Eight Small Famous Buddhist Mountains." The ancient Guangjiao Temple on Langshan is renowned at home and abroad.

Guangjiao Temple was first built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty's Zongzhang era (669 CE) and is an ancient monastery with over 1,300 years of history. The Tongzhou Gazette records: "In the second year of Zongzhang, the Mahāvīra Hall, pavilions, and abbot's quarters were built on the mountain. At that time the mountain stood amid vast waters, so boats were provided for crossing, and it was called Cihang Courtyard, later renamed Guangjiao Temple." The founding patriarch enshrined at Langshan is the monk Sēngqiā, also known as the Great Sage of Langshan. Legend has it that a white wolf spirit once occupied the mountain. The Great Sage Bodhisattva Sēngqiā battled the spirit with Dharma powers, draping his kāṣāya over the entire mountain to subdue the wolf, which had no choice but to yield. From then on, incense flourished and the place became a Buddhist pure land.

Sēngqiā was an eminent Tang Dynasty monk. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, he traveled through Chang'an and Luoyang, healing the sick and earning great renown. Journeying south to the Jianghuai region, he cured illnesses and tamed floods, winning the people's praise. Emperor Zhongzong honored him as National Preceptor, and later generations revered him as "Great Sage Bodhisattva." During the Taiping Xingguo era of the Song Dynasty (976–983 CE), the monk Zhìhuàn served as abbot of Guangjiao Temple. He propagated the Dharma and built up the temple's legacy, overseeing construction of the Great Sage Hall, Zhiyun Pagoda, and a statue of Sēngqiā for veneration. Thereafter, many temples across the Jianghuai region enshrined images of Sēngqiā. When Zhìhuàn passed away, he left behind a gāthā:

"Long ago I refused to stay in Chang'an, showing my form westward between the Si waters. Today I wish to spread transformation once more, coming east to the sea to guard Wolf Mountain."

Later generations called him an incarnation of Sēngqiā. To honor Zhìhuàn's memory, Huàngōng Pagoda was built within the temple grounds during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty and remains well preserved today.

The Temple Complex of Guangjiao Temple

Guangjiao Temple's buildings spread across Langshan, divided between the foot and the summit. At the foot of the mountain stand the Great Buddha Hall, the Sūtra Repository Hall, the Great Compassion Hall, the Vajra Hall, the Sūtra Library, the Sūtra Drying Pavilion, the Pillow Mountain Pavilion, the Abbot's Quarters, and the monks' quarters. The summit holds the temple's primary architectural cluster: the Mountain Gate, Cuijing Tower, Yuantong Treasure Hall, and Great Sage Hall, along with the Kuizhu Mountain House, Three Immortals Shrine, and Zhiyun Pagoda. The surrounding area is rich with scenic and historical sites — the tomb of the Tang literary figure Luo Binwang, Wangjiang Pavilion, the Imperial Pavilion, the Pingwo Stele Pavilion, and the tomb of Bai Yayu, a late-Qing revolutionary. Natural landmarks include the Double-Eye Stone, Pigeon Rock, Leiluo Reef, Cold Jade Spring, Awakening Stone, Immortal Cave, Pure Wisdom Spring, Inscription Slope, Lion Rock, Pearl-Dripping Rock, and Sea Moon Rock.

Since 1980, under the guidance of Abbot Yumei and Overseer Yuelang, Guangjiao Temple has invested over five million yuan in comprehensive restoration. The first phase repaired the Faru Hall, Zhiyun Pagoda, Yuantong Treasure Hall, Great Sage Hall, and Three Sages Shrine, among other key structures. This was followed by full renovations of the Sūtra Library, Sūtra Drying Pavilion, Pillow Mountain Pavilion, Kuizhu Mountain House, and Cuijing Tower, along with new construction expanding the dining hall, ticket office, dormitories, enclosing walls, and incense pavilion. Buddha statues were sculpted for the halls, altars were built, and ritual implements such as bells, chimes, and incense burners were added. The new buildings harmonize in layout and color with the existing architecture and natural surroundings, further perfecting the temple's overall design.

Zhiyun Pagoda stands atop Langshan's peak — the most distinctive structure of Guangjiao Temple. Built during the Northern Song Taiping Xingguo era (976–984 CE), the pagoda rises 35 meters in brick and wood, with five tiers on a square plan. Each level has three small bays, ringed by wooden railings, with upturned eaves tapering gracefully from base to crown. The finial bears seven dharma-wheel rings, a precious pearl, and a spire. Visitors who climb to the top can drink in the full panorama of mountain scenery; gazing upward, they feel the pagoda soaring into the clouds. The Ming poet Yin Xueshi wrote:

"The precious pagoda props up the blue clouds, a mere five feet from heaven. Stars and constellations above — each one clear enough to count."

Beneath Zhiyun Pagoda sits the Great Sage Hall, the spiritual heart of the mountain's incense offerings. Five bays wide and three deep, with lofty ceilings and sturdy beams, the hall dates to the Ming Dynasty. At its center is a seated statue of Sēngqiā, the Great Sage and founding patriarch of Guangjiao Temple, flanked by his disciples Huì'àn and Mùchā. Along both sides stand painted sculptures of the Twenty Heavenly Deities.

The Yuantong Treasure Hall is the main hall on the summit, also called King Yu Hall or the River and Sea God Shrine. It enshrines a statue of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva. Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the great Mahāyāna bodhisattvas, the right attendant of Amitābha Buddha. Together with Amitābha and the left attendant Avalokiteśvara, he forms the "Western Three Sages." The sūtras say that Mahāsthāmaprāpta uses the light of wisdom to illuminate all things, cutting through sentient beings' afflictions and lifting them from the sea of suffering. Since Guangjiao Temple is revered as his sacred site, his image is enshrined here. This seated statue stands 4.5 meters tall. The altar is inlaid with carved white granite, the wooden niche is exquisitely worked, and the hall glows with embroidered banners, silk drapes, and gilded splendor. Statues of the Sixteen Arhats line both sides.

The Great Buddha Hall is the principal building at the mountain's foot — three bays wide and three deep, also Ming Dynasty architecture. Inside sits a Ming-era statue of Śākyamuni Buddha. On the side walls are inlaid ceramic-tile murals of eighteen eminent monks, created in 1982 by the celebrated painter Fan Zeng. Each panel measures 2.2 meters high by 1.3 meters wide. The figures depicted — founders of various Buddhist schools, sūtra translators, scientists, and scholars — each bear distinct, lifelike expressions. This approach, using portraiture to trace the major figures of Chinese Buddhism across two thousand years from the Eastern Han to the modern era, was a new creation in Buddhist art. Zhao Puchu inscribed the plaque for the Faru Hall (Hall of the Dharma's Nourishing Milk) and composed the doorway couplet: "A hall where all sages gather; ten thousand streams return to the source."

The Sūtra Library houses cultural relics, calligraphy, paintings, and ritual implements collected over many dynasties. In 1989, the Anhui Buddhist Ren Xiang presented Guangjiao Temple with the Collection of Famous Paintings of Guanyin Bodhisattva Through the Ages. Bound in two volumes, it features an 806-character preface written in blood by Master Guangqia and calligraphed by Master Hongyi. The collection contains more than 150 Guanyin paintings, ranging from works by the Tang painter Wu Daozi to pieces by the modern Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang and the embroidery master Shen Shou. These paintings were originally collected by Zhang Jian of the late Qing. In 1939, Fei Fanjiu and others printed 1,000 copies at the Jingyuan Society in Shanghai, but most were lost to war and upheaval. The copy held by Guangjiao Temple is thus considered a supreme treasure of the Buddhist world.

Langshan's scenery is magnificent, and Guangjiao Temple stands as a solemn ancient sanctuary. For over a decade, Abbot Yumei and Overseer Yuelang have led the monastic community in keeping the temple meticulously maintained, earning recognition for their work in visitor reception, fire safety and security, sanitation, public welfare, and more. To date, more than ten million visitors and pilgrims from China and abroad have come to sightsee and pay their respects. On the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month — the birthday of Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva — and the third day of the third lunar month, the birthday of Sēngqiā, tens of thousands of devotees arrive each day to burn incense and worship, creating a bustling, festive atmosphere. Exchanges between Guangjiao Temple and Buddhist communities in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan continue to deepen. Buddhist followers from Japan, the United States, and Singapore also make special pilgrimages to venerate Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva, and are always warmly received by the temple.