On the East China Sea there floats a mountain called Putuoshan, which is a 12.5 square kilometer narrow island in the Zhoushan Region of China's Zhejiang Province.With verdant trees, strange rocks, golden beaches and craggy reefs, the island fits perfectly with the serene, solemn and holy atmosphere that Buddhism pursues.Hence, it became a special place to enshrine Avalokitesvara, or Guanyin in Chinese, since the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and one of the four Famous Buddhist Mountains in China, the rest being Mutai Mountain in Shanxi Province, Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province and Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province.There used to be such a comment: nor sceneries excellent in mountains and lakes, the West Lake in Hangzhou is the best; yet for sceneries excellent in mountains and sea, Putuoshan takes the first place.Consequently, the fame of Putuoshan as a buddhist Fairyland on the Sea?spread throughout the country and even beyond.

　　It is winter now in Southern China but Putuoshan is glittering, plentiful and intelligent because the mountain is a Buddhist mountain, the trees are Buddhist trees and the flowers are Buddhist flowers.Even the waves, due to the vastness of the sea, roll like Buddhist clouds.December 20, 2002 was just an ordinary day but when dawn broke, more than ten thousand visitors who had already ferried to the island the previous evening started to flock from all over the mountain to Puji Temple, the main monastery where Guanyin is enshrined.Our friends told us that an abbot had been entrusted to manage all the temples at Putuoshan since 1950, and the ceremony for the abbot to take office was called assumption of the Seat A grand ritual was going to be held for the new abbot Master Jieren to formally assume the seat, and hence elders of various Buddhist monasteries both home and abroad, representatives of governments at different levels and people of various circles all made their way to the island to witness the ritual and extend their greetings.

　　Stepping into Puji Temple, one was impressed by the brightly burning candles, coiling incense smoke and crowds of people.First built during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Puji Temple is enormous in size with magnificent architecture.It has 9 halls with ancient trees and huge incense burners standing in between. In the center of Grand Yuantong Hall, the main hall, is a glittering 9-meter-tall statue of Guanyin and on both sides are 32 statues representing Guanyin's different images with some of them as ordinary persons. Puji Temple, together with Fayu Temple and Huiji Temple, are known as the three major temples at Putuoshan, each endowed with its own beauty and splendor.

　　At about seven o'lock in the morning, Master Jieren, new abbot for the whole of Putuoshan, departed from Fayu Temple and proceeded in the company of devoted followers of Buddhism to Yuantong Hall in Puji Temple to preach the Law and then to partake in the seat-assuming ceremony in the Hall of the Law.The path he traversed was covered with red carpet and a tasseled canopy was held above his head.Nonetheless, the most important scene in the whole ritual was the opening of the main gate of the temple.It is said that even an Emperor was kept outside of the gate when he tried to make a private visit in disguise, because according to Buddhist rules, the main gate only opens when a new abbot assumes his seat or when the first of the 10 Heavenly Stems and the first of the 12 Earthly Branches meet again after 60 years.At about 9 o'lock the long-closed main gate finally opened in the resounding sound of firecrackers.The pious and celebrating masses, following Master Jieren, crossed the threshold of the gate and joyfully stroked the various steles behind the gate as if they wanted to hold fast in their hands the fortune that had been gathered behind the gate for so long.Coincidently, the sky over Putuoshan cleared up after several days of rain and the sun shined.The whole ceremony lasted for more than three hours.It is such a wonderful experience that it's really an eye-opener.

　　Buddhist doctrines are rich and sophisticated.In the more than 2000 years since its introduction into China, Buddhism, with its immortal wisdom, merciful spirit and peaceful way of preaching, has integrated with the intrinsic culture of China and become a wonder flower in the garden of Chinese traditional culture.Master Jieren, the new abbot, was tonsured to become a monk 22 years ago.Having studied at and graduated from the Qixiashan Buddhist College in Nanjing and the Chinese Buddhist College in Beijing, he served as supervisor at Linji Temple in Zhengding County, Hebei Province and came to teach in the Putuoshan Buddhist College ten years ago.Having served as supervisor at Huiji Temple as well as at Puji Temple and helped his predecessor Abbot Miaoshan to manage the affairs of the whole mountain, he was elected this year as vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association as well as president of Zhejiang Provincial Buddhist Association and Zhoushan Municipal Buddhist Association.When he assumed the seat of abbot for the whole of Putuoshan at the age of 43, he once again encouraged followers to love the country as well as the faith and to care for state affairs and social development, and at the same time, to work tirelessly to invigorate Buddhism and cultivate more Buddhist talents.

　　The clouds shroud the mountains on the sea where tall rocks and water palaces stand isolated from the earthly world.We have reasons to believe that led by the wise and sagacious Abbot Jieren, the buddhist Fairyland on the Sea will undergo fresh changes, and we look forward to different experiences and gains from Putuoshan in the other three seasons of the year.