We recently went on a school sponsored field trip to Luoyang in Henan Province. Our first stop was Bai Ma Si (White Horse Temple), China's very first Buddhist Temple. In the 1st Century A.D. the Emperor is said to have had a dream about a huge golden man from the West. His advisors thought the dream was indicating the statues of Buddha found in India. An embassy was sent to retrieve knowledge of the religion. They first encountered Buddhists in the region of modern-day Afghanistan and brought back two holy men, various scriptures, and images of the Buddha. The Temple that they founded is named after the white horses that carried the men back to Luoyang.
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