这里是中国净土宗的发祥地，是净土宗初祖祖庭之所在。寺当庐山之阴，南面香炉峰，北倚东林山。山不甚高，为庐山之外廓，寺前临溪，入门为虎溪桥。古木葱茏，梵音缭绕，人间净境，秀挹庐山。

   Donglin Monastery is the birthplace of the Pure Land School of Chinese Buddhism. It is located behind Mount Lu, facing Xianglu Peak to the South, at the foot of Donglin Hill, which is one of the outer ring hills of Mount Lu. The Tiger stream (Huxi) runs in front of the Monastery, and the bridge over the Tiger leads the way to the monastery gate. The area is clothed with old trees and luxuriant vegetation and with Buddhist chanting fills the air. It is the most graceful place in Mount Lu, the pure land in our Saha world.

 
东林寺简介

   东林寺位于长江南岸，庐山西北麓，南面正对庐山香炉、天地诸峰，北倚分水岭及上方塔，西北有香谷，东南有乌龙潭，地势雄伟。寺前明堂开阔，香炉峰呈趋拜之势,千年紫烟不断,虎溪具眷恋之情,万载常流。唐大书法家柳公权曾写下“流泉匝寺”四字，盛赞此寺之妙。原寺内建筑恢弘，兼之布局合理，避阴抱阳，松竹密植，石径苔合。徜徉其中，莫不神清气爽，心旷而情怡，透出世外桃源，人间净土之神韵。
   东林寺建成于东晋太元十一年（386年），为中国佛教净土宗发祥地，南方佛教中心，隋朝以后为全国佛教八大道场之一。历史上，与东林寺结缘的名流高士不乏其人，如佛陀跋陀罗尊者、智者大师、鉴真大师、李世民、刘遗民、谢灵运、陶渊明、孟浩然、韩愈、白居易、柳公权、王安石、苏东坡、李白、陆游、杜甫、杜牧、杜荀鹤、刘长卿、王昌龄、李邕、王阳明、黄庭坚、周敦颐、岳飞、范成大、朱熹、康有为等等。寺内文物甚多，从东晋远公与西域经师译经驻锡的译经台，到清末康有为题刻的《柳公权残碑记》，时间跨度千余年，每一处古迹都寄寓着一段历史典故，其丰厚的文化底蕴，对中国传统文化也产生了至为深远的影响。

   东林寺自建造以来，迄今已有1600多年历史，沧桑历尽，屡废屡兴。

A Brief Introduction to Donglin Monastery 

   Donglin Monastery is located on the Southern bank of the Yangtze River, Northwest of Lu Mountain. It faces Incense Burner Peak (Xianglu Feng), Heaven and Earth Peak (Tiandi Feng) to the South, and leans against the Watershed Peak (Fenshui Ling) with Shangfang Pagoda to the North. Fragrance Valley (Xiang Gu) lies to the Northwest of the monastery, and Black Dragon Pond (Wulong Tan) to the Southeast. The land in front of the Monastery is wide and flat, and winds from Incense Burner Peak carry the memory of a thousand years of smoke, as if kneeling to the monastery. Tiger Stream, flowing for centuries, is sentimentally attached to the monastery. The great calligrapher Liu Gongquan wrote of “the temple circled by streams” in the Tang Dynasty. The original construction of the monastery is magnificent; the geographical layout follows the theory of Yin and Yang. Being there, you feel refreshed, completely relaxed, and joyful.

   Donglin Monastery was built in the 11th year of Taiyuan during the East Jin Dynasty (386 CE). It is the birthplace of the Chinese Pure Land School of Buddhism, the centre of Buddhist learning in Southern China, and one of the eight most influential Buddhist temples since the Sui Dynasty. According to history, numerous high monks, famous poets, emperors, and ministers were connected to the monastery. The temple houses many cultural relics, from the Sutra Translation Platform in East Jin Dynasty to Liang Qichao’s Remaining Stone Tablet of Liu Gongquan from the Qing Dynasty. Behind every piece of relic lies a historical event or a story that influenced traditional Chinese culture deeply.
   Since its establishment over 1,600 years ago, the monastery has gone through numerous changes, construction, destruction, and reconstruction.