The Grand Screen Wall is a unique part of traditional Chinese architecture. Its decorations at the Jade Buddha Temple consist of five parts, with a round brick carving in the middle of each part. The brick carving in the middle of the wall depicting a flood dragon with water gushing out of its mouth is the biggest. As a divine animal in Chinese mythology, the dragon has the ability to summon wind and rain at will. The front of the brick carving is the ferocious head of the giant dragon and four strong paws. From its mouth gushes a stream of clean water amid floating clouds. The carving suggests that the dragon is in the midst of a raging storm, with clouds and water swishing about. The two adjacent carvings are a contrast to the middle one.

In the middle of the round brick carving is a phoenix surrounded by peonies, auspicious clouds and crags. Like the dragon, the phoenix is an auspiciously divine creature in Chinese mythology. The entire phoenix carving looks serene and tranquil, posing a sharp contrast to the dragon carving.

There are white elephants engraved on the sides of the carvings. It is said that Sakyamuni's mother saw a white elephant with six tusks enter her womb in a dream, and that she later gave birth to Sakyamuni. In the brick carvings, there is a big elephant and a small one: The former is wearing decorations and has a treasure bottle on its back; the small one is strolling calmly.

The five brick carvings contain three different themes. They are all symmetrical and well-proportioned, with an excellent artistic flavor.

** The Meditation Hall

Since meditation practices are one of the main forms of cultivation, there is a meditation hall in each temple of the Zen Sect, with a gilded Sakyamuni enshrined in the middle. The Buddha is in a seated position, with his legs crossed and soles of the feet upturned. His hands are also in a meditative position. There is an offering table located in front of the shrine where incense is burned. Flanking the wooden fence before the shrine are two laths, each inscribed with the respective words "discipline lath" and "supervision plate" to help meditating monks avoid sleep or distractions.

On the walls of the east and west sides of the meditation hall is a wooden plate, each inscribed with the respective words "Who Is Chanting Buddha?" and "Mind the Beginning of the Talk." On the upper part of the walls are many pieces of red paper -- about 0.66 meters in length - with the characters that mean "First Seat", "General Affairs Director", "Guest Receiver" from south to north on the east wall; and "First seat", "Guest Ex-Abbot", "First Seat of Back Hall" and "Head of Medicine Hall" from south to north on the west wall. These dictate the monks' seating arrangement following the appointment of their duties and represent their respective rank in the temple. Usually, the monks are seated according to the prescribed order when meditating or discussing monastic affairs.

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