The ancient temple hidden in the mountains, find the small country temple.

The ancient temple hidden in the mountains, find the small country temple.

Writing and Photography: Weng Xin

Tiantai Mountain, located in the central and eastern part of Zhejiang Province, is known as "the source of Buddhism and Taoism, with beautiful scenery". It is not only the birthplace of Tiantai Sect of Buddhism in China, but also the birthplace of Nanzong Sect of Taoism. Xu Xiake of the Ming Dynasty came to Tiantai Mountain three times and wrote two travel notes, which shows the weight of Tiantai Mountain in the mind of "visiting the holy".

International Temple is to Tiantai Mountain what Lingyin Temple is to Hangzhou. No one who comes to visit Tiantai Mountain does not come to the imperial palace. As the ancestral home of Tiantai Sect of Buddhism, Dajiu Temple may have a higher position in the history of Buddhism than Lingyin Temple. Li Bai once wrote a poem "The Small Country Temple on the rooftop is called the Four Wonders in the World" (Small Country Temple, Nanjing qixia temple, Jinan Lingyan Temple and dangyang yuquan temple are also called the four jungles of Buddhism).

When you come to Xiaoguo Temple, one name will be mentioned many times, that is, Zhiyi (538 -597), the founder of Tiantai Sect, who is generally called the wise master. During his more than 20 years of missionary work in Tiantai Mountain, he not only founded Tiantai Sect, the first localized Sect after the spread of Buddhism to the East, but also founded 12 Dojo in Tiantai Mountain, including the National Assembly Temple built according to a design sketch he drew before his death.

Congress Temple was founded in the 18th year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (598). One year after the death of Master Ming, King Yang Guang of Jin built the fundamental Dojo of Tiantai Sect according to the wishes of Zhiyi, the founder of Tiantai Sect. Formerly known as Tiantai Temple, it later took the meaning of "If the temple is built, the country will be bright", so it was renamed as "Congress Temple" so far. It is also the ancestral home of Tiantai Sect in Japan and South Korea.

The Imperial Palace is located three kilometers north of Tiantai County, hidden in a valley surrounded by five peaks. Now you don't need to buy a ticket to enter the scenic spot. It takes about ten minutes to walk from the mountain gate to the temple. In the scenic area, ancient trees are towering and trees are shaded. Walking along a wooden plank road, I haven't seen the temple yet, but I can see an ancient yellow-brown pagoda standing on the hillside from a distance.

The tower was built in the Sui Dynasty 1300 years ago, so it is called "Sui Tower"-one of the landmark buildings of the National Assembly Temple. This tower is nearly 60 meters high and has nine floors on six sides. The brick wall is covered with moss and weeds, full of vicissitudes. Sui Tower is unique in architecture, and it still stands after thousands of years, which makes people feel the wisdom of the ancients. Strangely, the top of the tower is missing, and it is said that it was destroyed by a fire in the past.

There are seven small pagodas lined up on the avenue below Sui Pagoda, which are built to worship "seven buddha of the past". After the seven pagodas, it is the second mountain gate "Cold Mining Pavilion" of Xiaoguo Temple. This pavilion was named in memory of two poets and monks buried in Hanshan, the imperial palace in the Tang Dynasty. Buddhists believe that Manjusri and Pu Xian are reincarnated, while folklore regards them as "harmony" immortals, hence the name of Suzhou Hanshan Temple.

Passing the "Cold Picking Pavilion" is the "Fenggan Bridge", which is another stone bridge named after the monks of Xiaoguo Temple. According to legend, Zen master Feng Gan once rode a tiger into the temple, and his style can be seen. He and Hanshan are regarded as "Guoqing three hidden", and there is a "Three Sages Hall" on the west side of the Imperial Palace, which was built to commemorate the three of them.

Standing on the Fenggan Bridge, I saw two streams around the temple, which merged under the Fenggan Bridge and flowed south, forming a scenic spot of "double streams echoing", which is also one of the famous "Eight Scenes on the Rooftop". The scenery here is excellent, so many people come to sketch nearby.

At the front and rear ends of Fenggan Bridge, there are two yellow zhaobi, which read "Ancient Temple of Sui Dynasty" and "Always hold the concept of teaching". The former describes the long history of small country temples, while the latter is not easy to understand. It refers to the teaching of Buddhist scriptures, which should be combined with Vipassana practice to explain the practice methods advocated by Tiantai Sect.

At this time, I have come to the front of the temple, but I can't find it. It turns out that the temples of Xiaoguo Temple are different. The location of the temple is north-south, but the gate of the temple is not in the conventional south-facing position, but at the corner to the east of the city wall, there is an inconspicuous small door-this is the main entrance of the National Assembly Temple. The gate of Parliament Temple opens to the east. It is said that the spiritual tower of the wise master was placed in the east of Buddha Mountain, and the gate of the temple faces east to commemorate the founder.

Kokuseiji's layout pays attention to low-key and introverted, and it is also ingenious. For example, the treatment of the temple gate not only increases the change of space, but also gives people a subtle and profound feeling. Looking at the buildings outside the mountain gate, it seems that Sui Tower, Seven Towers, Pavilion, Fenggan Bridge and two facing walls are all arranged naturally according to the terrain. In fact, they have been carefully designed and strolled, giving people a leisurely Zen.

The horizontal plaque of Kokuseiji Gate, written in gold on a red background, is the full name of the temple. This shows that the National Assembly Temple is a large-scale temple characterized by giving lectures and studying doctrines. In ancient times, there were temples all over the country, such as Zen Temple, Lecture Temple and Dharma Temple. Temples of different clans have different names, and the temples in Tiantai Mountain are basically lecture temples.

Entering the temple and passing through a tunnel hidden in the bamboo forest, the temple of Xiaoguo Temple stands out among the towering trees. The khaki courtyard wall contrasts with the yellow-green emerald plants. It reminds people of the artistic conception of "my road has a winding path, passing through a sheltered depression and a meditation room with deep vegetation" in ancient poetry. The temple is mottled with light and shadow and filled with Sanskrit. During walking, people will naturally slow down and feel cool and comfortable.

After repeated destruction, the existing buildings of Xiaoguo Temple basically maintained the reconstruction scale of Qing Dynasty and Yongzheng period. Along the central axis, Tianwang Hall, Yuhua Hall, Daxiong Hall, Pharmacist Hall and Guanyin Hall are lined up in turn, and there are dozens of traditional courtyards on both sides. The building is built on the mountain and goes up one floor. It is worth mentioning that the ancient corridor in the temple runs through the whole temple at random along the high and low levels, so it won't get wet anywhere in rainy days, which is also a major architectural feature of Xiaoguo Temple.

As the ancestral temple on the rooftop, the Imperial Palace is simple and solemn, with a strong sense of history. A pair of white marble lions in front of Maitreya Temple set off the majesty of the Buddhist temple. It is said that the pair of stone lions were originally placed in the Forbidden City and belonged to national treasures. When the imperial harem was rebuilt in the 1970s, they were specially sent here from Beijing.

Tianwang Temple behind the Maitreya Buddha Hall is called Yuhua Hall in the National Assembly Temple. Ordinary temples don't have this name. Legend has it that Tennoja in Dajiu Temple has always been called "Yuhua Temple" because the wise master told the story of Lotus Sutra in Tiantai Mountain, which touched the gods and it began to rain when the master told the story.

When I came to the Daxiong Hall of Xiaoguo Temple, I saw that the plaque on the lintel was written vertically, while the ancient folk plaques were generally written horizontally, indicating that Xiaoguo Temple has the specifications and charm of a royal temple. The bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha enshrined in Daxiong Hall was cast in the Ming Dynasty, and the sixteen arhats sitting on the left and right are nanmu statues in the Yuan Dynasty, all of which are precious cultural relics.

In other words, no one went to the Parliament Temple to worship, but to watch Liang Meiwei. On the right side of Ursa Major Hall, there is a Millennium Liang Meiwei. It is said that this tree was planted by Master Guan Ding, a disciple of the wise master, and was confirmed by botanists as one of the oldest plum trees in China. Legend has it that this tree is very spiritual. It died in the 1970s. After careful cultivation by monks, Liang Meiwei has been reborn from the dead trunk, and this ancient tree has also been rejuvenated.

There are many poems written by scholars in Xiaoguo Temple, and there are steles around Luohantang. You can find the inscription of "Great China Qing Palace" and Wang Xizhi's famous "Goose" in Liu Gongquan's place. There is an elegant name "Fish Music Country" in the release pool in the southwest of Xiaoguo Temple, which is named after the handwriting left here by Dong Qichang, a great calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty.

There is a memorial to the ancestors of China and Japan in the east of Yakushido, and a memorial to the ancestors of China and South Korea in the north, because Xiaoguo Temple is famous in Japan and South Korea. In the Tang Dynasty, Japanese monks went to Xiaoguo Temple to seek dharma and founded Tiantai Sect in Japan. 1 1 century, Yi Tian, a Korean monk, introduced Tiantai Sect into Korea, so the Imperial Palace was regarded as the ancestral home of Tiantai Sect in Japan and South Korea. Japanese and Korean monks and overseas believers come here every year.

Su Zhai in the Imperial Palace is very famous. In China on the Tip of the Tongue, the dried bean curd and Chinese cabbage made by the monks in Xiaoguo Temple are especially mentioned, which are delicious and refreshing. There are meal tickets for sale at noon and evening in Xiaoguo Temple Zhaitang, and the price is incredibly low, two yuan per person. It is said that all the dishes are planted by monks in the temple, and they can only be wasted when they are full. Remember to wash the dishes and put them back after eating.

Accommodation is provided in the temple (you can consult at the window where you buy a meal ticket). When I went there, many lay people came to live here because these days coincided with the land and water law meeting, and there were no beds. Later, I stayed at the Tiantai Hotel, a hundred paces away from the National Assembly Temple, so that I could go back to the temple the next morning and enjoy the quiet time without being disturbed.

Famous temples like Xiaoguo Temple are rare, and they are also national 5A-level scenic spots. When I came here, I found that there was no trace of commercialization, which reflected the original purity of Buddhism and was really commendable. In my spare time, I suggest that I might as well come here to clear my mind and cultivate my nature, wash away the hubbub, meditate and realize the Tao in the twilight and the morning bell, and find a long-lost peace of mind and happiness.

From Xiaoguo Temple to the east and along the mountain road to the north for more than ten miles, there is a circular hill connecting things, that is, Folong. This hill is the real birthplace of Tiantai Sect. The wise master first led his disciples to mow grass here to build a temple, then took root in Tiantai Mountain and founded Tiantai Sect, a profound Buddhist system.

Among the twelve Dojo founded by the wise master in Tiantai Mountain all his life, there are several Buddha dragons, some of which no longer exist (such as Xiuchan Temple and Taiping Temple), while Zhenjue Temple (Wise Tower) and Gaoming Temple are still preserved.

You can take a minibus to Liang Shi from the North Bus Station (only a few times a day, or you can get on the bus at the Imperial Palace), and pass the Folong Scenic Area along the way. When you pass by Zhenjue Temple, you will ask the driver to let me off and walk on a path for a few minutes.

Zhenjue Temple is called Tatou Temple by local people. This is where the spiritual tower of the wise master is placed. In 597 AD, the wise master died in Xinchang Buddhist Temple, and his disciples transported his sacred body back to Tiantai Mountain for burial, so it was later called "the tower of the wise".

The zhaobi outside the gate of Zhenjue Temple reads "Lingshan". Tiantai Mountain is also known as the "Holy Land of Lingshan" because the wise master is called "Little Sakyamuni in the East" (that is, the Buddha of Sakyamuni in China). As the center of the missionary activities of the wise master before his death, the Buddha Dragon is equivalent to the holy land in the holy land.

Zhenjue Temple is not quite like a traditional temple (there is no Hall of Great Heroes), but more like a quaint and quiet quadrangle. There is only one main hall in the courtyard, dedicated to the "tower of the remains of the wise master", carved with bluestone, nearly 7 meters high, and each floor has exquisite reliefs. There is a statue of a wise master sitting in the middle of the first floor, and portraits of the ancestors of Tiantai Sect are hung on the walls around the hall.

Because the tower is the place where the wise master really lives, all Japanese and Korean Tiantai believers who come to the National Life Temple to pay homage to the ancestral hall will definitely come here to pay homage after visiting the National Life Temple.

Although the pagoda is small in scale, it seems that there are many monks living in the wings on both sides. Maybe they are the guardians of Master Lingta. After visiting Master's stupa, I didn't stay here for long, so I rushed to my next destination, Jiang Gaoming Temple, not far from the tower of the wise.

There is a flat boulder on the back hill from the tower courtyard to the east. This is the place where the master once lectured. Now there is a stone tablet that says "where the wise master said". According to legend, this wise master once talked about Jing Mingjing here. Suddenly, a strong wind blew and Ye Jing drifted deep into the valley. The master followed the place where Ye Jing fell, and saw that this place was surrounded by mountains and quiet springs, and it was a place for practicing and dealing with thoughts. So the Youxi Dojo was built, which later became Gaoming Lecture Temple.

After the death of the wise master, his pagoda was placed in Zhenjue Temple, while his used cloak and Bayeux Sutra were kept in Gaoming Temple.

From the mountain in front of the Tayuan, you can clearly see the Jiang Gaoming Temple in the lower half of the mountain. The sun is shining. Although it looks very close, it takes two or three kilometers to get to the temple through the tunnel and along the highway. Surrounded by dense trees and gurgling streams, the environment is very quiet, so it used to be called Youxi Dojo. "Ming" and "seclusion", two diametrically opposite artistic conceptions, look at Gaoming Temple from different angles, but they are actually different feelings.

Because it belongs to a "system" with kokuseiji, tickets here are free now. However, Gaoming Temple is remote and few tourists come here. It doesn't matter if it's free Temple buildings don't look very old. Most of the existing buildings were rebuilt in the 1980s.

The forehead of the "Gaoming Lecture Temple" has a distinctive style of writing. It is said that Kang Youwei wrote it with carbon strips when he came to the rooftop. The word "Ming" has an extra horizontal line, which should be intentional. When you come to Gaoming Temple, you should visit the bell tower. There is a saying among celebrities: "The pine of Qing Dynasty is a bright bell", which shows that the clock in Gaoming Temple is very distinctive. Gao Mingzhong hangs on the top floor of the Dizang King Hall, weighing 16 ton, which is the highest in Zhejiang Province at present.

Gaoming Temple is quaint and quiet, and there are many cliff carvings outside the temple. Thanks to the monk's advice, I almost missed it. Come out of the temple gate, walk to the southeast, follow a stream, and pass through the historical sites such as Youxi, Maitreya Buddha, Guanyun Pavilion and Tongyuan Cave, which are composed of natural Liang Shi. At this time, I discovered that the scenery of Gaoming Temple was not inside the temple, but outside it.

This article was published in the newspaper Private Geography.