When will Dengfeng Yongtai Temple Scenic Area open?

Dengfeng Yongtai Temple Scenic Area is open all day long

Dengfeng Yongtai Temple Scenic Area Attractions Introduction:

Songshan Yongtai Temple is located in Dengfeng, Henan Province It is located at the foot of Jinfeng Peak in the west of Taishi Mountain in the northwest of the city. It is located in the east and west, facing the Shaolin Temple, the most famous temple in the world. It looks to the south of Shaoshi Mountain with thousands of cliffs and ravines, and to the north of the beautiful Taizi Valley, facing the blue waves. The rippling Shaolin Lake, the entire temple area is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the environment is ancient and quiet.

Yongtai Temple, formerly known as Minglian Temple, was built in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It is the earliest existing nun temple in China and the only existing nun temple in Songshan Mountain. Yongtai was named after Princess Yongtai, the sister of Emperor Xiaoming, entered the temple as a nun.

Princess Yongtai’s father, Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Ke, and her brother, Emperor Xiaoming, Yuan Xu, both had palaces in Songshan. Princess Yongtai often visited Songshan with her father and brother, and was attracted by the beautiful environment and peaceful temple life of Songshan. He asked many times to become a monk in Songshan Mountain. In order to satisfy his sister's request, Emperor Xiaoming ordered a special edict to build a nun temple for his sister, so that Princess Yongtai could serve Buddha and teach the Dharma. The temple was built in the pagoda of Princess Minglian, the daughter of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty and one of the four disciples of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. Next to it, it was named Minglian Temple. Her living expenses were provided by the court, and Princess Yongtai often gave money and food to the people around her. Therefore, the majority of monks and nuns in the Songshan area respected and loved Princess Yongtai.

In the second year of Shenlong in the Tang Dynasty, monk Daoying of Songyue Temple went to the court to renovate Minglian Temple. After the completion of the project, Princess Yongtai was enshrined in the Huanggu Tower, and Minglian Temple was renamed Yongtai Temple. It took 185 years from the establishment of Minglian Temple to the renaming of Yongtai Temple. The existing buildings of Yongtai Temple are divided into five parts, including the mountain gate, Tianwang Hall, Zhongfo Hall, Daxiong Hall, Huanggu Tower, and the wing rooms include Jialan Hall, Sixth Patriarch Hall, etc. Red walls, green tiles, iron horses and nails, exquisite architectural skills, simple and elegant. On the hillside behind the temple are: the Yongtai Temple Pagoda of the Tang Dynasty, the main pagoda of Jun'an in the Jin Dynasty, and the awe-inspiring and Wuwei Putong pagodas of the Ming Dynasty. These ancient pagodas are beautiful in shape and tall and tall.

There are scattered steles, stone carvings and other 40 pieces from the Tang Dynasty in the temple, with fine carvings and smooth calligraphy. Ancient and famous trees include: my country's rare and valuable sal tree, the big poplar tree known as the Buddhist flagpole, the single-bearing ginkgo tree and the shepherdess tree in the Shaolin Temple movie, my country's first martial arts action movie, with lush branches , full of vitality. These cultural relics have high historical, scientific and artistic value. In 1963, Yongtai Temple was announced as a provincial cultural relic protection unit and became a bright pearl among the Songshan cultural relics group.

The Yongtai Temple Tower is located on the hillside behind the temple. It was built in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It is a single-story dense eaves style building with a main body shape in plane. The tower body is 24 meters high and the wall thickness is 4.8 meters. It is made of green bricks and yellow mud. The outer wall of the tower is covered with a thin layer of white ash. The tower is towering. On the south side, there is a 2.6-meter-high and 1.74-meter-wide gate. From the gate to the tower chamber, the interior of the tower chamber is still It is a square hollow tube with 11 layers of dense eaves. The outer contours of each eaves are connected in a soft parabola shape. The pagoda brake is composed of Yanglian and five-fold phase wheels. Its exquisite shape is the best among the existing Tang pagodas in my country. who. According to the inscription, the tower of Yongtai Temple was built to enshrine relics. It has been announced as a national cultural relic protection unit.

The stele of Yongtai Temple was erected in the eleventh year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty. The dragon head falls sideways, and the head of the stele and the stele body are made of one stone. It is 2.35 meters high, 0.9 meters wide, and 0.24 meters thick. The body of the dragon fully reflects the level of stone carving art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The front of the stele is a line-engraved portrait, and the forehead is incised. The Buddha is sitting on the clouds, giving sermons. There are flames and head lights engraved on the back of the Buddha. The upper half of the stele is engraved with one Buddha and two figures. The second disciple of Bodhisattva, Sakyamuni, is sitting in lotus position on a round beech bed, applying the fearless seal, and there is a canopy on the top, which is richly decorated. The lower half of the stele is engraved with two heavenly kings, wearing armor and armor, with a fierce image, which can suppress evil and ward off evil spirits. On both sides of the stele, there are two heavenly kings and two officials engraved to connect with the shadow of the stele. Throughout the whole picture, the lines are smooth and the image is beautiful. It is a treasure among Chinese Buddhist cultural relics.

The six characters of the stele of Yongtai Temple in the Tang Dynasty are engraved in the middle of the forehead of the stele. The body of the stele is engraved with an article by Shamen Jingzhang of Longxing Temple and an ode and preface to the stele of Yongtai Temple in the Tang Dynasty by Xun Wangshudan, a scholar in Yingchuan. The content mainly describes the historical evolution of Yongtai Temple in Songshan Mountain and the activities of some monks and nuns from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty for more than 230 years. The font of the stele is in regular script, which is plump, dignified and neat, strong and elegant. Just as Bi Yuan of the Qing Dynasty commented in "Zhongzhou Jinshi Ji": "Guan Xun Wangshu Dan is dense and dense, and it is really a masterpiece of the Tang Dynasty."

The Sala tree is more than 20 meters high and 2.5 meters thick. It has a history of more than 2,000 years and is one of the ancient, rare and precious tree species in my country. The tree crown is dense, the branches are luxuriant, and the shape is like a big umbrella, so the local people call it the parasol of Sakyamuni Buddha. In summer and autumn, strings of sala flowers bloom, just like a small tower standing in the green bushes. The breeze blows, rustling and trembling, which is particularly attractive. It is really a scene of Songyue.

Sala tree belongs to the horse chestnut family. Because each ear must have seven leaves, it is also called horse chestnut. Its flower spikes are like towers, the flowers are as big as beans, white as velvet in color, and fragrant, which is pleasing to the eye. The stamens in each flower are seven-core, and the core of the fruit is half red and half yellow. It is called the yin-yang fruit, which shows that Sakyamuni experienced the vicissitudes of life and, with his compassion and great wisdom, understood the yin and yang of heaven and earth. Become a Buddha based on the principle of correspondence between cause and effect. It shows the Buddhist philosophy of indifference to the world. This tree was brought to China by the Indian monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan.

In the 8th year of Emperor Ming's reign (AD 68), Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty dreamed of the Golden God at night, which meant that there was a god in the Western Regions. After waking up, he discussed with his ministers and sent Qin Jing and Cai Yin to the West to obtain the scriptures. He also invited eminent Indian monks to photograph Moteng, Zhu Falan was brought to China by these two eminent monks with alms bowls at that time. It was first planted in Honglu Temple (today's Baima Temple), and then transplanted to Fawang Temple by two eminent monks in 79 AD. When Emperor Xiaoming built this temple for Princess Yongtai, The sala tree was given to the princess, who planted it in the temple with her own hands. Strangely enough, no matter whether it is in White Horse Temple or Fawang Temple, the sal tree never grows. After transplanting it to Yongtai Temple, it actually grows luxuriantly and vigorously, which shows that the sal tree is destined to the princess.

After 2000 years of Buddha’s light and 2000 years of profound fraternity, every branch, every leaf, every stamen, and every fruit of the Sal tree is filled with the Buddha’s heart to save all sentient beings. The basic person sat in meditation under the sal tree, and all fatigue and illness disappeared. All selfish thoughts and worries disappeared, and he had a sense of transcendence. If he could drink a sip of sal flower tea soaked in Princess Well water, he would feel even more relaxed. . The Sara tree is a historical witness of the cultural exchanges between China and India and the friendship between China and India.

The flagpole poplar, also known as the Buddha flagpole, has a tree height of 26 meters and a tree circumference of 4.6 meters. It was the flagpole erected when the temple was built. In ancient times, it was used to hang Buddhist flags in temples and is equivalent to today's communications Tools have the function of summoning faithful men and women to come to the temple to hold Dharma gatherings. It has a history of more than 1,800 years. The tree body is empty but the branches and leaves are full of friends and friends. It has reached the state of immortality and is called the best poplar in the world. It is also called the tree of good luck, the tree of wisdom, and the natural compass. When everyone stands in front of this tree, they will realize many truths and increase their wisdom. The bark on the lower half of this tree is old, and the bark on the upper half is tender, which is exactly the sign of rejuvenation. Because Buddhism talks about emptiness, which is the highest state of overcoming worries and evil thoughts. This tree has been illuminated by the Buddha's light and has acquired Buddha nature. Therefore, it is very worshiped by believers who want to absorb its spiritual energy to make themselves healthy and live longer.

Jingzhu: It is an octagonal stone pillar. It was erected in the ninth year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty. It was erected by Li Longji himself. Because Li Longji's mother made a grand wish here at that time, and after her wish came true, she was willing to let Li Longji build it. There is a stone niche at the top of the sutra pillar, with a Buddha and two disciples engraved inside. There are two ways for the Buddha to sit. One is the Buddhist meditation method, which is called lotus posture, and the other is with hands on the knees. In Buddhism, Buddha, Bodhisattva and all living beings are one body, that is to say If people nowadays have any wishes, as long as they are sincere, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will make our wishes come true and we will be satisfied. The lower part is engraved with the preface of the Sutra of the Buddha's Dharma Dharani and the Buddha's Dharma Dharani Sutra. Its purpose is to solemnize Buddhist temples and restore life. These two scripture buildings are the largest in the Songshan area.

Princess Well: This well was given by Bodhidharma as a reward to Princess Yongtai. It is said that when Princess Yongtai was practicing here, there was no water source in the temple. The nuns in the temple had to go to the back mountain to fetch water. Because there were often wolves in the mountain at that time, many nuns were killed. Many monks left the temple for excuses to study, and Princess Yongtai But she persisted and went up to the mountain to fetch water in person. Her sincerity moved the world. When she got the enlightenment, the first ancestor Bodhidharma gave her a well with a Zen staff. The water in the well was sweet. Drinking it all year round can strengthen the body and nourish the skin. This water is now worshiped as nectar holy water by religious figures, surrounding people and tourists and believers from all over the world. In addition, the temple also has many places of interest and historical relics, such as the Book Box, Yuan Monument, Ming Monument, Lotus Lamp Holder (now collected in the Provincial Museum), etc., all of which have high appreciation value and are precious cultural relics.

Outside the temple, there are also the magical Taizi Valley, Bodhidharma crossing the river with a reed, Yahuan Valley, Zijin Peak, Wangdu Peak, Huanggu Cave, Chenzai Valley, Qixing Stone, and the Merit Road of Ten Thousand People and Huanggu Bridge, etc., forming a complete scenic tourist area featuring the culture of Buddhist nuns. With the intensity of development and publicity and promotion, Yongtai Temple has regained its former glory and its popularity has been greatly improved. The number of tourists is increasing day by day, and it has received a large number of international friends (such as the eminent Korean monk Buddha Shin Domun, etc.). In addition, based on the cultural background of Yongtai Temple, Yongtai Temple Women's Martial Arts School was recently established to promote national excellence. While contributing to local tourism, it also launched exchanges and cooperation with friends at home and abroad to promote Yongtai Temple to the world and showcase Yongtai Temple. The temple is a Buddhist temple.