When is the best time to go to Guangxiao Temple?

The best time for Guangxiao Temple: the best time for traveling: At the end of August, you can see the land and water dharma meeting of Buddhism, and the ancient Lanren and Bodhi trees in the temple are flourishing and beautiful.

Guangxiao Temple is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Guangzhou, and it is also a national key cultural relic protection unit. Guangxiao Temple, located in Xiaoguang Road, is one of the four largest jungles in Guangzhou (Xiaoguang, Liu Rong, Hualin and Haizhuang), which was founded more than 700 years ago.

As the saying goes, "Before Yangcheng, there was filial piety." The temple was originally the residence of Zhao Jiande, the grandson of Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, Yu Fan, the commander-in-chief of the State of Wu, angered Sun Quan, the king of Wu, and was exiled to Guangzhou, where he built a house to give lectures. After his death, his family donated his house to Buddhism and turned it into a temple, named "Stop Temple". In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a famous Indian monk Tanmoyeshe came to Guangzhou to spread Buddhism, built a five-room Mahayana Hall in Guangzhou and renamed it "Roy Imperial Hall" or "Roy Temple".

In the early Tang Dynasty, it was renamed as "the old legal system". In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was renamed "Gratitude Guangxiao Temple", and later the word "Guang" was changed to "Guang", so it was called "Gratitude Guangxiao Temple" for short. The name of the temple has been in use for more than 850 years. The plaque of Guangxiao Temple "Guangxiao Temple" was given by Zhu Jianshen, the xian zong in the 18th year of Ming Chenghua (1482). Guangxiao Temple has a long history and is closely related to various Buddhist sects, such as Zen, purity, dharma and mysticism. Therefore, the Ming court, which is revered as Zen, enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad, as Tianwang Temple's old couplet wrote: "Zen is all over the world, so it is the first blessed land; Gion is the first famous mountain. " This must belong to Guangxiao Temple!

In addition to Huineng, Yufan, Tan Moye Society, there are many famous monks in history who come here to preach and translate scriptures, so Guangxiao Temple is the earliest cultural exchange place between Guangzhou and overseas. The earliest monk who came here to translate scriptures was an ancient Indian named Tammoyeshe who came to China in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the first year of Liu Yong's early reign in the Southern Dynasties (400 years), Indian brahmins begged Putuo Luo to set up an altar and Dojo here to preach Buddhism and become a monk. In the first year of Tian Liang's imprisonment (502), an Indian monk, Sanzang, a wise man, came here to give a lecture and planted his Bodhi tree in the temple. In the eighth year of Liang Pingtong (527), Dharma came to Guangzhou in the mantle of Sakyamuni, where he also taught the theory of Zen. During the reign of Chen Yongding (557), 40 sutras were translated in the temple by Katura in West India. Yuan Zhong (705), the dragon of the Tang Dynasty, was translated by Sanzang here like a monk in the Western Regions, and a pen was given to him.

All these have left a precious and touching chapter in the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Guangxiao Temple, as the first Buddhist temple in Lingnan and the spreading place of Lingnan Buddhism, people often miss Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, because he once made a famous "wind-pen debate" here and gained a great reputation as a Buddhist. He got a haircut here and became the leader of the southern Sect of Zen Buddhism, thus adding a lot of color to this thousand-year-old temple with the hall of six ancestors, Maota and the hall of writing wind. The story about Huineng, the sixth ancestor, seems to have a simple cause. At that time, Huineng inherited the cassock of Hongren, the fifth ancestor, because of his wisdom, but was envied and pursued by other disciples headed by Shen Xiu.

Huineng went all the way south, over mountains and mountains, and experienced hardships. After returning to his new hometown, he remained anonymous. In a blink of an eye 16 years has passed. It was not until the third year of Tang Gaozong's reign that Huineng heard that the Indian Sect came to Guangxiao Temple in Exorcist, so he came here. One night in 676, Master Yinzong was giving a lecture, and Huineng quietly went in to listen. Suddenly there was a strong wind, and the Buddhist banners hanging in the hall swayed from side to side, and the disciples talked about it in succession. Some said, "Zan is a heartless thing, but the wind is moving." Some said, "It's clearly fluttering. Where did the wind come from?" At that time, both sides held their own words. Hui Neng is listening. Realizing that both sides failed to understand their hearts, he said, "It's not the wind, it's not the movement, but the people's hearts are moving. If the heart does not move, the wind does not move, and the flag does not move. " Hearing this, everyone present was shocked. Seeing Huineng's extraordinary language, Master Yinzong invited him to ask in detail.

Huineng will show the cassock and the sacred bowl he collected on 16. Only when this is printed out will he know that he is the sixth ancestor that people have been looking for in 16 years. It was the eighth day of the first month. On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, Master Yinzong gave Huineng a haircut and was ordained under a bodhi tree behind the Daxiong Hall of Guangxiao Temple. There were ten domestic monks present at that time. Later, people buried Huineng's hair in the ground and built a tower called "the pagoda". Since then, Huineng has become the sixth ancestor of Buddhism. That is, the sixth generation master, Guangxiao Temple is famous all over the world. Huineng moved to Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan for 36 years after she became the southern religious leader of Zen Buddhism. Huineng believes that everything is the embodiment of the human heart. As long as the heart is a Buddha, you can turn evil into good and become a Buddha. If he says so, everyone has a chance to become a Buddha.

This "epiphany" meditation method is more acceptable to ordinary people than the "gradual enlightenment" of the Northern Sect. Therefore, Nanzong became increasingly prosperous in the south of China, and finally formed five schools, namely Lin Ji, Luyang, Cao Dong, Yunmen and Fayan, which had a great influence on Japan and South Korea. Ancient architecture and its characteristics In Guangxiao Temple, there are vast gardens, towering old trees, scattered halls and numerous cultural relics. Here, we can not only understand the development history of ancient Buddhist culture in China, but also appreciate the artistic style of ancient architecture in China. The buildings, monuments and cultural relics preserved so far in the temple mainly include: Daxiong Hall, built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty; The washbasin spring dug here by the monks of the Southern Dynasties; Towers and stone buildings built in the Tang Dynasty; Qianfo Pagoda in South Han Dynasty; Six Ancestors Hall and Galapagos Hall in Song Dynasty; And inscriptions, Buddha statues, terminalia chebula trees, bodhi trees and other Buddhist souvenirs.

Guangxiao Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Guangzhou. It is also known as the four famous temples in Guangdong with Kaiyuan Temple in Chaozhou, Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan and Qingyun Temple in Dinghushan in Zhaoqing. "Chudi" refers to the place where Dharma, the ancestor of the early Zen Buddhism, crossed the border and landed in Guangzhou, which is now the location of Hualin Temple, and is called "Xilai Chudi". So what does "big forest" mean? In those days, Yu Fan planted a piece of Qi Bralin here, so Guangxiao Temple is also called "Qi Bralin". Guangxiao Temple covers an area of 3 1 1,000 square meters.

The building with the central axis from south to north is; Shanmen, Tianwang Hall, Main Hall, Ursa Major Hall and stupa; There are Drum Tower, Wofo Pavilion and West Building in the west. There are Xibo Spring, Bell Tower, Guest Hall, Six Ancestors Hall and Monument Gallery in the east. Further east are Xiyan Lake and East Tower. A number of large-scale ancient buildings have been formed. Both terminalia chebula and bodhi trees in the temple are ancient and famous trees over 200 years old, with lush green leaves and a huge canopy like an umbrella. The whole environment is very open and quiet. The smiling Buddha statues in the Heavenly King Hall, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower are Maitreya Buddhas that friends are familiar with. It "always laughs at all the ridiculous people in the world, and its big belly can hold everything in the world."

On both sides of Maitreya, there are four majestic kings, armed with instruments and performing their duties. They are the growth king with swords in the south, the county king with pipa in the east, the county king with umbrella name in the north and the county king with big eyes of dragons and snakes in the west. Responsible for "wind", "tone", "rain" and "smoothness" respectively, which together is an idiom. Behind the Maitreya statue is Wei Tuo, the patron saint of Buddhist temples.

On both sides of the back of the Heavenly King Hall and the front of the Ursa Major Hall, there are two buildings: the bell tower on the right and the drum tower on the left. There is a big clock in the bell tower, and the downstairs is dedicated to the Tibetan King and Bodhisattva.

At the bottom of the Drum Tower is the Galapagos Temple; Galand is the protector of Buddhism. Because of his touching deeds and great fame, Buddhism, Taoism and even Confucianism regard him as an idol: Buddhism calls him "the God of Galatia"; Taoism is called "Guan Gong" or "Guan Sheng Di Jun"; Confucianism respects it as a "warrior saint". Three Sages of Hua Yan are enshrined in the shrine of Ursa Major: the Buddha statue in the middle is more than 5 meters high, which is the Buddha of Buddha Sakyamuni. I saw his left hand sitting across his left foot, his right hand raised, and he pointed to a ring, saying to all beings; Standing on both sides of him are respected Ye Jia and Ananda; There are two bodhisattvas on both sides of Sakyamuni. On the left is Manjusri Bodhisattva, also known as Dayuan Bodhisattva, and on the right is Pu Xian, also known as Mahayana Bodhisattva.

This Buddha, two Bodhisattvas and three Buddha statues are collectively called "Hua Yan San Sheng", which is different from other Buddhist temples that worship three buddhas (past life, present life and afterlife), three-body buddhas (dharma buddhas, body buddhas and body buddhas) and three-party buddhas. Surprisingly, in 1950, a number of woodcarving arhats were found in the abdomen of the Buddha statue. After textual research, they are all woodcarvings of the Tang Dynasty. These precious wood carvings are now collected in museums and become precious cultural relics of the Tang Dynasty.

Shuifodian

The reclining Buddha Hall, which was built more than ten years ago, is on the west side of the Ursa Major Hall. The reclining Buddha in the temple is carved with white jade from Myanmar, which is 4 meters long and weighs 6 tons. It is engraved with the statue of Muny. The whole sleeping Buddha's head faces south and west, lying on his side, with a natural posture and a very peaceful facial expression.

Legend has it that in order to spread Buddhism, Sakyamuni almost traveled all over the Indian Peninsula. At the age of 80, he died under a tree in Miluo near Naga. Later, all the statues of the reclining Buddha were carved into the posture of his death. Pagoda Pagoda is a brick tower similar to a pavilion, with seven octagonal floors and a height of 7.8 meters. It is the place where the sixth ancestor Huineng buried her hair after she cut her hair and was ordained. This pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty, and its shape is very exquisite. This ancient pagoda in Sui and Tang Dynasties is one of the few precious cultural relics preserved in our province and even the whole country. There are only five pagodas in Guangdong Province. Besides the pagodas, there are also the ancestral pagodas of Chaoyang Lingshan Temple, the Zhengxiang Pagoda of Tuocheng in Longchuan County, the Stone Pagoda of longxing temple in Xinhui City and the Mountain Pagoda of Yutaisi Town.

To the east of Feng Fan Tower is Feng Fan Tower, named after the original reclining Buddha Tower and Feng Fan Tower. Wofo Pavilion is a building in Tang Dynasty. The original building was dedicated to the sleeping Buddha, and Sanskrit was hidden below. Feng Fan Hall was also built in the Tang Dynasty to commemorate the "Feng Fan Debate" of the sixth ancestor of Guangxiao Temple. When the Ming Dynasty was rebuilt, the two buildings merged into one. At present, there are stone tablets of Six Ancestors and Buddhism in Feng Fan Pavilion. One side is engraved with the statue of six ancestors, and the other side is engraved with the statue of Buddhism. This is the inscription of the Yuan Dynasty.

There are two colorful paintings hanging on the wall of the Feng Fan Pavilion: one is a story about the current Six Debates in Feng Fan, and the other is a story about Dharma's eastward crossing. Dharma came to Guangzhou from India in the east since ancient times. When it came to the west, it lived in Jie 'an (now Hualin Temple) and then stayed in Guangxiao Temple (Hulin) to give lectures and spread Buddhism. The washbasin spring on the east side of the gate of Guangxiao Temple is said to be the deep well of washbasin in Buddhism. Six Ancestors' Hall Six Ancestors' Hall is next to the pagoda, which was built to commemorate the sixth ancestor Hui Neng during the Northern Song Zhenzong period. There is a statue of Hui Neng, the sixth ancestor in the hall, which was carved in recent years with a calm expression and full of wisdom. There is also a big wooden fish in front of the sixth ancestral hall. Muyu is one of the Buddhist musical instruments. The wooden fish is fish-shaped, with a hollow hole in the middle, and the button is silent. Fish head outward. According to the regulations in Buddhist temples, only ten jungles can turn the fish head outwards, which shows the high status of Guangxiao Temple. Wooden fish is an instrument used by monks to strike when chanting. Because fish can't sleep day and night, it is specially used to alert monks and not forget to practice day and night in order to "reach the Tao."

East tower and west tower

On the east and west sides of the Ursa Major Hall, there are two iron towers, which are historical relics left by the Southern Han Dynasty in Guangzhou. The West Building was built in the sixth year of Dabao in the Southern Han Dynasty (963). In the late Qing dynasty, the tower hall collapsed and crushed four floors, and now there are three floors left. The East Tower was built in the tenth year of Dabao in the Southern Han Dynasty (967), with a height of 7.69 meters and seven floors. The base of this tower has dragon patterns and lotus pagodas, which are very finely cast. It can be said that it is the largest, oldest and most complete tower found in China. According to historical records, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there were thousands of small gold-plated Buddha statues on this pagoda, so it was also called the "Golden Thousand Buddha Pagoda", which shows how magnificent this pagoda is!