About Wutai Mountain Xiantong Temple?

Information classification: Wutai mountain tourist attractions-Wutai mountain tourism release time: 2005-08-03. ...

Located in Taihuai Town. It is the largest and oldest temple in Wutai Mountain. This temple has a long history and many precious cultural relics. It is a pearl in the holy land of Buddhism.

Baima Temple in Luoyang, Henan Province is the earliest Buddhist temple in China, which is called "the source of Buddhism". The initial construction time of Xiantong Temple can be compared with that of Baima Temple.

According to records, Xiantong Temple was built in the Yongping period of Emperor Hanming (58-75 AD), a few years later than Baima Temple, so some people listed it as the second ancient temple in China. According to legend, Wutai Mountain is similar to the Indian spirit Jiu Feng, so this temple was originally named Dafuling Nine Temple. According to "Liang Qing", "At the end of Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen rebuilt, surrounded Jiu Feng and established twelve hospitals. There is a garden in front of it, so it is also called the Garden Temple. " Emperor Taizong rebuilt it and renamed it Dahuayan Temple. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, rebuilt it and gave it the name "Datong Temple". Ming Taizu Judy named it "Dajiang Xiantong Temple", and Ming protoss Zhu Yijun named it "Yongming Temple to protect the country", which is called Yongming Temple for short. In the 26th year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1687), it was renamed Daxiantong Temple until today.

Xiantong Temple is the largest temple in Wutai Mountain Temple Group. The courtyards in the temple overlap, trees are shaded, pines and cypresses are solemn, quiet and peaceful. The whole temple covers an area of 43,700 square meters, with more than 400 large and small houses, most of which were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The hall and wings are arranged neatly, the central axis is clear and the hall is symmetrical. Located on the central axis, there are seven halls, from south to north, which are Guanyin Hall, Daxiong Hall, Daxiong Hall, Infinite Hall, Manjushri Hall, Bronze Hall and Tibetan Classics Hall in turn. In addition, there are bell towers, temples and various ancillary halls. With different architectural styles and many colors, the palace is a typical temple building in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Giant Buddha Hall was rebuilt in the 25th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1899), and it was made of wood. Daxiong Hall is a place where grand Buddhist activities are held. This temple covers an area of one acre and two points, and it is tall and solemn. On the beam in front of the temple, the wooden tablet of Kangxi's imperial pen "True as the Son of Heaven" hangs high, with banners hanging horizontally below and brocade banners hanging on both sides. There are three main buddhas on the temple platform, with Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, pharmacist Buddha in the east, Amitabha Buddha in the west, and eighteen arhats on both sides of the temple wall, all of which are Ming and Qing sculptures. The ground in front of the Buddha is very spacious, the Buddha's lanterns are brightly lit, the tripod burns incense, and there are all kinds of fruit offerings and beautiful flowers. There are drums, chimes, clangs, wooden fish and other Buddhist instruments on the desk in the east. Not only do the monks in this temple have to do their homework sooner or later, but every big Buddhist activity day is hosted by the Wutai Mountain Buddhist Association, and monks and nuns from all temples wear Taoist robes and gather here to hold Buddhist ceremonies.

The main hall of Xiantong Temple is well preserved. Kannonji, also known as South Temple. There is a statue of Guanyin bodhisattva in the center of the hall, and there are manjusri bodhisattva and samantabhadra bodhisattva on the left and right, so it is also called the three halls. There are scriptures on both sides of the temple, and there are all kinds of scriptures on the shelf, so it is also called the Buddhist Scripture Hall. In the past, the land and water Dojo, that is, the Dafa Society to help all living beings on land and water, was also located here, so it was also called the Land and Water Hall.

Manjusri Hall is the second hall of Xiantong Temple. Rebuilt in 1746 (Qingganlong 1 1), it is a wood structure. Wutai Mountain is the Dojo of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and all temples are dedicated to Manjusri Bodhisattva. Natural Xiantong Temple is no exception. The difference is that there are seven Manjusri Bodhisattvas in the Great Manjusri Hall of Xiantong Temple: the one in the middle is Manjusri Bodhisattva; The top five, from left to right, are Manjusri of the Lion in the West Taiwan, Manjusri of the Wisdom in the South Taiwan, Manjusri of the Confucian in the Middle Taiwan, Manjusri of the Innocent in the North Taiwan and Manjusri of the Smart in the East Taiwan. Manjusri is followed by Manjusri. In addition, Manjusri has a statue of Wei Tuo, the protector, and eighteen arhats on both sides. Daxiong Hall is the third largest hall in Xiantong Temple, where three Buddha statues are enshrined: Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, Amitabha Buddha in the west and Pharmacist Buddha in the east; There are eighteen arhats on both sides; There are three Buddha statues: Guanyin, Manjusri and Pu Xian.

There are two octagonal stone pavilions in front of Manjusri Hall, each with a white marble tablet, which is less than eight feet high and two and a half feet wide. It was built on July 19, 46 th year of Kangxi. There is a word on the stone tablet on the left, which is Kangxi Imperial Pen. There are no words on the tablet on the right, so it is called "tablet without words". This monument was built for lettering. Why is there no writing on this tablet? Legend has it that the pavilion was built in two circular pools, and the water in the pools was as clear as a mirror. One year, Emperor Kangxi went to Taiwan Province, visited Xiantong Temple and came to Manjusri Bodhisattva. He looked up and saw the majestic Bodhisattva Peak sitting squarely at the foot of Ling Jiu Feng, like a heroic dragon, lying there with his head held high. One archway is the dragon's head, and two banners are the dragon's horns. One hundred and eight steps extend from the archway, and the dragon sticks out its tongue. Kangxi became more and more afraid: this is where the real dragon emperor came. Do I have to be taken away by others? So he wanted to find some personal evidence to prove that the Bodhisattva was neither a dragon nor a dead dragon, so he was relieved. The abbot of Xiantong Temple was ordered to pick up the driver and never left. When he heard the emperor chanting Bodhisattva Top, he leaned over and said, "Long live the Qifeng, the spirit Jiu Feng is a dragon, and the memorial arch of Bodhisattva Top is on the faucet." What Kangxi was most afraid of was finally right by the abbot. However, he didn't show his face and didn't care too much. He looked at the Bodhisattva Peak carefully for a while, as if he had discovered something mysterious and even forgotten his dignity. He turned to the abbot and said, "Ling Jiu Feng is a dragon, but not a living dragon. Look, it has no eyes. " It turned out that Kangxi wanted the abbot to catch him and said, "This dragon has no eyes." But the abbot wanted to please the emperor, but he didn't guess the emperor's intention. He just told the emperor everything he knew: "tell the emperor, adults don't know, this dragon has eyes." At noon every day, the sun shines on these two pools, and two circular rings will appear on both sides of the wooden archway at the top of Bodhisattva. "Gal, kangxi was more than I could bear, sent a thunder," the dragon has eyes, won't fly away? Without dragonflies, will the aura of Wutai Mountain still exist? Fill in these two pools, and put two stone tablets on them to hold them down! "Soon, the pool was filled and the stone tablet was erected. The abbot asked Kangxi to write an inscription, and Kangxi happily wrote an article. The abbot asked the craftsman to engrave on the stone tablet on the left. The stone tablet on the right is empty, because no one dares to write an inscription commensurate with the emperor's inscription. As a result, there is a wordless tablet in Xiantong Temple.

For a long time, Xiantong Temple has attracted special attention among the temples in Wutai Mountain. In addition to a long history and strong incense, there are many precious cultural relics left over from history in the temple, which is also an important reason. For example, there is a stone tablet on both sides of the mountain gate with the plaque of "Daxiantong Temple" on it. There is a word "dragon" on one side and a word "tiger" on the other side of the tablet, which is free to write and draw. The glyph has the image of a dragon and a tiger, which was written by a layman in thunderstorm. It is said that the location of Buddhist temples needs to emphasize Feng Shui. Besides backing the mountain, Zuo Qinglong and You Baihu are always the best. There are no two mountains on either side of the gate of Xiantong Temple, so these two monuments are made up. But it's always strange to use dragons and tigers to keep doors in temples. And these two stone tablets are the relics of the Tang Dynasty, which are precious. There are still many cultural relics in the sutra building. There are bronze-cast sandalwood Buddha statues in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Buddhist scriptures of Leifeng Pagoda published during the Kaibao period in the Northern Song Dynasty, eighteen arhats painted on bodhi leaves in the Ming Dynasty, and the 8 1 lb iron bar used by Yang Wulang ... However, the most precious and worth seeing cultural relics in Xiantong Temple are Manjusri bronze statue, copper tower in the bronze hall and boundless hall.

Thousands of bronze statues of Manjusri are enshrined in Manjusri Hall. This bronze statue, with a strange shape, has a head and five heads stacked on it; There are six hands on the chest, holding a golden bowl in both hands, in which Sakyamuni Buddha sits, with 1000 hands sticking out from the back. Each hand has a golden bowl, and each bowl has a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, this bronze statue is also known as the Manjusri statue of the Thousand Arms Bowl. This golden statue cast in Ming Dynasty is rare in China. Buddhists' imagination of the mythical figure Manjusri Bodhisattva can also be seen in Class One.

Bronze temples and towers are also rare cultural relics in China. The bronze hall is 8.3 meters high, 4.7 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. In the thirty-fourth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1606), it was cast with 100,000 Jin of copper. The temple is square in plane, nine feet wide, eight feet deep and more than ten feet high. The appearance is two layers, one room, four corners and four columns, and the column base is like a drum. Inside the temple, there are six doors on the upper floor and eight doors on the lower floor. There are ten thousand Buddha statues on the four walls of the temple, resplendent and shining. The walls of the temple are full of Buddha statues, known as ten thousand buddhas; There is a bronze Buddha statue 3 feet high in the center of the temple. Every door of the bronze hall is cast by a province, and the beauty of decoration and exquisite craftsmanship are really amazing. There are ten thousand Buddha statues on the four walls of the temple, which are glittering and burning. The walls of the temple are full of Buddha statues, known as ten thousand buddhas; There is a bronze Buddha statue 3 feet high in the center of the temple. Birds and beasts with various patterns and flowers, such as Yue Bai, Yutu, Chaoyang and Erlong Play Beads, are very beautiful. In the bright moon, under the laurel tree, there is a piece of jade, with its head held high, its ears pricked up, its eyes not turning clear, its beard moving, and it is very alert. In the picture of a crane under the lotus flower, a lotus flower is in full bloom, a lotus seed is in full bloom, butterflies are fluttering on the flowers, dragonflies are flying leisurely, and under the lotus leaf, a crane enters the water with his feet and holds a small fish in his mouth. One by one, the casting method is meticulous and the artistic level is very high. According to Liang Qingshan Zhi, the bronze hall was given by Miao Feng, a monk from Wutai Mountain in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, and was made of 100,000 Jin of copper. Master Miao Feng once wrote Hua Yan Jing with the blood of the tip of the tongue and cinnabar. Li Taihou, the mother of Emperor Wanli, worshipped him as a teacher, and people called him a "teacher" and a "pillar of practice". Master Miao Feng once cast a bronze temple, one in Nanjing, one in Emei and one in Wutai Mountain, with exactly the same specifications and styles. The first two have been lost, and only this one of Xiantong Temple is left in China. This bronze temple is beautiful in shape, complete in structure, ingenious in layout and vivid in design, which fully shows the superb casting art in ancient China and the wisdom of working people. Looking closely at the patterns on the door, they are different, but when they are put together, they can be integrated. There are two copper towers in front, below, left and right of the bronze temple, and each tower is erected, which was cast in 1607 (thirty-five years of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty). On the left and right sides of your royal highness, there are two beautifully carved copper towers, which are more than two feet high, slim and graceful, antique and antique. There are five primitive copper towers here, which means five. Unfortunately, three of them were stolen during the Japanese invasion of China, and only the tower foundation was still in its original place. Now there are only two towers, eight sides and thirteen floors, which are exquisite and attractive. The lost three copper towers are different in shape from the existing two. The existing copper tower has eight sides and looks exquisite, but the lost copper tower is a gourd-shaped treasure and looks stocky. As you can imagine, the five copper towers in those days matched each other. In the southwest corner of the bottom of a copper tower in the west, there is a small copper temple as big as a thumb, in which sits a bronze statue of the land. According to legend, when Emperor Kangxi came to Wutai Mountain, he saw that Wutai Mountain was very small and said humorously, "What a big place!" "Unexpectedly," Land "jumped to the ground and immediately knelt down and kowtowed:" Thank you for your kindness. "As a result, he was named the big landlord in Shanxi. This legend has been talked about by people so far. This little big landlord is famous far and wide, and anyone who comes to Wutai Mountain should go and enjoy it.

The Wuji Hall is divided into two floors, seven in the light, three in the dark, seven in the width and four in the depth. The roof of the main hall is double-eaves and rests on the mountain, and the four walls are made of blue bricks. Carved flowers on the outer eaves, and the carved algae wells are suspended in the air, which is like a covered flower treasure top. Three consecutive arches are juxtaposed, the left and right gables become the arch feet, and the rooms are connected by open arches. It is unique in shape, exquisitely carved and magnificent, which is unprecedented in China. The roof of the temple is made of square wood. The center of the main hall is dedicated to the bronze-cast Rushena Buddha, with a strange shape and Maitreya Buddha behind it. Monks in the Tang Dynasty wrote Hua Yan Shu in this hall. Liang Guoshi, whose real name is Cheng Guan, was a teacher of seven dynasties and nine emperors and spent four years in the temple. The temple is dedicated to the great bronze statue of Pilufo, which means that Buddhism is boundless and is called the "Infinite Hall". There are no beams, columns and corridors outside the hall, so people call it the hall without beams. There is a corridor on the inner wall of the temple, and there is a ladder to go up. You can see the whole temple anywhere in the corridor. This is a special building in Wutai Mountain Temple, and it is rare in China. There are seven pavilions on each floor in front of the Infinite Hall, and brick plaques are embedded in the pavilions. Some of them are called "Puguang Mingtang", some are called "Fa Bodhi Field", and some are called "Duoyuan Lost". It means that Sakyamuni Buddha's "Seven Places and Nine Meetings", that is, Sakyamuni only finished Hua Yan Jing in seven places and nine meetings. Therefore, the Wuji Hall is also called the July 9th Hall. Wuji Hall has high artistic value. From 1956 to 1957, the people's government allocated special funds to repair its original appearance.

Buddhist scripture hall, commonly known as Hougao Hall, now displays a variety of cultural relics such as pottery, wood, gold and stone, as well as calligraphy and painting. Wei Xiaowen's bronze gold-plated seal is engraved with the word "cool", saying that Wutai Mountain has a strong monsoon all year round, and all the monks gather 48 taels of gold to make this seal to stop the wind. Originally stored in Liang Qing Temple, Zhenfeng Seal was put together with Xielong Stone (also known as Liang Qingshi) taken by Manjusri Bodhisattva in Wang You, the East China Sea in myth and legend, which cooperated with each other to calm down the storm and save the people. The early cultural relics preserved here include the bronze-cast sandalwood Buddha in the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the stone-carved Guanyin Bodhisattva and the servant Bodhisattva in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Besides, the Tibetan Scriptures of Leifeng Pagoda printed during the Kaibao period in the Northern Song Dynasty, Horse and Bodhisattva painted by the couple in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty, Guan Yunchang painted by Shen Zhou in the Ming Dynasty and Eighteen Arhats painted by Ding in the Ming Dynasty are all precious materials for teachers to learn from China's ancient printing and painting. In the Qing Dynasty, the porcelain-burned statue of Ji Gong and the Suwu shepherd vase are vivid and radiant. Carved boy Guanyin Bodhisattva, bronze-cast Liu Hai Jin Chan and 48-arm Guanyin, as well as crystal towers, silver towers and various cloisonne vases, are exquisite and colorful, with a high level of craftsmanship. It is said that the iron bar used by Yang Wulang is five feet long and weighs 8 1 kg. Now it is also preserved in the temple. Especially worth mentioning is Huayan Amethyst Tower. The word tower is 10 foot long and 5 feet wide. It is made of white silk and yellow silk, with 80 volumes of Hua Yan Jing written on it, with 600043 words. Writing on silk is not surprising. Strangely, the pattern of a pagoda happened to be formed by a passage of scripture. Looking from a distance, it looks like a seven-level tower with meticulous paintings on silk. The tower is embedded with a pavilion of Buddha statues, with wind chimes hanging on the eaves, and flowers on both sides of the tower, which is very vivid. A closer look shows that every line of the original mosaic tower is arranged in fine print. The slender stems of the lotus, the ropes of the wind chimes and the eyebrows of the Buddha are all rows of fine print. It is difficult to see where the scripture began, and I don't know where the scripture was carved. It is done by Bita, and it is integrated. Huayan Amethyst Tower was written by Xu Dexin, a disciple of Suzhou Sanding during the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, which lasted for 12 years. Without careful design and tenacious perseverance, it is difficult to complete this frame of prayer tower. Picking up shells in the sea shows that Wutai Mountain has a long history of Buddhism and rich Buddhist cultural relics.

Before entering the Xiantong Temple, the first thing that appeared was a tall bell tower, with a stone cave on the lower floor and wooden buildings on the upper two floors. The lintel of the cave is engraved with the words "Great Enlightenment". As the name implies, it means that a long and deep bell can shock the senses of the world. The big bronze bell hangs on the bell tower of Xiantong Temple. This clock was cast in the forty-eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1620). It is 8 feet high, with a lotus petal-shaped edge, and weighs 1.5 Jin in nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. Why not cast it into ten thousand Jin? This is to avoid the word "Wan" of the emperor "Long live". This clock is called the ghost clock. There are Buddhist scriptures in regular script outside the clock, with more than 10 thousand words. Because the bell is long and spread far-reaching, people also call it a long bell, also known as a long-lived bell. This bronze bell is the largest bell in Wutai Mountain Temple. The bell has always been a symbol of the Sanskrit Buddhist kingdom in Wutai Mountain and has always been praised by people.