Buddhism is a foreign religion in Chinese history and was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. Because Buddhist teachings are incisive and vivid, approachable and highly complementary to reality, they have been recognized by the lower class and praised by the upper ruling class, and gradually developed into the most widespread and influential religion in Chinese history.
Buddhism originated in India in the fifth century BC and was founded by Sakyamuni in ancient India. The basic teachings are: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Twelve Causes and Conditions. Practice the three studies: precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and advocate the Tripitaka: sutras, laws, and treatises. He advocates karma and retribution, the reincarnation of three lives, pursues purity and rebirth, calms down the mind and desires, and ultimately achieves the goal of eliminating worries and becoming a Buddha.
Although Buddhism is ethereal, its existence must be expressed through material forms. Buddha statues need a place to stay, and monks and nuns need a place to stay. Buddhist architecture flourished with the spread of Buddhism and became an important part of ancient Chinese architecture. It enriched China's original architectural forms and was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese Feng Shui culture. .
A very significant feature of my country’s traditional architectural culture is that various construction activities, whether they are cities, villages, settlements, palaces, gardens, temples, mausoleums, or even roads, bridges, etc., from site selection to , planning, design and construction are almost all deeply influenced by the so-called Feng Shui theory.
The word "Feng Shui" first appeared in "The Book of Burial" (also known as "The Book of Burial") written by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty (AD 276~324): "The person who is buried, takes the It is also called Qi. The scriptures say: Qi will disperse when it rides on the wind, and it will stop when it is bounded by water. The ancients gathered it to keep it from spreading, and when it moved, it stopped, so it is called Feng Shui. The Feng Shui mentioned here refers to the principle of burial in the Yin House. .
Chinese Feng Shui is a unique expression of Chinese architectural culture. It has a long history and is a synthesis of ancient simple environmental science, ecology, psychology, and aesthetic art. Western scholars have said that Chinese Feng Shui is the art of harmonizing the living and the dead with the earth's atmosphere in the universe.
In China, Feng Shui has always been called an art of seeking "life". Feng Shui experts further explain what "anger" means: "After the spring breeze blows, the flowers and trees naturally appear to be thriving" - this is the so-called "anger".
Then the definition of "anger" can be understood in this way: Any natural phenomenon in the universe that is new and strong, and the opposite of vitality and desolation is called "anger". All theories of Feng Shui basically revolve around "qi".
When it comes to "qi", it is inseparable from shape, which means shape, topography, and environmental conditions. Form and potential condense Qi, form is the basis of Qi, Qi is the stagnation of shape, form is the surface of Qi, and Qi is the body of form. Therefore, ancient Feng Shui has two major theoretical schools: Shape Sect and Liqi Sect.
Both schools have their own preferences, but the ultimate goal is the same: to make humans and nature harmonious, humans adapt to nature, nature is used by humans, and nature takes its course, so as to achieve the "unity of nature and man" Sublime realm.
Site selection
There are many famous mountain monks in the world. Historically, Buddhist temples have been mostly built in places with beautiful mountains and clear waters and excellent Feng Shui. Most of these places are "surrounded by screens, with clear green forests and springs", "the houses are quiet but obstructed, and the ground corridors are hidden". Although this pursuit is related to the meditation teachings pursued by Buddhism and the survival needs of Buddhists, it is also inseparable from the subtle conceptual influence of Feng Shui.
Buddhism often uses Feng Shui to determine temple sites. The methods of finding dragons, observing sand, observing water, tapping acupoints, and four spirit animals are just like secular buildings. Almost every Buddhist temple chronicle has a detailed description of the "feng shui style" of the mountain behind the temple.
But Buddhist architecture is also different from secular architecture, especially the Feng Shui theory about Yin House and Yang House. In Feng Shui theory, living people live in Yang Zhai, such as houses and palaces, while dead people live in Yin Zhai, such as mausoleums and ancestral halls.
The front hall of the Buddhist temple (Shanmen-Tianwang Hall-Daxiong Hall) has a strong sacrificial nature. According to traditional Chinese concepts, it is considered to be empty, spiritual, and heavy in yin.
The standard layout in front of the Main Hall is a small pagoda or sutra building, which originally housed the bones of the Buddha. Therefore, the atmosphere of the buildings in front of the Main Hall is Yin, and can be considered a Yin house.
The Sutra Collection Hall, monk’s room, kitchen room, and warehouse in the backyard belong to Yangzhai because they are living places. Therefore, a holistic temple is a place with a neutral and partial yin atmosphere where yin and yang merge into one.
The location selection of Buddhist temples also has another characteristic that is completely different from secular buildings: they do not avoid shapes, such as cliffs, strange rocks, mountain tops, etc., which are places where people avoid living, but Buddhist temples do not. Dare to choose to build in these terrible places, such as the Hanging Temple in Hunyuan Hengshan Mountain in Shanxi Province, which stands precariously on the cliff, forming a spectacle and reflecting the particularity of the site selection of temple buildings.
In Feng Shui, the temple itself is a "preservation object", which is believed to be able to suppress evil spirits. This is very different from residential buildings. The site of the temple should either be a geomantic treasure, or a place with evil spirits to transform the evil spirits into special auspiciousness.
Feng Shui is based on Yili and believes that things have no absolute advantage. There is no "Jedi" in the world that cannot be solved, and all advantages and disadvantages can be transformed. The extremes of things are the opposite, and after transformation, extremely bad places can be transformed into excellent places. This is different from secular residential buildings.
Orientation
China is located in the middle and low latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Determined by this geographical and natural environment, houses facing south can enjoy the sunshine from the wind in winter and the wind in summer, so China The houses are basically facing south.
The correctness of the orientation was a very important matter in ancient times. Kanyu experts in the past dynasties paid more attention to the orientation of buildings. "Guan's Geography Guide" said: "At the beginning of the divination by the yellow bell, the camp is in the direction of yin and yang, so the right to distinguish the light and the heavy... The living person faces south. The dead person's head is in the north." He also said: "The two things about the divination camp, one is the mountain, the other is the direction, which is the most important thing in Kanyu family." They believe that the direction of the building should be in harmony with the yin and yang of the universe.
The orientation of traditional Chinese architecture is very particular and delicate. "The emperor stands facing the sun and governs toward the bright." Therefore, major royal buildings such as palaces and government offices of prefectures and counties are generally oriented due south, and their status is The four positive directions can also be used in the palaces where more respected gods, saints or gods with high moral cultivation live.
For example, the Mahavira Hall in Buddhism, the Sanqing Hall and the Jade Emperor Hall in Taoist temples, and the Dacheng Hall in the Confucian Temple Academy are often oriented in the four directions of southeast, northwest, and southeast (Dacheng Hall is often oriented south). That is, the direction of Ziwu and Maoyou.
Ordinary people's houses are not allowed to face the four positive directions, but are usually oriented in directions other than the four positive directions based on the 24-point compass, and the directions between the two points are often used as houses. Orientation, that is, oriented with "needle". Otherwise, it is considered that the evil spirit is too strong and psychologically unbearable.
In Buddhist architecture, except for high-level buildings such as the Main Hall, other secondary halls dedicated to the Four Heavenly Kings, Maitreya Buddha, etc. must not be facing upright.
Layout
Feng Shui believes that the main hall should be tall and the side halls should be small, otherwise it is called bullying the master. However, in the layout of temples, all temples, temples and nunneries should be dominated by the main hall, and the main hall should be small. The practice of keeping it high, and keeping it low in the front, back, left, and right, intentionally or unintentionally coincides with the requirements of Feng Shui.
After the Ming Dynasty, the status of Buddhist temples in temples became increasingly prominent, which is related to the fact that Feng Shui advocates that Buddhist temples should be the mainstay and should be tall. In addition, Feng Shui also stipulates the method of opening the door of the temple: "Also according to the "Bazhai Zhou Shu", the main entrance can be opened by the Buddha gate, Gen Zhen, Xun Li, Kun Dui Qishan, but the Qianshan one, Chen, Xun and Si. Do not open the main door to the direction, or open the door from the second position of the blue dragon head, or open the door from the white tiger head, which is called the Fude Gate, which is the most auspicious. "
In the concept of Feng Shui, in order to ensure the smooth flow of "qi", "Door direction" and "air port" are closely related, that is, the door direction should always face the "air port". The so-called "Qikou" refers to the opening or depression in the mountains in front of the temple. According to Feng Shui, it is this place that is the hope of a temple.
In order to pursue this hope, the most convenient and common method is to deflect the door to face this opening.
For example, the ancient Jingtai Temple in Jiuhua Mountain, Anhui Province, is backed by Tiantai Peak, with Eagle Peak on the left, Golden Turtle Peak on the right, and Guanyin Peak in front. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides. There is only a narrow valley mouth between Guanyin Peak and Golden Turtle Peak. Due to the terrain, The plane of the temple is long and narrow and its orientation cannot face the mouth of the valley, so the temple door is tilted towards the mouth of the valley according to the "Feng Shui" theory. This also shows the strong impact and penetration of Feng Shui on Buddhism.
Although Buddhist teachings do not attach much importance to Yili Feng Shui, they believe that all external conditions depend on the heart of the practitioner. There is a famous saying in Buddhism: "There is no hole in the world, the hole is in my heart." However, Buddhist saints still put a lot of effort into the feng shui of temples. In return, feng shui also creates beautiful and touching landscapes and living environments for Buddhism.