Disclaimer: I am not a Buddhist. Visit the ancient temples and appreciate the cultural relics and craftsmen of the ancients; Appreciate religious people who are devout but not pedantic. Tertullianus said, "Paradoxically, I believe it." . All photos in this article are taken by mobile phone in natural light, and the flash is turned off.
20 19 On the first day of the first month, I went to visit longxing temple (Big Buddha Temple) in the east corner of Zhengding in winter. Zhengding is a famous city in Hebei Province, famous for its "one city, four customs, two crossings, four towers, eight temples on the ninth floor". Historically, Zhengding, Baoding and Beijing are also called "the three major towns in the north". Longxing temple, built in the Sui Dynasty, is the first treasure in the city. Longxing temple has a close relationship with the royal families of past dynasties, which is in response to the saying that it is difficult to legislate because of disobedience to the sovereign.
Depart from Shijiazhuang and cross the Hutuo River. The tourist antique street in Zhengding City has been completed. At ten o'clock in the morning, at the intersection in front of Changle Gate (South Gate) in Zhengding City, the northbound traffic is congested. Go east around the city, come to the nearest parking lot to the ancient temple, get off and walk to the south gate ticket office. At eleven o'clock at noon, it was already a bustling crowd. This is the fourth time to visit this ancient temple. The first two times were students, and my memory has long been inaccurate. The last time was three years ago. Longxing temple was founded in the Song Dynasty. Except Shaanxi Province, there are many cultural relics before the Tang Dynasty in all parts of the country, and few cultural relics in the Song Dynasty can be left behind. From the perspective of visiting many places in China and some places of interest in the world, I still think that longxing temple is indeed an ancient temple with characteristics in China: Maitreya Buddha in China, primitive Maitreya Buddha, Guanyin sitting upside down, bronze Buddha with thousands of hands, prayer wheel, imperial inscription and double-faced Buddha. This includes: sculpture, painting, calligraphy, architecture, religion, literature and other artistic treasures.
Visiting on New Year's Day is purely a matter of time, and there is no intention of winning the first prize (of course, if there is one, it will not be rejected). In addition, I just finished reading a book: What the Buddha said. Armed with a little basic knowledge, you will have a slightly solid theoretical foundation when you enter the temple: you can let go of any concerns about whether to burn incense and worship Buddha, whether to abide by any rules, appreciate cultural relics and wonderful Buddhist art, and of course, the civilized contract of modern society should be observed: civilized sightseeing, no littering, stop smoking when you see it, and don't shoot cultural relics with flash lights.
Zhengding is located on the plain at the southern foot of Gyeonggi. There is no mountain gate in quaint longxing temple, but there are zhaobi and three-way single-hole stone bridges in front of Little Square. Entering the temple is also simple and direct. When you cross a threshold, you will enter a clean world: the Temple of the King. In the center of the hall, there is a wooden statue of Maitreya in the Jin Dynasty (I forgot to take a picture), welcoming tourists with a smile. The image of this statue originated from a monk in Lin Yue Temple in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province during the Five Dynasties Hou Liang period. He thought it was a contract. Before he died, he wrote down a "warning": Maitreya Buddha is a real Maitreya Buddha, with hundreds of billions of members, which always shows the world, but people just don't know it. This chubby Maitreya Buddha is actually the China version of this Buddha. Du Niang said, "Maitreya Buddha, whose name is translated as cishi, is the fifth Buddha robbed by sages after Sakyamuni Buddha." . "There are four statues of heavenly kings on both sides of Maitreya (I forgot to take pictures), all of which were supplemented by Zhengding local artists 1982. I remember when I first came here, I seemed to have a little impression of the statues of the four heavenly kings. There is also a wooden Maitreya statue in the Cishi Pavilion behind, which is more inclined to the original Indian version.
Walking out of Tianwang Temple, I saw the ruins of the Sixth Division Hall of Dajue, with an area of about 1.800 square meters. Founded in the Yuanfeng period of Song Shenzong, it was successively built in the Jin, Yuan and Qing Dynasties. It collapsed in the early years of the Republic of China. This site has not been restored, and there may be no information; Inadvertently, it also gave this ancient temple a sense of vicissitudes, and the empty ruins echoed the buildings behind it. When I was a child, there was a photo on the platform. This site is bigger than Mani Palace, and it is conceivable that there are many rare Buddhist works in it.
To the north of the ruins of Dajue Liufutang is the Mani Palace. The total area is 1400 square meters. The top of the main hall is a cross-shaped layout (see the network diagram below), with (middle 4) eaves (swallow 2) tops and (Xie 1) tops. The scale of this building is only one step lower than that of the royal family and the Confucius Temple. The green tiles correspond to the yellow tiles of the Forbidden City and the Imperial Monument Pavilion.
Under the luxurious roof, there is a statue of Sakyamuni in the center of Mani Palace. Comparing the Buddha statues in longxing temple's brochures, we can see that they are just gilded (the so-called local gold is loved by everyone).
After the couplet of Mani Palace is converted into simplified Chinese characters, it is: What is the reason for hallucination, but it is a yearning for life and has nothing to do with yourself. There is a picture in the forest, and only with your heart can you know the color is empty. Translated into vernacular Chinese: "All phenomena in the world are illusory because we think differently." If you realize the illusion from the heart, then naturally you will not be obsessed with the communication between life and death. "I feel quite idealistic, which coincides with the basic doctrine of' all dharma circles are original' in the original Buddhist scriptures (the other is' samsara'). There is an easy-to-understand detailed introduction in Buddha's Theory. " That is, "color is empty" and "nothing if you don't go" are also double negation in the standard Buddhist scriptures. For example, Ba Shu, a Buddhist monk, doesn't know: "It's either life or death, very, very. There is no difference, no difference, no coming or going. " The specific meaning of these two sentences depends on Mahayana Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism. My first feeling as a Buddhist lay is: "Don't be confused by all kinds of illusions (concrete images), don't think too much." Associated with this statue and mural, in fact, simple and primitive Buddhism thinks that these are illusions: the statue is the empty shell of the earth, and the mural is just a mosaic of some colors. What really works for Buddhists is practice. Why is the Buddha gilded? Why are murals painted so beautifully? There is also a very apt expression in what Buddha said: "People really don't care what religious theory is." In order to make the people accept it, we must first make intellectuals of different dynasties and generations accept this religion. Then intellectuals actually pay more attention to the reliability of this religious logic and the commitment to special requirements such as the afterlife. With solid theory and logic, the "gorgeous Buddha statue" has a foundation. The temple is actually for the public to see, and the illusion is more important. You should go in first. Only in this way can we have the treasures of various religious arts such as longxing temple Mani Palace.
Manjusri and Pu Xian are the two major threats to Buddhism, Manjusri is left, and the main and auxiliary are wisdom and virtue; Pu Xian and other rights, the main Shi Shide. Du Niang said: "Manjusri Bodhisattva holds the best wishes, which means it is said to be the best; Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, holding a lotus flower, means that the behavior is not polluted, or holding a generous and broad Buddha Huayan Sutra, indicating the boundless solemnity of the dharma world. " Both are Brahma names from India, and the names after sinicization: one is wisdom and the other is virtue, and they are also deeply rooted in people's hearts. Similar to modern scientific and technological products, localization is a necessary and unstoppable trend.
There are murals of the Ming Dynasty on several walls of the main hall, which are very beautiful. In the slightly dim hall, it is also colorful and feminine. Associated with the news that many ancient statues have been forcibly renovated recently, the result is very disharmonious and even ugly. Lu Bo's book "The Secret Corner of Beijing" also mentioned fahai temple at the entrance of Shijingshan Model in western Beijing. The mural of Amin Dynasty 600 years ago was renovated and opened on 20 16. You can also go and have a look when you are free.
After enjoying the wooden structure, murals and statues in the front hall, we came to the back hall with colorful hanging mountain reliefs. An inverted Guanyin sits in the middle of the relief. This is also a treasure of longxing temple. Lu Xun saw his photos and said that many sculptures deified people, while Guanyin deified people. Life-oriented sitting posture and expression are very comfortable. It's really hard to see this style of bodhisattva illusion in temples in China.
Walking out of the Mani Palace, I saw a memorial archway with the words "wonderful and solemn domain" written on the horizontal eyebrow. Liang Sicheng suspected that this archway had Song and Jin styles in Zhengding investigation. "The eaves are far-reaching, very simple and solemn." Behind Mani Palace is an altar of abstinence, with dragons and phoenixes in front of it. On both sides of the altar are the pavilion of refined seal and the pavilion of secretariat.
"Golden rope feels the Tao" comes from a sentence in Li Bai's poem "Spring Return to Mountain Residence to Send Meng Haoran": "The golden rope clears the way, and the treasure raft loses its way." The vernacular is: "Gold is the rope to show enlightenment, crossing the river by treasure raft." The scene of the golden rope in the altar is the commandment. The altars in longxing temple are as famous as Wutai Mountain in the north. Hebei Museum "walked into Dunhuang" during the Spring Festival. A Dunhuang mural showed a panoramic view of ancient Shanxi and Hebei, including Wutai Dojo and Zhengding Ancient City.
The altar is dedicated to the double-sided Buddha statue, with Amitabha Buddha in the south (characterized by soapbox-shaped hands folded; The original wish was to create the oriental pure glass world, and there was a pharmacist Buddha in the north (the original wish was the oriental glass world).
On the left side of the ring altar is the wheel sutra depository, which contains the wooden rotatable sutra depository of the Song Dynasty. One turn can be equivalent to reading as many books as possible. It seems that the ancients also used machines to solve repetitive work masterpieces in spiritual beliefs. Laziness is the real motive force for the progress of human civilization.
On the right side of the annular altar is Cishi Pavilion. (Post Du Niang's explanation again: Maitreya Buddha, the Sanskrit Buddha's name, translated as cishi, lives in the inner courtyard of Doulu Tiannei, and is a Buddha who lives in longevity. In the future, when his life span is reduced to 80,000 years old, he will be born in this world and become the fifth Buddha robbed by sages after Sakyamuni Buddha. Maitreya has not yet become a Buddha. This also explains the origin of the pavilion name. The statue of Maitreya in the pavilion is 7.4 meters high, which was carved by wood alone in the Song Dynasty. This Maitreya corresponds to the Maitreya statue of China in Tianwang Temple. According to the Buddhist scriptures, it is also called the future Buddha. After the death of Sakyamuni, he was preparing to take over as a successor.
Continue to walk into the Great Compassion Pavilion, where the bronze statue of Guanyin with a thousand hands is one of the "Four Treasures of the Study in Hebei". Du Niang said: Samadhi is Samadhi, which is literally translated in Sanskrit as: oneness/oneness. Meaning: consciousness is combined and bound together. Old translation: Samadhi, Ding. Here is a typical example of the sinicization of Buddhism: break down the transliterated words and add a wonderful word in the middle, which is unique. The Buddha statue was cast according to the laws of Zhao Kuangyin, and its height is 2 1.3 meters (more than 70 feet high). 2 1.3 meters is equivalent to the height of seven floors. You can't feel this height unless you are on the scene. The first three meters (first floor). More than 42 weapons holding documents are made of wood, and the original copper is suspected to have been sawed off by guards. The legend of the tour guide tells that in order to cultivate this Buddha, 3,000 soldiers were sent to Zhengding (then called Zhengding). The craftsman came up with a clever way to hoard a large mound for copper smelting and watering. This mound extends for three miles to a place in the city, which is named Sanlitun. Some stories are obviously similar to folklore, so I won't go into details. Du Niang said that the word "Bodhi" is a transliteration of Sanskrit Bodhi, meaning enlightenment and wisdom. It refers to a person who suddenly wakes up, suddenly realizes, breaks into enlightenment, suddenly realizes and reaches beyond the realm. Bodhi is a great enlightenment, with a clear mind and a clear understanding of nature, which proves the final bright self, that is, reaching the realm of nirvana. Nirvana is the end of life for ordinary people, and it is actually the achievement of supreme bodhi.
At the end of longxing temple is the Pilu Hall. Although the bronze statue enshrined in it is not very high, its shape is very rare. It consists of three layers of lotus seats and three layers of Buddha statues. There are 1000 small Buddha statues engraved on the Lotus Tower on the third floor, with a total of *** 1072.
When you go to the northernmost part of the ancient temple, you come to the modern repair area, which is actually a dog's tail and a mink. It's no different from ordinary parks. You can pass by. Of course, it is also possible to be wrong about the designer. The treasure I saw before is also the accumulation of 1000 years.
Buddhism is a foreign religion. The proud China culture accepted it, mainly because the primitive teachings of Buddhism contained complex logical reasoning, and intellectuals had fun (for example, many famous people in ancient China (Su Dongpo, Bai Juyi, etc. ) is a believer in a certain Sect of Buddhism. It was assimilated in the process of China's integration with Taoism and Confucianism, forming the localization of Buddhism, and even its own branch (such as Zen) spread all over the world. To put it far-fetched, Mr. Qiao is a Zen lover. Many modern products actually have traces of faith. Only with faith can we build a thousand-year-old temple. Although believers don't know the subtle explanation and logical reasoning, it doesn't prevent everyone from burning incense and worshipping Buddha and quickly reaching a deal with the gods (if any) (bless their families and themselves). "So-and-so has faith, so-and-so has hope" is also a modern practical slogan.
Scott Wang
Disclaimer: I am not a Buddhist. Visit the ancient temples and appreciate the cultural relics and craftsmen of the ancients; Appreciate religious people who are devout but not pedantic. Tertullianus said, "Paradoxically, I believe it." . All photos in this article are taken by mobile phone in natural light, and the flash is turned off.
Reference:
-"longxing temple" China Cultural Relics Series, Cultural Relics Publishing House, edited by Zhengding County Cultural Relics Protection Institute, first edition in July, 1992.
-Baidu Encyclopedia: Send Meng Haoran back to the mountain in spring: /i/303080 1.html
-/I/8094484. html Zhengding longxing temple and Four Pagodas, big wooden works in Song Dynasty.
-/question/382724721.html Translation of Mani Palace Monument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin
Some online references are posted below (copyright belongs to the original author):