The famous Longshan Hot Spring
There is also the Longshan Guoen Temple, the hometown of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng
The following is an introduction:
Guoen Temple En Temple is located at the foothills of Longshan Mountain in Chengxing Town, Xinxing County, Yunfu City, Guangdong Province (now Liuzu Town). It is about 70 kilometers away from the famous tourist city of Zhaoqing and about 170 kilometers away from the southern metropolis Guangzhou. Guoen Temple is a famous Lingnan temple with a long history. It is backed by green mountains and faces Luxi Wilderness. It is surrounded by lush forests, distant mountains, birds singing and flowers fragrant, and the environment is quiet. The poet monk Xinru of the Ming Dynasty wrote a couplet praising:
A hundred cities with unparalleled smoke and water
The wind flags of the Six Dynasties since one day
This couplet is engraved on the temple The main entrance, with just 14 words, praises the extremely beautiful local scenery, praises the outstanding achievements of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, and sets off the supreme Buddhist artistic conception.
Longshan, where Guoen Temple is located, is called "Kasuka Ridge" according to "Zhaoqing Prefecture. Yu Di". There are three peaks on the ridge, which are called "Sanbaoding". The "top" winds down, shaped like a swimming dragon. Guoen Temple is built on the "dragon head" with an altitude of 164 meters, so it is also called "Longshan Temple". Longshan, the mountain is not high but the scenery is beautiful; at the foot of the mountain is the Luxi River, the water is not deep but clear and clear. The beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers surrounds Guoen Temple. There is a poem praising it:
Longshan's smoke and water accompany the morning glow, the first sanctuary in Lingnan.
The woodcutter who sold firewood was born here, and the Nanzong Dun religion spread throughout the world.
Meng Hui, the governor of Xinxing County in the seventh year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty, also loved to visit Longshan. His poem "Wandering to Longshan" is now recorded:
I heard that the scenery of Longshan is the most secluded, and the white clouds are deep. Lingdongtou.
The peaks and mountains are endlessly interesting when entering the sun, and the flowers and birds welcome you, which is a grand tour.
If you forget your chance and return it to yourself, who will you be doing today?
I have been looking at the ancient temple with ruined monuments for a long time. Why not think about it when the moon fills the building?
Guoen Temple is not comparable to ordinary temples. It is the former residence of Huineng, the founder of Zen Buddhism, the ancestor of the Southern Zen School of Chinese Buddhism, and the world-famous thinker and philosopher. It is also the dojo where he preached Buddhism in his later years and the place where he passed away. , and it is also the place where the "Altar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Treasure" was compiled. In addition, the name of the temple was given by Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Guoen Temple is famous at home and abroad. Now known as Guangxiao Temple) and Shaozhou Baolin Temple (now known as Nanhua Temple), which has accepted disciples and propagated Buddhism for more than 30 years, are known as the three ancestral temples of Southern Zen, and are also known as "the first Zen sanctuary in Lingnan".
In the Tang Dynasty, it was a custom for eminent monks to build their former residences into temples. Therefore, Huineng’s master Hongren and his senior brother Shenxiu both built their former residences into temples. Huineng repaid his parents' kindness. When he was preaching Buddhism at Baolin Temple, in the first year of Emperor Gaozong's Hongdao reign (683), he also ordered his disciples to return to Longshan, Xinzhou (now Xinxing County) to rebuild his former residence into "Bao'en Temple". On November 18, the third year of Shenlong (707), Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, in order to commend the Sixth Patriarch Huineng for his contribution to promoting Buddhism, gave "Baoen Temple" the name "Guoen Temple". This was the beginning of the naming of Guoen Temple. To this day, It has a history of nearly 1,300 years. On the eighth day of July in the second year of the Tang Dynasty (713), Huineng led his disciples to leave Faquan Temple (i.e. Baolin Temple, now Nanhua Temple) and returned to Guoen Temple to be the abbot. He passed away in the temple on the third day of August of the same year. On November 13 of that year, the Sixth Patriarch's true body was moved back to Caoxi Faquan Temple for worship. Chairman Mao Zedong spoke highly of the contribution of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng to Buddhist thought and considered him to be the true founder of the Sinicization of Buddhism and the ancestor of Chinese Buddhism. Huineng and his "Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra" have had a profound influence in China and even the world. The "Altar Sutra" contains rich Buddhist Zen thoughts and philosophy, and is the most precious treasure of mankind. It is known as Translated into many languages ??and spread throughout the world. Therefore, some foreign institutions and media have listed Huineng as "one of the top ten thinkers in the world", and respected him, Confucius and Laozi as the "three great saints of Eastern culture". The sixth ancestor Huineng was born in poverty and had a difficult time growing up. His ancestral home is In Fanyang, Hebei, his father Xing Wangbao was demoted and exiled to Xinzhou to serve as a citizen. Huineng lost his father when he was three years old, and he and his mother struggled to survive. At the age of 24, he went north to Huangmei to seek Dharma. After eight months of hard work in a dormitory, he became a Buddhist monk. The philosophy of the Void of Nature says, “Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the beginning, so how can it cause dust. "This poem of instruction won the appreciation of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, who gave him the mantle and mantle, and became the sixth generation ancestor of Zen. Since then, it has created a new situation in Chinese Buddhist culture and philosophical thought. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng accepted disciples at Baolin Temple in Caoxi After preaching the Dharma for 36 years, he returned to Guoen Temple on the eighth day of July in 713, and passed away in the temple on the third day of August. He was 76 years old.
Guoen Temple is built on the mountain, with rows of palaces and palaces. The building complex has traditional temple architectural art and unique Lingnan style. The temple buildings cover a total area of ??more than 16,000 square meters and the garden area is 120 acres. The temple has carved beams and painted buildings, simple and elegant shapes, and unique shapes. Spectacular, the overall layout of the temple is generous and decent.
In front of the temple, there are the main archway of the mountain gate, the half-mountain pavilion, the mirror pond, the lotus pond, the pearl pavilion, the freeing pond, and the first mountain gate archway;
In the temple there are the Tianwang Hall, the Main Hall, the Sixth Patriarch The three halls in front and back are connected to form the main axis. On the left and right sides are Ksitigarbha Hall, Bodhidharma Hall, Manjusri and Samantabhadra Hall, Mahasthamaprapta Hall, four side halls, bell and drum towers, abbot's room, guest hall, dining hall, Zen room, and Buddhist scriptures. Pavilion and the Memorial Hall of the Sixth Patriarch;
On the left side of the temple there are the Pagoda of Repayment, Guanyin Hall, Gongde Hall, and Yuantong Hall;
On the right side of the temple there are the graves of the Sixth Patriarch and the Yicui Pavilion. , Jingxin Pavilion, Homesickness Pavilion, Bathing Pool and Mingquan Pavilion;
There is Zhuoxi Spring behind the temple.
When entering the temple area, the first thing you see is a majestic and solemn mountain gate archway with four pillars. On the top of the front of the archway, in the middle, there are four characters "Zen Sanctuary" engraved, and on the large pillars on both sides of the main entrance, There is a couplet:
White Rice Blessed Fields, All Good Things Transform into Heaven
Huangmei Dharma Milk, All Living Beings Return to the South of the Ridge
On the top of the back of the archway, there is an inscription in the middle. There are four big characters "Longshan Blessed Land", and a couplet is engraved on the big pillars on both sides:
Bodhi treeless east soil has a destiny to spread good seeds
The mirror is not a Tainan Tianliu verse. Antecedent
Walking up the mountain through the archway, there is a half-mountain pavilion not far away. There is a couplet on the pavilion pillar that says:
The clear sound of the chime makes the mountain white and the moon is white
Wisdom lanterns illuminate the sea and the sky
After walking through the pavilion halfway up the mountain, looking to the lower left, there are a mirror pool and a lotus pool. There is a Pearl Pavilion built in the mirror pool. The word "Zhu Pavilion" was inscribed by the eminent monk Yun Feng. On both sides of the pool, there are Jiuqu Bridge and Zhu Pavilion connected.
There is a second-level platform built in front of the main entrance of the temple. On the stone wall of the platform are written four powerful characters "Buddha's light shines everywhere" written by Zhao Puchu, the president of the Chinese Buddhist Association before his death. There is also a life-release pond in front of the temple.
Before entering the temple, you must first step into a side entrance archway. This archway is called the "No. 1 Shanmen Archway". The archway was built in the 46th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1618), with the inscription "No. 1 Di" Three big characters. There is a ceramic sculpture of Dragon and Tiger Hui on the forehead of the archway, 1.2 meters long and 0.5 meters wide. The dragon and the tiger are leaping, vivid, exquisite in craftsmanship and ingenious in conception. It is a precious cultural relic. On both sides of the main entrance of the archway, there is a couplet engraved:
As you progress, you will know the number one in the mountain
The first time you enter, you will realize that the earth is unparalleled
The first person to advance on the central axis of the temple is the king of heaven On the top of the main entrance of the temple, there is a plaque with the words "Edict to Guoen Temple", which was given by Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty when he conferred "Baoen Temple" as "Guoen Temple". During the "Cultural Revolution", in order to protect the plaque from damage, someone shoveled away the imperial seal and sealed the words with mud. Therefore, the plaque we see now lacks the imperial seal. On both sides of the hall are the statues of the four heavenly kings. To the east are the kings of Duowen and Guangmu; to the west are the kings of growth and kings of state. All of them are tall and mighty. Buddhism believes that they guard the world in all directions and protect the long history of Buddhism. In the middle of the hall, the Maitreya Buddha statue is enshrined. The statue has a kind smile on its face, a respectable and approachable expression, and its sculpture work is very fine. It is said that the Maitreya Buddha statue was modeled after the appearance of the Budai monk (whose Buddhist name is "Changtingzi") from Yuelin Temple in Fenghua County, Zhejiang during the Five Dynasties. Because Budai monk claimed to be the reincarnation of the "Future Buddha Maitreya", people in Zhejiang built a memorial statue for him and worshiped Maitreya Buddha. On the back of Maitreya Buddha is the statue of Wei Tuo, the protector of the law.
The second entrance to the temple is the Main Hall. On the Danchi of the hall are five large turtle-carrying white marble tablets, each with an inscription engraved on it. The center block is engraved with the imperial edict given to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng by Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty in the first year of Long Live Tongtian (696); the first block on the right is the "Stele of the Sixth Patriarch of Caoxi Conferring the Posthumous title of Dajian Zen Master" written by Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty; The second one on the right is engraved with "The Sixth Patriarch Neng Chan Master's Stele" written by Wang Wei of Tang Dynasty; the first one on the left is engraved with "The Second Stele of Caoxi Sixth Patriarch Dajian Zen Master" written by Tang Liu Yuxi; the second one on the left is engraved on it. It was also written by Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty, and the inscription is called "Buddha's Clothing Inscription". In the middle of the main hall, Sakyamuni Buddha is enshrined, with Medicine Buddha on the left, Amitabha on the right, and twenty Arhats on both sides. In Chinese Buddhist temples, there are usually sixteen or eighteen Arhats enshrined on both sides of the Main Hall. Why are there twenty here? According to legend, Huineng's disciples Fahai and Shenhui sacrificed their lives to protect the manuscript of the "Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra" that was set on fire by evil spirits and stored in the sutra-recording hall. He was burned, but the manuscript was saved, so he was revered by all his disciples. , unanimously respectfully called them Dharma Protector Arhats, and enshrined their Dharma images on both sides of the Mahavira Hall, so there were two more Arhats. The twenty Arhats have different expressions. Some are carrying scriptures, some are holding Zen staffs or whisks, and some are holding silver rats tightly. They are all lifelike. On both sides of the Three Treasures Buddha statues in the Main Hall, there is a unique couplet written by Yao Yongning, the then governor of Xingxing in the 35th year of Qianlong's reign (1770):
Chao Chao Chao Chao Chao Chao Chao Chao Jing
Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi Qi Jie Qi Qi Qi Jie
"Chao" and "Qi" in the couplet are double-syllable and double-meaning words. Among them, the 3rd and 9th characters "Chao" in the first line are pronounced as the "Chao" sound of "Chai", and the rest are pronounced as the "Chao" sound of "Chaoyang"; the 3rd and 9th characters "Qi" in the second line are pronounced as "Chao" It is pronounced as the "Zhai" sound of "Zhai", and the rest are pronounced as the "Qi" sound of "Yiqi". The sentence fragments and metaphorical meaning of its reading are:
Chao Chao Chao, Chao Chao, Chao Chao, Chao Chao;
Qi Qi Zhai, Qi Qi fast, Qi Qi fast.
In ancient times, the two words "Qi" and "Zhai" were used interchangeably.
The large pillars in the hall are also engraved with a couplet inscribed by Zhao Baqing of the Qing Dynasty:
Color is not color, emptiness is not emptiness, and the Buddha's country is destined to enter from now on
Those who come here People coming and going are not required to close the Zen Gate
The third entrance to the temple is the Sixth Ancestor Hall, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. It has a double-eaves roof structure, 14 meters wide and 12 meters deep. A couplet is engraved on the big pillar in the hall:
The true version of Bodhi without any object
The clear mirror is not a stand and the color is empty
The hall enshrines the seated statue of the Sixth Patriarch in golden body and cassock. , this statue has the same shape as the statues of the Sixth Patriarch in Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan and Liurong Temple in Guangzhou. It was made by Fang Bian, a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch and a sculptor, so the shape is very lifelike, just like the physical Bodhisattva. There is a plaque on the top of the seated statue that reads "Buddha's Heart Seal", with couplets on both sides saying:
No thoughts, no forms, no abiding
Neither birth nor destruction nor transfer
Beside the statue of the Sixth Patriarch, there is also a statue of the "Seventh Patriarch with Black Face". The Seventh Patriarch's dharma name is "Shenhui" and he is the Sixth Patriarch's capable disciple. It is said that he made outstanding contributions to regaining and maintaining the legal status of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, and was therefore named the "Seventh Patriarch" by Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. His face is black, and it is said that he was burned black because he was protecting the manuscript of the "Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra" that was set on fire by evil spirits.
In the Sixth Patriarch Hall, there are originally Hui Neng’s bowls and utensils, as well as the golden hairpins and palace lanterns given to him by Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, as well as precious cultural relics in the temple such as the water purification bowl, the Taoyuan stone seal, the copper incense burner, and the leading desk chair. , it was a pity that it was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution".
Zou Hao, who served as Zuo Sijian and Minister of Civil Affairs during the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty, left behind a poem called "A Visit to the Sixth Patriarch":
Xinzhou outside the mountains is a miasma town, and I am here The shade of the Buddha ground is cool and refreshing.
Clouds appear above the cassock stone, and there is sunlight beside the bathing pool.
The wind is whirling along the soft branches of the trees, and the birds are singing loudly as they enter the mountains.
Looking towards the sky across Chang'an Road, and purifying your mortal mind to pay homage to the Dharma King.
Qiu Jun, a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion and Prince Shaobao of the Ming Dynasty, also left a poem "Jie Moo" praising the Sixth Patriarch:
Buddhism always came to China from Lingnan.
The thousand-year mantle is here, and people come from all over the world to take part in it.
On the left side of the Sixth Patriarch Hall is the Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall. It was built in 1994. It is a four-column hall-style glazed tile cement structure with an area of ??200 square meters. In the center of the hall is a two-meter-high white marble sculpture of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. , hanging on the shrine is a "Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall" horizontal plaque inscribed by Ye Xuanping, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and on both sides hangs a large carved wooden couplet handwritten by Master Hailing Yuanzhan, which reads:
< p>All appearances are falseThere should be no place to live but the mind
Twelve paintings by Lao Chongpin, a researcher at the Ministry of Culture and a well-known painter, are hung on the walls. Oil painting of historical stories of the Sixth Patriarch. Above the gate of the hall hangs a mahogany plaque of "Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall" inscribed by Zhao Puchu, the late president of the Buddhist Association of China, before his death.
There is a flower stand between the three main halls of Guoen Temple and the auxiliary halls. There are flowers and trees such as bodhi, osmanthus, Milan, mango, peach, holly and frangipani trees. They are lush all year round. The leaves are lush and lush, and when the flowers bloom, the temple is filled with fragrance. Particularly eye-catching are the two frangipani trees with a height of 8 meters and a crown diameter of about 6 meters planted on the large flower stand in front of the Main Hall. According to records, the tree was planted by monks from Guoen Temple in the Qing Dynasty and is more than 300 years old. In summer and autumn, green leaves are whirling, yellow flowers bloom, and the fragrance is refreshing, which is unique to the Lingnan jungle.
Guoen Temple also preserves many sacred relics of the Sixth Patriarch Yinghua, including the Pagoda of Baoen, the hand-planted lychee tree of the Sixth Patriarch, the tomb of the Sixth Grandparents, Zhuoxi Spring and Bathing Pool. The original Baoen Pagoda was built by the Sixth Patriarch in the first year of Taiji in the Tang Dynasty (712) when he was preaching Buddhism at Faquan Temple in Shaozhou and ordered his followers to return to Xinzhou. The pagoda was named according to the Sixth Patriarch’s meaning of “repaying the fourfold kindness” (repaying the kindness of the Buddha, the kindness of parents, the kindness of the country, and the kindness of all living beings). After more than 1,200 years and several dynasties, the tower was destroyed and repaired several times. Chen Xianzhang, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar in the Ming Dynasty, visited Guoen Temple during the Zhengtong period (1436-1449) and wrote six poems in "Longshan Yin", including the poem "The old pagoda next to the temple is still there, but all kinds of things are gone." Until the early Qing Dynasty when Pan Yuheng, a member of the imperial examination, wrote "Luxi Tongzhi", there was still a scene of "ancient pagoda with vine shade", which proved the existence of this pagoda. When the old pagoda base was being cleaned up in 1989, many pagoda bricks with the inscription "Yuan Zhizheng 17th Year" remaining were discovered. The current new tower was rebuilt in September 1990. The tower is octagonal and has a seven-story structure. The diameter of the first floor is 8 meters, the height is 28.88 meters, and the depth of the foundation under the tower is 2.7 meters. The inscription on the plaque on the gate of the "Repaying Favor Tower" was inscribed by President Zhao Puchu before his death. The body of the pagoda is inlaid with 28 stone carvings from Kassapa, the first disciple of Sakyamuni Buddha, to Bodhidharma, the 28th generation patriarch. There is also a white marble Buddha with different handprints on each floor. In addition, the towers on each floor are surrounded by corridors for pilgrims and tourists to enjoy the scenery. Climbing to the top of the tower and looking into the distance, you can see the undulating peaks of Longshan Mountain, which look like swimming dragons. The mountains are steep and lush, with thousands of trees vying for glory. You can also see the Luxi Wilderness, where the river flows like a stream, the green areas are like a carpet, and there are dots of mountain villages. Smoke curls from the kitchen. The beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers is as picturesque as a poem, and you can have a panoramic view of it.
On the left side of Guoen Temple, there is a lychee tree that is nearly 1,300 years old. It is said that it was planted by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng himself when he returned to his former residence in 712. Over the ages, this tree has withered several times and then sprouted new branches. The most surprising thing is that this old lychee tree has never been infested with insects. It is precisely because "it was planted by my master's hands, and the tree will never be infested with insects".
During the "Cultural Revolution" in 1966, it was burned by bad guys and almost died. The black traces of the fire can still be seen in the hollow of the tree. After the reform and opening up in 1979, the country prospered and this tree sprouted new branches. After careful care, it became strong and tall, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and bore fruit. In 2004, it bore 150 kilograms of fruit. It can be said that this tree brings blessings to the people and prosperity to the country. In 1988, after appraisal by the Provincial Forestry Department and the Provincial Greening Committee, the tree was 18.5 meters tall and was listed as one of the 18 longest-lived ancient trees in the province and one of the longest-lived fruit trees in the province. Therefore, it is called "Buddha tree" and "Buddha tree". Under the tree, there is a white marble turtle carrying stele engraved with the introduction "The Sixth Patriarch planted ancient lychees by hand". In the ninth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1804), local scholar Chen Zaiqian wrote a poem titled "Lychee Tree Planted by the Sixth Patriarch" in praise of the lychee tree. The poem goes:
The branch growing on the side of Longshan is Banglu Cemetery.
Planted by my master’s hands, the trees are old and have no beetles.
One thousand two hundred years old, the tribulations can be spent leisurely.
The cloud is too fragmented, and it also embraces Vimalakirti.
The unique branches sprout out horizontally and float into the clouds.
In midsummer, the fire is strong and the sky is fragrant.
The bead body is crystal clear, and in the middle is all the phenomena.
Agate jade bowl, pour the Dharma offering cloth.
A stanza clarifies the nature of mind: Bodhi has no tree.
The picture of the mouth and belly can be translated into living behind the scenes.
The tree cannot stay and the teacher cannot go away.
If I eat lychees, it is self-evident to the Buddha.
Believers regard this lychee tree as a "holy tree". Believers from Japan, Korea and other places visit this tree when they come to the temple to visit their ancestors. During the lychee ripening season, believers from home and abroad, especially from Southeast Asian countries, often come here to taste Buddha lychees.
On the right side of Guoen Temple, there are the graves of the six grandparents. It is said that during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, a Feng Shui master came to Xinzhou in search of a dragon's cave. He was warmly received by Huineng's mother and son. Huineng not only gave the master the bed to sleep on, but also climbed under the bed in the middle of the night to stabilize the bed stool. Avoid shaking and let the master sleep well. The master was very moved by Huineng's true feelings, so he gave the found "Ten Thousand Buddhas Chaosong Cave" to his mother and son to bury their ancestors, and asked them, "Nine generations of champions" or "ten thousand generations of cigarettes"? Huineng's mother expressed her gratitude for her life experience and said: "I don't want to be the number one scholar in the ninth generation, but I want to be cigarettes and have peace for all generations!" So the Feng Shui master followed the mother and son's wishes and buried the bones of Huineng's father in a certain position in the dragon's cave. Later, Huineng studied Buddhism and became a monk, attained enlightenment and became the sixth generation founder of Zen Buddhism. He was respected by others, which was in line with the saying of the Feng Shui master at that time that "cigarettes will last forever." After his mother passed away, Master Huineng buried his mother's bones in this cave. Therefore, later generations called this cave the grave of the sixth grandparents, and a monument was erected to commemorate it. During the "Cultural Revolution", the tomb top and inscriptions were destroyed, and only the tomb base and inscription patterns remained. It was not until the early 1980s that it was restored for people to admire.
There is a well "Zhuoxiquan" 20 meters behind the temple. It is said that when the Sixth Patriarch Huineng returned to his former residence from Caoxi, he encountered a severe drought and the villagers and monks had difficulty in using water. The ancestor used a tin stick to reach the ground to reach the spring, and then built a well, so it was named "Zhuoxiquan". The spring water is sweet and cool. No matter drought or flood, no matter how much water is used, the water level of this well remains the same and never runs dry. In the 1990s, a Taiwanese compatriot once had this well appear in his dream. After searching for it in many ways, he finally found that the well was in Guoen Temple. The dream came true. He was very happy, so he immediately erected a monument and carved a stone next to the well. To commemorate.
Under the big tree on the right side of the temple, there is a round stone pool called the "Sixth Patriarch Bathing Pool". It is said that there was no water here originally. After the Sixth Patriarch returned to Guoen Temple, he suddenly jumped from the stone pool. Spring water continuously flows out of a small hole at the edge and drips into the stone pool. At night, it just fills the pool. The Sixth Patriarch took a cool bath here at night. The strange thing is that after the Sixth Patriarch took a bath, the water automatically drained out of the water tank at the bottom, and then the water continued to drip from the upper hole, and this happened every day.
There is also the Yicui Pavilion on the right side of the temple. The pillars of the pavilion are engraved with a couplet written by Su Dongpo, a great writer in the Song Dynasty:
The sound of the stream is full of wide and long tongues
< p>Isn’t the mountain scenery pure and pure?Opposite the Yicui Pavilion is the Jingxin Pavilion. There are also couplets engraved on the pavilion pillars:
Purifying the heart and driving away worldly thoughts
< p>Fa Yu Cleans the DustThe thousand-year-old Guoen Temple has experienced four periods: the beginning of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the peak of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the decline of the Republic of China, and the founding and resurgence of the Republic of China.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the temple hall of Guoen Temple was already quite large. There were 41 Buddha statues in the temple, all of which were vivid and lifelike, with exquisite craftsmanship. Since its completion, the temple has gone through many vicissitudes and has been repaired several times. During the Shaoxing period of Song Dynasty (1131-1161), a major repair was carried out. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the incense in Guoen Temple was very prosperous, and there were hundreds of monks. There was an endless stream of people who came to the temple to worship and pay homage to their ancestors. At that time, the temple had 1,800 acres of farmland and 1,000 acres of mountainous land, which became a large jungle in Lingnan.
In the sixth year of Yongle (1408) of the Ming Dynasty, Guoen Temple was rebuilt. But over the next 70 years, it gradually declined. As recorded in the "Xinxing County Chronicle", at this time, Guoen Temple's "buildings were tilted to protect only the wind and rain, and the cigarette and lamp sticks were as endless as lines. Those who did not vibrate. The temple had 1,800 acres of land, most of which had been devoured by cunning. The remaining rice was not allowed to enter the temple, so there were few people gathering it. "By the middle of the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, only rice and seven stones of incense lamps remained, so the middle of the Ming Dynasty was the period of decline of Guoen Temple.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Guoen Temple was revived. In the first year of Longqing of Emperor Mu Zong of the Ming Dynasty (1567), the county magistrate Deng Yingping proposed to the people of the county to raise funds to rebuild Guoen Temple.
In the following 340 years, with the joint efforts of local people, successive officials, monks and believers, the Guanyin Hall, the Bathing Pavilion, the first archway of the mountain gate, the mirror pond in front of the temple, and the lotus pond were built successively. , the Pearl Pavilion in the pool, the left and right Zen rooms of the King Kong Building, the Sutra Hall, etc. In 1655, abbot Zhenwei, Pan Yuheng and others mobilized people from all over the city to donate money to repair the temple's central hall, back hall and front building. Later, in the sixth year of Daoguang (1826) and the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892), the temple was repaired twice. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many believers in the local area and neighboring counties. Every year, the eighth day of the second lunar month and the third day of the eighth lunar month were the birthdays of the Sixth Patriarch. A few days before and after the birthday, Buddhists and believers in this county and neighboring counties , there is an endless stream of people coming to the temple to worship. Neighboring villagers also set up shacks in front of the temple for several miles to receive pilgrims and merchants. The crowds were huge and it was very lively. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the temple was still prosperous. At this time, the temple's farmland had reached 3,000 acres, the annual grain rent was 3,000 shi, and there were more than 100 resident monks. It can be said that this was still the heyday of Guoen Temple.
The period of decline of Guoen Temple began in the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928). At that time, the local government banned all Buddhist activities. In addition to retaining Guoen Temple, temples in the county were demolished and Buddha statues were burned. In the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), the then county magistrate Liang Hanzhao confiscated 3,000 acres of Guoen Temple property and returned it to the public. The county government took over the land rent income and only allocated 100 yuan per year to Guoen Temple to support the monks. The rest is used as school funds. For this reason, many monks went out to find other livelihoods. The few who stayed in the temple could only rely on the incense money from worshipers and were unable to maintain the temple. Although the temple buildings collapsed, they had no money to repair them. By 1944, the wooden truss corners of the Main Hall and the Sixth Patriarch Hall were infested by termites and rotted, and the roof tiles collapsed and could not cover the rainwater. The then abbot, Master Ji, had to contact the squire believers to donate money for repairs.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the party’s religious policies have been implemented and the people’s freedom of belief has been respected. Therefore, believers at home and abroad donated money to overhaul Guoen Temple and remodel the Buddha statues. Subsequently, with the approval of the provincial and county people's governments, on August 29, 1981, the renovated Guoen Temple was opened to the public to receive tourists and pilgrims. For more than 20 years, Zen visiting groups or Buddhist delegations from Southeast Asian countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada and other countries, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have come to visit the temple. It receives 100,000 tourists and pilgrims every year. Taking Japan as an example, between 1982 and 1987, six groups of Buddhist delegations visited the temple. Buddhists from all over the world heard that Guoen Temple was restored and opened, and they came to pay homage in large numbers, especially from the Pearl River Delta region. Master Yunfeng, president of the Provincial Buddhist Association, also led elders from various mountains in the province to visit the temple and provide guidance. On June 29, 1989, the Provincial People's Government listed Guoen Temple as a provincial key cultural relic protection unit. Master Dingguang, the abbot of Guoen Temple, was elected as a director of the Provincial Buddhist Association. He actively implemented the party's religious policies, formulated temple regulations, and led all the monks in the temple to carry out Buddhist services and propagation activities, which opened the prelude to the revival of Guoen Temple. In 1989, Master Dingguang applied to retire due to his old age. However, on the other hand, he actively made plans and sent people to Guangzhou to hire the eminent monk Dade to be the abbot of the temple. After many efforts, he invited Master Dingran, the first master of Guangxiao Temple in Guangzhou, to serve as the abbot of Guoen Temple. After Master Dingran became the abbot of Guoen Temple, he led the monks in the temple, with the support of the local government and four disciples, to complete the Sixth Patriarch Repaying Pagoda project, and built the main archway at the mountain gate, the side entrance archway, a Zen room, guest rooms, the Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall, and the Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall. The ancestral hall has repaired the main hall and side halls, rebuilt the Gongde Hall and the Guanyin Hall, sculpted the statues of the Five Hundred Arhats, rebuilt the Pearl Pavilion, renovated the mirror pool, rebuilt the graves of the sixth grandparents, the bathing pool, and the Zhuoxi Spring, and cared for the Sixth Patriarch I planted lychee trees by myself, and also planned to build the Longshan Stele Forest, which mainly promotes the culture of the Sixth Ancestor. , so the Forest of Steles was demolished in October 2005). At the same time, a number of cars were purchased to solve the traffic problem of the temple, and a parking lot in front of the temple was opened to facilitate parking for pilgrims and tourists, giving the Guoen Temple a completely new look. In addition, the temple gradually improved the regulations on morning bells and evening drums, morning and evening recitations, etc., purified the Taoism, and strengthened management. As a result, Guoen Temple continued to prosper and its incense became more and more prosperous. It quickly restored its status as a large jungle in Lingnan and embarked on the road to rejuvenation.
Now the temple is planning to build a sutra collection building, as well as a bell and drum tower, a sutra hall, a Putong Pagoda, an incense burning pavilion, a monk's residence, a VIP tower, and a remodeling of the golden body of the Buddha statue. It is also planned to display the precious cultural relics and magical instruments that are currently preserved for visitors to enjoy. At the same time, there are plans to expand the new temple area and build new temples.
Guoen Temple, from Master Dingran to Master Ruchan, attaches great importance to the construction of the Zen culture of the Sixth Patriarch. As early as 1997, the "Chronicles of Longshan Guoen Temple" was compiled and printed, reflecting the development history of Guoen Temple and its historical status in the Buddhist circles of China and the world. In September 2001, in order to commemorate the 1288th anniversary of the death of the Sixth Patriarch, Guoen Temple jointly sponsored the Macau Chinese Culture and Arts Association and other units to hold the "Second International Academic Symposium on the Thoughts of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng". More than 70 Zen experts, scholars, and eminent monks attended the meeting, and they discussed "The Sixth Patriarch Huineng and Lingnan Culture", "Study on the Versions of the Tan Sutra", "The Sixth Patriarch Huineng and Zen", "The Sixth Patriarch "Huineng's position in the history of Chinese thought and culture" and other aspects, more than 50 papers were received after the conference.
In 2002, Master Ruchan compiled the book "The Sixth Patriarch and Guoen Temple"; in 2003, he also edited the collection of essays "Research on the Sixth Patriarch's "Tan Sutra"", a set of five volumes, collecting Over the past 100 years, more than 100 papers have been published on the study of the "Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra" by domestic and foreign academic and Buddhist circles. After the book was published, it received unanimous praise from the academic and Buddhist circles.
On the occasion of the 1366th anniversary of the birth of Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, the Yunfu City and Xinxing County party committees and governments, in order to promote the excavation, protection and utilization of local Zen culture and further promote the local economy, culture and tourism On February 27-28, 2004, the first Zen Sixth Patriarch Cultural Festival was held in Xinxing County, Yunfu City, the hometown of the Sixth Patriarch, and a series of activities were held to commemorate the Sixth Patriarch and visit sacred sites. Among them, A seminar on the thought and culture of the Sixth Patriarch was held, attended by more than 50 research experts and scholars from all over the country. The "Proceedings of the Seminar on the Culture of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng" was also published afterwards. At the same time, a launch ceremony was held for the two books "Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen" and "Wind Banner Record, the Sixth Patriarch". In addition, relevant departments have also carried out various activities on the development of economy, culture and tourism. The first Sixth Patriarch Cultural Festival in Xinxing County achieved great success.
Author: Huang Canxing
Data sources:
(1), "Longshan Guoen Temple Chronicles"
(2), " Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen"
(3), "The Former Residence of the Sixth Patriarch - Guoen Temple" (written by He Fangyao and Hu Qiaoli)
(4), "The Emerging Ancient Temple Kingdom" Ensi Chongguang" (written by Zhao Junhua and Zhao Shihuan)
(5), "Emerging Literary and Historical Materials"