Zhengguo Temple is located on the hillside of Lushi Mountain hidden in dense forests. It faces the temples on Cuiwei Mountain and Pingpo Mountain across a stream.
Zhengguo Temple was founded in 749 and has a history of more than 1,200 years. It is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Beijing. Chengguo Temple faces south. The temple's temples are divided into three groups. In the middle, from south to north, they are the Shanmen Hall, the Heavenly King Hall and the Third Buddha Hall. To the east is the abbot's courtyard, and to the west is the Mystic Devil Cliff and other ancillary buildings.
There is a deep pool near the mountain gate, surrounded by green strips of stone. It is more than ten feet wide and is called Qinglong Pool. On the top of the bluestone coupon, the four-character Sanskrit word "Ayindaliu" is engraved on the forehead, which means "can be aware of all truths".
During the rainy season, the water in the pond often overflows from the mouth of the pond, making it cool and pleasant.
After passing the Qinglong Pond and walking up the stone road for more than 100 meters, you can see the Shanmen Palace towering precariously on more than 20 green stone steps, which is impressive. The stone inscription "Ancient Temple Chengguo Temple" on the forehead of the temple was written by Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. To the west of the steps, a centuries-old locust tree grows magnificently and provides a vast shade. There are two stone tablets with the heads of turtles, clams and chisels on the left and right, both of which were later erected during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.
The inscription "Old Stele of Zhenhai Temple" on the west stele was written by Qi Junzao, a famous calligrapher and bachelor of the cabinet at that time. The east stele "The Stele of the Origin of the Ten Directions Abbots of Zhongxing Mimoya Zhengguo Temple" was written by Chongli Gaojian, a famous eminent monk at that time, and was handwritten by Cheng Enze, a famous calligrapher and Hanlin scholar in Nanshufang.
The "Old Stele Records of Zhenhai Temple" describes in detail a vivid legend of Master Lu subduing the dragon.
It is said that during the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, a layman named Lu resigned from office and only wanted to practice Zen, so he built a canoe and sailed from the south of the Yangtze River to the north alone. With the pole and oar, the boat drifted with the current, and it only stopped after a few days when it reached the Sanggan River.
Jushi Lu abandoned the boat and landed on the shore. He saw the extraordinary scenery of the surrounding mountains and the cave under the Mystic Devil Cliff was as empty as a room. He sighed happily: "This is where I live!", so he took a rest. Clean and enter the house to practice Buddhist practice.
It is also said that a long time ago, there were two green dragons hiding in the Dragon Gate of the Yellow River, spewing evil spirits from time to time to cause harm. Dayu controlled the flood and passed through the Dragon Gate. In a rage, he used the magic shovel to eradicate the dragon's nest. The two dragons could not fight, so he fled to Youzhou in the Bitter Sea and hid in the Qinglong Pool under the Mystic Demon Cliff to practice.
When I saw Master Lu arriving later, I was furious and decided to have a fight with him.
One evening, the sky suddenly became overcast, the wind and rain came heavily, and two rain pillars poured down, approaching the Mystic Devil Cliff.
Jushi Lu was taking a nap, and when he woke up, he was already soaked to the skin. Looking up, he saw two evil dragons blowing clouds and mist in the sky. He picked up a copper bowl and placed it on the table. He cast a spell to collect all the rainwater in the bowl, and then blew into the copper bowl three times. Then Huo Di rose into the sky and flew straight towards the evil dragon.
There was a thunderbolt, and the water in the bowl exploded. The two dragons were so painful that they suddenly fell into the pool.
A few days later, two boys suddenly came to pay homage to him. They wanted to become novice monks and serve Master Lu by carrying firewood and cooking. Master Lu accepted the two boys.
Later, there was a severe drought for many years, and the emperor issued an edict to recruit people who could pray for rain. The two boys took off the imperial list, returned to the temple, jumped into the Qinglong Pool, and turned into two green dragons and soared into the air to broadcast. The clouds and mist bring down the rain, and the drought is suddenly relieved.
It turns out that the two boys are the two evil dragons. Because they were inspired by the Buddha's teachings, they abandoned evil and followed good, and turned clouds into rain. Because of this, Master Lu became so famous in the capital that he was named "Yingying Zen Master" by the emperor. The mountain where he lived was also named "Lushi Mountain", and the Yingying Zen Temple was built to commend Master Lu's virtues.
In the Shanmen Hall is a newly sculpted statue of the two generals "Heng Ha" with a very powerful expression. The newly-sculpted "Horizontal Third Buddha" is now enshrined in the Main Hall, with Sakyamuni Buddha in the center, Amitabha Buddha on the left, and Medicine Buddha on the right. The east-crossing courtyard is the abbot's courtyard. The courtyard has thin and exquisite rockery, covered with flowers, plants and trees, and the environment is extremely elegant.
The grounds outside the courtyard are all sloping, with rolling pines and cool breezes. You can also look around at the beauty of the forest valleys and mountains. It is a summer resort. In the west is a group of garden-style buildings with low terrain, long, narrow and winding areas. There are three couplets in the hall in front of the courtyard. There is a building in front and a wing next to it, which is elegant and unique. In the east of the hall is an aquarium stone door, which is carved with patterns of dragons and lotus flowers. On the side of the door is a famous saying by Chang Jian of the Tang Dynasty:
The winding path leads to a secluded place, and the Zen room is deep with flowers and trees.
Across the stone gate is a spacious garden with lush green bamboos and full of vitality. Next to the bamboos is a majestic bluestone rockery called "Huan Zhonghuan". After walking north along the winding path for a short distance, your eyes suddenly opened up, and you saw a dark giant rock leaning out across the sky, shaped like the mouth of an angry lion. This is the Mystic Devil Cliff, which has been famous for thousands of years.
Under the cliff is a natural stone chamber, with the words "Natural Valley" and "There is a Cave" carved between the cliffs. There is a "Zhao Zhi Pavilion" near the cliff. There is a stone carving embedded in the inner wall, which is engraved with "The Legend of Zhao Zhi Pavilion on the Secret Demon Cliff", which euphemistically describes the feelings of sitting in love with the secret magic cliff. The author Yuan Yi and the book writer Yuan Yulin.
Climb up to Zhaozhi Pavilion to enjoy the scenery, either in the early morning or in the evening. In the early morning, you can enjoy the "Gaolin Dawn" when the golden light of the rising sun intoxicates thousands of trees, and in the evening you can enjoy the "Lu Shi Sunset" shrouded in colorful clouds.
The "Xishan Scenic Spots" written by the descendant Tian Shufan wrote:
The scenery of Mimo Cliff is extremely elegant and beautiful, and tourists often linger there. Literati appreciate the inscription on the wall and are touched by the poetic sentiment, which is even more difficult to let go of.
There were originally no less than a hundred poems inscribed on the wall on the Secret Devil Cliff, all of which were masterpieces of Confucianism. However, they were eventually worn away by wind and rain. Only a few poems by Yu Weng Tonghe, Baozhupo and Lin Qinnan were mentioned.