Another mysterious sight in Huqiu Pagoda is the White Lotus Pond and the Nodding Stone. There is also a legend about Shenggong preaching here.
Sheng Gong was a famous eminent monk in the Jin Dynasty of my country, named Zhu Daosheng. At that time, he mainly expounded the Nirvana Sutra, and promoted Buddhist views such as "the endless sea of ??suffering can be turned back to shore, and you can put down your slaughter and become a Buddha immediately" and "all living beings have Buddha nature". However, his teachings were not tolerated by the old school, and he was ostracized by the northern scholar-bureaucrats, who expelled him from the capital.
So Sheng Gong traveled around and came to Huqiu, where he gave lectures. There was a huge stone on the hill, and many people listened to his sermon. More than 1,000 people sat around this huge stone and wrote "Thousands of people sit", which was later written by Hu Zuanzong, a famous scholar, poet and calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty.
Because Shenggong’s academic views were also rejected by the southern scholar-bureaucrats, they drove all these listeners away and were not allowed to come to listen to the scriptures again. However, Shenggong was not discouraged and faced the listeners. People used the pieces of stone to sit on and preach the scriptures.
He talked for three days and three nights, and his mouth was dry. When he talked about how all evil people can become Buddhas, one of the stones suddenly nodded slightly to him, as if to say: I I understand, this stone is the nodding stone in the White Lotus Pond.
According to legend, it was the middle of winter at that time. Instead of being frozen to death, the white lotuses in the pond bloomed one after another, and the pond was full. Therefore, there are sayings such as "the pond is full when you are born, and the pond is empty after birth" and "the pond is empty after birth". As the saying goes, "the stubborn stone nods and the white lotus blooms".
In the Song Dynasty, Yingmeng Guanyin Hall, Zhuanlun Dazang Hall, Shuilu Hall, Chen Gonglou Shuangjing Bridge, Qianqingyun Pavilion, Hejing Academy, etc. were built on Huqiu Mountain.
During the Tiansheng period of the Northern Song Dynasty, brothers Zang Kui and Zang Ning from Huzhou served their parents for ten years. Zang Kui became ill due to overwork and his family was very poor. Zang Kuijiezhai meditated on the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva. At night, he dreamed that a man in white pricked his ears with needles. When he woke up in the morning, the pain on his body had completely disappeared.
Since Zang Kui is good at painting and Zang Ning is good at carving, the two decided to sculpture a statue of Guanyin, but they did not know the specific appearance of Guanyin. One day, Zang Kui dreamed of the immortal in white clothes again. When he woke up, he quickly recalled the image in his dream.
The Avalokitesvara he depicts is handsome, kind and amiable, with a strong body and a solemn demeanor, which is awe-inspiring. At that time, people all praised it after seeing it, calling it Yingmeng Guanyin, and it became a good story.
Later, Zang Kui's painting of Guanyin in Dreams and Zang Ning's carving of stone statues of Guanyin shocked the government and the public at that time, as well as various Buddhist sects.
In 1073, officials, Buddhists and people from all walks of life unanimously opened up a place south of the third spring of Huqiu, a famous Buddhist mountain, and west of Thousand People Stone, and built the Stone Guanyin Hall here.
In September 1074, the Stone Guanyin Hall was completed, and on the day of its consecration, there was a huge crowd. What is extremely precious is that 92 people, including the prime ministers and ministers, down to the prefects and county magistrates, including Zeng Gongliang, Hu Zongyu, Shen Kuo, etc., each wrote a line in "Pu Men Pin", and each person wrote down his official position and name. Engraved on the stone wall, I hope it will be passed down to future generations forever and become a major event at that time. It is known as "Xining Sutra Carving" in history.
Between 1388 and 1334, Yunyan Temple underwent a large-scale construction, and the maintenance of the tower was first recorded in historical records. The existing Ershan Gate and Broken Liang Hall were built at that time. At the same time, buildings such as the Great Buddha Hall, Thousand Buddha Pavilion, Three Great Scholars Hall, Pingyuan Hall, Xiaowuxuan, and Huayuting were repaired and renovated. A giant bell was cast and a more than 2,000-meter-long mountain stream was opened.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, all the heroes came together. In 1356, Zhang Shicheng occupied Pingjiang and became the separatist king of Suzhou today. In order to defend the city, Zhang Shicheng selected the Huqiu garrison at the water and land strategic point for defense. While dredging the mountain stream, he built a mountain city along the stream, turning the scenic spot into a heavily guarded military location. For a time, "there are towers on the mountain and towers on the mountain and the city below, and there are few people walking on the roads lined with red flags." However, the Huqiu Tucheng did not play a military role.
In 1366, Zhu Yuanzhang sent generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to lead an army to conquer Zhang Shicheng and besieged the isolated city of Pingjiang for 10 months. According to legend, Xu Da's siege headquarters was located in Huqiu, and Chang Yuchun also stationed troops in Huqiu, and fought fierce battles with Zhang Shicheng's army from Shantang to Changmen and Nanbeihao.
According to the Ming Dynasty's "Huqiu Mountain Chronicles", Chang Yuchun defeated Zhang Shicheng who was entrenched in Huqiu. Huqiu Temple presented the Yingmeng Guanyin picture and the copper incense burner to Chang Yuchun, but Chang Yuchun did not accept it. , ordered his men to get the Tiger Hill painting.
This painting was later acquired by Fan from Changzhou.
Fan didn't know that the painting was from Huqiu Mountain at first. One night, his mother dreamed of a woman saying, "Send me back." His mother said, "Where are I going to send you?"
The woman replied: "Huqiu." When Fan's mother saw the word "Huqiu" on the painting, she asked her son to send the painting back to Huqiu.
When the boat carrying Fan's paintings passed by Hushu, the paintings were stolen again by thieves. Later, someone bought this painting and dreamed of a woman saying: "My home is in Huqiu, please send me back."
The person who bought the painting also sent the painting back to Huqiu. Although it is a folk legend, it can be seen that people at that time valued and yearned for Tiger Hill.