After 400 years of vicissitudes, Huayan Temple, a famous temple in eastern Sichuan, will open a new chapter at the end of this month.
The reporter learned from the Jiulongpo District Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau yesterday that the largest Buddhist ceremony in Chongqing’s history—the “China Chongqing Huayan Buddhist Cultural Festival” was held in Huayan from the 25th to the 27th of this month. held in the temple.
At that time, eminent monks from home and abroad will gather at Huayan Ancient Temple to consecrate the country’s first open-air Golden Buddha.
The gold foil of the Buddha statue reaches 1,200 square meters
It is understood that the open-air golden Buddha located in Huayan Temple is the holy statue of Buddha Sakyamuni. It is 16 meters high and has a steel frame inside. The structure is used as a support, and the Buddha's body is forged from a 2 mm thick copper plate, with 24K pure gold foil attached to the entire body.
"Although we have experience in shaping the Lingshan Giant Buddha in Wuxi and the Lantau Giant Buddha in Hong Kong, the Golden Buddha of Huayan Temple still cost us a lot of thought." Nanjing Aerospace, the contractor According to sources from Chenguang Group, the Golden Buddha used 100 tons of brass. Such a volume cannot be molded at once. Instead, it is broken down into several parts. They are first built in Nanjing and then sent thousands of miles away to Chongqing for on-site assembly.
In order to solve the problem of exposure to the sun, rain, weathering and rust, high-tech nanotechnology was used when the Golden Buddha was gilded.
"It can be guaranteed that within 10 years, the golden body of the Buddha statue will not be damaged." People from Chenguang Group said that if all the gold foil used was spread out, it would cover an area of ??1,200 square meters.
It took two trucks to store the artifacts
From the inside to the outside, everything around the Golden Buddha reflects traditional Buddhist rituals.
According to Buddhist tradition, Huayan Temple has previously invited eminent Tibetan Buddhist monks to come to Chongqing to hold a "Tibetan" ceremony for the Golden Buddha that is about to be consecrated.
"The so-called 'installation' means to install various utensils in the reserved space inside the Buddha statue. This is a ritual that must be performed before the Buddha statue is consecrated." said Monk Dao Jian, the abbot of Huayan Temple. , among the utensils packed into the Golden Buddha of Huayan Temple, there are Buddhist scriptures, gold and silver jewelry and various magical instruments, all in all, as many as two trucks.
The base of the Golden Buddha is an octagonal building. The interior is the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, enshrining the small Golden Buddha. On the outer wall are 6 Buddha stories carved from a whole piece of white marble, which condenses the story of Sakyamuni. The life of being born, becoming a Buddha, preaching, and passing away.
Behind the Golden Buddha, there are 6 stone sutra pillars, on which the entire Diamond Sutra of more than 6,000 words is carved; in the worship square in front of the Golden Buddha, there are lush trees on both sides, trimmed to the left high The lower right one uses garden techniques to form a protective formation of green dragon on the left and white tiger on the right.
The Shaolin Monk Troupe comes to Chongqing for the first time
It is understood that during the first China Chongqing Huayan Buddhist Cultural Festival, eminent monks from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore will come to Chongqing for the first time. The Golden Buddha of the Rock Temple was consecrated.
This Buddhist Culture Festival is hosted by the Chongqing Buddhist Association and includes nine major temples in Chongqing (Huayan Temple, Ciyun Temple, Luohan Temple, Shuanggui Hall, Shengshou Temple, Jinyun Temple, Baolun Temple, Nanshan Temple and Hot Spring Temple) are jointly hosted by ***.
During the cultural festival, the "Chongqing Buddhist Culture and Art Exhibition" will be held, and the nine major temples will present "treasures of the temples", including Buddhist statues, scriptures, calligraphy and paintings, etc., for citizens to appreciate.
In addition, the cultural festival will also hold Huayan Buddhist Culture Forum, Buddhist Music Art Gala, Huayan Scholarship Signing Ceremony and other activities.
The Buddhist Music Art Gala to be held on the evening of the 26th will be hosted by the Emeishan Buddhist Music Art Troupe and will perform Buddhist music.
Henan Songshan Shaolin Monk Art Troupe will also come to Chongqing for the first time to show off their skills.
5,000 golden Buddha clones will be brought to the public
Believers can welcome the small golden Buddha home, or they can enshrine it in the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas under the big golden Buddha
At the open-air Golden Buddha consecration ceremony of Huayan Temple where eminent monks from home and abroad gather, 5,000 small golden Buddhas will also be consecrated together.
It is reported that these 5,000 small golden Buddhas will be welcomed by private believers.
According to reports, the Small Golden Buddha is 100 times smaller in scale than the Golden Buddha of Huayan Temple. It is about 20 centimeters high and has the same shape as the Big Golden Buddha.
Each small golden Buddha has a number and does not repeat each other.
"After the Little Golden Buddha is consecrated, it can be regarded as a clone of the Big Golden Buddha." According to the abbot of Huayan Temple, Monk Dao Jian, the starting price for the Little Golden Buddha is 3,333 yuan per statue (Suiyuan number). According to the different numbers, it is divided into 4888 yuan/zun (happy fate number), 8888 yuan/zun (fate number), and 9999 yuan/zun (fond number).
In addition to welcoming the Little Golden Buddha home, believers can also enshrine it in the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas under the Big Golden Buddha. Huayan Temple is responsible for daily maintenance. This is the name of Tianyuan. The cost is 20,000 yuan/person.
In addition, in accordance with Buddhist cultural traditions, the 66 lotus petals of the Lotus Seat of the Golden Buddha will also be worshiped by believers.
Believers can carve their personal or corporate names on lotus petals to commemorate them forever.
It is reported that according to the different positions of the lotus petals, the offering fee is divided into three levels: 200,000 yuan, 300,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan.
Chongqing Giant Buddha Statues
Bayu culture has a long history and has left many giant Buddhas.
These Buddha statues that have gone through many vicissitudes and are still standing today are precious treasures for Chongqing people.
The Danzishi Giant Buddha is located on the riverside of Jicui Village in the Giant Buddha section on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The statue is a Maitreya Buddha sitting in the lotus position. It is 7.5 meters high. It was built in the late Yuan Dynasty and is the largest in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of ??the Yangtze River. The cliff statue is also the only confirmed Buddhist statue made by the peasant uprising military regime in my country.
The Tongnan Giant Buddha is a seated Maitreya Buddha located on the cliff at the foot of Dingming Mountain in Tongnan County. It is 18.43 meters high and has a chest circumference of 8.35 meters. It faces the river and has a history of more than 800 years.
Jiangjin Shimen Buddha, the largest statue of Guanyin Buddha with lotus on its feet, is located on the edge of the cliff. It is 13.5 meters high, 5.9 meters wide at the shoulder, and 5.2 meters thick at the chest. It is a high-relief and nearly round-shaped stone carving. In the early days of liberation, it was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit.
The Nanya Buddha in Kaixian County is located in Nanya Town in the southwest of Kaixian County. It is a stone sculpture left in the late Tang Dynasty.
The Buddha statue is 10.8 meters high, the Buddha seat is more than 6 meters wide, and the distance between the soles of the feet is 3 meters, which can accommodate an adult.