Hidden ancient temples deep in the mountains, find the Guoqing Temple
Written and photographed by Weng Xin
Tiantai Mountain, located in the eastern and central part of Zhejiang Province, is known as the "source of Buddhism" It is famous for its beautiful natural scenery and beautiful scenery. It is also the birthplace of the Tiantai Sect of Chinese Buddhism and the Southern Sect of Taoism. Xu Xiake of the Ming Dynasty visited Tiantai Mountain three times and wrote two travel notes, which shows the importance of Tiantai Mountain in the minds of "traveling saints".
Guoqing Temple is to Tiantai Mountain what Lingyin Temple is to Hangzhou. No one who comes to Tiantai Mountain does not visit Guoqing Temple. As the ancestral home of the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism, Guoqing Temple may have a higher status in the history of Buddhism than Lingyin. Li Bai once wrote a poem that "Guoqing Temple on Tiantai is known as the Four Wonders in the world" (Guoqing Temple, Nanjing Qixia Temple, Jinan Lingyan Temple, and Dangyang Yuquan Temple are also known as the four great jungles of Buddhism)
Come to Guoqing Temple , there is a name that will be mentioned many times, that is Zhiyi (538-597), the founder of Tiantai Sect, generally people call him the wise master. During his more than 20 years of preaching Buddhism in Tiantai Mountain, he not only founded the Tiantai Sect, the first localized sect after Buddhism spread to the East, but also established 12 monasteries in Tiantai Mountain, including Guoqing Temple, which was based on a design he drew during his lifetime. Built from sketches.
Guoqing Temple was built in the 18th year of Emperor Kaihuang’s reign in the Sui Dynasty (598). One year after the death of Master Zhizhe, King Yang Guang of Jin built it according to the last wish of Zhiyi, the founder of Tiantai Sect - as the name of Tiantai Sect The fundamental dojo. The original name was "Tiantai Temple", but later it took the meaning of "if the temple is completed, the country will be clear", so it was renamed "Guoqing Temple" to this day. This is also the ancestral home of the Tiantai Sect recognized by followers of the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism in Japan and Korea.
Guoqing Temple is located three kilometers north of Tiantai County, deep in a valley surrounded by five peaks. Now there is no need to buy tickets to enter the scenic spot. It takes about ten minutes to walk from the mountain gate to the temple. There are towering ancient trees in the scenic area, which block out the sun. Walking along a wooden plank road, you can't see the temple yet. From a distance, you can see a yellow-brown ancient pagoda standing on the hillside.
The pagoda was built in the Sui Dynasty 1,300 years ago, so it is called the "Sui Pagoda" - it is one of the landmark buildings of Guoqing Temple. The tower is nearly 60 meters high, with nine levels on six sides. The brick walls are covered with moss and grass, giving it a sense of vicissitudes of life. The Sui pagoda was uniquely built and still stands after thousands of years, which makes people admire the wisdom of the ancients. The strange thing is that the head of the tower is missing from the top of the tower. It is said that it was destroyed by a fire in the past.
On the main roadside below the Sui Pagoda, seven small pagodas are lined up, built to enshrine the "Seven Buddhas of the Past". After passing the Seven Buddha Pagoda, there is the second mountain gate of Guoqing Temple, "Hanshi Pavilion". This pavilion is named in commemoration of the two poet monks who were found in Hanshan who lived in seclusion at Guoqing Temple in the Tang Dynasty. Buddhist believers believe that they are the reincarnations of the two Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, and folklore regards them as the two immortals of "harmony". This is where the name of Suzhou Hanshan Temple comes from.
After passing through "Hanshi Pavilion" is "Fengqian Bridge", another stone bridge named after the monks of Guoqing Temple. It is said that Zen Master Fengqian once rode a tiger into the temple, which shows his style. He and Han Shan were regarded as the "Three Hermits of Guoqing" in Shide. There is the "Sanxian Hall" on the west side of Guoqing Temple, which was built in memory of the three of them.
Standing on the Fengqian Bridge, you can see the two streams surrounding the temple, converging under the Fengqian Bridge and flowing southward, forming a scenic scene of "double streams returning to the waves", which is also the famous "rooftop" One of the Eight Scenic Spots. The scenery here is excellent, so many people come to sketch nearby.
At the front and rear ends of Fengqian Bridge are two yellow screen walls with the words "Ancient Temple of Sui Dynasty" and "General Holder of the Teaching Temple" respectively. The former describes the long history of Guoqing Temple, while the latter's meaning of "Teaching and Viewing Master" is not easy to understand. It refers to Buddhist scriptures and teachings, which should be combined with the practice of Vipassana, and it describes the practice respected by Tiantai Sect. Dharma door.
Now that we have arrived in front of the temple, we can’t find the temple gate. It turns out that the gate of Guoqing Temple is unique. The temple faces north to south, but the temple door does not open in the conventional south-facing position. Instead, there is an inconspicuous small door at the east corner of the wall - this is the main entrance of Guoqing Temple. The gate of Guoqing Temple opens to the east. It is said that the spiritual pagoda of Master Zhizhe is placed on Folong Mountain to the east. The gate of the temple faces east to commemorate the founding father.
The layout of Guoqing Temple is low-key and restrained, showing its unique craftsmanship. For example, the treatment of the temple door not only increases the spatial changes, but also gives people a subtle and profound feeling. Looking at the buildings outside the mountain gate, the Sui Pagoda, the Seven Buddha Pagoda, the Hanshi Pavilion, the Fenggan Bridge and the two screen walls appear to be naturally arranged according to the terrain, but in fact they are all carefully designed. Walking through them gives people a different view. The leisurely Zen mood.
The horizontal plaque on the gate of Guoqing Temple with gold letters on a red background reads "Guoqing Temple", which is the full name of the temple. It shows that Guoqing Temple is a large temple characterized by preaching scriptures and studying doctrines. In ancient times, temples in various places were divided into Zen temples, lecture temples and law temples. Temples of different sects had different names, but the temples in Tiantai Mountain were basically lecture temples.
Enter the temple and pass through a corridor hidden in the bamboo forest. The halls of Guoqing Temple are visible among the towering trees. The earthy yellow courtyard wall and the emerald green plants contrast with each other, creating a harmonious color scheme. It reminds people of the artistic conception of "winding paths lead to secluded places, and the Zen rooms are deep with vegetation" in ancient poems. The light and shadow in the temple are mottled, and the sound of Sanskrit is lingering. When people walk in it, their pace naturally slows down, and they feel cool and comfortable.
After many times of destruction and construction, the existing Guoqing Temple buildings basically maintain the scale of the reconstruction during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. Along the central axis, lined up are the Tianwang Hall, Yuhua Hall, Mahavira Hall, Medicine Master Hall, Guanyin Hall, and dozens of traditional courtyards on both sides. The building is built on the hillside, rising layer by layer. It is worth mentioning that the ancient corridors in the temple run at high and low levels throughout the temple. On rainy days, you will not get caught in the rain wherever you go. This is also a major architectural feature of Guoqing Temple.
As the ancestral home of the Tiantai Sect, Guoqing Temple is simple, solemn and has a strong sense of history. The pair of white marble lions in front of Maitreya Hall set off the majesty of the Buddhist hall. It is said that this pair of stone lions were originally placed in the Forbidden City and were considered national treasures. When the Guoqing Temple was renovated in the 1970s, they were specially selected from Beijing and placed here.
The Tianwang Hall behind Maitreya Hall is called Yuhua Hall in Guoqing Temple. Ordinary temples do not have this name. Legend has it that Master Zhizhe narrated the Lotus Sutra in Tiantai Mountain, which moved the gods to appear. Flowers rained down from the sky while the master was teaching the Dharma. The Tianwang Hall in the Qing Temple in the motherland has always been called the "Rain Flower Hall".
When I came to the Main Hall of Guoqing Temple, I saw that the plaque on the lintel was written vertically, while ancient folk plaques were generally written horizontally, which shows that Guoqing Temple has the size and grandeur of a royal temple. The bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha enshrined in the Main Hall was cast in the Ming Dynasty, and the sixteen Arhats sitting on the left and right sides are nanmu statues from the Yuan Dynasty. They are all rare cultural relics.
By the way, no one who goes to Guoqing Temple to worship does not miss the Sui plum blossoms. On the right side of the Main Hall, there is a thousand-year-old Sui plum blossom. It is said that this tree was planted by Master Initiation, a disciple of the wise master, and has been verified by botanists as one of the oldest plum trees in China. Legend has it that this tree is very spiritual. It died in the 1970s. Later, after careful cultivation by the temple monks, Sui Mei sprouted branches from the dead trunk and was reborn, bringing the ancient tree back to life.
There are many inscriptions by literati and poets in Guoqing Temple. There is a stele gallery around the Luohan Hall, where you can find Liu Gongquan's inscription "The Great Chinese Qing Temple", as well as the famous Wang Xizhi's solo " Goose" word monument. The release pond on the southwest side of Guoqing Temple has an elegant name "Yu Leguo", which is named after the handwriting left here by Dong Qichang, a great calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty.
On the east side of the Yakushi Hall is the Monument of the Chinese and Japanese Patriarchs, and on the north side is the Memorial Hall of the Chinese and Korean Patriarchs, because Guoqing Temple is very famous in Japan and South Korea. During the Tang Dynasty, the eminent Japanese monk Saicho went to Guoqing Temple to seek Dharma and founded the Japanese Tendai Sect. In the 11th century, Goryeo monk Yitian introduced the Tendai Sect to North Korea, so Guoqing Temple is regarded as the ancestral court of the Tendai Sect in Japan and South Korea. There is an endless stream of Japanese and Korean monks and overseas believers who come here every year to make pilgrimages.
The vegetarian meal of Guoqing Temple is very famous. "A Bite of China" specifically mentioned the homemade dried tofu and self-grown Chinese cabbage made by the monks of Guoqing Temple, which are delicious and refreshing. The dining hall of Guoqing Temple sells meal tickets at noon and evening. The price is incredibly low, only two yuan per person. It is said that the vegetables are grown by the monks in the monastery and should not be wasted until full. After eating, remember to wash the dishes and chopsticks and return them to their original places.
The temple provides accommodation (you can inquire at the window where you buy meal tickets). When I went, because the Water and Land Dharma Ceremony was being held in the past few days, there were many lay people staying here and there were no beds. . Later, we stayed at the Tiantai Hotel, a hundred steps away from Guoqing Temple, in order to come back to the temple early the next morning and enjoy the quiet time without being disturbed.
It is rare to find a temple as prestigious as Guoqing Temple, which is also a national 5A scenic spot. When I came here, I found that there was no trace of commercialization at all, reflecting the original purity of Buddhism, which is really valuable. In your spare time, it is recommended that you come here to purify your mind and nourish your nature, wash away the dust, meditate on Buddhism and enlightenment among the evening drums and morning bells, and find the long-lost peace and happiness.
More than ten miles north along the mountain road from the east of Guoqing Temple, there is a hill connected by a ring and facing east and west, which is Folong. This hill is the true birthplace of the Tiantai Sect. Master Zhizhe first led his disciples here to cut grass and build a hermitage. Since then, he has taken root in Tiantai Mountain and created a broad and profound Buddhist system called the Tiantai Sect.
(Wise Man Pagoda Courtyard), and Gaoming Temple.
You can take a minibus from the North Bus Station towards Shiliang (there are only a few buses a day, you can also get on the bus at Guoqing Temple). You will pass Folong Scenic Area along the way. I asked the driver to stop by Zhenjue The temple dropped me off and walked up a path beside the road for a few minutes.
Zhenjue Temple, the locals call it Tatou Temple. This is where the spiritual pagoda of the wise master is placed. In 597 AD, the wise master passed away in Xinchang Buddhist Temple. His disciples transported his holy body over the mountains and ridges back to Tiantai Mountain and was buried here. Therefore, this place was later called the "wise man's pagoda courtyard".
On the screen wall outside the mountain gate of Zhenjue Temple is written "That is Lingshan". Because the wise master is called "Little Sakyamuni of the East" (that is, Sakyamuni Buddha in China), the rooftop The mountain is also known as the "Lingshan Holy Land". As the center of the wise master's Dharma propagation activities during his lifetime, Folong is equivalent to a holy place among holy places.
Zhenjue Temple is less like a traditional temple (there is no main hall) and more like a simple and quiet courtyard. There is only one main hall in the courtyard, which houses the "Wise Master's Body Tower". The tower is carved from bluestone and is nearly 7 meters high. Each floor has exquisite reliefs. In the middle of the first floor sits a statue of the wise master, and the walls around the hall are hung with portraits of the founders of the Tiantai Sect in past dynasties.
Since the pagoda is where the true body of the wise master is located, all Japanese and Korean Tiantai sect believers who come to Guoqing Temple to pay homage to their ancestral home must visit this place as their next stop after completing Guoqing Temple.
Although the pagoda courtyard is not large in size, there seem to be many monks living in the wing rooms on both sides. Perhaps they are the guardians of the master's pagoda. After worshiping the master's pagoda, I didn't stay here too long and rushed to my next destination, Gaomingjiao Temple, not far from the Wise Man Pagoda.
On the back mountain going east from the pagoda courtyard, there is a flat boulder. This is the place where the master used to give sermons. There is now a stone tablet with the inscription "The place where the wise master gave sermons". It is said that the wise master once taught the Pure Name Sutra here. Suddenly a strong wind blew and the pages of the sutra floated deep into the valley. The master followed the place where the pages fell and saw that this place was surrounded by peaks and mountains and had gurgling springs. It was an ideal place. A place of practice. So this place was built as Youxi Taoist Temple, which later became Gaomingjiao Temple.
After Master Zhizhe passed away, his body tower was placed in Zhenjue Temple, while his used mantle and Beiye Sutra were kept in Gaoming Temple.
From the mountain ridge in front of the pagoda courtyard, you can clearly see the Gaomingjiao Temple halfway up the mountain below. Under the sunlight, it shines brightly. Although it looks close, after passing through the tunnel and walking down the road, you have to walk another two or three kilometers to reach the temple. Surrounded by dense shade and streams, the environment is very quiet, so this place used to be called Youxi Dojo. "Bright" and "secluded", these two completely opposite artistic conceptions, are actually different feelings produced when looking at Gaoming Temple from different angles.
Because it belongs to the same "system" as Guoqing Temple, tickets are now free here. However, Gaoming Temple is located in a relatively remote location, and there are very few tourists here. It doesn’t matter if it’s free or not.
The temple does not look very old, and most of the existing buildings were rebuilt in the 1980s.
The temple forehead of "Gaoming Lecture Temple" has very distinctive writing. It is said that Kang Youwei used carbon strips to write it when he came to Tiantai. The word "明" has an extra horizontal line, which should be intentional. When you come to Gaoming Temple, you have to take a look at the bell tower. There is a saying in the name: "The pines of Guoqing are the bells of Gaoming." It can be seen that the bell of Gaoming Temple is It is very unique. The Gaoming Bell hangs on the top floor of the Ksitigarbha Hall. The 16-ton bell is the largest in Zhejiang Province.
The Gaoming Temple is simple and quiet, and there are many cliff inscriptions outside the temple. Fortunately, the monks. Guidance, otherwise I almost missed it. Go southeast from the temple gate and walk down a stream. Along the way, you pass the "Youxi" written by the wise master, the statue of Maitreya Buddha, the "Guanyun Pavilion" and the "Yuantong Cave" composed of natural stone beams. " and other historic sites, only then did I realize that the best scenery of Gaoming Temple is not inside the temple but outside the temple.
This article was published in "Private Geography" of The Paper.