Donglin Temple is the birthplace of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism and the central monastery of southern Buddhism during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is located at the northwest foot of Mount Lu, 16 kilometers from Jiujiang City in the north and 50 kilometers from Guling Street in Lushan Mountain in the east. It is named because it is located east of Xilin Temple.
Donglin Temple was built in the ninth year of Taiyuan (384) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was founded by Huiyuan. It has a history of more than 1,600 years and has gone through many vicissitudes of life and has been repeatedly abandoned and renovated. Huiyuan (334-416) first built the "Longquan Jingshe" east of Xilin Temple, and later got the help of Huan Yizhi, the governor of Jiangzhou, to build Donglin Temple. Huiyuan presided over Donglin Temple for more than 30 years, gathering thousands of ascetics and recruiting 123 Chinese and foreign learned monks to form the White Lotus Society. He translated Buddhist scriptures, wrote teachings, and practiced Pure Land practices together, becoming the founder of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism.
Donglin Temple reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, with more than 310 halls, chambers, towers and chambers, and more than 10,000 volumes of scriptures. It was the first temple in the country at that time. Before Yangzhou Gao Jiezhen came to Japan, he visited Donglin Temple. Later, he and Zhien, a monk from Donglin Temple, traveled to Japan together. The teachings of Huiyuan and Donglin Pure Land Sect were also introduced to Japan. To this day, Donglin Sect in Japan is still known as Lushandong. Linsi Huiyuan was the ancestor.
Donglin Temple faces Lushan Mountain in the south and Donglin Mountain in the north. It is surrounded by four sides, like a city outline. During the Yuanhe period of the Tang Dynasty, Donglin Temple had more than 300 temples and dormitories for monks, thousands of disciples, and tens of thousands of scriptures. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Donglin Temple gradually declined. During the Sino-Japanese War, it was destroyed by the war, leaving only a dilapidated temple. In recent years, Donglin Temple has been fully restored. Today, Donglin Temple has a majestic Buddhist temple, vast buildings and clouds, gatherings of eminent monks, and incense is growing day by day.
Huxi Bridge at Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Donglin Temple is surrounded by mountains and the streams flow back. To the south of the temple is a thousand-meter green screen, with a clear stream winding toward the west, and a stone arch bridge spanning the stream. This is the place where the story of "Three Smiles on the Tiger River", which is a well-known legend in the history of Chinese culture, took place. Today, there is the "Three Smiles Hall" in Donglin Temple and the stone tiger crouching by the Huxi Bridge, both of which are derived from this legend. In the Song Dynasty, Shi Ke also painted "Three Smiles on the Tiger River", which is collected in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
Cross the Huxi Bridge and go north for about 100 meters to the first mountain gate of Donglin Temple. There are four large seal characters "Xiu Ji Lu Feng" written on the door wall, and "Jian Jian" hangs vertically on the gate. Donglin Temple" stone carving. When you step into the first mountain gate, there is a stone corridor stretching from north to south. On the east side of the corridor stands a vigorous and tall ancient pine, shaped like a round cover, with twisted branches and whirling shadows. This pine was planted by Master Huiyuan himself. Its original name is "Arhat Pine". Because it was planted in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,600 years, it is called the "Six Dynasties Pine". Some people also call it "the No. 1 Pine in Lushan Mountain".
It is said that this pine is quite spiritual, and its several periods of withering and prosperity are closely related to the rise and fall of Donglin: when the temple is prosperous, the tree will be prosperous, and when the temple is declining, the tree will wither. Next to the ancient pine is the Dharma Protector Hall, in the middle sits the big-bellied Maitreya Buddha, and behind it stands the Skanda Buddha. Behind the Dharma Protector Hall is the "White Lotus Pond".
White Lotus Pond of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain:
It is located between the Dharma Protector Hall and the Shenyun Hall. This pool was originally built by Xie Lingyun, a famous scholar in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the originator of Chinese landscape poetry. The white lotus in the pond was called "Green Lotus" in ancient times. Its flowers are blue and white in color and particularly fragrant. Each flower has more than 130 petals. Donglin White Lotus is famous at home and abroad.
In 1321 AD, the Japanese monk Cheng Yuan brought lotus seeds to Japan and vigorously promoted the Pure Land doctrine. Green lotuses bloomed all over Japan. In 1992, with the efforts of celebrities, the Japanese Buddhist community donated Donglin lotus seeds to Donglin Temple. General Yang Chengwu inscribed the word "Lotus Pond" on the restored lotus pond. Today, there are white lotuses blooming in the lotus pond, clear waves rippling, and fields of green leaves. So far, the "Green Lotus" has reopened in the Donglin Ancestral Courtyard.
Shenyun Hall of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
It is the main Buddhist hall of Donglin Temple. It is 19 meters high, 24 meters deep, and has a total construction area of ??386 square meters. This was rebuilt in 1989 Modeled after the Song Dynasty, it is the main hall of Donglin Temple. Generally, the main hall of a temple is called the Main Hall, while the main hall of Donglin Temple is called the "Shenyun Hall", which is related to Huineng, the founder of Donglin Temple.
The Five Hundred Arhat Hall of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Located on the east and west sides of Shenyun Hall, it is one of the important Buddhist halls of Donglin Temple. Donglin Temple used to have the Five Hundred Arhats Pavilion. In the ninth year of the Northern Song Dynasty, Cao Han went to Jiangzhou and dispatched more than ten giant ships, all loaded with gold and silk. He placed the Five Hundred Arhats of Donglin Temple on them and returned them to Yingchuan. .
The current Hall of Five Hundred Arhats was rebuilt after 1987. The remodeled Five Hundred Arhats are clay sculptures, vivid and simple, with different shapes and lifelike.
White Lotus Old Society of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Also known as "Yuan Gong Hall", "Eighteen Gaoxian Shadow Hall", "Ancestral Hall" and "Buddhist Chanting Hall", it is on the east side of the Sutra Collection Building , beside Demu Pond. This is where Huiyuan and the "Eighteen Great Sages" chanted sutras, so it is also called the "Buddha Chanting Hall". In order to commemorate them, later generations carved statues of eighteen eminent persons and enshrined them in the temple. Lu You in the Song Dynasty, Wang Siren in the Ming Dynasty, Huang Zongzai, Li Shenjie and others in the Qing Dynasty all recorded this after visiting Donglin Temple.
During the comprehensive restoration of Donglin Temple in 1987, it was moved here. The east and west walls of the hall are inlaid with "Eighteen" paintings by Liu Chengzhi, Lei Cishi, the eminent monk Huiyuan, and the Buddhist monk Buddha Tuobhadra. Gao Xian" stone sculpture. The sculptures are exquisite, the images are lifelike, the personalities are distinct, the expressions are different and lifelike.
Yuan Gong Pagoda Courtyard of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Also known as "Xiaxia Pagoda Courtyard", it is about half a mile west of Donglin Temple. Master Huiyuan passed away in the twelfth year of Yixi (416) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later generations built a pagoda to worship him, which was called the "Yuangong Pagoda Courtyard". Because the tomb tower was stacked with stones like lychees, Wang Siren in the Ming Dynasty called it the lychee pagoda. Therefore, it is also called "Lychee Tower". The old pagoda courtyard was destroyed in the Qing Dynasty. The current pagoda was rebuilt in 1983 and renovated in 2000. There is a "Buddha's Hand Camphor" in the courtyard, which is said to have been planted by Master Huiyuan more than 1,600 years ago.
Clever Spring in Donglin Temple, Lushan
A clear spring is located behind the Jade Buddha Hall. It is where Huiyuan and his friend Yin Zhongkan, a famous scholar from the Southern Dynasties, often studied the "Book of Changes" and chatted with each other. This spring never dries up in all seasons, and its water is clean and exceptionally clear. The monks call it the "Holy Water of Donglin".
The Wenfo Pagoda at Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Also known as the Shangfang Pagoda and the Relic Pagoda, it was erected by the eminent Indian monk Fotuobhadra Zen Master. The tower has six sides and seven levels, majestic and towering. There are many Buddha statues embedded in the tower, and Buddha statues are also enshrined on each floor. Several "Sakyamuni Buddha relics" brought by Zen Master Buddhabhadra from the Western Regions are buried here. The ancient pagoda has been built and destroyed several times, and the current pagoda was rebuilt in 1998.
The Ancient Sutra Translation Platform of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain
Behind the "Sutra Collection Building" is the place where the Buddha Tuobhadra translated scriptures in Donglin Temple during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The reason why Donglin Temple has become a famous ancient temple in China is not only because of its long history and numerous eminent monks, but also because it is located in Lushan, a famous landscape area, and has landscape gardens that are rare in domestic temples. It is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River and at the western foot of Mount Lu.
It faces Lushan Incense Burner and the peaks of heaven and earth in the south, leans on the watershed and the upper tower in the north, has Fragrant Valley in the northwest and Wulong Pond in the southeast. The terrain is majestic. The bright hall in front of the temple is wide, the Incense Burner Peak is in the trend of worship, and the purple smoke has been continuous for thousands of years; the Tiger Creek has a sentiment of nostalgia and has flowed for thousands of years. Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote the four words "Liuquanza Temple", praising the wonder of this temple.
The garden in the temple is planned to avoid the shade and embrace the sun; pines and bamboos are famous flowers, and the shade eaves invade the steps; the winding paths lead to secluded areas, and the stone paths are covered with moss. Wandering there, you will feel refreshed, relaxed and happy, revealing the charm of a paradise and a pure land on earth. Donglin Temple is also the representative and pioneer of comprehensive gardens in temple gardens that integrate the landscape outside the temple and the garden environment inside the temple.
To go to Donglin Temple, you must pass the Huxi Bridge. According to legend, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Hui Yuan, the abbot of Donglin Temple, lived in seclusion in the temple. People said that he "cannot leave the mountain without leaving his shadow, and cannot follow the customs." He never crosses the Tiger River in front of the temple when seeing off guests or taking a walk. If you cross the Tiger River, the tigers in the forest behind the temple will roar.
Once, the poet Tao Yuanming and the Taoist priest Lu Xiujing came to visit and had a good conversation with Huiyuan. When we saw them off, they passed the Huxi Bridge unknowingly, and the tiger in the back mountain roared a warning. The three of them suddenly understood, looked at each other, laughed and said goodbye. This story of "Three Smiles in the Tiger River" reflects the harmony of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and has been appreciated by celebrities of all ages.
Li Bai wrote in the poem "Farewell to the Monk of Donglin Temple": "At the place where Donglin sees off guests, the moon rises and the white ape crows, smiling at the distance of Lushan Mountain, why bother crossing the Tiger River." To this day, Donglin Temple The "Three Smiles Hall" inside and the stone tiger crouching by the Huxi Bridge originate from this legend and add mystery to the ancient temple.
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