Bodhisattva Peak is located on Lingjiu Peak to the north of Xiantong Temple in Wutai Mountain. It is the largest Gelug sect temple of Tibetan Buddhism in Mount Wutai. It is said that the top of Bodhisattva is the dojo of Manjushri Bodhisattva, so it is also called "Zhenrongyuan" and "Great Manjushri Temple".
Bodhisattva Summit was built during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and has been rebuilt many times in the past dynasties. Later, after Tibetan monks settled in Mount Wutai, it became the first Tibetan Buddhist temple in Mount Wutai. The entire temple on Bodhisattva Ding is built along the mountain. There are 108 stone steps in front of the temple, and the layout is very strict.
All dynasties in our country have attached great importance to the repair and expansion of the Bodhisattva Summit, gradually forming its later scale. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the temple was renovated and 10,000 bronze statues of Manjusri were cast and enshrined in the temple. It was rebuilt during the Southern Song Dynasty and the temple was renamed "Great Manjusri Temple".
In 1402, the title of Bodhisattva Summit began to appear. From 1573 to 1620, the temple was rebuilt again. In the Qing Dynasty, because the Manchu people believed in Tibetan Buddhism, in 1660, the Bodhisattva Summit was changed from Chinese Buddhism to Tibetan Buddhism, and the abbot of the temple was sent from the capital.
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Bodhisattva Summit was rebuilt and the "Fanhan Admiral's Seal" was awarded to the temple. From then on, in accordance with the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the main hall on the top of the Bodhisattva was paved with yellow glazed tiles to express dignity, and the archway in front of the mountain gate was also built in the form of four pillars and seven floors. This is unique in Mount Wutai and rare nationwide.
Since then, Bodhisattva Summit has become a temple for the Qing Dynasty royal family. The "Lingfeng Scenic Spot" on the water arch outside the Bodhisattva Dingshan Gate and the "Wutai Sacred Scenic Spot" on the stone monument in front of the Manjusri Hall were all inscribed by Emperor Kangxi himself.
The two-way 3-meter-high and 1-meter-wide four-lined stele in the Bodhisattva Dingdong Temple is inscribed in four languages: Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan. It is the imperial pen of Emperor Qianlong, describing His feelings on going to Mount Wutai. The calligraphy is round and smooth, with a plump and vigorous structure. It is a very precious work of art.
The architectural layout of the Bodhisattva Summit is very unique, and the main temple looks like a palace in appearance, but the internal layout has a strong Tibetan Buddhist charm. Because the Bodhisattva is on the Lingjiu Peak, looking up from the bottom of the peak, the 108 steep stone steps in front of the Bodhisattva are like a ladder hanging in the air. Above are the Brahma Palace, Buddha Kingdom, Qionglou and Yuyu. On the platform at the end of the stone steps stands a wooden archway with four pillars and three doors.
Behind the archway is the mountain gate. There are round windows on the red walls of the rooms on both sides of the mountain gate. Some people say that this layout is like a dragon's head. The main entrance of the archway is the dragon's mouth, the flagpole is the dragon's horn, the round window on the side room wall is the dragon's eye, and the long stone steps are the dragon's tongue. And because the big stone steps in front of the mountain gate are not one step at a time, but a large flat surface that rises sloping, and are carved with nine dragons playing in the water. The nine dragons are tumbling, entangled with each other, and vivid.
There are more than 100 large and small houses on the top of the Bodhisattva, including halls, monks' houses, etc. The layout and structure are compact and varied, and they were all built under the orders of the later Emperor Kangxi. The entire temple building can be roughly divided into three parts: the front courtyard, the middle courtyard, and the backyard.
The main buildings on the central axis include the Shanmen, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Manjusri Hall, etc. Bell towers, drum towers, Zen courtyards, etc. are arranged symmetrically on both sides. The layout of the entire temple building is not only prominent in the center, but also spectacular and magnificent. In addition, the red pillars, red walls, and golden glazed tiles make it even more resplendent, rich and luxurious.
The layout and sculptures of the main halls on Bodhisattva Summit have a strong flavor of Tibetan Buddhism. In the 7-room Mahavira Hall, there are Vairocana Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Medicine Buddha in the back, and a statue of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, in the front.
The Manjushri statue in the Manjushri Hall is different from the Manjushri Bodhisattva statues in ordinary Buddhist temples. It is made according to the classic regulations of Tibetan Buddhism. Dressed in a draped style and wearing a necklace at the same time, it looks particularly lively and lively. On the walls on both sides, there are also Tibetan thangkas painted on cloth.
In addition, on the pillars of the Main Hall and Manjusri Hall, there are also small peach-shaped plaques with Sanskrit mantras written on them. These are unique among Tibetan Buddhist temple architectural decorations.
It is worth mentioning that Manjusri Hall is also known as the Dishui Hall. In the past, there was an eaves tile in Manjusri Hall that always dripped water no matter spring, summer or autumn, whether it was cloudy or rainy. Over time, a step stone in front of Manjusri Hall became honeycomb-shaped. What's the reason? Some people say that this is because Manjushri Bodhisattva is so effective in spreading rain and dew.
Actually, this is just a clever architectural design. There are small holes in the glazed tiles of Wenshu Hall. There is a water storage layer under the tiles, and there are leak-proof facilities under the water storage layer.
Whenever it rains, rainwater passes through the glazed tile holes and is stored in the water storage layer. On cloudy or sunny days, the water in the aquifer slowly drips from the eaves.
In addition, there are many cultural relics inside the Bodhisattva's dome. Some of these artifacts are rare and interesting.
There are four large copper pots in the main room in the backyard of Bodhisattva Peak. These copper pots used to be used once every year during the "June Meeting" and the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.