Puning Temple transportation guide: City transportation: Take bus No. 6 to arrive in the city, or take a taxi.
Puning Temple is one of the eight temples outside Chengde and is a national key Buddhist temple in the Han area determined by the State Council. Surrounded by mountains, this place has a superior shape and excellent climate. The mountains and rivers have the beauty of beautiful scenery in the north and south. The Qing government built the Royal Garden Summer Resort and the Eight Outer Temples Buddhist Building Complex here. During the Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing years, it became the second political center in the country after Beijing. It integrates the history, culture, and culture of my country's multi-ethnic groups. Art and architecture make Chengde a famous historical and cultural city famous for its gardens and temples. The Eight Outer Temples were built from the 52nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign to the 45th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (l7l3-l780), consisting of Puren Temple, Pushan Temple, Pule Temple, Anyuan Temple, Puning Temple, Puyou Temple, and Xumi Temple. It consists of 11 temples, including Fushou Temple, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Shuxiang Temple, Guang'an Temple and Luohan Hall. Eight of these 11 temples are under the jurisdiction of the Yonghe Temple in Beijing, so they are named the "Eight Outer Temples". Among them, Puning Temple is the most complete and spectacular.
Puning Temple was built in the 20th to 24th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1755-1759), covering an area of ??33,000 square meters. It is the largest temple complex among the Eight Outer Temples. At that time, the Qing government put down the rebellion of Dawaqi in the Erut Mongolian Junggar tribe, and knighted the four upper-class nobles of the Erut tribe in the summer resort. Because they believed in Tibetan Buddhism, they imitated the Tibetan Samaya (also known as Samye Temple) system. Puning Temple was built. The Fu government hoped that the people in the border areas would "live in peace, enjoy their jobs, and be Puning forever", so they named it "Puning Temple".
The architectural style of Puning Temple is unique. It absorbs and integrates the architectural patterns of Han Buddhist temples and Tibetan Buddhist temples. The southern half is the "Qitang Jialan" layout of Han Buddhist temples: on the central axis, in order There are halls such as the Shanmen, Tianwang Hall, and Main Hall; on both sides are the bell and drum towers and the east and west side halls, 150 meters long from north to south and 70 meters wide. The northern half is a Tibetan temple building: with Mahayana Pavilion as the center, surrounded by many Tibetan-style tower buildings - red terrace, white terrace and four white Lama pagodas.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Puning Temple declined with the decline of the Qing government. During the reign of the Beiyang warlords, the warlords stole a large number of precious cultural relics and Buddhist statues. During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army stole 143 large and small gold, silver and bronze Buddhas from the Eight Outer Temples, 120 items of supplies in the temple, four plaques, 13 Tanjur Sutras, Ganjur Sutras, etc., some of which were written in gold. , pearl decoration. After Chengde was liberated in 1948, the People's Government established the Outer Eight Temple Management Office to repair and protect the ruined Puning Temple, and to repair the Mahachen Pavilion and other buildings that were on the verge of collapse so that they could be preserved intact. In 1961, Puning Temple was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. In 1985, Lama was stationed and opened as a religious activity venue.
The main entrance of Puning Temple is five rooms wide, three of which are stone-carved arches, symbolizing the "three liberation doors" (empty door, Wuxiang door, and Wuzuo door). The two gods enshrined in the hall are the "Two Generals of Hum and Ha". They were newly sculpted during the restoration in 1986. They are 4.34 meters high and are made of wood and clay. Holding a vajra in his hand, his upper body is bare, his clothes are wrapped around his waist, and he stares in a mighty manner. On the left is the Secret Holding Vajra, and on the right is Narayana Vajra. The stele pavilion is a three-bay square shape with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain. The lower eaves are single and high, and the upper eaves are single and high. The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles and green sheared edges. There are three steles in the pavilion. In the middle is the "Inscription on the Imperial System for the Puning of Puning Temple", which records the origin and layout of the construction of Puning Temple; on the left and right are "The Monument of the Imperial System for the Pingding of Junggar and the Inscription of Yili" and "The Monument of the Imperial System for the Pingding of the Junggar and the Inscription of Yili" in the middle. ", which records the historical fact that the Qing government put down the rebellion of Dawaqi Amursana, a nobleman of the Junggar tribe, and consolidated the northwest frontier defense. These three steles are all written by Emperor Qianlong and written in four languages: Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan. The bell tower is flat and wide with three rooms, a two-story pavilion, and a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. There is a bronze bell from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty hanging inside, 2 meters high and 1.26 meters in diameter. Every morning, the lama knocks 108 times and the monks begin to go to the temple to chant sutras. Buddhism claims that these 108 bells can remove 108 kinds of troubles. "When you hear the bells, your troubles will be cleared, your wisdom will grow, and Bodhi will be born."
The main hall is a hilltop with double eaves, covered with green glazed tiles and yellow glazed tiles. In the center of the main ridge is a gilded copper pagoda with unique decorations in Tibetan Buddhist temple architecture. There are ten owl kisses on the roof ridge, front and rear vertical ridges, and forked ridge heads, which can protect the ridges from water seepage during construction. There are seven lifelike images of birds and animals on each corner of the eaves, each with its own meaning. The first one is the dragon, which can stir up wind and rain and is a symbol of the emperor. The second one is the phoenix, the king of birds, referring to a person with holy virtues. The third one is the lion, the king of the mountain, brave and majestic. The fourth one is the Pegasus, which symbolizes the emperor’s mighty virtue reaching all directions. The fifth one is a seahorse, which means that the emperor's mighty virtue can reach all the heavens and seas. The sixth one is Suanni, a beast that can eat tigers and leopards. The seventh one is called Ayu, which is a strange beast in the sea and can extinguish fire and prevent disasters. The three generations of Buddhas are worshiped in the middle of the hall. In the middle is the living Buddha Sakyamuni, on the left is the past Buddha Ran_, and on the right is the future Buddha Maitreya. The wood carvings are gold-lacquered, the golden light shines, and the manner is solemn. Eighteen Arhat statues are arranged on the gable stone altars on both sides. The north wall is painted with eight images of Tara and sixteen goddesses of Shengle, which are lifelike and vivid. The six-character mantra is painted on the roof.
The Tibetan temple architecture in the second half of Puning Temple imitates the style of Samye Temple. It reflects the world view of Tibetan Buddhism through the overall layout and individual shapes of the building, and combines Tantric mandalas and other pure Buddhist ideals. It is expressed in a specific architectural image so that the entire building has a symbolic role.
"Mandala" in Sanskrit means "wheel set", or translated as "wheel altar" or "mandala". It is an altar built by tantric monks during their practice. It later evolved into a "round wheel with all the Buddhas". Assembly" altar. The second half of Puning Temple is designed based on the description of the universe in Buddhist scriptures. The Mahayana Pavilion stands majestically in the middle, representing Mount Sumeru, symbolizing the center of the world. To the east and west of the pavilion are the Sun Palace and the Moon Palace, which represent the movement of the sun and the moon around the universe. There are four double-layered palaces on the four sides of the pavilion, representing the four major continents: The Dongsheng Shenzhou Hall symbolizes wind and plays the role of nourishing all things. It is shaped like a half moon, so it is built in the shape of a crescent. The South View Hall symbolizes fire and is shaped like a triangle. It plays a role in promoting the maturity of all things and is built in the shape of a trapezoidal platform. Xiniu Hezhou Hall symbolizes water, absorbing all things, and is built into an oval-shaped platform; Beijuluzhou symbolizes land, protecting all things, and is built into a square platform. There are four pagodas in the four corners of the pavilion, representing the "four wisdoms" of Buddha: the white pagoda in the northwest corner is the "wisdom of the great circle", which can clearly reflect and understand all phenomena in the world; the black pagoda in the northeast corner is the "wisdom of equality", which sees everything in the world There is no difference in equality; the red pagoda in the southeast corner is "Wonderful Observation Wisdom", which means that the Buddha can clearly observe good and evil, and has a wonderful view of all things; the green pagoda in the southwest corner is "Achieving Wisdom", which means that belief in Buddha can achieve self-interest and altruism. The five roofs of the Mahayana Pavilion are closely connected to form a roof group. The Taidian Hall and the Sun and Moon Hall of the Four Major Continents are Tibetan flat-roofed buildings that have been changed in proportion and used as a base, with Chinese-style wooden buildings built on them. Taiwanese architecture is of Tibetan style, which cleverly combines Chinese and Tibetan architecture with majestic appearance and garden configuration, forming a unique style of temple architecture that blends Chinese and Tibetan culture.
The Mahayana Pavilion is divided into three floors. In the middle part, which runs from top to bottom, the world's largest wooden sculpture - the statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes is enshrined. This Buddha statue is 22.28 meters high, has a waist circumference of 15 meters, and weighs 110 tons. It is made of five kinds of wood: pine, cypress, elm, linden, and fir, and requires about 120 cubic meters of wood. Avalokitesvara stands on the lotus seat with her hands clasped together, and 40 hands emerge from behind her. Each hand has an eye, each holding a magic weapon. The shape is solemn, the face is benevolent, and the clothing lines are natural and smooth. It is a precious art treasure.
On both sides of the Thousand-Hands and Thousand-Eyes Guanyin are the 14-meter-high wooden sculptures of Shancai and Dragon Girl. The second floor of the Mahayana Pavilion houses the five Buddhas, and the corridor on the third floor houses the Third Buddha and the pagoda. The walls in the pavilion are decorated with ten thousand Buddha niches. Inside each Buddhist niche is a golden lacquered Tibetan mud Amitayus Buddha, a total of ten thousand and ninety statues. The entire hall is decorated with splendor and splendor.
There is also the Miaoyan Room on the east side of the Mahayana Pavilion, which was where Emperor Qianlong rested in the temple. There is a lecture hall on the west side, where Mongolian Buddhist leaders Zhangjia Guoshi and Jebtsundamba Hutuktu lectured. There are also eight buildings with 40 monks' rooms around, which are the residences of upper-level Buddhists and lamas' rooms. It is said that during the Qianlong period, there were more than 200 lamas in Puning Temple. In the late Qing Dynasty, Puning Temple began to decline.
In May 1956, the Buddhist community in Chengde City invited 30 Mongolian lamas from Inner Mongolia to station in Puning Temple. Among them were three living Buddhas, two Taoist priests, two Geguis, one Weng Zeda, and one sutra teacher. Among them are 15 young lamas aged 18 to 21, with junior and senior high school education and proficiency in Mongolian and Chinese. Now, there are 42 lamas in Puning Monastery. After the lama entered the temple, he resumed the religious activities and the traditional first month Dharma assembly, April Dharma assembly, June Dharma assembly, September Dharma assembly and October Dharma assembly in Puning Temple.
In order to manage the temple well, the Lama of Puning Temple established the "Lama Academic Affairs Committee" and the "Puning Temple Management Office", and formulated the "Lama Position Responsibility System", "Hall Management Regulations", "Access Control System", etc. Various regulations. In order to improve safety and fire prevention work, Puning Temple strictly manages the incense in the hall. The incense burner on the altar table is a lying clay incense burner. The butter sea lamp has a glass lampshade. The altar table is supplemented with fireproof iron plates. All courtyards and halls in the temple There are no smoking billboards. Each hall is equipped with a full set of fire-fighting equipment, and 17 lamas form an amateur fire brigade. After being trained by the fire department, they can complete fire-fighting tasks quickly. Since 1986, Puning Temple has received more than 600,000 visitors every year. Chinese and foreign guests have praised Puning Temple for its magnificent halls, clean environment and beautiful scenery. In recent years, Puning Temple has been rated as an “advanced unit for dual civilization construction” and an advanced unit for sanitation and greening in Chengde City. In order to facilitate the treatment of diseases for the people around him, Geba, the director of the Buddhist Association of Chengde City, Hebei Province and the academic administrator of Puning Temple, opened a "Tibetan medicine clinic" and used the herbs he collected to treat the people. He was praised by the people. Known as the "Bodhisattva Miracle Doctor".