Baoguang temple in Chengdu

Baoguang temple is located in Xindu District, 18 kilometers away from the northern suburb of Chengdu. It is one of the Buddhist temples with a long history, large scale, complete structure and quiet environment in China. It is said that the temple was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Due to the lack of historical data, it is difficult to judge. At the same time, there are temples named Baoguang temple in Tongzhou, Beijing and Heilongjiang. At the same time, Baoguang temple is one of the ten scenic spots in Chengdu.

Tang dynasty

In the fifth year of Huichang (845), Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty, Li Yan ordered to demolish more than 4600 big temples and 40000 small temples. Baoguang temple was doomed and Baoguang tower was destroyed. In 847, Baoguang temple was restored, but Baoguang tower has not been rebuilt.

On the fifth day of December in the first year of Tang Guangming (that is, on the eighth day of January in 881 A.D.), the Huang Chao uprising army defeated Chang'an, and Li Fu, Emperor Fu of Tang Dynasty, fled south to Shu under the protection of five hundred Shence troops. In May of the first year of Zhonghe (July, 881), Fu Zong passed through Xindu and once stayed in Baoguang temple. Later, he felt that the environment here was very good, and it was not far from Chengdu, so he built a palace behind the temple (the two plinths of the palace terrace are under the pillars in front of the seven Buddha Hall). When he arrived in Chengdu, he immediately sent Guo zuntai with the emperor's "seal" to welcome Zhixuan, a monk living in seclusion in Jiulongshan, Pengzhou, to accompany him.

On the 8th of March in the third year of Tang Zhong (883), Fu Zong had been fortunate to Shu for nearly three years. It is said that this evening, he was depressed in the palace, so he went for a walk in the temple. All of a sudden, when he saw the glow on the ruins of Baoguang pagoda, he was in a panic and asked what happened to master Wuda? Wuda replied: "this is the light of the relic, which is a sign of good luck. Now the Yellow nest is flat, your majesty can return to Chang'an.". Xizong was very happy and asked people to excavate it. Sure enough, he found a stone letter in the pagoda palace. There were 13 pieces of Buddhist relics in the letter. They were crystal clear and shining. So he ordered master Wuda to rebuild the pagoda and expand the Buddhist temple. The pagoda is named Wugou Jingguang pagoda, and the Buddhist temple is still called Baoguang temple. At that time, there were more than 1000 monks in the temple, "none of the Buddhist temples in Sichuan flourished here.". Therefore, master Wuda was regarded as the founder of Baoguang temple in Tang Dynasty.

Song dynasty

In the Song Dynasty, the eleventh generation founder of Chinese Zen Linji sect, foguo Keqin, was founded in Zhaojue temple in Chengdu. In the third year of Daguan (1109), he was abbot of Baoguang temple and expanded the scale of the temple. He asked Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty to grant Baoguang temple the name of Dajue temple. According to the Qing Dynasty Daoguang stele "Baoguang temple to create the end of the end of the rehabilitation," said: "song Yuanwu Zen master practice, received thousands of people.". The temple entered the peak period of Song Dynasty.

Yuan dynasty

In the Yuan Dynasty, temples were once dilapidated. In the early Ming Dynasty, Shi Zimei and others donated money to build Baoguang temple. In the 11th year of Yongle (1413), monk xinkong built the stone Sutra building of Zunsheng tuoroni mantra in the temple. Later, the temple was destroyed by fire. During the reign of Zhengde of Ming Dynasty (1506-1521), Baoguang temple was donated by Yang Tinghe, the first assistant University scholar of the current Dynasty, and Yang Shengan, the first scholar of the new capital, and his son.

Late Ming and early Qing Dynasty

Baoguang temple was destroyed in the war between the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty. In the ninth year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1670), the mountain breaking monk of shuangguitang in Liangshan County, Sichuan Province sent his disciple, Zen master Xiaozong Yinmi, to Baoguang temple. With the support of Bi Chengying, the magistrate of Xindu County, and the local gentry, he cut the thorns and cut the thorns to revive the Taoist temple. He is known as the first generation old monk of Baoguang temple in the Qing Dynasty. During the two hundred years from Kangxi to Guangxu, Baoguang temple, together with Manjusri temple, Zhaojue temple and Caotang temple in Chengdu, became the "four fine blue" near Chengdu. Together with Manjusri temple in Chengdu, Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang and Gaomin temple in Yangzhou, they are the "four great jungles" in the Yangtze River Basin, that is to say, "there are Manjusri and Baoguang above and Jinshan and Gaomin below".

the Republic of China era

During the period of the Republic of China, Baoguang temple has always maintained the lofty status of the Buddhist Zen jungle. The abbot monk Yonghe Guanyi has a great influence in the Buddhist circles in China. Among the "four elite blue" temples in Chengdu, Baoguang temple is especially famous for carrying out the Zen sect's rules. At that time, among the Guadan monks, there was a saying: "to eat and drink, go to Zhaojue; to go to the market, go to the thatched cottage; to close pigs, go to Manjusri; to sit incense, go to Baoguang.". More than half of the monks in Mt. Emei are ordained in Baoguang temple. Therefore, Baoguang temple is known as "e Bantang". Many of the monks and nuns who received the precepts in Baoguang temple have made great achievements, and some of them have become well-known figures in Chinese Buddhist circles.

After liberation

After liberation, Baoguang temple was protected by the people's government. In 1956, Baoguang temple was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province. Especially in the "Cultural Revolution", many temples in China were damaged to varying degrees. However, Baoguang temple's halls, Buddha statues, plaques, couplets, calligraphy and painting and other cultural relics were basically intact, making it the most typical and well protected Buddhist Zen jungle in China. With the further implementation of the national policy of reform and opening up, Baoguang temple, as a national key temple and famous tourist spot, will increasingly play a huge role.

Overall structure

The building of Baoguang temple is of wood and stone structure, with more than 400 stone pillars. It is mainly composed of one tower, five halls and sixteen courtyards, surrounded by walls and surrounded by green trees. On the central axis, the word "Fu" stands in the order of Zhaobi, Shanmen hall, Tianwang hall, relic tower, seven Buddha Hall, sutra collection building and Zixia mountain; on both sides, there are bell tower, Drum Tower, guest hall, Yunshui hall, Zhaitang, Jietang, Luohan hall and Zen Hall. The eastern Zhang and the Western Zhang are symmetrical, showing the overall style of Chinese Buddhist temple. Baoguang temple is the only early Buddhist temple in China with "one temple and tower in the center" The typical layout of the temple. Built in the Tang Dynasty, the relic Pagoda in the temple is a 30 meter high square brick Pagoda with dense eaves.

Structure of Luohan Hall

Luohan hall was built in the first year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1851). There are 59 statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva and patriarch, 518 statues of Luohan, each about 2 meters high, including one statue of Kangxi and one statue of Qianlong. Beautiful shape, painted with gold, colorful and interesting. It is the oldest and largest clay sculpture Luohan hall in China. There are many cultural relics in Baoguang temple, such as the thousand Buddha stele in the sixth year of Datong (1540) of Liang Wudi in the Southern Dynasty, the Shiyi Gongde stele in the 29th year of Kaiyuan (741) of Tang Dynasty, the foundation of Tang emperor Xizong's palace, the Huayan Sutra in the yuan Dynasty, the stone building of Zunsheng tuoroni in Yongle of Ming Dynasty, the Tripitaka in Qing Dynasty, the Jade Buddha and the stone carved relic pagoda, as well as the relic known as the three treasures of zhensi Beiyejing and tongyoutanhua, etc. Each hall has 176 gold plaques, 24 inscriptions, 76 couplets, and more than 400 ancient handicrafts and celebrity paintings, which set off the historical and cultural atmosphere of Baoguang temple.

Luohan Hall of Baoguang temple is the oldest and largest clay sculpture Luohan hall among the four existing Luohan halls in China (the other three are located in Biyun temple in Beijing, Xiyuan temple in Suzhou and Guiyuan temple in Wuhan). It is famous for its wonderful statues. Every day, many Chinese and foreign tourists and Buddhists come to Luohan hall to visit, worship and explore the beauty.

It is said that there are countless Arhats in Baoguang temple. Because of the unique structure of Luohan hall, the statues crisscross and the roads extend in all directions, just like a labyrinth. People who come to count Arhats are often attracted by strange statues. When they count and look at them, the results are always different. If we want to count how many statues there are in Luohan hall, we must know its architectural structure.

Luohan hall is a square building with wooden and stone frame, with nine entrances and nine couplets, covering an area of 1600 square meters. Because there are four patios in it, its plane is in the shape of "Tian". In the center of Luohan hall, the roof rises like a dome. In the wide space stands a statue of Guanyin, about six meters high, with 28 heads, 56 hands and 196 eyes. Other statues around the "Tian" character, inside and outside the four layers, in the "ten" connected, making the passage twists and turns, more aware of the hall atmosphere deep, unpredictable. However, the arrangement of the statues is very regular. It takes the Peacock King Ming, the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the center and the three body Buddha in the inner wall as the central axis. It is symmetrical, echoes back and forth, and coordinates inside and outside. Each layer and row has a fixed number.

How many statues are there in Luohan hall. However, when counting from the "first arhoqiao Chen Ru Zun" on the left side of the three body Buddha, from the outer layer to the inner layer, and all the way to the "500th wish to serve all the venerable ones", there are still three Buddhas, six Bodhisattvas, eighteen Arhats and fifty patriarchs living on the "ten". So the total number of statues is 577.

Luohan Hall

Where did the five hundred Arhats from Luohan Hall of Baoguang Temple come from? According to legend, there was an eminent monk Luo Chena in Qingshen County of Meizhou in the Tang Dynasty, commonly known as Luo Yaoyun. His Taoist temple was in Qingshen Zhongyan. Later, he took 500 disciples from Sichuan to Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang Province. It is said that these five hundred disciples are the five hundred Arhats who manifest themselves in the world. Therefore, the couplet of Luohan hall in Baoguang Temple says, "this is the Tiantai, like xianaro 500."

It's full of fun

The statues of Luohan hall are various and interesting. It first gives the impression that the shape and expression are full of changes, and the posture and action are different. Its shape is fat and thin, old and young, tall and short, beautiful and ugly His facial expressions are either happy and smiling, or full of sadness, or kind and kind, or glaring, or quiet and dignified, or brave, or simple and funny, or cunning and sophisticated Their postures include those who sit upright and meditate with their palms closed; those who hold their knees up and feel happy; those who open their mouths and shake their arms and talk happily; those who close their eyes and hold their cheeks and feel thoughtful Their actions are to hold or not to hold objects, and the objects they hold are different: those who hold magic weapons such as counting beads, wooden fish, pestle and Zen stick; those who hold utensils such as bowls and bowls, books, crutches and dusts; and those who play with bats, toads, cranes and unicorns

Chinese PinYin : Cheng Dou Bao Guang Si