Large Buddhist temple in Xinchang

Dafo temple is a key open temple in China. It was founded in the early years of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and has a history of more than 1600 years. Surrounded by mountains and cliffs, the Maitreya Buddha statue excavated in the Qiliang period of the Southern Dynasty is towering, majestic, solemn and wise, which is known as "the largest Buddha in the south of the Yangtze River"; and the adjacent thousand Buddha Temple has 1075 small stone Buddhas, which retains the style of the six dynasties. The Great Buddha grottoes and Thousand Buddha grottoes, one large and one small, one more and one less, are known as "Dunhuang of Yue State". For more than ten years, adhering to the grotto art and Buddhist cultural tradition, Dafosi scenic spot has successively developed such scenic spots as Buddha heart square, Prajna Valley, wood stone forest, Foshan holy land, qiguangjingyuan, Shuanglin grottoes, among which Shuanglin Grottoes is the largest grotto Reclining Buddha in the world. Chuanyan 19feng scenic spot is located 22 kilometers southwest of Xinchang County, which has enjoyed high reputation since Tang and Song dynasties. From north to south, there are 19 peaks in different shapes. They stand in the triangle area where the Hanfei River and jingling River meet. They circle the mountains and the Qingjiang River, and their reflections are swaying. 　　

Qianzhang Yougu scenic area extends all the way from green bamboo to Yougu, with flowing spring splashing in the valley and bamboo path leading to seclusion. It has "the beauty of Guilin, the beauty of Lijiang River and the wonder of wild geese". As a special location base of CCTV, Qianzhang Yougu scenic area is famous all over the country and has become an ideal place for tourists to pursue eco-tourism.

Transportation: take bus No.2, no.6, No.7 and No.8 to Dafo city station in Dafo city. After entering the gate of Dafo Temple scenic spot, the cost of battery car is 5 yuan per person. It is about 2.5 km from the gate of scenic spot to Dafo Temple Mountain Gate.

Great Buddha Temple

synonym

Xinchang Dafo Temple generally refers to Dafo Temple (Zhejiang Xinchang Dafo Temple)

Dafo temple, also known as Dafo temple, is located in Nanming street, Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province. It was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The temple is characterized by grotto statues with a large scale and a long history. The stone Maitreya Buddha, with a history of more than 1600 years, is 16.3 meters high and 10.6 meters apart. It is the only remaining early grotto statue in South China, known as "Dunhuang of Yue State". Liu Xie, a famous literary theorist in the Southern Dynasty, praised and said: "the treasure of immortality, the cause of no class.".

In 1983, Xinchang Dafo temple was designated by the State Council as the national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area. In 2006, Dafosi temple was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Zhejiang Province. In 2013, the stone Maitreya statue and Thousand Buddha rock statue of Dafosi Temple became the national key cultural relics protection units.

Dafo temple is a large-scale, multi-functional and comprehensive national 4A tourist attraction integrating sightseeing and pilgrimage, geological science popularization, folk custom experience and Zen leisure. It has national scenic spots, National Geoparks, national key cultural relics protection units, national key open temples, CCTV film and television location shooting base and other brands.

Historical evolution

According to records, in 486, Seng Hu saw the Buddha light appeared on the cliff of Xianji rock, so he vowed to carve a large statue of Maitreya Buddha on the cliff. But in his lifetime, he only became a statue of Mianfu, and on his deathbed, he still vowed to "create this Buddha again in the next life.". Later, Seng Shu continued to chisel, but also failed.

Until the sixth year of Liang Tianjian (507), Wang Suwei of Liang Jian'an sent sengyou to take charge of the continued excavation project, which was finally completed in the 15th year of Liang Tianjian (516).

According to Jiatai Kuaiji annals, in 845, Ruixiang pavilion was built in Shicheng. During the reign of Tang Guangming (880-881), the temple was destroyed by war.

In 907, the first year of Kaiping in the late Liang Dynasty, Shicheng temple was burned. In the third year of Kaiping (909), the king of Wu and Yue paid 80 million yuan, starting from the third floor of Maitreya Pavilion and more than 300 temples, and gave the temple the name of "Ruixiang Temple".

In 1008, fengzao changed Ruixiang temple into Baoxiang temple.

Ming Hongwu years (1328-1388) known as the stone Buddha Temple. In the ninth year of Yongle (1411) of the Ming Dynasty, Pilu pavilion was rebuilt, with three floors and five poles, 13 Zhang and 5 feet high. The temple was renamed Pilu Pavilion. After the war, all the temples were destroyed, only the stone Maitreya Buddha statue with ten Zhang gold body survived alone.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662-1722), the main hall was rebuilt and decorated with Jinrong. During the reign of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1831-1861), the temple was destroyed again, and rebuilt during the reign of Guangxu (1871-1908), later known as the great Buddhist temple. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the five storey high pavilion was rebuilt and the statue of Buddha and arhat was rebuilt.

In 1925, a stele was erected at the gate of the temple, which read "Great Buddha Temple". At this point, the temple was renamed the Great Buddha Temple.

In 2013, the stone Maitreya statue and Thousand Buddha rock statue of Dafosi Temple became the national key cultural relics protection units.

Architectural pattern

Xinchang Dafo temple has a total area of 25 square kilometers, facing east from the West. Behind the gate is the sightseeing trail. On the left side are Shuanglin grottoes, thousand Buddha Temple and Buddha's heart square. On the right side are shediao village, woody stone forest, dinosaur garden, natural holy land, Foshan holy land, five hundred arhat cave, Prajna Valley and qiguang Buddhist temple. Finally, the temple is the ancient temple of the Southern Dynasty.

Main attractions

The main buildings of Xinchang Great Buddha temple include Tianwang hall, Xixi hall, Daxiong hall, Great Buddha Hall, dizang hall, sutra tower, hidden crane tower, thousand Buddha courtyard, wise Dharma tower, etc. In addition, there are Zhuzi inscriptions, Yinyue cave, wuliangqiao, fangshengchi, turtle fossils, huiyinbi, mixiao's "mianbi" inscription, ancient ginkgo, jiekaiyan, xiankeyan, qiyutou, Yuexia and other scenic spots.

Cultural relics

Cultural relics protection

In 1983, Xinchang Dafo temple was designated by the State Council as the national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area.

In 2006, Dafosi temple was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Zhejiang Province.

In 2013, the stone Maitreya statue and Thousand Buddha rock statue of Dafosi Temple became the national key cultural relics protection units.

Value significance

Religious value

According to historical records and the results of scholars' discussion, when Tan Guang arrived in Shicheng, Xinchang, Buddhism was introduced into China only 150 years ago. Because many eminent monks studied and spread Buddhism here, there appeared "six schools and seven schools" in the history of Chinese Buddhism in eastern Zhejiang. The activities of many eminent monks and celebrities in Xinchang have pushed China's Buddhist teaching research to a climax, and on the basis of the research results, they have gradually spread and infiltrated into the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin, which has naturally become the most important reason for the Buddhist circles to regard the great Buddhist Temple in Xinchang as a Buddhist holy land.

During the northern and Southern Dynasties, wars were frequent and the people were in dire straits. It is believed that Maitreya Bodhisattva has boundless Dharma and can help all living beings and save people from suffering. The statues of stone Maitreya and Thousand Buddhas reveal the people's spiritual world suffering from war and their strong desire for social harmony, and reflect the real life at that time through the themes and forms of statues with the characteristics of the times. Xinchang religious culture, represented by big Buddha and Thousand Buddha, is the most distinctive culture in Xinchang regional culture.

Cultural relic value

The stone Maitreya statues and Thousand Buddha statues of Dafosi temple are the important niches of Southern Dynasties in China, and they are the end of the dissemination of Buddhist culture in the southeast of China.

The stone Maitreya statue, with the integration of Tianzhu flavor and national style, embodies the spiritual world of the combination of belief and speculation of the scholar bureaucrats in the Southern Dynasty, and has its place in the history of Chinese culture. It is described in Fan Wenlan's Compendium of Chinese history, Jian Bozan's Compendium of Chinese history and Jin Weinuo's treatise on the history of Chinese art. It is the earliest written record of the Great Buddha in the Great Buddha Temple in Xinchang. It is also a valuable document of the religion, statues and literature of the Southern Dynasties in China's grottoes.

Although the statue of thousand Buddha rock has been damaged, it still retains the style and features of the Southern Dynasty. It is the earliest carved cave statue found in the southern region so far. It is one of the important physical examples for studying the Buddhist statue art of the Southern Dynasty in China. It has high historical and artistic value and has been included in the Encyclopedia of China (Art Volume) and the world art Encyclopedia of the northern and Southern Dynasties volume.

Buddhist activities

On October 19, 2004 (the sixth day of the ninth lunar month), the foundation laying ceremony of qiguangjingyuan of Dafosi temple in Xinchang County was held during the sixth Tourism Festival. October 20 (lunar September 22) the 10th Xinchang Tianmu Mountain Cultural Tourism Festival "Dafo temple qiguangjingyuan inauguration ceremony" was held in qiguangjingyuan.

Since 2006, Xinchang County has held a spring tea ceremony in front of the Millennium Maitreya of the Great Buddha temple for nine consecutive years as a fixed ceremony in the Longjing tea cultural activities of the Great Buddha.

In 2009, the Jiangnan Buddhist heart grand ceremony concert was named, and the Tourism Festival arranged activities such as the sacrifice ceremony of the old monk of enlightenment, "two-day Buddhist fate" and "Buddhist Heart Forum".

In April 2010, after hearing the news of the Yushu earthquake in Qinghai Province, Dafosi temple in Xinchang County, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province held a super law meeting for the victims of the Yushu earthquake. In addition, the monks of the whole temple also actively donated money to Yushu disaster area.

During the visit to the Great Buddha Temple in 2014, master CHUANSHI specially invited members of the delegation to taste the new tea of the Great Buddha Longjing and tell master Mingguang, the abbot of Heming temple, about the cultural heritage of the Great Buddha Longjing.

At 7:30 a.m. on December 22, 2014, ancestor worship activities on the winter solstice of Jiawu year were held in Xinchang Dafo temple

Chinese PinYin : Xin Chang Da Fo Si