Ziguo Temple

Ziguo Temple

Ziguo temple is a thousand year old temple in East Fujian and one of the original six temples in Fuding City. Now the total area is more than 1000 mu, with nearly 200 permanent monks. Located in the southeast suburb of Fuding City, five kilometers away from the city of Lianfeng mountain, built in the first year of Tang Xiantong (860). The temple was built by Ye Pang brothers of Tang Guanzhuang and gave alms to all the surrounding mountain farms. Song Daquan founder Chongxing, according to legend, there are nine wells and thirteen piers, for the heyday. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Shi Baijin, a branch of Xia family in Yutang, the capital of the city, helped to build the main hall. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the ancestral hall was rebuilt. In 1890, Jialan hall was built.

brief introduction

Ziguo temple, an ancient Millennium Temple, is located in Fuding City in the east of Fujian Province, adjacent to Wenzhou area in Zhejiang Province. It was built in the first year of Xiantong in Tang Dynasty and flourished in Song Dynasty. In 1148, it still has Tangjing, Songquan, the foundation stone of Dharma hall in Song and Ming Dynasties, Millennium Tieshu and cypress in Qing Dynasty. Its branches and leaves are flourishing, and it is still chanted by eminent monks and famous masters in past dynasties. It has witnessed the rise and fall of more than 1000 years. Ziguo temple is one of the first batch of key temples open to the outside world in Fujian Province. In August 2006, the 17 strong typhoon "Sangmei" caused great damage to Ziguo temple. After the typhoon, with the strong support of people from all walks of life and Dharma protectors, the reconstruction of Ziguo temple has been carried out smoothly. The reconstruction of Ziguo temple has gradually formed a Garden Temple integrating religion, art, culture and tourism.

Drive 3 kilometers from the city to the southeast suburbs, or take bus No. 3 to the gate of Ziguo temple, which is located at the top of Lianfeng mountain. Lianfeng mountain, one of the eight sceneries in Fuding City, is like a lotus, which is known as "Lotus moon".

Step up along the mountain gate and you can see the style of the millennium old temple. The general layout of Ziguo temple is divided into five platforms, covering an area of more than 160 Mu from low to high. It is designed in the traditional architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. The courtyard conforms to the terrain and is connected organically. The buildings on the central axis are stacked on top of each other, with a drop of 35 meters, which is magnificent. Among them, the mountain gate is divided into front and back. The back Mountain Gate was rebuilt in the 28th year of the Republic of China, retaining the architectural style of the Republic of China. Between the front and back mountain gates are the release pool, bonsai garden, dripping Guanyin and other cultural landscapes. 88 pagodas surround the pool and set off the water and sky. On the front is the main hall under construction. On the west side of the main hall is the comprehensive Dharma building. On the east side are the Jialan hall, Mituo village, Yunshui hall and the Wuguan hall under construction. On the back side are the Dharma hall with Buddhist classics and magic weapons. Behind the hall are the wanta tower and the Pumen Guanyin tower, which are yet to be rebuilt.

Cultural heritage

Scenic spots

Because the mountain looks like a lotus, it is known as the "Lotus moon" and is one of the eight scenic spots in Tongcheng. In the long history of more than one thousand years, Ziguo temple has experienced ups and downs, which is closely related to the rise and fall of Buddhism. Especially during the "Cultural Revolution", the temple was seriously damaged. After the implementation of the religious policy, the old master returned to the temple, led the monks to rectify the temple, rebuilt the main hall, and built the chanting hall and the five view hall. In 1987, master Mingmin, the abbot of Longhua Temple in Shanghai, initiated and supported the reconstruction of the Tianwang hall. In 1993, the temple of jade Buddha was built. After several times of construction, the style and features of the millennium old temple are re displayed. The existing Daxiong hall, covering an area of 220.4 square meters, is made of imitation Ming wood. It has five wide faces and four deep faces. It rests on the top of the mountain and is covered with lotus shaped plinth. There are two song censers in the temple, one Dendrobium in the second year of Zhenghe and one in the seventh year (1125), one well in the Tang Dynasty and one well in the Song Dynasty, and one tablet in the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083). There are also "lingpo cave", "wotuoyan" and "tanjingtai" stone carvings.

ruins

In the song and Ming Dynasties, the ancient buildings of the foundation stone, beam and column of FA Tang still exist today. Tieshu in the millennium, Guishu in the Ming Dynasty, cypress in the Qing Dynasty, Sophora japonica, with luxuriant branches and leaves. In 1991, master Xuehang of Guanghua temple in Singapore presented a Burmese white jade statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. In 1992, Chen Jinhuan, a Thai resident, presented a bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, which is a fine product of Thai Royal crafts.

Famous monk

There are many famous monks in the temple. In the Qing Dynasty, Bozhong, the disciple of Fuqin monk, was the abbot of the mountain. He was known to be the director of the monk Association of the county Party committee. He was strict in discipline and conduct, and his morality was greatly promoted. At the age of Guangxu Yiyou, people from all walks of life presented plaques saying: "leader of Famen", which won the respect of all parties. After Bozhong, the abbot was Zongren, Changzhu, Rongwei and other famous monks. In 1946, he was abbot of shengxun, the director of Fuding Buddhist Association. Since 1992, shideqing and Xianzhi, the most effective disciples of shengxun master, have been in charge of the affairs one after another. They have established Daofeng, revitalized the temple, and built Guanyin tower, Fatang, senliao, Zhaitang, etc. And build a three kilometer highway, from Tongcheng to Shanmen.

celebration

From 1995 to 1996, the ceremony for the completion of the Dharma hall and the Lianfeng mountain preaching Dharma association were held successively.

The popularity of ancient temples depends on the importance of cultural education and the cultivation of monks. Ziguo temple has always been associated with famous monks. Sun Jiangming, the Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem for the temple: "if you have a dream, you can be at home if you don't want to send it everywhere"; Wang Shoupeng, the number one scholar, wrote a poem that "the fragrance is full of the Buddha and the moon is high when it comes out of the sea and sky"; master Yuan Ying, a modern monk, wrote a poem for the temple that "you can't tell others, but you can't be at peace with your heart.". Master Dixian, a famous monk in the late Qing Dynasty, came to Fuding to raise money. Living in xigai temple and giving lectures is the beginning of running a school for Ziguo temple. During the 13 years of the Republic of China, Shutang was set up in the temple to recruit Mongolian children from Tongshan and other places. Chuang Tzu Tong, a scholar from Taishun County, Zhejiang Province, was employed. This city Wengjiang, liubijiang, Bailin Xiucai Changxin and other social celebrities. Master Sheng Xun devoted himself to education. In 1992, the temple opened "Mindong Buddhist Academy". For more than ten years, it has transported a considerable number of monks to the national intermediate Buddhist colleges, and has made unique contributions to the cultivation of Buddhist successor talents. The aim of "Buddhist painting and Calligraphy Academy" established in 1998 is to "let monks understand art and artists understand Buddhism". The works created by the academy have won many awards in the national calligraphy and painting competitions, and have been collected by experts at home and abroad. In 2001, Yin Sheng Hai, a Buddhist journal, was founded by master Xianzhi. With its unique way, it makes the esoteric Buddhist dharma more vivid and colloquial. It makes people easy to understand and is deeply loved by readers and Buddhist practitioners. It has been listed as a collection of books by many Buddhist libraries throughout the country.

fund

In order to effectively solve the problem of running a Buddhist school, in 1995, on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday, Master Sheng Xun gave up all his savings and net wealth, and proposed and established the "Sheng Xun Buddhist Education Foundation". With the feelings of joining the WTO, we should carry forward the spirit of Buddha's compassion and help the world, and actively participate in the construction of school buildings to help the poor students and poor villages. Over the past few years, more than 20 impoverished students from rural universities, middle schools and primary schools have been subsidized by the foundation. So that they can successfully complete their studies.

communication

In 1980, Ziguo temple was designated by the provincial government as one of the first batch of key temples open to the outside world. Later, the people's Government of the county registered and designated it as the key cultural relics protection unit of the county according to law. It has been rated as advanced unit for many years and won the honor of "advanced greening unit" in Ningde district. In 1995, master Xianzhi took over the post of supervisor. In order to develop the temple into a garden style temple integrating pilgrimage, sightseeing and tourism, he specially hired a national Grade-A garden design unit to carry out detailed planning and design for the long-term development. The overall concept of garden style temple is formed, which is mainly composed of palaces in Ming and Qing Dynasties and jungle buildings in Tang and Song Dynasties, supplemented by garden buildings in the south of the Yangtze River. The main gate, release pool, Jialan hall, teaching building, guest hall, tower courtyard, bonsai garden, etc. have been completed. Especially 98 With the advocacy and funding of overseas Buddhist groups since, the Buddhist culture and art cemetery "longevity garden of Lianfeng mountain" has been built on the hillside of the temple. It has changed the appearance of the former cemetery, including a variety of Buddhist culture and art pagodas and celebrity calligraphy inscriptions. It makes the whole cemetery have strong Buddhist culture and art characteristics, combined with profound traditional culture, and has a strong cultural significance The value of art appreciation. The mausoleum also has a large stone Scripture building, Gallery Pavilion, Taihu stone rockery, white jade lotus fountain and other supporting facilities. As a reward for the majority of believers, a small part of the ashes was set aside for Buddhist at home and abroad to store, and the economic expenses of the majority of believers for funeral were concentrated on the construction of temples and supporting the development of social charity.

"The Dharma is in the world, and it can not be separated from the world." To carry forward the fine tradition of Buddhism and embody the spirit of the times, the monks of Ziguo temple are practicing human Buddhism with the five concepts of "culture, religion, Zen, purity and kindness". They are quietly doing the cause of joining the WTO with the unique dedication of Buddhism, contributing a special force to the development of Buddhism and the peace and stability of society.

Related links

Ziguo temple is located at the south foot of Longxu mountain, Meitang Township, about 15 kilometers west of Ji'an County. According to the travel notes of Zhou Bida in the annals of Luling county published in the Qing Dynasty, "in the Dali of the Tang Dynasty (766-779 AD), there was a monk who said that he came to hide here. The local people use Longxu mountain as a forest, field and house, so it's called Longxu mountain. " This not only enables us to know the origin of the name of Longxu mountain, but also shows that Longxu mountain has a long history of fame, and it is a hermit place for high officials. The county annals also contains: "the ziguoyuan (Temple) is located at the foot of Longxu mountain in Ping'an township (now known as Meitang township). It was built in the reign of emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty (889-903 AD). Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty (1522-1566 AD) was abandoned. The 13th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (165 AD)

Chinese PinYin : Zi Guo Si