Bodhi Temple

Bodhi temple is located on the west side of the middle section of Southwest Road in Mangshi city. It is a temple of Hinayana Buddhism. Bodhi temple is not only a place where monks chant sutras and believers worship, but also a treasure house of Dai Folk Art. Although the temple is small and covers an area of 3600 square meters, it has a wide range of Dai art treasures in different historical stages, such as murals, paper cuts, and ten thousand volumes of scriptures.

Bodhi Temple

Bodhi temple, the name of the temple. The predecessor of Bodhi temple is a small temple called Sizhou temple, which was built in the late Tang Dynasty. Bodhi temple was destroyed in the Republic of China.

Historical evolution

During the period of emperor Renzong Jiayou (1056-1063) to Emperor Yingzong Zhiping (1064-1067) in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Shangkuan and Gao Fu successively served as the prefectures of tangzhou. They vigorously promoted the policies of rewarding farming, attracting refugees, and building water conservancy. As a result, the number of registered permanent residence in tangzhou (five counties including Fangcheng, Biyang, Tongbai, Biyang, and Huyang) increased sharply, and the economy developed rapidly, becoming the top-ranking prefectures of Chinese people's attention. In a prosperous scene, monks are easy to raise money, and the state government has the spare resources to provide financial support, so the expansion of the temple is on the agenda. In the third year of Shaosheng (1096 A.D.), when the Sizhou pagoda was being built, the temple expansion project started under the leadership of Zen master Zhihong. After the expansion, the temple was renamed as Bodhi temple, which has the shape of "seven halls and Jialan", that is, seven kinds of buildings with different uses: Mountain Gate, Buddha Hall (more than one kind), lecture hall, abbot (the Abbot's bedroom and studio), studio, bathroom and Dongsi (toilet). This is a sign of the popularization and specialization of Buddhist temples. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the Bodhi temple in tangzhou was well-known and full of tourists. However, it didn't last long. With the invasion of the Jin army to the South and the extinction of the Northern Song Dynasty, tangzhou was also in a bloodbath. The Jin army's valiant generals Yin Shuke and Pai Lishu burned, killed and plundered in Tang (Zhou), Deng (Zhou) and Xiang (Yang) successively. The cities they passed were destroyed and the villages were reduced to ashes. In the autumn of 1126, the Jin army first stepped into tangzhou, song and Jin fought for it repeatedly in tangzhou, the barbaric rule of the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, and in the 240 years of the early Hongwu years of the Ming Dynasty, tangzhou was empty and uninhabited. The walls of the Bodhi Temple collapsed and the monks scattered.

In 1377, with the social stability and economic recovery and development, the reconstruction of Bodhi Temple became a matter of course. Under the guidance of eminent monk Zhifu and the active donation and support of gentlemen, celebrities and all walks of life, "rebuild temples and build more halls". At the same time, the dilapidated Sizhou pagoda was also repaired and reinforced, so that the weather of the Bodhi temple was renewed and the Falun changed greatly.

Since the early years of Hongwu, the state of Tang has been "abandoned as a county". After enjoying more than 260 years of worship, the Bodhi temple in Tang has gone from prosperity to decline. Li Zicheng's peasant army received the response of the hungry and cold people in Tang county. The county government (county government), which had the highest territory, 88 steps from east to west, 220 steps from north to south, was destroyed and became a ruin. The Bodhi temple, a Buddhist building outside the city, was also not spared. It was "wantonly trampled" and there were few halls left. During the long period of Manchu rule in China, from the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong to the end of Qing Dynasty, the Bodhi temple in Tang county was repaired many times, which inherited and retained the scale and construction of song and Ming Dynasties. At the same time, with the eastward movement of the city, the old pattern of "relying on the river for the city" has been changed. The Bodhi temple is located in the east of the center of the county, which is the so-called prosperous and elegant place, showing sympathy for the joys and sorrows of the world.

In 1927, Feng Yuxiang, who occupied North China, took the opportunity of the northern expedition of the national government to expand his main forces to Henan. He was originally a Christian and always discriminated against Buddhism. In order to expand his force, he ordered to collect taxes from Buddhist temples all over the province. After the boycott, he first sent soldiers and police to destroy the Xiangguo Temple in Kaifeng, which is the first temple in Henan Province. Afterwards, hundreds of temples, 300000 people's lives and property, and two thousand years of historical relics were greatly damaged, and all Temple properties were confiscated. Bodhi temple in Tang county was also doomed. Monks were expelled, ordered to return to the secular life or forced to join the army, and the temple was changed into a school. People can no longer go to worship the Buddha, nor can they hear the morning bell of Bodhi temple. In 1966, the last hall was demolished. After that, all the remaining buildings no longer existed. The Bodhi Temple disappeared completely on the land of the Tang River.

Temple pattern

In its heyday, tangzhou Bodhi temple was a large-scale Buddhist temple with complete facilities. In its north and central part, it included all and part of the dwellings of the pagoda hotel. In its south, it included the County Public Security Bureau and its residents; The family home is surrounded by water in the East, West and North. The mountain gate faces the East Street, which is today's Jiefang East Road. It is a rectangular shape, covering an area of more than 20 mu. It is a forest holy land with elegant environment.

Main buildings

In addition to Sizhou tower, the main buildings from south to north are: Shanmen, Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall and Fatang hall. These are the main halls facing south. There are also Sutra Pavilion in large temples. I don't know if there are such buildings in tangzhou Bodhi temple. The East-West configuration includes Jialan hall, zushi hall, Guanyin hall, pharmacist hall, etc. The main living areas of the temple are concentrated on the left side (East Side) of the central axis, including monk's room, Xiangji kitchen (kitchen), Zhaitang (canteen), duty Hall (warehouse), tea Hall (reception room), etc. "Hotel area" is located on the right side of the central axis (West Side), mainly cloud Hall (Zen Hall), to accommodate people from all over the world. In the early 1980s, there were more than ten brick and tile houses in the West Wing of the pagoda Hotel, which was about the "cloud hall" of the temple!

Mountain Gate and Tianwang Hall

The front hall of Bodhi Temple includes a group of facilities, such as the Mountain Gate (Mountain Gate Hall), bell tower, Drum Tower, and heavenly king hall. "Most of the world's famous mountain monks" live in the mountains and forests, so they have this name. Generally, there are three mountain gates, which symbolize the "three free gates", namely, the empty gate, the Wuxiang gate and the Wuzuo gate. These three gates are often built in the form of halls, which are called Shanmen hall or Sanmen hall. Bodhi temple in tangzhou is supposed to build the middle one into a hall, and two statues of vajras are molded in the hall. Entering the mountain gate is the left bell tower and the right Drum Tower. The so-called "morning bell and evening drum" means to hit the bell first in the morning and respond to it with the drum, and hit the drum first in the evening and respond to it with the bell. There are many places for the bell and drum in Buddhist temples, and the largest one is the bell and Drum Tower, which is called big bell and big drum. From the mountain gate, the first hall is Tianwang hall, which houses six Buddha statues. Maitreya is in the middle of the hall. Facing the mountain gate, he has a big stomach and a broad chest. He has a pleasant face and always smiles. Before the Northern Song Dynasty, Maitreya with a crown on its head was worshipped in Buddhist temples. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Dadu Maitreya gradually replaced Tianguan Maitreya. Maitreya's back is for Wei tuotian. Facing the main hall, Wei tuotian is dressed in ancient Chinese warrior's military uniform and is the patron saint of the temple. Two back to back, septum wall. On both sides of the hall, there are four heavenly kings (Duowen, Zhiguo, Zhangchang, Guangmu).

main hall

To the north of the Tianwang hall is the main hall, commonly known as the "main hall" and the "main hall". This is the main hall dedicated to the founder and top leader of Buddhism - "Buddha". Mahatma is the honorific name for the moral power of the Buddha, specifically refers to the boundless power of the Buddha, which can subdue the "four demons" (five Yin demons, trouble demons, death demons, Emperor demons, etc.). In the hall of Mahavira, there are those for one Buddha and three Buddhas, while the Bodhi temple in tangzhou is "five Buddhas in the same hall". The statue of Sakyamuni Buddha is located in the center, accompanied by two venerable Buddhas, kasyah and Ananda, and two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Puxian. This is a typical heritage structure of ancient temples in Song Dynasty. The main hall, which lies on the north side of Sizhou tower, is the main building of the temple. It was this hall that was demolished in the early years of the cultural revolution.

Dharma Hall

The Dharma hall, also known as the lecture hall, is located in the north of the Bodhi temple. It is the meeting place for the speech of Buddhist Dharma and conversion. It is the main building next to the main hall in the Buddhist temple. In addition to the general placement of Buddha statues, we should try to set seats and platforms in the hall. We should also set up listening seats, bells and drums. When we speak in the hall, we should hit the bells and sound the drums.

Guan Yu Temple

So the old legend, in the northwest corner of the Bodhi temple, also built a temple about the emperor, for Guandi, Guanping and Zhoucang Shi Li. This is a completely sinicized hall, which is supposed to be a private residence for the emperor to rest after being on duty in the Jialan hall or the Daxiong hall.

Tanghe has a long history. There are many Yangshao and Qujialing cultural relics and Neolithic sites in Tanghe. It was established as a county as early as 2220 years ago. The industrious and intelligent ancestors have made positive contributions to the Chinese civilization. Bodhi temple is an important symbol of Tanghe ancient civilization. Today, with the gradual implementation of various religious policies, it is the sacred duty of the party, the government and the 1.3 million Tanghe people to excavate, inherit and expand the excellent local cultural heritage and promote advanced culture. Today's Tanghe, with stable and harmonious society, sustained economic development and continuous improvement of people's material and cultural living standards, is fully equipped with the political environment and economic conditions for the restoration of Bodhi temple. Today, we can not only do what we could do in the past feudal dynasties, but we will certainly do better. In the heyday of the times, the temple was built. Today, the temple has a long history. I hope that in the near future, a brand-new Buddhist temple will appear in the ancient and young Tanghe County, China, and everywhere you can hear the powerful and distant bell from the Bodhi temple. Let Tanghe Bodhi Temple broadcast the Sanskrit sound, spread the Dharma rain, and let the monks pray devoutly, so that the weather will be smooth and the country will be peaceful,

Chinese PinYin : Pu Ti Si