Guoen Temple

Guoen Temple

Guoen temple, also known as Longshan temple, is located at the foot of Longshan mountain in liuzu Town, Xinxing County, Yunfu City, Guangdong Province, covering an area of more than 10000 square meters. It was founded by master Huineng of liuzu and was built in 683, the first year of Hongdao in Tang Dynasty

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There are stone archways in front of Guoen temple, Mountain Gate in front of the temple, Dharma protection hall, release pool, pearl Pavilion, first place archway, Vajra hall, Mahatma hall and liuzu hall; there are dizang hall, Damo hall, Manjusri Puxian hall, dashizhi hall, bell tower, Drum Tower, guest hall, Zhai hall, Zen hall and Sutra recording hall on the left side of the temple; there are gratitude tower, Buddhist relic site, Buddhist relic site, Buddhist relic site and so on Buddhist Relic Hall, sixth ancestor memorial hall, Gongde hall, Yuantong Hall (Guanyin Hall), Abbot's room, sixth ancestor's hand planted thousand year old Buddhist litchi tree; on the right side of the temple are sixth ancestor's parents' grave, Jingxin Pavilion, homesick Pavilion, Mingquan Pavilion, bath Pavilion; behind the Temple are zhuoxi spring

. The three main halls and archways of Guoen temple still retain the architectural form and decoration technology of Ming Dynasty style, which has high artistic value

. Since the Tang Dynasty, Guoen temple has been regarded as the first holy land in the south of the five ridges by the Buddhist circles, known as "the blessed land of Nanzong and the famous mountain of eastern Guangdong"

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From 2000 to 2020, Guoen temple has been rated as a civilized temple in Guangdong Province

. In October 2019, Guoen temple was listed in the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Historical evolution

Guoen temple was founded by master Huineng, the sixth patriarch of the Tang Dynasty. It began in 683, the first year of Hongdao. Master Huineng changed the former residence of master Xinxing Longshan into "Baoen Temple". Until 707, it was named "Guoen Temple"

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During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Guoen temple was regarded as "the first holy land in the south of the five ridges" and "the birthplace of Chinese Zen culture" in the Buddhist circles. The temple was full of incense, many monks and scholars came to the temple to worship, and the temple had a large scale, with 1800 mu of monk fields.

The temple was rebuilt in Shaoxing of Song Dynasty and again in Yongle of Ming Dynasty. After that, Guoen Temple gradually declined, Seng Tian was occupied by the powerful, and the temple property was sold off. As a result, the temple, which is regarded as "the birthplace of Chinese Zen", was in disrepair and collapsed, and its incense declined.

In the first year of emperor muzong's Longqing reign in the Ming Dynasty (1567), the magistrate Deng Yingping initiated the reconstruction of Guoen temple with government and people's funds. Since then, Guoen temple has been continuously expanded. In the 26th year of Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty (1598), Ou Zhenyi, a famous scholar, built Longyue Temple (Guanyin Hall). In the 44th year of Wanli reign (1616), Tao ruozeng, a magistrate, built a bath Pavilion. In the 46th year of Wanli reign (1618), Wu Shixi, a magistrate of Xinzhou, and Zhao Liangxi, a gentleman, built a mountain In the 48th year of Wanli (1620), the abbot of the temple, master Bai Xian and famous scholar pan Wenbo, built the King Kong building and the left and right Zen houses; in the 6th year of Chongzhen (1633), the famous scholar pan Shangmao of Xinzhou built the Sutra hall; in the 12th year of Chongzhen (1639), the county celebrity pan Ji built the Pearl Pavilion; in the 7th-12th year of Shunzhi (1650-1655), it was rebuilt and expanded again Maian founded the Dharma hall and Meifu rebuilt the stone bridge of Shanmen. So far, Guoen temple has formed a relatively large complex of buildings. The halls are row upon row, majestic and solemn. It has become one of the few big jungles in Guangdong Province and one of the only two ancestral houses in China.

Although Guoen Temple experienced vicissitudes, it still preserved historical relics from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty before liberation. During the cultural revolution, the Buddhist statues, magic weapons and other cultural relics in the temple were seriously damaged, and the monks were demobilized. Only dingguang, conscious and other mages insisted on living in the temple. They often talk about Buddhism and reasoning with the saboteurs of temples, so that the saboteurs realize their mistakes, so that the whole building has not been greatly damaged and some of the main halls have been preserved.

In 1983, the people's Government of Guangdong Province approved the restoration and opening up. Under the leadership of Abbot Ding Guang and the support of local government authorities, the majority of believers and compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, after more than ten years of repair, Guoen temple has taken on a new look

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After the opening up of Guoen temple, under the self-management of monks, more and more people come to the temple to visit their ancestors and have sightseeing. Buddhist groups at home and abroad, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese come one after another, and hundreds of thousands of tourists come to the temple every year

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Architectural pattern

structure

Guoen temple is located on the dragon head at the foot of Longshan mountain, so it is called "Longshan Temple", with a total construction area of more than 10000 square meters

The main building of Guoen temple is built according to the mountain and sits east to west. Before the new mountain gate and lotus pond were built in 2014, the main building of the temple was concentrated on the high ground of Longshan Branch on the east side of lotus pond, which is a concentrated temple complex. Guoen temple as a whole consists of two groups of buildings, which are divided into North and south parts. The North Group has a strong sense of sequence and high building, which is the main axis of the temple; the South Group has a courtyard distribution, which belongs to the partial courtyard of the temple.

In the North group, the main building of Guoen temple is the main building, and the most core building group of Guoen temple is distributed, which is a two entrance courtyard. From west to East, the main flow line of the middle road is the first memorial archway, Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall and liuzu hall; the north side road is zhaifang, Hakka hall, dashizhi hall, Manjusri Puxian hall and Zen hall; the south side road is Zhaitang, Damo hall, dizang hall and Fatang.

The South Group building is mainly a subsidiary building, the core of which is the commanding point of Guoen Temple -- Baoen tower. On the north side of the tower is the main part of the temple, the Damo hall. On the west side of the tower is the Abbot's room, and then to the south is a row of inverted auxiliary rooms. On the south side of the tower is Yuantong hall. On the east side of the tower is the last building of pianyuan, and from the north to the south are the sari hall and liuzuji hall Niantang and Gongde Tang

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characteristic

Guoen temple is a typical Chinese Zen temple. Because it is located in the south of the five ridges, and closely combined with the traditional buildings in the south of the five ridges, it is a typical Lingnan Zen temple. Its architectural features are very Lingnan characteristics, from the architectural scale, style to decorative sculpture are full of Lingnan traditional elements.

Although Guoen temple was rebuilt from the former residence of Huineng, the sixth patriarch, it has been continuously renovated, built and expanded in the past dynasties, which makes the scale of Guoen Temple more and more magnificent and ornate. Although the main hall, Zen houses and pavilions were built at different times and at the foot of the mountain, they still adhere to the traditional axial symmetry layout. However, the tower of benediction does not follow the traditional form of tower courtyard, but is located on one side of the main hall, which may be due to the consideration of terrain. In order to straighten the gate of the three main halls of the temple and turn it into the "Yin gate" in the west, an additional gate archway in the southeast is built, which shows that Guoen temple has fully considered the national customs of traditional architecture.

The construction of Guoen temple is based on local conditions, mountains and rivers, backed by the three peaks behind Longshan, commonly known as the "three treasures tripod", with great momentum. The ancient trees of Longshan are towering. Although the temple is majestic, it is also hidden in the lush trees. The gratitude tower is like a dragon horn towering over the mountain

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Main attractions

The sixth ancestor planted litchi by hand

In the northeast of Guoen temple, there is an ancient litchi tree with a history of more than 1300 years. When Huineng, the sixth ancestor, led his disciples back to his former residence, he planted it by himself. Although it experienced ups and downs, it was burned by fire during the cultural revolution, it still thrives today. It is tall and straight, with luxuriant branches and leaves. It is more than ten feet high and bears fruit in midsummer.

When Japanese, Korean and other Buddhist believers came to the temple to visit their ancestors, they all regarded the tree as a sacred object and paid homage to it. They also called it "Holy tree" and "Buddhist litchi"

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Zhuo Xiquan

Zhuo Xiquan was dug by Huineng, the sixth patriarch, when he went back to his former residence to preach scriptures. At that time, there were a lot of disciples who followed the sixth patriarch, but there was not enough water. Some disciples discussed with the sixth patriarch, and the sixth patriarch struck the ground with his staff at the back of the temple, and ordered his disciples to dig the ground here. In order to commemorate the sixth ancestor, later generations called this spring "zhuoxi spring".

Zhuoxiquan's water level remains unchanged no matter whether it is drought, waterlogging, more use or less use. According to the test of scientists, spring water contains a variety of trace elements beneficial to human body

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Imperial grant to Guoen Temple

When Huineng, the sixth patriarch, opened the door of Zen Buddhism in Baolin temple, his insight thought of Southern Zen spread all over the country, which moved Tang Zhongzong and Wu Zetian who also believed in Buddhism at that time. On the 15th day of the first year of emperor Zhongzong in the Tang Dynasty (705), Emperor Zhongzong issued an imperial edict to invite the sixth patriarch to Beijing to promote the insight Zen. Later, Huineng, the sixth patriarch, was old and sick, so he refused to go

. Up to the third year of emperor Zhongzong in Tang Dynasty (707), it was named "Guoen Temple"

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During the cultural revolution, in order to protect the plaque from damage, the imperial seal was removed and the words were sealed with mud. So now we see the "plaque" lack of jade seal

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History and culture

Twenty Arhats

In Chinese Buddhist temples, there are generally 16 or 18 Arhats on both sides of the main hall, while there are 20 Arhats on both sides of the main hall, the former residence of Huineng, the sixth patriarch

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It is said that Huineng, the sixth ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, died in Guoen temple on the third day of August in the second year of Xianxian (713). In order to spread the Zen tenet created by the patriarch to the world, the disciples led by Shenhui and Fahai set up the "Sutra recording hall" in Guoen temple, and compiled the Dharma eye collection of the sixth patriarch into a book. Many heretics were afraid of the spread of the sixth patriarch Zen, so they were destroyed many times during the compilation of scriptures. Because a group of eminent monks, such as Shenhui and Fahai, gave up their lives to protect the Dharma, these heretics all ended in failure. The sixth patriarch's magic altar Sutra will be compiled

Chinese PinYin : Guo En Si