Luohan temple in Shifang

Luohan Temple

synonym

Luohan temple in Shifang generally refers to Luohan Temple (a Buddhist temple in Shifang City, Sichuan Province)

Luohan temple, the main temple of Linji sect, is the place where Daoyi, the eighth generation patriarch of Zen, became a monk and said in his later years. It is known as the "Buddhist capital of Xichuan" and is well-known at home and abroad.

Historical origin

Luohan temple was first built in 709 ad (the third year of Jinglong reign of emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty). It was just after Xuanzang's death that the Buddhist capital, Dharma xiangzong, became a monk and practiced here. The temple was destroyed in the late Yuan Dynasty (1368) and rebuilt in the fourth year of Hongwu (1371) of the Ming Dynasty. Cao Kai planted 3000 cypresses in the city. Xu Ying, the whole family, donated money to build Dabei Pavilion, cast a bronze statue of Mazu and built Mazu hall. In the late Ming Dynasty (1644), it was destroyed again by war. In the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt under the leadership of Zen master Nuan, Yuerong and Li Ting, and has been repaired and perfected for several times.

architectural style

In front of the temple, there are four characters "Xichuan Buddha capital". The gate of the temple is tall, solemn and resplendent. "Luohan Temple" is hanging at the gate of the mountain. It is written by Ji Yingxiong, the governor of Chengdu before the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Entering the mountain gate is the heavenly king hall, and then there is a square made of bluestone. Maitreya Buddha (five meters high, carved in stone) sits alone in the center. Moving forward is Maitreya hall, next to which is a couplet: "smile when you open your mouth, smile at everything; if you have a big stomach, you can't tolerate it.". Its two corridors are the hall of five hundred Arhats.

Further forward is the Great Buddha Hall. There is a plaque in the center of the hall of Mahatma. On both sides of Sakyamuni's residence are Ananda and Kaya. In front of it is the saying hall, and behind it is the Sutra collection building (1076 Sutras in the temple, reaching 5048 volumes at its peak). On both sides are the eastern and Western abbots' rooms.

Layout structure

On the left side of the main hall, there is a meditation hall which can hold hundreds of people and a squatter room which can accommodate monks from all over the country. Under the eastern Abbot's room, there is a storeroom, a fragrant kitchen, a studio and a guest hall. There are four Buddhist halls in the temple, which are rectangular in structure, neat in construction, and made of wood and stone; the halls, pavilions and courtyards are beautiful and magnificent; the eaves of doors and windows, as well as columns, beams, Fang and caisson are more refined than the color paintings, which are lifelike. The layout of the whole temple is based on the structure and scale of Dalin temple in Nanchong, with overlapping pavilions, deep halls, high ridges and flying eaves. It is also set off by towering ancient cypresses and tall bamboo trees, which is very majestic and solemn.

Buddhist statues are exquisite and vivid. The four heavenly kings of the heavenly king hall are several meters high, each holding a Pipa sword, a snake in hand, an umbrella and a silver rat. The cloth bag monk in Maitreya hall has a big belly, and visitors touch him, but he laughs.

Features of Buddha statues

There are five hundred Arhats in the hall of arhat. They have five hundred different postures, all of which are true to life. Some are fat, some are thin, some are round, some are long, some are white, and some are pale. Some are smiling, some are gaping, some are singing, some are screaming, some are concentrating, some are shouting, some are looking up at the sky, some are looking down on the earth, and some are angry, There are those who meditate in peace, those who listen quietly, those who want to argue, those who have long eyebrows, those who have short beard, those who strike wooden fish to cultivate scriptures, those who shoulder Zen sticks, those who hold dust in their hands, those who step on reeds, and those who silently count beads Or sitting or standing or lying or leaning, or even folding clothes, stripes clear, no repetition.

Five hundred Arhats, including all the smiles, all the actions, all the expressions, are real and natural, but not evil or ugly. Among them, the mad monk Jidian is more lifelike. He wears a slanting palmed hat, a patched monk's clothes, and a pair of unprecedented Tianliang monk's shoes. He is drunk with a wine pot in his left hand and a PU fan in his right hand. His eyes are vivid. No matter where you come from, you will feel that he has seen you.

There is another one, holding the mirror in his left hand, tearing the old face of charity eyes in his right hand to form a seam, revealing a young face with beautiful features. This is the most profound one.

The Daochang of Luohan temple comes down in one continuous line with Mazu (called Mazu Daochang). Because Mazu fully implemented the characteristics of Zen Buddhism in his daily life, broke through the phenomenon of self intoxication and burnout of practitioners, and re oriented Zen Buddhism to the realistic position. The practical goal of Zen Buddhism is not asceticism, but in the extremely optimistic "happy way" life. Zen and wisdom, Zen and life are organically combined, which is respected by the Japanese Buddhist circles.

Facilities in the temple

The fast food in Luohan temple is also famous in Western Sichuan. At noon, you can go to "wuguantang". Wuguantang is on the left side of the ancient temple. It is spacious and bright. It can accommodate 300 people to enter the temple at the same time. If you are lucky enough to catch up with Sakyamuni's Taoist day on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, you can enjoy the famous and unique Laba porridge of Luohan temple. This porridge was originally cooked for Buddha, but it was also provided to believers and tourists on this day. The monks cooked walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, Lactobacillus, persimmon, chestnut, jujube, glutinous rice, soybeans, etc. with red and white sugar. The master of Tangju will certainly advise you to eat three bowls in a row to avoid three disasters.

Ancient and modern poems

After dinner, you can walk around the temple again to see the inscriptions, plaques, couplets, as well as the chants of celebrities of all ages. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Shi of Zhongshu was granted; in the Qing Dynasty, Quan Dexing, a doctor of jinziguanglu, wrote the inscription of Mazu pagoda; in the Qing Dynasty, Li Tiaoyuan, a scholar in Guangdong Province, wrote the inscription of remolding 500 Arhats in Luohan temple; in the past, calligraphers inscribed plaques such as "reappearance of Lingshan", "Ganlu Ciyun", "inheritance of clothes and bowls", "solemnity of Bodhisattva", "a smile on flowers", "Jiena Xumi" and "only garden" "Jiedi" and so on contain endless Zen and deep meaning.

cultural meaning

One of the eight sceneries in Shifang, the "evening bell of Beisi", is a marvelous scene composed of crows flying around the temple at the place where the prayer bell starts at dusk. "The sound of the bell spreads beyond the boundary of three thousand, and the Dharma spreads among all nations." in this situation, your heart will actually be in the wonderful meaning of a kind of peaceful talk.

Address: the north of Shifang City, Sichuan Province

Longitude: 104.16932370683

Latitude: 31.133489275302

Tel: 0838-8200175

Chinese PinYin : Shi Fang Luo Han Si