Wolong Temple

Wolong Temple

Wolong Temple, located in baishulin street, Beilin District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, is a national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area determined by the State Council. According to the inscriptions in the temple, Wolong Temple was founded during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (168-189).

Wolong Temple, known as "Fuying Temple" in Sui Dynasty, has been more than 1800 years. In the Tang Dynasty, the statue of Guanyin painted here by Wu Daozi was preserved in the temple, also known as "Guanyin Temple". During the reign of Xiantong (860) and Qianfu (874) of Yizong of Tang Dynasty, stone buildings of the toronic Sutra were successively built in the temple.

In Wolong Temple, Huiguo, an eminent monk, entered the temple at the beginning of Song Dynasty. He stayed high all day, and was called "Wolong monk" at that time. In the time of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty (976-997), Geng temple was named Wolong Temple.

Historical evolution

Wolong Temple is located in the east of baishulin street in Xi'an city. According to the annals of Chang'an, when Chang'an city was built in the early Five Dynasties, Waiguo city and palace city were abandoned, and only the imperial city of Tang Dynasty was the jurisdiction.

The southern and Northern walls of the new city built in the Ming Dynasty were built at the former site of the Tang imperial city. Because of the research, Wolong Temple is located in the East Temple of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that Wolong Temple was moved here from other places after five dynasties.

According to the inscription of the record of fumigating and repairing Wolong Temple in 1380 of the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, "in the past, the Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty dreamed of Buddha entering China and was happy with it. He offered sacrifices for building the temple in the southern suburbs. When Emperor Ling (168-189) granted Xiuwei temple, he said" Lengyan Sutra "to protect the country's peace and the people's happiness. Therefore, he named the temple" Fuying Temple ", and the God's worship was so prosperous that more and more people worshiped it That's it.

The beginning of the construction

According to the stele in the temple, Wolong Temple was founded during the reign of emperor Hanling (168-189).

Renovation and reconstruction

During the Yuan Dynasty, Wolong Temple was rebuilt. In 1377, it was rebuilt again. At present, there are many stone tablets of yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties preserved in the temple, which record this period of history.

For example, in 1377, a stone tablet was erected, which is still in the east of Daxiong hall. "The inscription on the tablet is like a flower, so it is called Huahua tablet.". In 1521, the palace was rebuilt. In the Qing Dynasty, the Wolong Temple was also repaired many times. In the second year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1852), it was revived as a forest in ten directions, and a monument was erected. In 1868, the hall was rebuilt and the Wolong historical monument was erected.

In 1900, the eight powers invaded Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu took refuge in Xi'an, bringing new prosperity to Wolong Temple. Empress Dowager Cixi rebuilt the temple and built a stone tablet square, which is grand and exquisite. Cixi also personally wrote the plaque of "mercy day of Ciyun" and "three times of dieyao" to the temple, and wrote the plaque of "ten side Wolong Chan forest" for the mountain gate. At that time, lamas and princes of Tibet and Mongolia sent all kinds of tributes and Buddha statues from afar, among which the Buddha statues were ordered to be sent to Wolong Temple for support. So there are many small Buddha statues in the temple. In 1931, General Zhu ziqiao and others raised funds to renovate the Mahatma hall and Zen hall. At the same time, they bought Buddhist scriptures and founded the National Library of Buddhism. Later, he invited Master Taixu to talk about scriptures. The buildings of the East Hospital and the West Hospital were renovated.

Since 1949, the government has repeatedly allocated funds to renovate the temple. The decoration of Buddha statues makes this ancient Buddhist temple more majestic and magnificent.

Ancient and modern status

In 1868, there was a Buddhist monk named Wolong in the early Song Dynasty. Taizu was lucky that the temple was coincident with the Buddhist dharma. He thought it was a precursor, so he changed it to Wolong Temple According to the book Jinshi cuibian, the stele with the word "Gu" in Wolong Temple has the praise of Emperor Taizong.

This stele is a stone erected on August 26, 1077, the tenth year of Xining (Shenzong) of the great Song Dynasty, when the abbot of jingzhaofu Shifang Fuying Buddhist temple gave a lecture on preaching sermons. According to the above statement, it is true that both Taizu and Taizong visited the temple to communicate with monks, but the "Ti" stele was erected in the 10th year of Xining reign of Song Dynasty. However, the abbot still called it the Salmonella of Fuying temple, about a hundred years apart. However, it remains to be verified why and when the name of Wolong should be changed. In the seventh year of Tongzhi reign, the temple was rebuilt, and the stele was called again. The imperial edict of Yingzong granted the Scriptures to the monks and ordered them to recite them. At that time, the Buddha was shining again, and the wind of Zong was strong (there was a stele). There was no monk, the abbot of Fuhou (who did not record the restoration in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty and Daoguang decade of Qing Dynasty), the jungle was destroyed, the temple was tilted, and the temple was covered with thorns.

Monk Zhiguang was invited by many good believers to take charge of the Dharma seat, rebuild the Buddha Hall, build more corridors and verandahs, preach precepts, and then turn to the Falun. Xuanyin was extended to the abbot by Daxingshan temple, and the two orders promoted monk Mingshun as the abbot, so they rebuilt the main hall, abbot, Zen hall and Mountain Gate, and added two corridors. After several years of painstaking efforts, the work was completed.

In 1874, it was recorded in the stele of rebuilding the Qinggui Temple of Wolong Chan temple that the temple was built in ten directions. Later, because the main monk was not allowed to be a monk, the temple was desolate. Fortunately, master Huiming got up to organize and plan, the walls were consolidated, and the temple was enhanced, which made the Buddhism not fall. When Huiming retreated, a real monk continued to advocate the holy religion and strictly observe the precepts. At the age of Jiaxu in Tongzhi, some scoundrels visited Kunchi. They did not obey the precepts. They hoped to occupy the temple. They misjudged the name of the monk and made a public discussion on eight rules. They submitted the case to Mingfu county and set up a special stone in the temple, so that the later monks could know and warn Yuner. The stele has been preserved to this day, which can make the jungle stable and the wind pure.

Related allusions

In the early years of Guangxu, there was Dongxia monk named konglang. He was born in Shandong Province. He was an official at the beginning. He felt deeply decadent in the officialdom. He abandoned his position and became a monk. He took over 200 monks in this temple and became a great Buddhist. In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, he taught three great precepts, cultivated monks and continued the wisdom of Buddha.

In 1900, after the gengzi incident, the Eight Power Allied forces captured Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi took Emperor Guangxu to Xi'an for refuge. Monk Deqing (Xuyun) accompanied her to Wolong Temple to worship Buddha. Empress Dowager Cixi brought new prosperity to Wolong Temple. Shi Yin rebuilt the temple and built a stone archway, which was grand and exquisite. Cixi also personally wrote the plaque of "mercy day of Ciyun" and "three times of dieyao" to the temple, and wrote the plaque of "ten side Wolong Chan forest" for the mountain gate. Emperor Guangxu wrote "joyful place" to the gate of the temple. All these events add color and luster to Wolong Temple. At the same time, the lamas and princes of Tibet and Mongolia sent all kinds of authentic Buddha statues from afar. Among them, the Buddha statues were ordered to be sent to Wolong Temple for support, and there were many small Buddha statues in the temple.

Layout structure

During the period of the Republic of China, Wolong Temple still maintained three courtyards, East, middle and West, covering an area of 16-7 mu, with more than 200 temples, verandahs and monasteries, and 57 clay statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva, basically keeping the original appearance of the late Qing Dynasty. In the 13th year of the Republic of China, Kang Youwei came to Shaanxi on business and visited various temples. He once inscribed a three character plaque on the door of Wolong Temple. From the 20th year to the 22nd year of the Republic of China, Zhu ziqiao, Jing Songsheng and others successively donated money to repair the main hall, FA hall and Nian fo hall. It is understood that. The successive abbots since the Republic of China include Yuanyin, Yuanxin, yuanyao, Baosheng, Fan Cheng, etc.

In the 22nd year of the Republic of China, he invited master Ciyun of Ningshan temple in Huaxian county to be the abbot. Later, because of the busy affairs of Ningshan temple, master Ciyun withdrew.

In the 28th year of the Republic of China, master Lang Zhao (named Huiri) came to Chang'an to preach the precepts in Xingshan temple. It's been nine years. Wolong Temple, the abbot of the two mages, has long been a harbinger. Isn't it a coincidence that Empress Dowager Cixi wrote the four character plaque "Ciyun Huiri"?

religious activities

After liberation, the first half of the east courtyard of Wolong Temple was used as a playground by Kaitong Lane Primary School, while the West courtyard was occupied by the funeral management office. Only the middle courtyard was left, and there were only more than ten monks, who could still carry out religious activities. Starting from the protection of cultural relics, the people's government allocated funds for a new color painting of the palace of the Central People's court.

In terms of the United Front, master Lang Zhao was selected as a member of the CPPCC and people's representative. In October 1953, master Lang Zhao went to the DPRK to visit the volunteers.

In 1956, he went to Myanmar with the Chinese Buddhist delegation to welcome the Buddha's teeth back to Beijing. In the process of agricultural cooperation, the temple, together with Ci'en Temple, xing'shan temple and Muta temple, formed a Buddhist agricultural production cooperative to support itself through labor. What is painful is that during the "Cultural Revolution", abbot Lang Zhao and Zhike yuanche were persecuted and killed, monks left the temple, Buddhist statues and legacies were destroyed, factories and units entered, and the temple was beyond recognition. The only monk, Jiyi, who never left the temple, took part in labor as a worker, which played a role in the later recovery of the temple sovereignty.

The current Abbot

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the policy of freedom of religious belief has been reiterated and implemented. In 1984, the factory was relocated and monks entered the temple. Because the temple was seriously damaged, it could not be repaired. In 1987, monk Rucheng was promoted to the prison. He made a big wish and planned a comprehensive renovation. He appealed to the Buddhist circles at home and abroad to raise funds, and invited master Huiyu to be the abbot. Later, master Yiyu passed away, and he had to support himself against the wind and rain. The donors include: 250000 yuan from Xi'an Finance Bureau, 200000 yuan from Hong Kong residents, 200000 yuan from Taiwan Dade and residents, 100000 yuan from Shifang Shanxin, and 400000 yuan from our temple.

What's particularly striking is that the first master of Hong Kong Buddhist DaDeSheng has donated 2.2 million yuan. The master is 80 years old and has spared no pains. He has visited the temple five times to guide the construction of the temple, which fully demonstrates the spirit of an eminent monk who loves his country and religion.

Renovation of Wolong Temple, 19

Chinese PinYin : Wo Long Si