Bishan Temple

Bishan temple is the largest Shifang temple in Wutai Mountain. The so-called "Shifang" means that all monks and four-way residents can live and board here free of charge. If there is a lack of travel expenses when they leave here, the temple will provide more money. So many pilgrims take this place as a place to be ruled. The environment around the temple is quiet and beautiful. The main buildings in the temple include Tianwang hall, Leiyin hall, Jietang hall, Maitreya hall, etc. the statues of each hall were remodeled in the Qing Dynasty. There is a statue of Sakyamuni on the stone altar in the center of the temple. The carving is meticulous and dignified.

Bishan Temple

Bishan temple, located at the foot of Beitai mountain, 2km northeast of Taihuai Town, was built in the reign of emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty. It is the largest Shifang temple in Wutai Mountain. The so-called "Shifang" means that all monks and four-way residents can live and board here free of charge. If there is a lack of travel expenses when they leave here, the temple will provide more money. So many pilgrims take this place as a place to be ruled.

Brief introduction to temples

Bishan temple was built in the Tianshun reign of emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was called Puji temple. This temple is located under yedou peak of Beitai, so it is also called Beishan temple. The peak around the temple is bright and blue, so it is also called Bishan temple. Now the full name is "Bishan Shifang Puji Temple".

The ancients have a poem about Puji Temple: "sunset Bishan temple, Xiaoran ancient stream side. The white clouds are green and the moon is cold. " There is a great tradition in Bishan temple. All monks, nuns and lay men come to Bishan temple for free, and no one has the right to expel guests. If there is a lack of Sichuan capital, the temple will have to provide money. Bishan temple, the practice of ten monks in Guangji, is very popular and appreciated by people. Therefore, people also call Bishan Temple "Guangji Maopeng". Maopeng is the modest name of the temple.

Materials in the temple

There are several sources of funds for Bishan temple to provide accommodation for monks: 1. Land management. Before liberation, Bishan temple, like other temples in Wutai Mountain, had a lot of land and properties.

2、 Third, accept alms and alms. Bishan temple, as a well-known Shifang temple, is deeply admired by Chaoshan Buddhists. It is a temple that they must pay homage to. If Bishan temple can live in, they will never go to other temples to hang up a bill. In order to support the spirit of "Guangji Shifang monk" in Bishan temple, Buddhists at home and abroad donated a lot of property to Bishan temple. Among them, the most precious are "Myanmar jade Buddha" and "Huayan Sutra pagoda". Myanmar jade Buddha, is now placed in the temple altar hall.

The Huayan Sutra pagoda is seven feet long (6.1 meters high) and is a Buddhist sutra pagoda written on Bai Lingzi. Hanging up, it looks like a seven level exquisite Pagoda with flying eaves and wind bells, just like a meticulous painting. Looking closely, we can see that it is composed of regular script and calligraphy characters of mung bean. The whole pagoda just wrote a Huayan Sutra, with a total of 600043 words. It took 12 years for Xu Dexing to bathe and burn incense. This Huayan Sutra pagoda is now on display in the rear Hall of Xiantong temple.

Layout structure

Bishan temple is now the "national key Temple" announced by the State Council. There are four major temples in the temple, namely, Tianwang hall, Leiyin hall, Jietang hall and Maitreya hall.

The couplet on the colorful memorial archway in front of the Mountain Gate reads: "it's cool to perform, and the snow often floats in the four seasons, and the silver world is illusory", "the grand bliss, the lotus flower begins to bloom in June, and turns into the golden heaven and earth".

Reconstruction period

Bishan temple was founded in the Northern Wei Dynasty and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. It used to be called Puji temple, Huguo temple, Beishan temple, etc. it was renamed Bishan temple in the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty and Guangji Maopeng in the reign of emperor Xuantong. In the second year of Xuantong, two old monks, Chengshen and hengxiu, went to Wutai Mountain to worship. When they got to the top of Beitai mountain, the weather suddenly changed and the wind was cold, which frostbitten their feet. They were still in huayanling of Beitai, where they saw two people who had been frozen to death on the way. Chengshen and hengxiu thought that they needed a place for food and lodging to worship the North platform.

The two old monks swore to build a thatched roof for the monks and residents of the North platform to rest and drink. Therefore, they founded the "Guangji thatched roof" and bought part of the real estate from the Bishan temple at the top of the North platform, so as to integrate the mountain and the bottom. Later, Maopeng in Guangji was integrated with Bishan temple, and Bishan temple was changed into a ten square jungle from the son and grandson temple.

Buddhist significance

According to Buddhist regulations, Shifang temple is a temple specially set up for entertaining visiting monks. "No shaving is allowed in the forest of ten directions", and no one is allowed to seize it as a private temple.

In 1935, long Fu and his disciples, who had lived in Bishan temple for a long time, attempted to change the nature of Bishan temple's "Shifang Temple" and turn this famous Shifang jungle into his descendants' temple. For this reason, the hospitalized Shifang monks represented by monk Guanghui launched a fierce struggle against it. Finally, representatives of the National Buddhist community and the government held a special meeting in Taihuai town to resolve the dispute between the ten monks of Bishan temple and their grandchildren.

The meeting was attended by Tian naideng, a representative of Zhao pilian, vice chairman of the Mongolian Tibetan Committee of the central government of the Kuomintang at that time; Li Hong, a representative of Zhao Daiwen, general Councilor of Taiyuan appeasement office; Lin Yi, supreme staff platform of Taiyuan appeasement office; Huang Fusheng, member of the national government; Du nengkuan, head of Wutaishan district; Hu Hu, supervisor of China Buddhist Association; Liu genchen, staff member of Nanjing Buddhist Association; and Chongqing Buddhist Society of Sichuan Mi Shu, executive director, Li Hong, member of the Standing Committee of Shanxi Buddhist Association, Ji Fu, chairman of Wutai Mountain monk, Guang Hui, director of the East Room of Bishan temple, and long Fu, director of the west room of Bishan temple.

Ancient and modern status

After research, the participants unanimously criticized longfu's wrong behavior. Out of friendship with his fellow disciples, the participants collected some money to give longfu's master and disciples to leave Bishan temple and build another Taoist temple.

The incident of Bishan temple has attracted so much attention from Buddhist circles and relevant parties all over the country. From this we can know the influence and status of Bishan temple in the whole country.

Four halls

There are four halls on the axis of Bishan temple, covering an area of 24 mu, with more than 50 halls and buildings.

In Tianwang hall, there is Maitreya Buddha in the niche in the middle of the hall. There are four heavenly kings on both sides, bypassing Maitreya Buddha. In the niche in the middle of the back door, there is Weituo, the Dharma protector. All the statues are placed in niches and windows. It is different from the installation of other temples. Jin Bifeng, a famous monk in the Yuan Dynasty, and Gu Yue, a famous monk in the Ming Dynasty, all told the sutras here. Up to now, on the mountain opposite the temple, there are Jinbi peak and the tomb tower of Zen master Gu Yue.

The second entrance to the hall is the Pilu section, also known as the Leiyin hall. The center of the hall is for the Pilu Buddha, and the two walls are for twelve Bodhisattvas. On the left wall, from the back corner to the front of the door and window, there are six Bodhisattvas, namely miaodai, Puyan, Maitreya, weidezi, jingzhuye and Yuanjue. On the right wall, from the back corner to the front of the door and window, there are six Bodhisattvas, namely, Puxian, Jingzang, qingjinghui, Bianyin, pujue and xianshanshou A Vajra, all Bodhisattvas are decorated with spiritual light on the back, and the two Bodhisattvas of miaodee and Puxian are waiting for the Bodhisattvas. The setting in the hall is solemn and dignified. On the outer wall of the left gable of the main hall, there is a stone inscription of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, entitled: five hundred year old monks of Taibei mountain temple.

There are four poems, the second one reads: "wrong eyes do not distinguish the smallpox falls, mouth said that the previous dynasty things can rely on, iron rod Wulang had escorted, copper platform show five monks." According to folklore, Wutai Mountain is the place where Yang's generals once lived. Yang Wulang first went to Bishan temple and then to Taiping Xingguo temple, which is not far from Bishan temple. Taiping Xingguo temple was built during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty. Because Yang Wulang was the second generation monk in charge of the temple, people called it "Wulang Temple".

There is a high platform on the mountain outside the temple. People call it "Wulang parade platform". Now, although Wulang Temple no longer exists, the story of Wulang coaching 500 monks and soldiers, fighting Liao soldiers and killing Han Chang with a stick is still widely spread. In the Republic of China, Shi Jianqiao, a female resident, avenged his father, Shi Congbin, who was deputy to the military affairs of Shandong Province and commander of the first army. After killing sun Chuanfang, the great warlord who killed his father, she came here to practice.

The third entrance hall is called the altar hall. In the center of the hall, there is a ring altar made of bluestone. It is 5.1 meters long, 5 meters wide and 1.2 meters high. It is the only ring altar in Wutai Mountain. Abstinence altar was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. When Emperor Xiaowen was the first to carry forward the law school, FA Cong once gave a lecture here. Later generations, this place has been preaching. The existing altar is a relic of Ming Dynasty. On the altar, there is a stone carved jade Buddha from Myanmar. The Jade Buddha sits cross legged on the lotus stand. His clothes are simple, his hair is in a bun, his cheeks are plump, and his face is bright. He looks down and thinks deeply. He is still a handsome young man. The vivid carving of this historical figure is the same size as a real person sitting there. Needless to say that the carving art is lifelike and exquisite, the original jade materials are also very rare.

It is said that in the 17th and 8th years of the Republic of China, an old monk from Jiangxi went to India with an old monk. After passing through Myanmar, he invited three jade Buddhas to return home. One was in Shanghai and built a jade Buddha Temple, one was in Guiyuan temple in Wuhan, and the other was just like this. There are eighteen Arhats on both sides of the hall. They are all of the same color gold body. They are made of special beads, which is called lacquer yarn arhat. When molding, first make sand mold, then paste it with yarn, cloth and adhesive layer on the outside, and then empty the sand inside. The Rohan made of lacquer yarn is light and solid, which is very suitable for long-distance transportation. According to the merit stele of raising arhat statues in Bishan Temple of Wutai Mountain on the left side of the second entrance hall, in the year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, there were statues of Buddha on the altar of jietan hall, "the two sides are still empty. The wonderful statues of Huayuan monks in our temple are willing to raise money and travel to Shengjing to celebrate their meeting with Duke Xian. They are taboo to Guoyin and live in the east of the giant family. They practice good deeds for the sake of the world. Now they kill their official bodies and do Buddhist services. They follow the fate to advocate alms and order to build a strange arhat in Gusu

Chinese PinYin : Bi Shan Si