Shuilian Temple

Shuilian Temple

Shuilian temple, which is called shuilian temple, is located in the gorge six kilometers west of Tongbai County, Nanyang City, Henan Province. Behind the hall, there is a 100 meter cliff. A Hongshan Spring falls from the top of the cliff. It looks like a crystal curtain hanging in the air. It covers a natural grotto on the top of the cliff behind the scenes, which is called shuilian cave. This is why the temple is named.

Location context

Shuilian temple is located in the hinterland of Tongbai mountain, the source of the Huaihe River. Together with Baima temple in Luoyang, Shaolin Temple in Songshan and daxiangguo temple in Kaifeng, shuilian temple is known as the four famous contemporary temples in Central China. Shuilian temple is an important Taoist temple of Linji Zen in China. It is also the center of Buddhist activities in southern Henan and Northern Hubei.

Shuilian temple is located on the side of shuilian cave, a famous scenic spot in Tongbai mountain. It sleeps the green peak and flows near the wall. The waterfalls dance on the right side of the temple and sing on the left side of the temple. Surrounded by mountains, the cave locks the clouds. The temple is majestic and the holy image is solemn.

Resources

Buddhist scriptures in the temple

Chinese Buddhist scriptures of Zen are also known as "the Sutra of the magic weapon of the sixth patriarch", or "the Sutra of the altar" for short. Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Zen, said that his disciple Fahai collected records. In volume 8 of Shimen Zhengtong, yitianzhuan, there are re recorded scriptures, such as Yixue shanquanxiao, the commander of the great Liao emperor, and so on. The so-called "liuzu Tanjing" and "baolinzhuan" are all burned, which seems that this book has been recorded in the Scriptures during the song and Liao dynasties. There are many editions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Fangshan stone classics and circulation editions.

In 1976, Japan photocopied the collection of the six patriarchal sutras, which collected 11 versions of the sutras. The content records Huineng's life experience of Dharma preaching and his disciples' teachings. It is rich in content and popular in words, which is an important basis for studying the origin of Zen.

Due to the repeated copying in the past dynasties, there are many versions, different styles and different contents. According to the widely circulated Jingchu edition of Jinling, its items are: self order, Prajna, decisiveness, wisdom, wonderful action, confession, chance, dun Jian, Dharma protection, and Fu Zhao. Its center

Thought is to become Buddhists by seeing one's nature, that is to say, only to pass on the law of one's nature and break the evil sect. Sex refers to the possibility of Buddhahood. That is to say, Bodhi's self nature is originally pure and pure, but with this heart, we can realize that although people have north and south, Buddha's nature has no north and south.

This thought comes down in one continuous line with the theory that all living beings know that there is Buddha nature in Nirvana Sutra. The practical method of inducing the Zen practitioners to practice Zen is to regard no thought as the religion, no form as the body and no residence as the foundation. Mindlessness means that the mind is not stained in all situations, and the body is not the form, that is, the form is separated from the form, so as to grasp the body nature of all dharmas; mindlessness is the basis, that is, mindlessness is not the form, and there is no binding in all dharmas. He also advocates the theory of Epiphany, that is, the Buddha is all living beings without epiphany, that is to say, all living beings are Buddhas when one thinks of Epiphany, that all dharmas are in one's heart, and that seeing the truth is like nature.

At the same time, it also emphasizes that: the Dharma is not stopped gradually, and there is a late disease in the confused understanding; when the confused hears that the Scriptures have been robbed, the understanding is in an instant. It is pointed out that the method is a kind of method. When there is a late disease, the method will not stop gradually, and people will be blunt. Tan Jing also displays the idealistic pure land thought. It is believed that the Oriental man-made sin prays to Buddha for survival, while the Western man-made sin prays to Buddha for survival. He who can't fool himself, doesn't know the pure land in his body, is willing to be east or west, and understands that people are in general. He also said: the west is not far away from the place where there is no evil in heart; if there is no evil in heart, it is hard to go to Buddha's death.

At the same time, he advocates that Buddhism should be in the world and not be separated from the world. It is just like seeking a rabbit's horn to leave the world and seek Bodhi. He pointed out: if you want to practice, you can do it at home, but you can't help it in the temple. If you can do it at home, you will be good in the East; if you don't do it in the temple, you will be evil in the West. The thought of Tanjing plays an important role in the development of Zen. This is the only Chinese Buddhist Scripture that is respectfully called Sutra.

Buddhist statues in the temple

In the middle of the hall, the statue of Sakyamuni, the Buddha, stands on the lotus seat. It is magnificent and awe inspiring. Shuilian Temple

The Buddhist cultural relics collected in shuilian temple include ancient Beiye scriptures, gold-plated Buddha statues of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Jingang scriptures written by Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty, and dragon collection of wood engravings of Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. Behind the Buddha statues, different from other temples, are stone sculptures rather than Island Guanyin. The portrait was created by Luo pin, one of the eight monsters in Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty. The brushwork is bold and rough with smooth lines.

Hanshan's right hand points to the ground and talks and laughs, but he is naked and listens happily. Both of them are given out by the quilt, and they are naive. The main buildings are distributed in the north-south axis and its two sides. From the three single hole stone bridges to the north, there are Tianwang hall, Tianjue Liushi hall ruins, Mani hall, pailou gate altar, Cishi Pavilion, zhuanluncang Pavilion, Kangxi Qianlong second imperial stele Pavilion, Dabei Pavilion, Yushu tower and Jiqing Pavilion, Mituo hall, longpuniu Pavilion, and the end of the central axis. It was moved from Chongyin temple in Zhengding city in 1959. It is an important example to study the architectural layout of Buddhist temples in Song Dynasty.

Portraits in the temple

Mural painting style

The style of frescoes in the hall inherits the traditional painting method of ancient Chinese frescoes, with skillful techniques, natural and unrestrained lines, gorgeous colors, vivid figures, clear primary and secondary, and well-organized.

The color of mural is based on the tone of stone green and vermilion, which achieves harmony from the strong contrast, and the color is rich and harmonious. The pigments used are mainly minerals. These pigments have good stability and long storage time. Although they have gone through hundreds of spring, summer, autumn and winter, their colors are still very bright. The mural also uses a large number of asphalt powder and gold. The whole mural looks gorgeous, magnificent and dazzling.

Ink lines depict objects

Ink line is a major feature of Chinese painting. Water curtain temple mural line depiction method is relatively rich, the line type is relatively complete, the application is appropriate. On the basis of inheriting the excellent tradition of line drawing in Tang and Song Dynasties, it has a new development. Starting from the actual needs of the objects, the author skillfully uses the changes of the arrangement and combination of lines, such as rhythm, scattered, virtual and real, rigid and soft, thick and thin, and unfolding, to depict the characters vividly, giving people a sense of soul and life. The content and texture of objects are also very good. Murals are rich in content, all embracing, exquisite and of high artistic value. They are of great significance to the study of ancient social life, customs, ancient art history and traditional painting art. They are precious treasures of ancient Chinese murals and are listed as the national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

geographical environment

Shuiliansi is the transitional zone between the north and the south, and the dividing line between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. There are both the majestic mountains in the north and the beautiful scenery in the south. Therefore, there are many strange mountains and rocks, mountain springs and waterfalls can be seen everywhere, the vegetation is in good condition, various kinds of animals and plants are numerous, and the north and South meet and infiltrate each other.

According to the survey, there are 326 species of vertebrates in 76 families of 33 orders, among which 33 species are listed as rare animals under state protection, such as leopard, Golden Eagle, otter, big civet, little civet, musk deer, white crowned pheasant, giant salamander, pangolin, blue sheep, red winged Phoenix cuckoo, etc.

It has a good transition zone forest ecosystem, and the flora is compatible with the north and the south. It is called the unique natural biological species gene bank and natural museum in the Central Plains. The natural vegetation has become a unique landscape in the scenic area.

Development and construction

Infrastructure

In 1983, the national religious policy was fully implemented, and the government approved the opening of shuilian temple as a place for Buddhist activities. With the concern and attention of governments at all levels, shuilian temple has been completely restored. More than 120 halls and houses have been built successively, including Daxiong hall, Pilu hall, jade Buddha building, Tianwang hall, Mountain Gate, monk's chamber building, Gongde hall, Zen temple, Luohan hall, Huazang library, and more than 120 statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva. Among them, the large-scale carved Burmese white jade Buddha can be regarded as one of the best in the Central Plains. There are 12 large-scale wood carvings of Vajra There are more than 20000 Sutras in the Japanese version of Dazheng. There are six stone pagodas, five stone arch bridges and one barrage, just like a sacred Buddhist temple. On October 28, 1993, shuilian Temple held a Buddhist Kaiguang Dharma meeting. More than 1800 Buddhist disciples from 22 provinces and cities and Buddhist delegation representatives from the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan attended the meeting. More than 50000 tourists came to visit the meeting. In 1983, after it was designated as an open tourist area, governments at all levels decided to rebuild the temple in order to implement religious policies. They successively allocated nearly 100000 yuan for the construction, plus more than 100000 yuan for the construction,

The main hall is covered with green tiles, with a width of 5 rooms, a length of 15.3 meters and a depth of 4 rooms, a width of 9.7 meters. The eaves column is made of shuttle column. The column has side feet and rises on both sides. On the eaves column, there are high and thick appendix forehead and flat and thin Pu Bai Fang. At the beginning, there are T-shaped and Pu Bai Fang with six Dougong on it. A total of 30 pieces of Dougong are made. On the third jump, there are cross oblique Dougong. The oblique Dougong is used to replace Ling Gong, and the cicada belly shape is used to support the eaves Fang. Inside the hall is made in the Ming Dynasty. Among the beams and beams, there are decorative components such as hump, bucket, single Gong, Shutou, and substitute wood. The beams of the inner and outer eaves and the walls of the eyes of the gongs are painted with colored paintings such as Hexi. The front and rear facades of the main ridge on the top of the hall are decorated with dragons, and the two ends are decorated with the kiss of a bird. In the middle of the front tile ridge, there is a diamond shaped yellow glazed tile core. The ground around the hall has been raised for a long time, and the foundation and eaves are buried about 50 cm underground. Because the wing angle is deep out of the eaves, small column support has been added in the later maintenance. Since 1988, the hall has been overhauled. The main hall of shuilian temple is 15.3 meters long and five rooms wide. The Ming room is 5.6 meters long, 2.7 meters longer than the second room, and 9.7 meters deep. The main hall is a veranda type roof with gentle roof and deep eaves

Chinese PinYin : Shui Lian Si