Jiuzuo Temple

Jiuzuo Temple

Jiuzuo Temple (formerly known as Taiping Temple) is located in Fengding village, Fengshan Township, 40 kilometers west of Xianyou County, Fujian Province. It was first built in the sixth year of Xiantong (865 AD) of Yizong in the Tang Dynasty and was initiated by Zen master Zhengjue (FA Ming Zhiguang). It has a history of more than 1100 years. According to reports, the temple is connected with nine courtyards, with a grand scale, covering 15000 square meters. At its peak, there were more than 500 monks. It is known as South Shaolin, and is the largest Buddhist temple in Xianyou of Tang Dynasty. It is said that Cai Xiang, a scholar of Duanming palace in Song Dynasty, visited here to enjoy the scenery and wrote "Taiping courtyard" by himself. Yu Xiang and Liu Houcun, celebrities of the Song Dynasty, also came here to write poems. In the sixth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, the temple was burned by fire. In the twelfth year of Wanli, the monk yikong restored the main hall.

Brief introduction to temples

Jiuzuo temple is located in Fengshan Township, Xianyou County, Fujian Province, 43 kilometers away from the county seat. There is a road leading to the temple gate. The temple is located in nine mountains, so it is named Jiuzuo temple. In 865, the emperor Zhiguang founded Xiantong. Zhiguang was born in Duwei Town, Xianyou County. In 869, he went to Beijing to attend the Tang Yizong bony ceremony. He granted the temple the title of "jiuzuoshan Taiping Temple" and appointed Zen master Zhiguang the abbot of Taiping temple. Zen master Zhiguang passed away in the second year of Guangqi (886). He was posthumously named Zen master Zhengjue. After TAPI, he obtained more than 4000 pieces of relic, crystal like ice and snow. In the sixth year of song Yuanyou (1091), he was granted the title of Zen master Ciying, and in the first year of Longxing (1163), he was granted the title of Zen master Puji. Half of the Buddhist relic was provided by the two prefects of Quanzhou and Jianzhou. Half of the pagoda was buried under the two peaks in the west of the river. During the reign of Chongning in the Song Dynasty, it was granted the title of "no dust pagoda". In 1996, the tower was designated as a provincial cultural relic protection unit.

In the Song Dynasty, Xianyou County was known as the "Jiangnan Buddhist kingdom", and Jiuzuo temple was also the center of the "Jiangnan Buddhist kingdom". There are more than 20 buildings in the temple, such as Shanmen, Tianwang hall, Luohan hall, Daxiong hall, Dashi hall, sutra Pavilion, bell tower, Drum Tower, ancestral hall, Dharma hall and other rare halls and bathhouses in the jungle.

Jiuzuo temple was first destroyed in the eighth year of Jiading (1255), and then in the third year of Baoyou (1255). Master faben led his disciples to raise money and rebuild the temple. In the first year of Kaiqing (1259), he restored the old view and had more than 200 monks.

In 1522, they were burned by Japanese pirates and the monks fled. During the Wanli period, monk yikong restored the main hall. Then it was abandoned. In 1695, master Mizuo and his apprentice Huiliang revived the temple. At its peak, there were more than 500 monks.

Since the past dynasties, the nine temples have preserved a characteristic different from other temples, that is, the cultivation of both civil and martial arts. The reasons are as follows: in 837, master Zhiguang went from Taozhi mountain in Fuzhou to Shaolin Temple in Songshan mountain to receive the precepts. He went to Ezhou, where he was a supervisor. The Zen master asked questions, and Zhiguang said, "no East, no West, it's Buddha and Bodhi; no up, no down, it's true Buddha." The Zen master said, "it's up to you to save the Dharma." So he went to Shaolin Temple and lived there for more than ten years. He not only deeply understood the purpose of Shaolin, but also mastered Shaolin martial arts. After returning to Jiuzuo temple, it has been handed down from generation to generation. In 1786, the book "quotations of Zen master Kaike. Volume I" published: "the founder said: the eastern earth and the Western Heaven, the ancient cone, who said that the zodiac earned money in vain? The purpose of Shaolin, who can hide it from me, can do it. Grandmaster, grandmaster, one vein is long and vertical! " Thirteen Li to the west of the temple, there are "thief camp" and "shibagutou", with an altitude of more than 1300 meters. It is the place where monks practiced martial arts at that time. There are also many historic sites, such as "boxing and lying cow land". From 1993 to 1996, Professor Luo Zhao of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Mr. Pan Yijing of the Wushu research center of the State Sports Commission went up to the mountain for more than ten times to research and confirm that Jiuzuo temple is the birthplace of Southern Shaolin Wushu.

Jiuzuo temple is located on the beautiful Jiuzuo mountain. It is full of grotesque rocks and grotesque caves, such as groupings of stone fish, giant eagles, Muyushi, Damo rock, giant elephant, desert lying boat, amazing, Nuwa mending the sky, tortoise and rabbit race, Golden Snake entering the cave and so on.

The main cultural relics include a stone wall built in the Tang Dynasty with a base width of 2 meters and a length of about 80 meters. The ancestral hall is in the style of Tang Dynasty, the main hall and Dabei hall are in the style of Ming and Qing Dynasty. The three halls were rebuilt in 1986 under the leadership of Indonesian monk Dinghai. At the site of Longwang temple in the northwest of the temple, there are still a pair of stone pillars in the shape of melon and shuttle, which are relics of the Northern Song Dynasty. In addition, there are Haihui pagoda, Yuanan Buddhist pagoda, the 28th generation jade hall and Shang pagoda, a bridge in Song Dynasty, a big bell, and a stone tablet of Jiuzuo temple Shantian Ji.

In 1998, Zhang Dekun, a resident of Daqi Town, Xianyou County, raised money to rebuild a temple of heavenly king on the original site and cast six bronze Buddhas (about seven tons).

Master Juefu of Jiuzuo temple is 77 years old. He was born in Xianyou County, Fujian Province. He became a monk in 1989 and studied under master Zhenliang.

Origin and legend

During the Yuanhe reign of emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, a poor family named Chen lived in liupo (now Duwei Liupu) of wenxianli, Xianyou. The couple lived on the barren hillside. That night, his wife was about to give birth. In his dream, his husband heard a leading voice in the air. He saw a man with an iron bowl coming from the moon and clouds, with twelve shadows. Then a burst of frankincense came. He heard a baby crying in the next room. His wife gave birth to a boy.

Therefore, when the child was born, his father dreamed that a man holding an iron bowl was reincarnated, so he named him dream Buddha. At the age of 18, Meng fo's parents died one after another. Because of his poor family, he was alone. After being entrusted by the people, he came to taozhishan in Fuzhou to become a monk.

Although Chen mengfo became a monk, he has not yet entered Buddhism. While sweeping the temple floor, collecting firewood and other chores, he studied the Buddhist scriptures, the six sutras and Zhuang Lao's words. This year, he came back from Fuzhou to visit the villagers. He passed by Jiuli lake and stayed there. He asked the immortal for advice on some unknown things in Buddhism and Taoism.

That night, in his dream, Chen mengfo saw an old man sitting in the hall, knowing that he was an immortal. He went forward respectfully and asked, "what is the difference between Buddhism and Taoism? Will I follow Buddhism or cultivate Taoism in the future?" The immortal replied, "Buddha is the way to break evil, while Tao is the way to promote good. That's the difference between the two. However, to break the evil, to warn the world, to promote the good and to know the root, is to cultivate the good people, and to achieve the purpose of universal salvation, which is the same purpose of the two. It doesn't matter if you follow the path of Buddhism or practice Taoism When Chen mengfo heard the immortal's Buddhist words, he immediately released the doubts he had accumulated in his heart for many years.

After Chen mengfo returned to Taozhi mountain, Zen master Ruyi shaved his hair and called him "Zhiguang". From then on, he devoted himself to the study of Buddhism and became more and more profound. Before long, he was ordered to accept the precepts at Shaolin Temple in Songshan mountain.

Chen Zhiguang set out from Fuzhou, passed Shaowu, got on the boat through Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, and arrived in Wuchang, Hubei Province. He first went to visit the supervisor Zen master. When the supervisor asked him about the essence of Buddhism, Chen Zhiguang replied, "no East, no West, it's Buddha Bodhi; no upper, no lower, it's true Buddha." After listening, the supervisor admired him for mastering all the essence of the Dharma, and praised him: "the Buddha Dharma province must be in your hands."

Chen Zhiguang continued to go north from Ezhou to Xiangfan, through Nanyang, through Luoshui, to Zhengzhou, and finally to Songshan. After 15 years of persistent practice, he inherited Shaolin Temple Zen and went back to Xianyou directly. He wanted to open his ancestors and Buddhism in Xianyou.

After Chen Zhiguang returned to Xianyou, because he had consulted the immortal Lord of Jiuli lake about Buddhism and Taoism, he devoted himself to cultivating Buddhism under the guidance of the immortal Lord. Therefore, as soon as he came back, he temporarily lived in Jiuxian mountain near Jiuli lake. He had to choose the land of Kaiji before he could spread the authentic Shaolin. He traveled everywhere in Xianyou, even Putian and other places, meticulously selected the place to build the temple. First, he chose Fuyang in the north of Xianyou City, Lingshan in the East and Jinsha in the west of Xianyou city. Later, he went to weiyunding mountain in the South and Nanshan in Putian City. It was not ideal.

When Chen Zhiguang was worried because he couldn't choose the land everywhere, he suddenly remembered that the immortal Lord of Jiuli lake was nearby. Why don't he ask for advice again about the land selection. To this end, he went to Jiuli lake again, praying for the immortal Lord's guidance. That night, fairy Justice: "Phoenix to instrument birthplace."

Chen Zhiguang kept in mind the advice of the immortal Lord and continued to search for the treasure land in the northwest. That day, when he came to Fengshan, he went up to the highland and had a look, which made him happy. It turns out that there are nine peaks around here, which coincide with the nine petal lotus terrain of Shaoshi mountain where Shaolin Temple is located. And the two mountains here are like two phoenix habitats, which is exactly the state of "Phoenix comes to the instrument" mentioned by Xiangong and the birthplace. Therefore, Chen Zhiguang chose the site of the temple above the crown of the male Phoenix. In order to fit the lotus petals, he built the temple into nine temples, so it is called "nine temples". Because the temple is on the Fengguan, the place name here is called "Fengding".

In order to preserve the auspicious atmosphere of this place and prevent the separation of the two phoenixes, Chen Zhiguang specially built another tower on the crown of the female phoenix, which is the "dust-free tower".

Chen Zhiguang made great contributions to Shaolin Zen by founding nine temples. After his death, he was granted the title of "Zhengjue Zen master" by the imperial court in the second year of Tang Guangqi.

Cultural source

Jiuzuo temple, formerly known as Taiping temple, is located in Fengshan village, Xiyuan Township, Xianyou County. It has a history of more than 1100 years, of which Wuchen tower is a provincial and national cultural protection unit. Through textual research, the temple is also one of the cultural sources of "Shaolin in central Fujian". It is the Zhongjian temple, which has been found in many southern Shaolin sites so far

Chinese PinYin : Jiu Zuo Si