Huangmei Si Zu Temple

Huangmei Si Zu Temple

Huangmei Sizu temple is located in Shuangfeng Mountain, 15 kilometers northwest of Huangmei County. Huangmei Sizu temple, formerly known as Youju temple, is also known as Shuangfeng temple. It is the Daoxin Temple of the fourth generation of Zen master in China. The temple was built in the seventh year of Wude (624 AD) of Tang Dynasty, with a history of 1370 years. It is the first temple of Zen in China. During the reign of Zhengde, Wanli and Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt many times and finally destroyed by war. There are Pilu pagoda, Zhongsheng pagoda, Yibo pagoda, lingrun bridge, Sizu hall, Jiaoyun Pavilion and many cliff carvings.

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Huangmei Si Zu temple not only occupies an important position in the development history of Buddhism in China, but also enjoys a high reputation in the world, especially in Japan, India, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries, as well as in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Historical evolution

Daoxin Zen master (580-651), the fourth patriarch, lived in Hanoi (now Qinyang County, Henan Province) and later moved to Meichuan Town, Guangji, Qizhou (now Wuxue City, Hubei Province). At the age of 12, monk can of Tousi Kongshan sought the way to extricate himself. He said that he had a great understanding and had no sleep in his heart. He had been under threat for 60 years. At the age of 21, he studied in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. In the third year of Yue Dynasty, Wen can traveled all over the Yangtze River. He returned to Sikong and became the fourth ancestor of Chinese Zen. In the second year of Daye (606), Chan Master can died. To Lushan, live in Dalin temple for ten years, study and stop watching. In the 13th year of Daye (617), he was 38 years old. He lived in Fu Temple of Ji'an Xiangxiang. He ordered Tu Niang to escape the siege of the city. In the seventh year of Wude of Tang Dynasty, Qizhou Taoist custom invited a teacher to Huangmei temple. There was a good spring stone in Shuangfeng. He lived there for nearly 30 years. Open the door of Zen, gather 500 people, self-sufficiency, diligent sitting. He wrote the book of Bodhisattva's commandments to preach the Dharma, and also wrote the book of convenient Dharma to ease one's mind, teaching people to practice samadhi in order to understand one's mind. To cultivate Zen by farming, to pay equal attention to practice and evidence, to combine Zen with precepts, and to melt and stop observing. There are many people who can get results in Qizhou Shuangfeng. After he accepted the Zen master, he was honored as a master of Dharma, which was called Dongshan Dharma at that time; Faxian in Jingzhou was treated with the skill of "taking out the important prescriptions and lowering the heart"; Hengyue was good at subduing, and got the method of "entering the Tao and calming the heart"; xuanshuang in Jingzhou was "eager to be subtle, but only to take care of the mind; Niutou was blended with Dharma, and then he realized the purpose of" a hundred dharmas, all belong to the same square inch, the river and sand are wonderful, and always at the source of the heart "; Xinluo Dharma Lang, holding the law to return to the East, opened the beginning of Haidong Zen. The fourth patriarch and his six spiritual feet are not only related to the Dharma movement of Shenzhou Zen sect, but also the founder of the East Chan road in Shilang, Silla.

In the second year of Yonghui (651), the ancestor ordered his disciples to build a pagoda in the Xiling of the temple. On the fourth day of September in the ancient calendar of the same year, he entered the pagoda and admonished the disciples. After his words, he died. He lived 70 years. The next year, the gate of the pagoda opened and the body was immortal. The people welcomed the real body back to the temple to worship. In the Tang Dynasty, zongchi was named "great medical Zen master" and the pagoda was called "Ciyun".

After Hongren, there were qingjiao, Zhongxuan, juna, fayan, Zhitang, Yungu, Pingchuan, samadhi Jiguang, Jiechu, qigaolang, Huishan Jiexian, daolunpu and other eminent monks stationed in Xixi mountain one after another.

In the 14th year of Zhengde of Ming Dynasty, the fourth ancestor raised his hand to the top, spit out fire and set himself on fire. King Jing initiated reconstruction. In the winter of the fourth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1855), it was destroyed by war and rebuilt in Guangxu. Later, it was destroyed, leaving only three ancestral halls and several ancient cypresses. In December 1995, elder Ben Huan took up the great cause of rejuvenation. It took five years to build more than 200 halls and pavilions. The ancestral court of the past was once again brilliant. On September 12, 2003, Ben retired after success, and master Jinghui succeeded him as abbot. He vowed to revive the Zen style of the fourth patriarch, advocate life Zen, strengthen the construction of the monk system, continue to run the Journal Zhengjue, hold activities such as the four public practice meeting and Zen culture summer camp with Zen as the theme, and further renovate the surrounding environment of the temple. Now, the parking lot in front of the temple, the stone archway of "Ciyun tower", the Chuanfa cave, the temple to Pilu tower and the pilgrimage steps of Chuanfa cave have been completed one after another. The eternal Buddhist temple is full of vitality.

Main attractions

The whole ancient temple building complex is composed of three parts: upper, middle and lower. The structure layout is standard, and the layers are clear. The halls, pavilions, plates and walls are crisscross, layered and antique. The main buildings include Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, ancestral hall, dizang hall, Guanyin hall, Keshun hall, yibohan, bell and Drum Tower, Dabei Pavilion, Dharma hall, Zen hall, sutra building, Huayan hall, banyundi, Abbot's room, etc. In addition to the temple complex, there are many places of interest, such as Yifeng County site, yitianmen, Fengqi bridge, guide tower, longxushu, ertianmen, Tianxia famous mountain stele, Huaqiao, biyuliu, xibiquan and other cliff stone carvings, as well as more than 30 landscapes, such as piluta, lubanting, Chuanfa cave, Guanyin village, baoguangshi, Ziyun Cave, Shuangfeng Mountain, etc.

The gate is made of blue and white stone, 7.8 meters high and 6.6 meters wide. It is ancient and magnificent. After entering the gate, you can see the main building complex of the temple. Now there are many restored halls and pavilions, such as Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, Guanyin hall, zushi hall, Zen hall, guest hall, sutra collection building, bell and Drum Tower, Abbot's room, etc. The doors, windows, beams and columns are exquisitely carved and painted. The new Buddha statues in the hall are solemn, lifelike and spectacular. The main hall is designed and restored according to its original appearance. The engineering buildings are all of antique reinforced concrete structure. The hall has seven bays, five deep rooms, front and back corridors, two floors of cornices and bucket arches, and 36 columns. The building area is 865.7 square meters, the height is 18.7 meters, the width is 34.1 meters, and the length is 25.7 meters.

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There are also three ancient cypress trees in the temple, including two dragon cypress trees (commonly known as inverted cypress) and one cloud cypress tree (also known as auspicious cloud cypress). It is said that Yunbai was planted by Daoxin, the fourth patriarch, with a history of more than 1300 years. Surrounded by green pines and bamboos, the temple is picturesque, quiet and elegant.

Historical relics

In addition, several precious historical relics have been preserved in the ancestral hall. The two pieces are blue and white porcelain censers of the Qing Dynasty. The large censer is 0.8 meters high, 0.6 meters wide and weighs about 16 kg. On the top left is printed "summer of the 12th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty", on the top right is printed "Jing, disciple of Bingsi believer in Gutang town", and on the middle is printed "in front of the lotus seat of Bodhisattva, the founder of Xishan sect". The small censer is 0.6 meters high and 0.5 meters wide. It weighs about 12 kg. On the top left is printed with the words "mid autumn of the 30th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu", on the bottom right is printed with the words "Deng Shaoshan pays homage", and on the middle is printed with the words "in front of the throne of Wenchang in Xishan". The other is a wooden gold plaque with four characters of "only Chu Zhenling". It is said that the inscription was written by the emperor of Song Dynasty. It is said that the Hubei Provincial Museum also preserved a jade seal of the fourth ancestor temple (it is said that the fourth ancestor temple is a left hand seal and the fifth ancestor temple is a right hand seal). The seal is made of white marble. There is a vivid lion carved on the handle. The body of the seal is square, measuring about 2.45 kg. The seal is in seal style. It is engraved with "the real body seal of the great doctor of the ancestral court of the world" and "imperial carving of emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty" on the seal base. It is a very precious cultural relic.

Yibo tower

Walk out of the ancient temple, not far north, to the Yibo tower. The body of the pagoda is three stories, 3.8 meters high and 2.2 meters wide. The pagoda is built of gneiss, which is a major landscape of the temple. It is said that master Daoxin of the fourth ancestor passed on his mantle to master Hongren of the fifth ancestor in his later years. To commemorate this event, he built this tower.

Lu Banting

Near the Yibo tower, you can also see a stone pavilion, commonly known as Luban Pavilion, which is one of the three wonders of the temple. The tower is 5 meters tall and 3.6 meters wide. It is octagonal with a big round stone in the middle, commonly known as "fenghuangwo". The top of the tower is divided into six blocks, three of which are covered with stones, three of which are not covered with stones. The pavilion has the architectural style of Song Dynasty, which is rare in China. According to legend, when the fourth ancestor Daoxin was building the Great Buddha Hall, he needed more than 200 nanmu trees urgently. After learning about this, some disciples of Lutheran believers donated more than 200 nanmu trees on their own initiative. However, how much work will it take to move these trees from Lushan Mountain back to Sizu temple. The master carpenter who built the hall was the 18th generation of Luban. He was smart, studious, skilled and proficient in Taoism. At this time, he came to the top of Shuangfeng Mountain, holding a hundred sleeve garment and using a Taoist method, he turned the white Naiyi into a white cloud and floated to Lushan Mountain. After a while, the white cloud floated back again. As soon as it landed, he saw more than 200 Phoebe neatly placed on the temple site. Later, this pavilion was built to commemorate the achievements of Lu Group's son sun Jiandian.

Piluta

After watching lubanting, you can see a Pilu tower in Tang Dynasty when you walk up the northwest hill. The pagoda, commonly known as CIREN pagoda, Zhenshen pagoda and Sifang pagoda, covers an area of more than 1200 square meters. The pagoda is slightly square, with single-layer double eaves Pavilion style. The pagoda body is an antique structure of green brick, with a height of 11 meters, a base width of 10 meters and a depth of 10 meters. On the base of the pagoda is a tall and double-layer corset Xumi seat. All kinds of flowers and birds, as well as clear and smooth lotus petals and honeysuckle patterns are carved around the pagoda. There are tall lotus arc doors without door leaves in the southeast and west of the tower. According to the records of the five Lantern Festival yuan, "on April 8, the third year of Yonghui, the house of the pagoda opened itself without any reason... The people at the back door did not dare to close it again. "There is a false door on the north side of the tower to avoid wind and snow. Inside the tower is a dome, with a square in the middle and an octagonal in the bottom. There are eight walls. Among them, the four walls are equipped with Buddha constitution. The columns, beams, Yan and rafters are all made of stone strips and green bricks. The top of the tower is built with three green stone towers of different sizes. On the upper bricks of the four sides of the tower, there are carved "bianpiruo birthday tower" and "mogara garden"

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