JinSu nunnery

JinSu nunnery

JinSu nunnery is located in the east of Jiqingmen, Qinhuai District, Nanjing city. It is one of the "480 temples in the Southern Dynasty". It is said that it has a deep relationship with Gu Kaizhi and Waguan temple. It is named after Gu Kaizhi, a great painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who painted the murals of JinSu Tathagata Vimalakirti.

Historical evolution

JinSu temple is recorded in ancient books. It is one of the 480 temples in the Southern Dynasties of Nanjing. The temple has a long history.

In 364 A.D., Waguan temple was built to repair the monks' houses in the temple.

During the cultural revolution, jinsu'an was transformed into a small street factory of "Xinyue Jinbi society", producing black plastic water storage cores in pens.

In the 1990s, with the care of the government, the efforts of the abbot Quan Cheng and the help of many faithful men and women, JinSu nunnery was partially restored.

On June 20, 1993, part of the temple was restored and completed. There is a pavilion with the door facing east. On the plaque, there are four characters "JinSu morning bell", inscribed by Zhao Puchu. There is a bell in the pavilion, and on the face of the bell is the statue of vimo. On the vermilion arched lintel is written "Hutou yuxu" (indicating the historical origin of the nunnery, Gu Kaizhi and Waguan temple, "Hutou" refers to Gu Kaizhi, who was nicknamed "Gu Hutou" at that time), and the lacquer gold couplet "Wenshu asked about the disease, while Kaizhi painted pictures" also refers to Gu Kaizhi's allusion to "Vimalakirti Shiji mural".

In 1994, a delegation from the Youth League of Tiantai Sect of Japan came to the temple to solemnly hold the "1400 anniversary ceremony of master Tiantai's death", and presented a bronze statue of master Tiantai sage to the temple.

In September 1995, a delegation from Tiantai Sect of Japan visited JinSu temple, because Waguan temple was called Tiantai ancestral court by the monks of Tiantai Sect of Japan (in 804 ad, the Japanese monks came to the Tang Dynasty to study Tiantai religion, and returned home a year later to establish Tiantai Sect of Japan). Because of the relationship with Waguan temple, JinSu temple was regarded as another source, which built a bridge for the exchange of Buddhist culture between China and Japan.

In 2007, JinSu nunnery was blessed with a jade Buddha from Myanmar. That is to say, the Jade Buddha Hall was built and all the temples were rebuilt. Only with one tree and one stone, can JinSu nunnery have a new look and a solemn Dharma.

architectural composition

JinSu nunnery, chanting, cigarette curling, Buddha solemn, incense gradually prosperous. There are more than 100 square meters in JinSu nunnery. There is a Bell Pavilion on the west side of the courtyard. A bronze bell, weighing about one and a half tons, is suspended on the pavilion. The statue of Vimalakirti is engraved on it, which is copied from Dunhuang murals.

The four gold characters "ancient Jinsu Temple" on the forehead of the temple are inscribed by Zhao Puchu himself. On the lintel of the east gate of the nunnery, the word "Hutou yuxu" is engraved, which indicates the historical origin of the nunnery, Gu Kaizhi and Waguan temple. "Tiger head" is Gu Kaizhi, a famous painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He is long Kang, small tiger head, nicknamed "Gu tiger head". Gu Hutou's poems and Fu are long in calligraphy, especially in painting. It is said that Gu Kaizhi painted the mural of Vimalakirti in wajiang temple in those days, which was brilliant and popular. Invimalakirti is also known as "JinSu Tathagata", and Gu Kaizhi's painting house is also known as "JinSu nunnery".

There is a couplet written on the East Gate: "when Kai painted, Manjusri asked where he was ill." It also refers to Gu Kaizhi's painting the murals of Vimalakirti. Vimalakirti, also known as VIMA, means "pure land" or "no dirt". According to the Buddhist scriptures, he is a Mahayana resident in yelicheng of the kingdom of Tianzhu. He is good at responding to the opportunity and guiding. He once used the name of disease as an excuse to expound the profound philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism to Manjusri and Sharif, who were sent by Sakyamuni to ask about disease. According to the legend, Vimalakirti was ill in the Xiangji kingdom of the eastern world, and Sakyamuni appointed Manjusri and Sariputra to visit him. Seeing that his room was only one foot square, seliver thought about how to accommodate his fellow Arhats. Vimalakirti had the ability of "he knows". Knowing what she thought, she stretched out her hand and many lion thrones appeared in the room. However, serriff and others are shallow, and there is no blessing to sit in peace. Vimalakirti exerts magic power, and all Arhats will be seated. As time went on, Sariputra and others felt busy. Vimalakirti took out a bowl and invited all Arhats to enjoy it. Sariputra and others secretly wondered that it was the so-called "little food, many monks". However, after all Arhats had a good meal, there was no reduction in food in the bowl. In this way, Vimalakirti took the opportunity of the Arhats to ask questions and preached the profound philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism. Vimalakirti is an intellectual among Buddhists, so he is respected by Buddhists who are intellectuals in the secular world. The allusion of "Vimalakirti's view of showing illness" is also widely spread.

There is also a statue of master cijue in the nunnery, which was dedicated by the Japanese Youth Association of Tiantai Buddhism during its visit to China in 1994. This shows another origin of JinSu nunnery, Waguan temple and Japanese Buddhism more than 1200 years ago.

The origin of the name

As we all know, "an" usually refers to the place where nuns live, but an in ancient times refers to a kind of thatched cottage similar to a thatched hut, that is, the so-called "building grass into an". In the old days, scholars' study was also called "an". Since the Han Dynasty, some nunneries have been built for Buddhist nuns to live in, so "nunnery" has become a special building name for Buddhist women to become monks.

When Gu Kaizhi made a portrait of Vimalakirti for Waguan temple, he once made a manuscript in a hut. Because Vimalakirti's nickname is "JinSu Tathagata", this cottage is called "JinSu nunnery".

Legends and anecdotes

In 364 ad, in order to repair the monk's house in the temple, Waguan Temple offered alms to all parties, but few donors were willing to donate money. After Gu Kaizhi came, he wrote down the amount of one million (copper coins) in the book of fate, and then asked the temple to prepare a wall for him. He closed the door of the house, painted in it for nearly a month, and created the immortal masterpiece "the mural of Vimalakirti" (also known as "the image of Vimalakirti), but he did not draw his eyes. Gu Kaizhi asked the abbot to post a notice, saying that anyone who saw the portrait on the first day would donate 100000 yuan for marriage, and those who saw it on the second day would donate 50000 yuan, and then he would be happy to help. On the appointed day, Gu Kaizhi put his eyes on Vimalakirti. As if he wanted to go out of the picture, Vimalakirti immediately caused a sensation in the whole city. People rushed into the temple to see Vimalakirti. It is said that when Du Fu was wandering in Jinling, he especially liked the mural of Vimalakirti in Waguan temple. His friend Xu BA in Jinling gave him a copy of the painting, which expressed his scene of seeing the painting at that time with a ruler's Law: "he was hungry and thirsty to see the painting, but his hatred was dim; the shadow of tiger head and Golden Millet was unforgettable."

Traffic information

Take bus No.19, 35, 62, 75, 81, 103, 128, 313 to Jiqingmen station.

Address: No.18 Wufu Street, Qinhuai District, Nanjing

Longitude: 118.7725907

Latitude: 32.0201485

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Jin Su An