Zhixiang Temple

Zhixiang Temple

Zhongnanshan Xiangsi, also known as Guoqing temple, is the ancestor of Chinese Buddhism. It was built by Zen master Jingyuan in the early years of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty.

Zhixiang temple is located in tianziyu, Zhongnanshan, about 30 kilometers south of Xi'an city.

The origin of temples

According to the biography of continued eminent monk Pu'an, Shi Pu'an, a famous monk of Chang'an in the capital, lived in the west slope of gengzigu in Zhongnan mountain when Zhou Wu destroyed fa (the third year of Jiande, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, 574 A.D.) "he lived in the deep forest, lived in the world's surface, cleaned up the springs and stones, and even traced the fish and birds" and then "master Yinyuan was the same as Lin Ye, who interpreted the mystery and inherited the metaphysics".

Jing AI, a famous monk in Beijing, went to Beijing to play when the Dharma disaster was about to begin. He tried his best to resist the remonstrance, but he did not accept it. The reason was that "heaven and earth are closed, just like the monk of Si Meng, and the state order forbids him to escape." Jing AI knew that the Dharma disaster could not be avoided, so he led the 30 monks to escape from Zhongnan and lead them to the west slope, where they were placed in the "secluded place". Pu'an himself lived in the exposed place and was not afraid of strict punishment. He begged for food and clothing every day.

When all the monks were able to practice, xiepu'an side by side "opened their houses" (or "built 27 temples in the East and the west" in Zhongnan Mountain). This is the predecessor of Xiangsi. In the Sui Dynasty, Buddhism revived, and the escaped monks returned to the imperial edict to become monks. Later, they moved to the Jingsi temple, but Pu'an and Jingyuan still stick to the Shanshe. Not long ago, Jingyuan came out of Tongguan in the East, and asked Zen master Lingyu in Xiangzhou. In the eighth year of kaihuang, Pu'an was also ordered to enter Beijing and retain the temple. Jing Yuan Fu "screen trail end south, set Temple knot apprentice, divide time Cheng ye, three auxiliary order to reach the full Yan". So far, Zhixiang temple was officially founded and named.

The beginning of the construction

In the first year of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, it was built by Zen master Jingyuan. In the eleventh year of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (591), the seventy-four year old Zen master Lingyu was ordered to enter Chang'an and live in Xingshan temple. Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, treated him with great courtesy. He wanted to establish Yu as the national teacher, but Lingyu's words were avoided. Here, Lingyu "whenever there is a gap, he goes to Yuansi temple to express his happiness", and then he "uses the emperor's faith to give alms as a way to move mountains". The newly founded Zhixiang temple, which is located in a narrow pass and near the valley of Sichuan, will be extended to the Dharma public. It is a blessed place where Lingyu is close to the southwest POFU. It is not only the achievements of the mountain public, but also makes the offering without loss. Therefore, Zhixiang temple was finally perched on Gaofu in the southwest of Guizi Valley, sitting from west to East, and was raised in the "blessed land" of "Zhongnan Zhengmai" for nearly 1500 years. Huayan sect began to form in Zhongnanshan and Xiangsi after the legal calamity of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and reached its peak before the Huichang legal calamity (841-846).

According to relevant records, the scale of the temple at that time was more than 1000 mu, and its momentum was very grand. At that time, Buddhism was at its zenith. The number of pagodas, niches and tombs around the temple can give us a clue. Because of this, "Huichang legal disaster" naturally bears the brunt of Erlian in Zhixiang temple and is the most tragic. All the buildings and properties of Zhixiang temple were not finished. "Zhongxin bronze statue was appointed by salt and iron officials to cast money, and iron statue was appointed by local government to forge farm tools." monks and nuns were forced to follow the customs, and Zhixiang temple was almost annihilated. Therefore, it is difficult to describe the history of Zhixiang temple after Huichang legal disaster. But with the passage of time, in the period of the Republic of China, there were still many monasteries in the valley from tianziyukou to Xiangsi, and people lived in the houses and land of monasteries.

Before the land reform in 2010, there were more than 30 permanent monks and hundreds of mu of land. After the land reform, there were 13 monks, who shared more than 50 mu of land, more than 30 temples and houses, all kinds of things in the temple, and dozens of ancient locusts and cypresses around the temple.

The scale

Although the scale of the temple can not be seen in the ancient times, it is not as miserable as the "Cultural Revolution". After ten years of the cultural revolution, most of the temple buildings were demolished except for Pei Xiu's stone cave (PEI Du, the son of Pei Xiu and the academician of Hanlin, the monk Fahai who later became the abbot of Jinshan Temple and closed the cave), where the Prime Minister of Tang Dynasty Pei Xiu "tasted and talked with Zen master Jinghai about the mystery". A thousand year old pagoda tree in front of the temple and a rare ancient tree in the courtyard were cut down, and the cultural relics and inscriptions were smashed Destroy.

Jingyuan, Pu'an, Zhiyan, Bifeng and other ancestral pagoda tombs were demolished and excavated, and all the Buddha statues were destroyed. In particular, the precious national treasure, the four inch square gold box in Bifeng pagoda (the contents of the box are unknown to anyone who can see it, but the gold box was taken away by the financial department of Shaanxi Province). Persian silver coins, Golden Lotus, and purple Valley gold bowl in purple Valley pagoda were all stolen. The property in the temple was also divided up, and the only empty hall was occupied by the primary school.

Related allusions

From the prosperity of Sui and Tang Dynasties to the destruction of Zhixiang temple during the cultural revolution, Zhixiang Temple experienced thousands of years of wind and rain and suffered a lot from human plunder. During this period, people from all walks of life showed their concern, especially the people from Salmonella. In order to make Zhixiang Temple prosperous, Shaolong was transformed into a Buddhist temple.

In the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the abbot of Wolong Temple, Zen master Dongxia, took charge of the affairs of the temple and tried his best to construct the temple. In the early years of the Republic of China, master Tuo Hengkang, the monk of Wolong Temple, praised the Buddha with his body. When he died and was cremated, his tongue was not bad, his color was ruddy, and his percussion was like the sound of percussion. In 1964, in the tide of struggle and overthrow, the monk Benshen saw a group of people trying to overthrow the Buddha statue. Then he wiped his neck with a razor and killed himself. The blood flowed like a stream. The people were shocked and were rescued in an emergency. In 1985, during the period of Abbot Benzhi, the temple still had three main halls, three Tianwang halls, three Zhangshi rooms, six monk rooms, and two kitchens. Although the halls were dilapidated, they had a little atmosphere. After the renovation of the living monks, the main hall was completely renovated, and the Buddha statues were newly shaped, making the temple look brand new. After that, the primary school moved out, but the land was still cultivated by the masses.

Buddhist significance

On October 18, 1995, when he was engaged in Buddhist practice in the temple, the old monk Benzhi, who had been guarding the temple alone for more than ten years, showed a halo on his head. Before he died, he knew that there were two relics in his ashes after cremation. Another monk, master Longliang, who was mute before becoming a monk, burst into tears after two years of hard work in Zhixiang temple. Later, he was able to speak freely in 2003 Death. All kinds of things, all of them are the Dragon images of Buddhism. They practice hard and know the power of being Buddha. The rise and fall of Zhixiang temple are not only worldly celebrities, but also many people who care about it. In the 1990s, Mr. min Yongsi, a professor of Yonsei University of Korea, Mr. Zhao xingyin, a doctor of Hanyang University, and Mr. Zheng Chuntai and Quan Taijun, reporters of Central Daily, visited for several years and finally found the original Zhixiang temple, which had been renamed "Guoqing Temple" in 1995.

Lecture activities

In August of the same year, Professor Zhang Zhizhong and master huaize of Taiwan University led more than 20 people to lecture Huayan in the temple. On December 20, 1996, Mr. Jiang Youbang, director of the academic Arts Research Office of the National Central Museum of South Korea, led a group of nine people to walk three kilometers from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain to worship the temple. On January 15, 1997, master eye, the abbot of Fuquan temple, South Korea, visited the temple. On April 12 of the same year, Mr. Daishan Kojima, director of the Institute of Huayan studies, Tokyo University, Japan, visited the temple and expressed his willingness to help restore to the temple.

Therefore, whether Zhixiang temple is prosperous or not, not only Buddhists are looking forward to it, but also people are looking forward to it. In 1985, when Chang'an County Government implemented the religious policy, the temple property was returned to the temple. Since then, during the period of Abbot miaoweng, he also made every effort to appeal to the ten sides for help. In 1996 and 1997, he got the county-level approval of the activity place of Xiangsi temple and the return of 29 mu of land.

Here, the number of people with lofty ideals at home and abroad and local pilgrims is also increasing, which also promotes the restoration of the ancestral hall from the perspective of development. In 1999, Chang'an County Government and Wangzhuang township government came forward and invited master Rucheng, abbot of Wolong Temple in Xi'an, to preside over the reconstruction of Zhixiang temple. At this point, one of the eight major sects of Chinese Buddhism, Huayan Zong Zuting Zhixiang temple, has finally begun a new era that has never been fully restored. For example, monk Chengda is responsible for the affairs of the temple on one hand, and tries his best to construct it on the other. From October 1999 to August 2004, he spent five years and more than eight million yuan to complete the scale of Zhixiang temple.

Temple layout

The temple is located on a four story platform with low front and high back. The building group is close to the building, dense and compact, but the pattern is still clear. All the way from the temple gate to Tianwang hall, you first enter the lower hall. There are five side halls on the left and right sides of the lower house, which provide salaries for Guanyin and dizang Bodhisattvas. Walking through the courtyard of Sifang, stepping up the middle steps is the middle platform.

The majestic and unsophisticated Hall of Mahatma stands in front of us. The second floor of the hall is towering, with four upturned eaves. Then, according to the two sides of the main hall, you can walk through an alley lying under the stone ridge, and then you can walk back to the back door of the main hall. You can climb up the blue stone steps and railings to reach the spacious upper courtyard. This is also the largest of the four storey platforms, with five Dharma halls perched on the top, the living rooms on the two sides facing each other from north to south, and the three entrances connecting the mountain gate, the main hall and the Dharma hall from bottom to top. It constitutes the main building of the temple. Then from the left side of the hall to the north, around the clock tower to the north end of the central tower, is the Manjusri ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall faces east from the West and stands in tripod with the two halls of northern and southern pharmacist Jialan. Although the courtyard here is not big, it is surrounded by a green stone fence on the edge of the east central platform, which makes the hall particularly compact, chic, clean and elegant. It gives people the feeling that there is a courtyard in the courtyard and a temple in the temple. The highest platform of the temple is located in the largest ancient architecture of Zhixiang temple - Zen hall. The front three sides of the hall are surrounded by eighteen Buddhist circles, which are wandering around the corridor and column, forming a quiet and quiet place with no color, elegance and noise.

Main hall

There are five Dharma halls and five dizang halls

Chinese PinYin : Zhi Xiang Si