Yuantong Temple

Yuantong Temple

Yuantong Temple, located in Yuantong street in Kunming, is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Kunming, with a history of more than 1200 years. It is also the largest temple in Kunming. It was built in the Nanzhao period of the Tang Dynasty and was initially named butuoluo temple. Yuan Dynasty Dade five years (AD 1301 (xinchou year)) built Yuantong Temple, the Yuan Dynasty emperor "granted seal Book Jia.".

Yuantong Temple, the expansion project took 18 years, until the sixth year of Yuan Yanyou (1319 ad (Jiwei year)) was completed. In the Ming Dynasty, Yuantong Temple was expanded and a new reception hall was built on the top of the mountain. In the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt many times.

Brief introduction to temples

It is located in the south of Yuantong mountain, with Yuantong street in front and Yuantong mountain in the back. It is adjacent to Kunming Zoo with rigorous layout, symmetry and prominent main body. It is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Kunming.

Yuantong Temple, with its magnificent appearance and green trees, is known as "Luofeng embracing green" and "Luofeng overlapping green". It has always been one of the eight scenic spots in Kunming, just like a beautiful garden in Jiangnan. Architecturally speaking, it seeks quietness in the midst of trouble, and sees the big from the small. Taking advantage of the scenery of Luofeng mountain behind it, it forms a unique Shuiyuan Buddhist temple, which has a unique style in Chinese gardening art. The main gate of Yuantong Temple is located in Yuantong street, and the lower the terrain is when you enter the temple, which is a rare "Daopo Temple" in Chinese temple architecture.

Historical evolution

Yuantong Temple has a history of more than 1200 years since it was built here by Nanzhao state in the Tang Dynasty. It is the earliest Guanyin Temple in China, more than 100 years earlier than the Guanyin Taoist temple in Putuo Mountain, Zhejiang Province. At the same time, it is also the largest temple in Kunming. It is famous in Southwest China and Southeast Asia. Buddhist associations in Yunnan Province and Kunming city are located here.

Yuantong Temple consists of Mahayana Buddhism (also known as Northern Buddhism), Theravada Buddhism (commonly known as Hinayana Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhism (also known as Lamaism), with Mahayana Buddhism as the main. You don't have to go to many places to get a panoramic view of the temples of the three major Buddhist sects.

architectural style

The octagonal pavilion in front of the temple and the water pavilions around it have opened up Yuantong Shengjing, Shengjing square, Qianmen and Caizhi path, forming a Buddhist holy land integrating gardens, scenery and religious temples. Yuantong Temple has a large and spectacular Yuantong Shengjing square, Yuantong hall, octagonal pavilion, and a unique Theravada Buddhist temple in mainland China, the bronze Buddha Hall. The bronze statue of Sakyamuni in the hall (3.5 meters high and 4 tons in weight) is different from the statue of Sakyamuni in yuantongbao hall, which shows the difference between the two major sects of Buddhism and is eye opening.

Yuantong Temple has a magnificent appearance, towering temples, solemn Buddha statues, unique pavilions, rugged mountains and rocks, thousands of cliffs and green trees. It has attracted poets and poets of past dynasties and left many praise poems. It is known as "Luofeng embraces green" and "Luofeng overlaps green". It has always been one of the eight scenic spots in Kunming.

Overhaul period

Now, after overhaul, it shows its elegant demeanor even more, just like a beautiful Jiangnan Water Garden. From the perspective of architecture, it seeks quietness in the midst of trouble, and sees the big from the small. By borrowing the scenery of Luofeng mountain behind it, it forms a unique Shuiyuan Buddhist temple, which has a unique style in Chinese gardening art. In Yuantong Temple, green hills, clear water, colorful fish, white bridge, Red Pavilion and Zhu hall complement each other with picturesque scenery.

Different from other Buddhist temples, after entering the mountain gate, it is not uphill, but downhill along the central axis. The main hall is located at the lowest point of the temple. The temple faces south and is magnificent. The center of the whole temple is yuantongbao hall. There is a pool in front of the temple. There are hand reading corridors on both sides to connect the opposite hall around the pool, forming a unique style of waterside temple and pond courtyard. In the hall, there are three statues of Buddha of the third generation in the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. In the center of the hall, there are two columns more than 10 meters high, each with a colored dragon, and five hundred Arhats on the four walls. All of them can be regarded as excellent works of Chinese Buddhist temples.

Among the existing Buddhist temples in Dianchi Lake area, Yuantong Temple at the foot of Yuantong mountain is the one with the earliest construction and the longest history. The largest Buddhist temple in Kunming is also the seat of Yunnan Province and Kunming Buddhist Association.

Related allusions

In the first year of Tang Yongtai (765), Nanzhao built Tuodong city on the North Bank of Dianchi Lake. At the same time, a number of temples with Nanzhao Buddhist characteristics were built. The butuoluo temple, built under the cliff of Luofeng mountain in the Northeast suburb of Tuodong City, is one of them. Butuoluo temple is the predecessor of Yuantong Temple. "Budala" is a Sanskrit translation of potalaka, or "Potala" or "Putuo". Its free translation is "Guangming mountain with small white flowers", which is the Taoist temple of Guanyin. "Yuantong" is one of the 32 names of Guanyin, also known as "Yuantong master". Therefore, "Bu Tuo Luo" or "Yuan Tong" are temples dedicated to Guanyin.

Buddhism calls Guanyin a Bodhisattva of great compassion. There are many incarnations. As long as the suffering beings recite its name, Guanyin "observes its voice" and immediately goes to rescue. So it's very popular with believers. With the introduction of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism into Yunnan, Guanyin first settled in Erhai and became one of the main idols of Yunnan Tantric Buddhism. The Duke of Nanzhao regarded Tuodong city as the "east capital". At the beginning of the construction of the city, Guanyin temple and butuoluo temple were built. This "Bu Tuoluo Temple" is one of the earliest Guanyin temples in China, more than 100 years earlier than Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, one of the four famous Buddhist mountains.

The scale

In the Mahayana Buddhism of Han Dynasty, Guanyin is the left flank servant of Amitabha, one of the "three saints of the South China Sea" and one of the four Bodhisattvas. In the long history, although the Buddhist School of the temple has evolved, as the Taoist temple of Guanyin, it always comes down in one continuous line.

Butuoluo temple has existed for more than 400 years. It was destroyed by the war in the early Yuan Dynasty, and the temple became ruins. From the fifth year of Dade (1301) to the sixth year of Yanyou (1319), Yuan people spent 18 years rebuilding a large-scale temple on the ruins of butuoluo temple and renamed it Yuantong Temple. After the completion of Yuantong Temple, it was presided over by famous monks of Zen Buddhism in Han Dynasty, thus becoming one of the earliest jungles of local Zen Buddhism. In the Ming Dynasty, Yuantong Temple was surrounded by the city and received special care from the Gongmu family, the supreme ruler of Guizhou. Yuantong Temple is the main place for mu family to do Buddhism, and Mu family has become the great benefactor of Yuantong Temple. The Mu family has donated money for repair and expansion for many times. Yuantong Temple has entered its heyday and become the largest Buddhist temple in Kunming. In 1669, when Wu Sangui ruled Yunnan, he made a major repair. The gate of the mountain moved southward to Yuantong street, and the "Yuantong Shengjing" archway and octagonal pavilion were built, which laid the foundation for today's Yuantong Temple.

In 1871, dashuiyan temple was destroyed. When the Buddha statue was rebuilt in Guangxu period, the main statue in the hall was changed to Sakyamuni's "three body Buddha". However, the hall was not changed to "Da Xiong Bao Dian" as usual, and the name of "Yuantong Bao Dian" was still retained. Therefore, the temple of Guanyin worships the Buddha. Yuantong Temple was originally a Taoist temple of Guanyin. Guanyin temple could not do without it, so Guanyin entered the octagonal pavilion in front of the main hall.

Tianwang hall, release pool

Yuantong Temple is adjacent to Wuhua mountain in front and Luofeng mountain (Yuantong mountain) in the back. It is located in the valley between the two mountains. Therefore, after entering the mountain gate, there is a gentle slope all the way down. The exquisite Yuantong Shengjing square stands in the middle of the gentle slope. At the bottom of the slope is the temple of heavenly kings, which is divided into "Four Heavenly Kings" who protect one side of the world, persuade good and punish evil, and take charge of favorable weather. After the temple of the heavenly king, there is the release pool.

"No killing" is the first commandment of Buddhism. According to Buddhism, killing is the greatest evil cause, which is rewarded by evil; releasing is the greatest virtue, which is a good deed. The release pool of Yuantong Temple is just expanding. The center is a light and beautiful octagonal pavilion with overhanging eaves and angles. Surrounded by waterside corridors, it makes people feel like they are in a garden. The solemn Buddhist temples are integrated with the relaxed garden style. The two three hole stone bridges in the middle of the free life pool imply the wonderful purpose of Buddhism to "help all living beings". At the same time, they connect the Tianwang hall, octagonal pavilion and yuantongbao hall into a progressive whole along the central axis of the temple. Together with the waterside pavilions and curved corridors on both sides, they form a unique "water garden style" architectural complex rarely seen in China.

The characteristics of coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism

Yuantong hall is the main hall in the center, with a width of 7 rooms and double eaves. Its Liuwa Feiyu, strong beams and columns, gorgeous brackets, colorful paintings and magnificent momentum. In recent years, it has been overhauled, but it basically retains the original appearance of the Qing Dynasty in terms of materials and styles.

There are many Buddha statues in Yuantong hall, which are arranged and worshipped according to the primary and secondary rules of the general Mahatma hall, but there are also differences. First, there is a pair of dragon pillars on both sides of the main Buddha in the hall, up to 10 meters high, carved with two green and yellow dragons, claws and whiskers, making it like a fight. This symbol representing the emperor appears in the temple, which is rare in other "Great Hall". The second is that all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and Taoist immortals coexist in the hall, which is a marvelous sight. Third, shancai boy and Longnu, as the waiters of Guanyin, entered the front of the Tathagata hall, retaining the legacy of Guanyin hall.

Of course, these unique features are not groundless, they reflect the historical evolution of Yuantong Temple. It is said that the origin of Longzhu was that Zhu Yunwen, Emperor Jianwen of Ming Dynasty, fled to Yunnan after the "Jingnan incident" and became a monk in Zhengxu Temple of Shishan in Wuding. During this period, in order to avoid Ming Chengzu sending people to follow him, he once lived here for a long time. This pair of dragon pillars implicitly expresses the relationship between the real dragon emperor and the Buddha.

Chinese PinYin : Yuan Tong Si