Bailu Temple

Bailu Temple

Bailu temple is built on Bailu mountain on the South Bank of Zijiang River in Yiyang City, adjacent to Huilong mountain and only 200 meters away from the first bridge of Zijiang River. It was built in Yuanhe period of Xianzong in Tang Dynasty, about 1200 years ago. In the heyday of the ancient temple, there were four entrances: Maitreya hall, the four heavenly kings on the left and right; Guanyin hall, the Buddhist school on the left and right; Daxiong hall, the eighteen Arhats on the left and right; Zen hall on the left, Zhai room on the right, pharmacist Hall and Sutra library on the fourth. There are more than 300 monks living in the temple, which is the largest temple in Yiyang.

Fairy Tales

The name of Bailu temple comes from a fairy tale. Pei Xiu, a famous prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, came to Yiyang several times when he was demoted as a Jiedushi of Jingnan. He lived on the riverside mountains with luxuriant ancient trees. Pei Xiu is knowledgeable and versatile. He likes Buddhism. In the dead of night, he reads at night by holding a candle on the mountain. The sound of chanting attracts a fairy white deer to stop and listen. Every night, as long as the sound of chanting rings, the fairy White Deer flies to listen to the Scriptures. One night, the secret of Bai Lu's listening to the sutra was discovered, and Xianji was leaked. No more Bai Lu came back. In order to commemorate xianbailu's listening to the Scriptures, the mountain people named Bailu mountain the geomantic treasure land where Bailu stopped to listen to the Scriptures, and built a temple at the foot of the mountain, named Bailu temple.

White Deer evening bell

In the Qing Dynasty, Bailu temple was famous for its many monks and fragrant incense. What was particularly amazing was the ancient bronze bell with a weight of 1000 kg, which sounded so loud that it could be called the bell king of the ancient city. At night, the bell of the monk's incense rings through the ancient city's ten mile Mashi street. The melodious bell is elegant and clear, shocking the soul and purifying the soul. Therefore, "White Deer evening bell" is listed as one of the ten scenic spots in Yiyang. The poem of Luo Yunheng in the Ming Dynasty says: "the sun goes down in the west at dusk in the mountains, Pu Lao shouts the Sanskrit sound and listens to it by mistake across the river. It is suspected that it is the old dragon's chant".

The vicissitudes of temples

During the reign of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1858), the temple was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, with the aid of Tao, governor of Liangjiang, monk Weiguang restored his old view in only six years. According to historical records, "Haiyin monk zhuoxi Yuanjiang Jingxing temple was occupied in 1881. In the early years of the Republic of China, Bailu temple was occupied and Jingxing temple was destroyed. Haiyin once entered the capital seven times and two lines of Mongolians raised funds for more than ten years to restore the two temples." Haiyin, born in Yiyang, is a famous poet monk. He once wrote a couplet: "ten years old, the adherents of the ladle Li are old, and thousands of miles of sand and wild land are coming back." "the capital is surging, and all the ancient and modern people are washed away. Where is Pei Gong going? The clouds and trees still exist, the ruins are empty, the white deer is not coming, and the autumn is old; the river is vast, blowing the dust atmosphere of heaven and earth, recalling the sunset of the Zen temple, the final sound is just there, the famous mountains are looking for the Old Testament, and the yellow flowers should laugh at my late return. ". It was a reflection of the situation at that time. After the abbot of Haiyin, Bailu temple, he passed away in 1922 and took over from monk Kong. After that, Zhu Ming, Hong Chang, and Yuan Xiu were abbots one after another. In 1943, after Hongchang and others prepared to establish "Yiyang County branch of Hunan Branch of Chinese Buddhism", they set up "Yiyang Buddhist workshop" in the temple. In the later period, master Xigu and master Foyuan took charge of things and trained many monks. At this time, 200 monks lived in the temple, with thousands of acres of fertile land and forests. In addition, the Buddhist scriptures in the temple were enough to maintain the life of monks.

In 1949, the monks of the temple embarked on the road of production and self-help. After the monks and nuns were settled down, Xigu went to Xiangtan in 1951, while Foyuan went to Yunmen temple at the invitation of monk Xuyun in Guangdong. The factory was merged into the Municipal People's weaving factory in 1958. During the ten years of the cultural revolution, the monks were dispersed and the temples were destroyed. After that, the two temples were demolished due to the construction of the bridge. The temple disappeared and the temple land was occupied. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the religious policy was gradually implemented. The monks returned to the site and set up a Buddhist management group. In 1984, the municipal Buddhist Association was established, and Shi Guanzhao was the president. The following year, because the temple site was planned to build a shopping mall, the government chose Tallinn mountain to rebuild the Bailu temple. At this time, Buddhist monk Foyuan, the abbot of Yunmen temple in Guangdong Province, went back to his hometown to visit the ancestral hall. Seeing this scene, he felt a lot of emotion. A poem wrote: "white deer has been famous for thousands of years, but you can still hear the sound of the bell in the evening. He once cultivated the rain spirit, and experienced the vicissitudes of his hometown. A corner of the remnant remains, and ten years of civilization has been destroyed. When we are happy with the grand event, we call together, and the national religion praises peace." Since then, the reconstruction of ancestral court has become a great wish of Buddha. He raised money to build the hall and accepted the government's request to be the abbot. In the autumn of 1990, the statue of Buddha in the main hall was opened. Zhao Puchu, President of the Chinese Buddhist Association, inscribed the name of the temple. Bailu temple was officially opened to the public. In the following years, Buddha yuan was in southern Guangdong, and his heart was tied to the ancestral court. He continued to mobilize Buddhist disciples at home and abroad to donate money for follow-up projects. In 1998, a three story Hall of pharmacists was built with a six meter statue of Buddha in gold. More precious jade Buddhas were invited to build. The Zhaitang hall was rebuilt and a monk's house was built. On September 30, 1999, the opening ceremony of Buddha statue in pharmacist's hall was held. Since then, in order to improve the construction of the temple, the great monk Foyuan put forward the construction plan of strengthening the north slope, widening the road and building the benediction hall. The project cost 6 million yuan and was completed in March 2003. So far, the main works of Bailu temple have been completed. To achieve success.

Yiyang Maoyu

According to historical records: in the Tang Dynasty, the monks of Bailu temple in Yiyang made some tofu. They went out for a few days because of business, and the tofu became moldy when they came back. The family members have the instinct of saving. They don't give up to throw it away. They try to eat it with a little seasoning. It tastes good, and today's tofu comes into being.

Maoyu's original name: sufu. The ancients taboo saying in the morning: dragon, tiger, ghost and dream. The word "Sufu" is homophonic with "tiger". The word "tiger" is usually called "cat". It means having more than one year in a row, so Yiyang people, as the birthplace of sufu, call Sufu Maoyu.

New temple

The mountain gate facing the street is majestic and magnificent. The red wall arch gate is magnificent, which greatly surpasses the ancient temple gate. Climbing up the stone steps, the first entrance is the City Buddhist Association and the Buddhist hall, and the right wing is the reception hall and a three story Zen house. It is the dormitory of more than 30 nuns in the city. The old Bailu temple is occupied by monks, while the new Bailu temple is run by nuns. Climbing to the top of Bailu mountain is a newly built Mahatma hall. In the hall, the Buddha statues are glittering, the banners of Buddha banners are colorful, the sound of wooden fish and incense are floating around, and the worshippers who burn incense and worship Buddha come to visit one another. On the left and right sides of the hall, a bell and Drum Tower has been built, and a giant bell with big drum is being made, ready to make the "White Deer evening bell" to reappear the ancient city. After visiting the Sutra Hall of the Buddhist temple, you can go down to the first "Pilgrim" lounge to enjoy the tea and fruit with your family and friends, or go to the fast food hall of the temple to taste the banquet, so as to experience the life of monks. The table full of "chicken, duck and fish" is exquisitely shaped and attractive. However, they are not real fish and meat. They are all made of dried beans, melons, fruits and vegetables. It's really a rare pleasure to eat such exquisite food.

White Deer holding flowers

During the period of Chunxi in Song Dynasty, there was plague and death everywhere in Yiyang.

Many doctors have no idea, officials are in a hurry, and the people are crying for help. The believers prayed in front of the Buddha, opened the water and land Daochang, and the monks chanted sutras and prayed. After a few days, I suddenly saw a white deer stepping on colorful auspicious clouds. His eyes were clear, his expression was peaceful, and his body was shining with precious light. After three weeks around the temple, he left by the clouds. The next day, the white deer came back with a piece of grass in his mouth and stayed in the temple. All the people were shocked, and the abbot said happily: the only grass left by the deer should be the elixir. At that time, the monks searched for grass and distributed it to the public. However, since then, the plague has been driven away, the common people shed tears, burning incense to thank the three treasures, and the White Deer holding flowers has become famous in Jiangnan. For Xie Fuen, the temple was renamed "Bailu Temple".

According to Li Huangzhi, a famous master of Zen Art application, it was written by Lu Wangming, a Zen painting master, as "White Deer holding flowers".

Tourism information

Ticket Price

Admission: 10 yuan

Traffic tips: it is located in Bailu Park of Yiyang City.

Adjacent scenic spots

Yuanjiang River -- Oriental Venice Taojiang river -- hometown of bamboo -- Bailu Temple Zhexi scenic spot Miluo Quyuan Temple Anhua -- green treasure house east Dongting Lake Nature Reserve Hongyan tourist scenic spot guanzhulou South County -- North Hunan Pearl Qixia Temple Huilong Park yinzhuting yinzhuting terror City Beifeng Mountain Forest Park

Nanyue Bailu Temple

Bailu temple is in front of Yueshan mountain. Built before the end of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was small in scale and abandoned in the middle of the 20th century.

Address: 58 Huilong Road, Yiyang, Hunan

Longitude: 112.335086

Latitude: 28.583406

Ticket information: 10 yuan

Chinese PinYin : Bai Lu Si