Baoguo Temple

Baoguo temple is located on the Bank of xidanshan lake, Zhujiajiao Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai, and on the north side of Dianfeng bridge, Huqingping highway (318 National Highway). The temple site was originally built in the Ming Dynasty, also known as the great temple of Wushen, folk custom known as Guanwang temple. There is an ancient ginkgo tree on the base of the temple. According to the research, it was planted in the Five Dynasties. It has been more than 1000 years. The height of the tree is nearly 20 meters. It is one of the famous ancient trees in Shanghai.

More than a hundred years ago, Guanwang temple was full of incense and Buddhism was unprecedented. After several wars, most of the buildings were destroyed. By the end of the 1940s, only the East and West halls were left. There are two stone tablets in the hall, a big bronze bell, and a thumb sized statue of jinmituo on the bell. Jinmituo's golden light is shining and valuable. Later, it was stolen, and the bronze bell was destroyed in 1958. So far, most of the Guanwang temple was damaged, and the incense gradually declined. In the early 1980s, with the resumption of religious activities, Guanwang temple had to be renovated and opened to the outside world. In 1989, master Zhenchan, vice president of Shanghai Buddhist Association and Abbot of Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, made a vow to repair and expand Guanwang temple as the lower courtyard of Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, named Baoguo temple. He took the four disciples of Buddhism to repay their kindness to the land.

Baoguo Temple

Baoguo temple, located at fenghuangping at the foot of Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, is one of the key temples in China, with an altitude of 533 meters. The temple faces south and covers an area of 100 mu. It is the first temple of Mount Emei, the seat of Mount Emei Buddhist Association, and the center of Mount Emei Buddhist activities.

Baoguo temple, formerly the largest temple in the mountains, was built on the Bank of Yoga River on the opposite bank of Fuhu temple in the Wanli period of Ming Dynasty (1573-1619). It was originally named huizongtang. It was moved and built here in the early Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in the ninth year of Shunzhi. In the 42nd year of Kangxi (1703 AD), Emperor Kangxi adopted the meaning of "Baoguo zhuen" in the Buddhist Scripture, inscribed the plaque of "Baoguo Temple" and written by Wang Fan.

Baoguo temple has been completely preserved after several repairs in history, especially after the establishment of the people's Republic of China. In 1993, a new bell tower, a drum tower, a tea garden and a French logistics office were built to make Baoguo Temple more solemn.

Historical evolution

Baoguo temple, originally known as huizongtang, was built by Taoist Mingguang in 1615 at the foot of Hutou mountain on the right of Fuhu temple, which means Huizong of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The memorial tablets of the local representatives of the "Three Religions" in Mount Emei are worshipped in the temple: Buddhism is the Bodhisattva of the universal sages, because Mount Emei is the Taoist temple of the universal sages; Taoism is guangchengzi, it is said that he is the incarnation of Li Laojun, who teaches in Mount Emei; the representative of Confucianism is Chu maniac, whose name is Jieyu. At the same time as Confucius, the king of Chu asked him to be an official, but he pretended to be crazy and later lived in seclusion in Mount Emei. The establishment of huizongtang reflects the harmonious history of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In the early Qing Dynasty, huizongtang was moved to its present site and rebuilt by Xingseng Wenda in 1652; in 1703, according to the meaning of "Baoguo Temple" in the Buddhist scriptures, it was granted the name of "Baoguo Temple"; in 1866, it was expanded by muchun Seng Guanghui; after being released, it was repaired many times and the gate was rebuilt in 1986.

Layout structure

The whole temple is a typical courtyard building, covering an area of more than 60 mu, with one courtyard and one scene, which is magnificent.

There are four main halls in the temple, which are built according to the mountain. One is higher than the other, which is magnificent and natural. There is a porcelain Buddha statue of Ming Dynasty downstairs, which is a precious cultural relic. In the front hall, there is a 7-meter, 14 story red copper Pagoda with more than 4700 Buddha statues and the full text of Huayan Sutra, so it is called Huayan pagoda, which is also a valuable cultural relic.

Baoguo temple also has Mount Emei cultural relics management office, which collects all kinds of ceramics, jade, literature, calligraphy and painting, metal utensils, and weapons and crafts unearthed in the Warring States period.

Main building

Baoguo temple is a magnificent temple with four buildings: Maitreya hall, Daxiong hall, seven Buddha Hall and Puxian hall. It is built according to the mountain and rises step by step.

The plaque of "Baoguo Temple" on the mountain gate is written by Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty. The main hall is decorated with a plaque of "Baoxiang solemn". The couplet on the pillars on both sides of the Mountain Gate reads "Phoenix spreads its wings to the golden palace, and the bell chimes frequently hear the falling jade steps." It is a vivid description of the scenery around the "Golden Phoenix" in Baoguo temple.

In Baoguo temple, the horizontal plaque of "Puzhao Chan Lin" and "Pufang Guangming" have the same meaning: Buddhism calls Mount Emei "Daguang Mingshan". In the daytime, there are miraculous Buddha lights, in the night, there are ten thousand holy lamps, and all Mount Emei is illuminated. On the right, "the crane stops in the cloud and returns to the mountain", which means that the crane stops and the cloud returns to the mountain. It means that it is cool and quiet, with Taoist charm. The couplet on the gate: "think alone to explain the way, sit down and say the Scriptures." The former means to understand the truth of the Sutra through one's own thinking, which is the realm of "independent consciousness" in Buddhism. The latter sentence is to say that the eminent monk laid the Dharma seat and preached scriptures to his disciples.

On the Phoenix Castle opposite the Mountain Gate of Baoguo temple, there is a "Shengji evening bell" pavilion. In the pavilion, there is a big bell, named "Shengji Temple bronze bell", which was made by Huizong biezhuan Zen master in 1564. The bell is 2.8 meters in height, 2.4 meters in diameter and 12.5 tons in weight. It is known as the "king of Bashu bell". On the body of the bell are the names of the emperors of the Jin and Tang Dynasties and the civil and military officials and eminent monks related to Mount Emei, the names of the believers who donated and cast the bronze bell, the Scriptures and Buddhist verses of ahan Sutra, and the inscriptions of Hongzhong Shu, with a total of more than 60000 words. The bell was originally hung in Shengji temple. After the temple was destroyed, it was moved to Baoguo temple. The sound of Shengji bronze bell is clear and clear, which has been spread for several miles. It reverberates in the mountains and wilderness, which makes people forget the common sense. There is a poem: "where is the sound of the bell in the evening? The name of Shengji is still handed down in the ancient temple. Even if we talk about the special character of immortals, we should also be aware of the clear heart.

Maitreya statue

The first hall is Maitreya hall, which is dedicated to the statue of Maitreya. Maitreya means compassion. He is a Bodhisattva and has not yet become a Buddha. Bodhisattva is second only to Buddha in Buddhism. Sakyamuni Buddha said that Maitreya would not come back to the world until he died 5.67 billion years later. He became a Buddha under the Longhua tree in Hualin garden. Three times, it has been said that Maitreya has spread to all living beings. So he is called "future Buddha". The couplet on the door said: "look at his happy face, but it was originally a Bodhisattva. May you clear your heart and clear your mind, so that you can see the auspicious light of Jinding." The first couplet describes the image of Maitreya, saying that he is only a Bodhisattva; the second couplet is to wish all mountain goers to relax their worries and go to Jinding to see the Buddha's light wholeheartedly. It's a great pity that I didn't go to Mt. Emei to see the Buddha's light. Here I wish you all mount the Golden Summit. Buddha's light is waiting for you. Look at this couplet again: "laugh when you open your mouth, laugh at the past, laugh at the present, and laugh at everything. A big belly can accommodate heaven and earth, and it can accommodate all people." This is a portrait of Maitreya Bodhisattva, which reflects his character and highlights his noble character of tolerance and magnanimity. Couplet has a deep philosophy, enlightening people to be open-minded and tolerant.

Maitreya hall is for Wei Tuo standing statue, back to the gate, facing the main hall. Wei Tuo is a Buddhist dharma protector, wearing armor, holding the mountain in his right hand, pressing the Vajra subduing pestle in his left hand, with eyebrows and eyes trimmed, lips closed, powerful and upright.

main hall

The second hall is the hall of Mahatma, "Mahatma" is the meaning of "only Mahatma and Mahatma" in the Buddhist scriptures. The hall is dedicated to the Buddha Sakyamuni sitting lotus statue with gold body and colorful decorations. Sakyamuni is the son of King Jingfan of the Sakyamuni tribe in India (now in Nepal) in the late sixth century BC, commonly known as Gautama and Siddhartha. At that time, the social turbulence and the pain and trouble of life, old age, illness and death caused Siddhartha's deep thinking, so he became a monk and sought relief. After six years of hard work, I experienced all kinds of hardships. Finally, after seven days and seven nights of meditation, I finally realized the great enlightenment and became a Buddha. Watch the couplet on the doorpost: "teach and perform Sancheng, take pictures of all kinds of dengjue road; spread the Dharma through the ages, and help all living beings to prove Bodhi." "Samsara" is the three ways of Buddhism to guide and educate all living beings to achieve liberation. Generally speaking, "Sheng Wen", "Yuan Jue" and "Bodhisattva" are called "San Cheng". "Sound and smell" is to hear the voice of Buddhism, to see the confusion of thinking and nirvana, which is the lowest root of Buddhism and Taoism. "Predestination" is the self realization without a teacher. "Bodhisattva" is "Bodhisattva droop", which is to save all living beings with Buddhism. Here, we can summarize "three times" as three realms: he's aware - conscious - aware of him. The whole meaning is to say: through the three ways of Buddhism, guide and educate all living beings to embark on the road of consciousness and achieve the goal of liberation. Look at this couplet again: "the moon is clear in autumn, the mountain wind roars in five nights, the Bodhisattva opens his way, and the Millennium flower rain looks like a palace." The first couplet says that Mount Emei has a bright autumn moon, and the mountain wind is like a Buddha in the middle of the night. The second couplet says that the Puxian Bodhisattva preached to the four disciples in Mount Emei (Elephant King's Palace) to show the way of consciousness, which was extravagant. There is also a couplet: "the Dragon returns to the Dharma seat to listen to the auspicious verse, and the crane is near the pine smoke to cultivate the Taoist heart." It is the best explanation of the plaque "crane in the cloud".

The left niche of Sakyamuni Buddha is a painted clay statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva with golden body. The full name of Manjusri is "Manjusri Shili", which means wonderful virtue and auspiciousness. He is the head of all Bodhisattvas and the embodiment of wisdom. He often preaches Buddhism together with Sakyamuni. Together with Puxian Bodhisattva, he served the Bodhisattvas for Sakyamuni Buddha. This couplet is his evaluation: "the wisdom mirror hangs high and casts the rain; the wisdom lamp shines all over the crowd." The word "wisdom" is embedded in the couplet,

Chinese PinYin : Bao Guo Si