Zhaojue Temple

Zhaojue Temple

Zhaojue temple, located 5 kilometers north of Chengdu, is known as "the first Zen forest in Western Sichuan". It was changed into a Buddhist temple in the Tang Dynasty (627-649) and named Jianyuan temple. It was named Zhaojue in Xuanzong period. During the reign of song Chongning (1102-1106), foguo Keqin (named as Yuanwu Zen master by Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty) was said in the temple and renamed Zhaojue. In the early years of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhaojue was changed into a Zen forest. In 1644, it was destroyed by the fire. It was rebuilt in 1663. It is one of the famous ancient temples in Chengdu. In 1983, Zhaojue temple was determined by the State Council as a national key Buddhist temple in the Han area and a key Buddhist temple in Sichuan.

Zhaojue temple is also a key place for Buddhist activities in China. It is not only known as the "first jungle" in Western Sichuan, but also known as "the first Zen forest" in Western Sichuan.

Historical evolution

Zhaojue temple was the former residence of Sima Dongchang in Meizhou in Han Dynasty, which was named "Jianyuan".

During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, it was first named "Jianyuan Temple".

It was named Zhaojue in Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.

In the fourth year of Qianfu (877), a famous monk of Tang Dynasty and a descendant of caodong sect of Zen, master xiumeng was the abbot of Jianyuan temple. He built the temple, expanded the temple, and was ordered to change the name of the temple to "Zhaojue". Master xiumeng has been a abbot of Zhaojue temple for 23 years. His words are stern and enlightening. He was once called to speak for him. He gave him three things about purple mill, one piece of dragon wind blanket, and one letter of Buddhist tooth. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, wars broke out repeatedly, and Zhaojue temple had only five rooms and three hundred shops. The back hall is decadent and the temple is deserted.

Restore the old

In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1008), master xiumeng V, the abbot of Yanmei, took more than 30 years to complete the restoration. The number of halls and houses increased to more than 300. There were main buildings such as Daxiong hall, chanting Vatican hall, Luohan hall, liuzu hall, Yishan hall, liesu hall, Dabei hall, lunzang Pavilion and other main buildings. Statues, portraits, inscriptions and temple forehead were restored to their original appearance.

The temple has strong economic strength. In the record of rebuilding Zhaojue Temple by Li Jian, it is recorded that "the food is abundant and clean, the Dharma table is bright, the time is one meeting, and there are thousands of people who eat in the morning. They are tired to apply the seat, and there is nothing. They love to ask for the false.". In the last year of Yuanfeng (1085) of Shenzong of Song Dynasty, Chunbai, the temporary Zen master of Zen, was appointed the abbot of Zhaojue temple. There were many people who said that the hall was opened, which was called "the first Zen forest in Xichuan". In the Chongning period (1102-1106) of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty and the first year of Shaoxing (1131), yuanwukeqin (formerly known as foguo Keqin) was the abbot of Zhaojue Temple twice. In 1135, Shaoxing passed away. Up to now, the tomb of Zen master Yuanwu still exists in the temple.

Abbot of the temple

In 1387, in the 20th year of Hongwu reign of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered King Xian of Shu to welcome Zen master zhirun as abbot of Zhaojue temple and expand the temple. According to the record of rebuilding Zhaojue Temple written by Li yuzhongai in Qing Dynasty, "the Ming Dynasty offered the king and opened it up again. The walls around it were more than 700 Zhang. The blue hall was full of beautiful clouds, and the golden body supported the Han Dynasty. All of them were magnificent and beautiful."

Chongzhen 17 years (1644) was destroyed by the fire of the army. The monks broke the mountain in Qing Dynasty to rebuild, and opened up wasteland, planted trees and planted trees, and built Shiyan for 7.5km. In the second year of Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1663), Zhang Xue master made a temple in Maomao and raised funds to rebuild. He successively built the hall of daxong, Yuanjue, king of heaven, King Kong, narratives, Scripture, octagonal pavilion, etc., reshaping the Buddha statues, welcoming Buddhist scriptures and restoring the Jungle view. In the 12th year of Kangxi (1673), the Buddha yuan master was appointed as the abbot of Zhaojue temple, and then built the synaesthesia hall, the Royal rear building, the wuguantang hall, the guest hall, bell drum building and Liao house for more than 300 rooms.

Related allusions

He was also sent by the Qing government to visit ABA, Songpan and other Tibetan areas for nearly six years, and was respected by the Tibetan people. When he returned to Sichuan, the Tibetans sent him a milk instruction (coconut floating) and a string of rosary beads. After returning to Zhaojue temple, he hung it on the main hall to show his friendship. In the 41st year of Kangxi (1702), when the Buddha was old, he sent his disciples to Songpan to welcome Tibetan gexi Zhufeng to Zhaojue, and became the third Abbot after restoration. Zhu Feng set up a secret altar in the temple for Mongolian and Tibetan lamas and monks to practice the Tantra. Until today, most Tibetan monks come to Chengdu and live in temples.

In 1919, Zhu De took refuge in Zhaojue temple.

During the "ten year turmoil" of the cultural revolution in 1966, Zhaojue temple was severely damaged. At the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", Zhaojue temple was first hit. None of the Buddhist statues in the temple survived. The main hall and lecture hall in the temple were completely destroyed and razed to the ground. All the magic weapons in the temple disappeared. Although the sabotage activities have been stopped due to the timely arrival of the PLA, the temple is no longer there. In 1975, the zoo moved into the temple, built a variety of sports venues and rebuilt the remaining buildings of the temple. First of all, a man-made lake was excavated on the site of the former Daxiong hall and shuotang hall. Only the yellow trees in front of the temple were preserved and looked around the water in isolation to watch the world change.

Opening up

Wuguantang was transformed into a lakeside restaurant, open to visitors. All the monks were incorporated into collective workers, and all religious activities were interrupted.

In 1981, Longlian Kuanlin, Li Xiting and Jiang Fukao, members of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, jointly initiated the case of "please delimit the scope to protect the cultural relics and historic sites of the Dang Temple" jointly by Longlian Kuanlin, Li Xiting, and Jiang Fukao, etc. on April 29, 1981, after deliberation, the Sichuan provincial government officially signed the opinions on the case submitted to the Research Office of Chengdu Municipal People's government The relevant departments took the lead in implementing protective measures for Yuanwu Guoshi tomb within the scope of Cheng zoo, delimiting appropriate enclosure for Zhaojue temple management.

Transformation scheme

In 1983, after the State Council decided that Zhaojue temple was a key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area of China, the people's Government of Sichuan Province and Chengdu City, through consultation with religious circles for many times, made a decision to "delimit the boundaries, build walls, and completely separate" the Chengdu dynamic Park, which has been transformed and has already taken shape. Zhao Puchu, former president of the two sessions of the provincial municipal authorities, made a special trip to the temple to discuss and study the implementation plan.

Since 1984, it has been repaired successively, such as dashanmen, octagonal pavilion, Tianwang hall, dizang hall, Guanyin Pavilion, Yushu hall, Weituo hall, sutra hall, wuguantang hall, Shifo hall, Putong tower, xianjue hall, etc.

Layout adjustment

In the Tianwang hall, new statues of Maitreya, the four heavenly kings and the wooden statues of Buddha are newly constructed. In the Guanyin Pavilion, there are three great masters, four grandmasters and eighteen Arhats floating on the sea. In the Weituo hall, there are statues of dizang, Weituo and twelve Yuanjue. Xianjue hall is dedicated to the statues of master Po Shan, Yuan Wu and Zhang Xue, the founder of the temple. The Sutra collection building is dedicated to Jade Buddha statues, collecting classics and cultural relics. By 1986, more than 80 monks had come to Zhaojue temple, including 16 over 60 years old, 44 between 31 and 60 years old, and 21 young monks under 30 years old. Among them, 3 have university degrees, 45 have high school education, and 29 have graduated from primary school or are literate. The monks elected master Qingding, President of Sichuan Buddhist Association, as the abbot of Zhaojue temple. The current abbot is ciqing monk. Zhaojue temple not only occupies an important position in the history of Chinese Buddhism, but also makes outstanding contributions in the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

So far, many Buddhist temples in Japan and Southeast Asia regard Zhaojue temple as ancestral hall. Biyanlu and yuanwuxinyao, written by famous monk Yuanwu, are listed in the Dazheng collection of Japan.

His book "a taste of tea Zen" was introduced into Japan for more than 300 years, and is still regarded as a treasure by Japanese tea ceremony circles.

Architectural pattern

Zhaojue temple is located in the Qinglong Farm behind the zoo outside the second ring road in Chengdu. It is connected with the Chengdu Zoo. According to the old people, the zoo was a part of the temple at that time, which shows the magnificence of the temple in the past.

"The first Zen forest" is the gate of Zhaojue temple. The gate with the plaque of "Zhaojue Temple" is close to the zoo, which is hard for tourists to notice. The overall layout of Zhaojue temple is perfect. The central axis consists of dashanmen, octagonal pavilion, Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall and Sutra collection building. On both sides are the Guanyin Pavilion, the imperial library, the stone Buddha Hall (Nirvana Hall), the master Hall (Imperial Library), the xianjue hall, the bell tower, the drum tower, the Putong tower, the Yuanwu Zen master tower, the Zen hall, the guest hall, the monk's room, the Zhaitang, the Fangsheng pool, and so on The main hall "Tianwang hall".

Maitreya Buddha and four heavenly king statues are worshipped in Tianwang hall. The stone bridge in front of Tianwang hall is the oldest and should be a few historical relics.

There are three Buddha statues in white marble in the hall of Mahavira. They are "pilujana Buddha", "Lushena Buddha" and "Sakyamuni Buddha". On both sides of the three body Buddha are standing statues of Anan and Kaya. On both sides of the hall are 18 Arhats with different expressions. There is a famous place outside the main hall called "Shubao stele". This is a tree with a thousand years of age. Inside the tree is a stone tablet. It is said that the verses left by the Daokui founder of Zhaojue temple at that time, "tree wrapped steles, coconut ladles flying, and pillars falling to the ground, all of which came true later.". Therefore, this stele became the Buddhist Scripture of the temple. The shape of Yuantong Temple is unique to Zhaojue temple and belongs to the landmark building in the temple.

There are many ancient scriptures with historical and cultural value in the Sutra building, which are not open to the public.

Main building

The main buildings of Zhaojue temple include: gate, octagonal pavilion, Tianwang hall, xianjue hall, Yuanjue hall, Yushu building, Guanyin Pavilion, Nirvana hall, sutra collection building and Yuanwu Zen master cemetery. It is one of the largest and most spectacular temples in Southwest China. There are many praise poems written by the monks in the temple: the sand gathering Pavilion is beside the chusha bridge in Sanli, south of the temple, built by the Ming Dynasty Shu fan.

Zen master Zhangxue of the Ming Dynasty wrote a poem "Gathering Sand Pavilion": "zhenri wind and archaic string are common in front of the sound; people gather on the surface of the sand at the beginning of gathering, and the rain washes the lotus and dew is not dry. The path leads the small bridge to the sky, and the pavilion is half moon high and the Lang Jian is locked; hutong is full of frost flowers and leaves, and the tea cooking is a poem couplet; Nirvana hall, with five couplets, is a place for chanting sutras. In the Qing Dynasty, Guiyi great Zen master wrote a poem called Nirvana Hall: "it must be true that the moment of life and death is right, who is liberated from Nirvana; the incarnation is facing the state of Amitabha in the west, and the mirage cannot meet the Buddha in the south. If all the sarira children are if they are, what will the Bodhi mean; if they all slip away, the bliss will be at home with the fate. ";

Shuotang, which has a large scale, is the place where the abbot said it. The poem "shuotang" written by Guiyi great Zen master said: "the merits and virtues are solemn, the Buddhist temple and the Dharma hall are thundering. Why do you need to sit under the tree? You can listen carefully in front of the steps.

When it comes to wordless flowers and rain, it is said that there will be a spirit of stone and stone, which should be the case in the practice of religion, and the model should be solemnly worn. ".

Humanism of poetry and painting

Fan Zhen, a famous official of the Song Dynasty, visited Zhaojue temple. There is a poem saying: "the temple of Tang Dynasty is passed down to the north of the city, and the spring breeze leads visitors to visit; the remnant stele stretches across the bamboo path, and the monk's building is sparse. The pagoda is full of moss and flowers, the house is deep and the trees are secluded; people are too lonely to stay with visitors. "

Liu Daokai visited Zhaojue temple and wrote: "when you go out to seek secluded land for ten miles, the Buddhist temple yuan is ancient Xuanhua; Baohan street stores eminent monks and nuns, and the Royal Palace once issued ancient Buddhist teeth. In the past, the five leaves have been passed down. Who will play three cars in the empty hall? I'm here to visit Qin Gong's traces and attack the fragrant wind and the osmanthus. "

Interpretation of the poem of Changsu Zhaojue Temple: "take a leisurely resort, zhangce in the moonlight; smoke scattered, light mountain light, deep spring, vegetation sealed. The spring flows in different colors, and the river leads to the rainbow. When it is hard to return to the second place, I still hear the silent night bell. " Cao Lixian visited Zhaojue temple and wrote: "I occasionally seek the immortal Buddhist to know the Chinese palace, and the mountain is secluded with osmanthus; in the daytime, the Buddhist incense sect will be able to calm down, and the rain will last for a long time. The clouds of the high city are black, the frost of wild trees is warm, and the leaves are red; when you look at it, you can have a rest, and you can hear the sound of the bell and the wind of loose pines. "

In 1703, Emperor Kangxi granted Zhaojue temple a plaque of "refined and strict Dharma Realm" and inscribed a five character poem praising it: "if you can't see the temple at the entrance, listen to the pine wind in ten miles.". The fragrance floats the golden world, the clear shade brings the blue sky. Frost skin monk lalao, sounds of nature, Sanskrit. In 1919, Zhu De took refuge in Zhaojue temple, where he had a deep relationship with the then abbot, master lechen. He lived in the eight immortals hall in the present temple. After leaving the temple, he presented the plaque of "responding to the world" to Zhaojue temple.

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, he gave orchids and other things to the temple for many times. Mr. Zhang Daqian, a modern painter, once lived in Zhaojue temple for four years, devoted himself to the study of painting art, and left many precious handwriting to the temple.

Temple activities

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Zhaojue temple was immediately protected by the government, and was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit by the provincial and municipal people's governments, and it was repeatedly funded for maintenance.

The religious activities of the temple are carried out normally and are respected by all walks of life. During the period of land reform, 54 monks got 39.27 mu of farmland and 17 mu of land. They started the real life of agriculture and Zen and radiated the enthusiasm of production and labor. At that time, the grain yield per mu reached more than 1000 Jin, which has always been the highest yield of local grain per mu. Guanglong, a master of the prison, was once selected as a model worker of the whole province.

In 1956, in the climax of the implementation of cooperation, the temple established its own agricultural production team and, at the same time, was entrusted by the grain processing department to set up a starch processing workshop. During the three-year period when the country suffered from serious natural disasters and faced with a shortage of commodities and expensive surrounding environment, Zhaojue Temple provided agricultural production teams with more than 10000 kg of sweet potato seeds and tens of thousands of catties of sweet potato vines for free, which supported the local agricultural production. It also fulfilled the Buddha's teaching of "great compassion without fate and great compassion" and was praised by the society. After liberation, the first abbot of Zhaojue temple was ciqing master who refused to rise to the throne. The master's surname is Du, and his name is Bai. He is from Manchu and Chengdu. In his early years, he became a monk under the throne of Xin Fan Jie Ming. He once went to Tibet to study Buddhism. He had extremely high Buddhist attainments. He was revered by the majority of Buddhists. When he was invited back to the temple by all the masters, he was duty bound to take up the burden of leading the masses and lead the monks' group to manage the temple affairs.

Meanwhile, in June 1951, he initiated an initiative with the Jushi Wang wending to establish a Buddhist learning group in Chengdu in the ten party hall of wusheng street, Chengdu, and organized more than 100 people to learn politics, current affairs and the common program. Due to the active learning activities, in 1953, in Wenshu academy, the group was expanded to Chengdu Buddhist learning committee, and still the director of the youth mage, and Jushi Liu Yaxiu was elected as deputy director.

In 1956, at the general request of the four disciples, master ciqing was the same as Shengqin. Kuan Lin, Zong Jingqian, Yuanzhao, Liu Yaxiu, Zhang Jinghou and Niu Cifeng jointly wrote an application to the Chengdu Municipal People's government for the establishment of the Chengdu Buddhist Association. On the 20th of the same year, the Chengdu Municipal People's Government approved the establishment of the Preparatory Committee for Chengdu Buddhist Association. In addition to them, Hongchang, Guanglong, Longze guanglang, Wu Xinyan and Xiong zining were added.

The Chengdu Buddhist Association was established with the efforts of master ciqing. From January 8 to 10, 1957, the Chengdu Buddhist representative conference was solemnly held in the Academy of Arts. After the opening speech by master Shengqin, master ciqing made a "report on the situation of urban Buddhists since liberation" and was elected as its president. At the meeting, Shengqin was the honorary president, Kuan Lin, Niu Cifeng and Liu Yaxiu were the vice presidents, Master Guanglong and Zhang Jinghou, Zongjing, Yuanzhao and nengqian are the permanent directors.

The second representative conference of Chengdu Buddhist Association was held in Yinsi Street hostel on October 1962. The meeting lasted 10 days and represented 53 people. At this session, master Yongguang was elected president, and master ciqing, in his capacity as president of the four religions Association, was honored as honorary president.

Fukuda and nengzhen, as well as Shuiguang, Kuanlin, Xinquan, Guangxing, Renxun, Yongjian, nengqiandang and nengzhen, Yongguang, Kuanlin, Xinquan, Guangxing, Renxun, Yongjian and nengqian were elected as the executive directors, and Futian was elected as the secretary.

Zhaojue temple has always played an active role in carrying out the party's religious policy, and has made outstanding contributions to the National Socialist Construction under the new situation.

In 1957, the monks of the former Caotang temple were also concentrated in Zhaojue temple.

During the "great leap forward" period, in response to the call of the state to "set up iron and steel industry on a large scale", the temples donated all the metals that could be donated to the state, and organized monks to actively participate in the activities of building nitrate factories and pesticide factories with Catholicism, Taoism and other friendly religions. In order to meet the needs of the society, a group of monks with outstanding attainments in Zhaojue Temple went out of Zhaojue temple and left yibotang to display their talents in a broader field. Among them, Haideng mage was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of Henan Buddhist Association. Master Qingde was ordained in Zhaojue temple in 1948, and was sent to China Buddhist College for further study. After graduation, he served as the director of preparatory group of Zizhong Buddhist Association in Sichuan Province, abbot of Shengshui temple in Neijiang City, President of Neijiang Buddhist Association and vice president of Sichuan Buddhist Association.

In his early years, master Jichen shaved himself from the master ciqing. In 1942, he received a sermon under the seat of monk Dinghui in Zhaojue temple. After retiring from the socialist construction, he carried out the macro Dharma activities in Pengzhou for a long time. He started to build the Yinchanggou hall in Pengzhou, Jinhua Temple in danjingshan and the Foguang ancient temple in Jiulong Town.

Related Legends

It is said that when the founder of the broken mountain revived Zhaojue temple, he recruited many disciples and expanded the Shuanggui Zen system. One day, the founder of Po Shan told his disciples that he would go out for a tour and said: if the pillars in the hall leave the stone anvil stool below, the yanpiao on the incense table flies, and the two Huangguoshu trees outside the hall cover the stone tablet in the middle, and he has not come back, he will set up another Abbot to preside over the temple and inherit the Shuanggui Zen.

Three years later, a wooden pillar in the ancestral hall left the stone anvil bench. Three years later, the Yanping ladle on the incense table in Daxiong hall flew unexpectedly. Three years later, two Huangguoshu trees outside the hall had grown up and wrapped the stone tablet in the middle. However, the founder of Po Shan did not come back. What is left behind is his legend and remains that people can see. Chengdu people later called the hall of "column from stool" as "hanging foot tower". The hall is about 9 meters high, with 16 nanmu columns, about one foot five inches in diameter. Among the four pillars in the hall, the lower end of the one near the left side of the door is suspended, about a foot high from the drum shaped stone anvil stool. It is a marvelous sight of ancient wooden buildings. Because of the seal of the temple's ancient virtue, the pre verse of Daokui's founder of the Ming Dynasty: "the tree covers the stele, the eaves and ladles fly, and the pillar falls to the ground, and the ancestor returns.".

When the master returned to Zhaojue in the Qing Dynasty, the hanging pillar fell to the ground. The Yanping ladle had already disappeared. The bodhi tree grew rapidly and the stone tablet was not seen at all. It's called the way of the past. The founder of Kui will come again!

Traffic conditions

Bus routes from major stations in Chengdu to Zhaojue Temple (the quickest way)

Starting point: Chengdu East Railway Station - walk to the west square station of Chengdu East passenger station, take bus No.71, get off at the east station of Zhaojue Heng Road, and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Xinnanmen bus station: walk to Xinnan Road station, take bus No.49, get off at Zhaojue temple bus station and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Wuguiqiao bus station of Chengdu Public Transport Group: walk to Wuguiqiao bus station, take bus No.71, get off at the east station of Zhaojue Heng Road and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Beimen Station - walk to liangjiaxiang station, take bus No.64 (or No.1), get off at Zhaojue temple bus station and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Chengdu gaosuntang coach station - walk to gaosuntang station, take bus No.53 (or No.83, No.64, No.1, No.69, No.49), get off at Zhaojue temple bus station and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Chadianzi bus station: walk to chadianzi bus station, take bus No.90, get off at Zhaojue temple bus station and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Jinsha station: walk to Jinsha bus station, take bus No.69 (or 64), get off at Zhaojue temple bus station and walk to Zhaojue temple;

Chengdu Shiling passenger station: walk to Shiling bus station, take bus No.530, get off at Zhaojue Temple Station and walk to Zhaojue temple.

Chengdu Metro Line 3 - Take Chengdu Metro Line 3, get off at zhaojuesi South Road Station / Chengdu Zoo Station and walk to Zhaojue temple.

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