She is based on the mountains and water, beautiful scenery, towering Buddha Hall, pagodas. Throughout the temple, can be summarized in four words "big", "show", "bo", "wide". Said its "big", is because she covers an area of more than 300 acres, unusually wide; said its "show", is because of its mountains and water, trees and flowers, hundreds of birds singing, quiet and pleasant; Road "Bo", is Because she and the folk art for the companion, has its vast Buddhist connotation; said its "wide", is because she widely accept the four sides of the Buddha, widely accepted from all walks of life, elite Buddhist research, broadcasting Buddhist doctrine, like a talented, full of monks of the Buddhist College.
Not far from her, is the location of the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of Han. Adding to the rich Buddhist atmosphere and endless humanistic connotations. Emperor Liu Heng, generous and kind, filial piety first, sympathetic to the people, resulting in the history of the famous "rule of Wenjing", became a prominent generation of Ming dynasty. Buddhism emphasizes filial piety, and Liu Heng, the Emperor of Wen, is the protagonist of the story of "tasting the soup and medicine" in the Chinese "Twenty-four Filial Piety". The temple was built here to honor the Buddha's significance of filial piety.
I have a destiny with the temple, deep emotions. As early as August 2003, came to this sightseeing, witnessed and participated in the planning of the expansion of the temple's related work, witnessed his start, suffering, development and prosperity of the process.
Why have the fate to come here? Because I was in Shaanxi Provincial Folk Literature and Artists Association as chairman of the post, met a called "Guangping" of the monk, is a passion for the arts of culture. He was a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Association of Folk Literary Artists and was a fan of folk literature and art, including Buddhist culture, and wrote and published many poems, songs, and essays. At that time, I knew that he had studied the Diamond Sutra and was very insightful. Every time I talk to me about his Taoism and Buddhism, the grand theory of profound, so I admire, and then deepen the friendship, become a close friend.
He was the mastermind of the original Ba Ling Villa, the site of the Xi'an Grand Amitabha Temple, and is now the resident of the Xi'an Grand Amitabha Temple. The Venerable Shi Guangping, who is now the abbot of the Xi'an Great Amitabha Temple!
I also met a woman who was good at poetry, singing, writing, and newspaper editing. She gave me many Buddhist scripture pamphlets written and printed by her, which were concise and easy to read, and I remember that I was infected by them, and I even put the lyrics of one of them, "The Three Conversions," into the tune of the same name of the Xi'an Drums, which was sung for people to enjoy. She was Venerable Shi Guangru, who later became the supervisor of the temple's nunnery and deputy editor-in-chief of the Da Amitabha newspaper. She was also the person who planned and implemented the building of the Great Amitabha Temple in Xi'an.
In this way, there is indeed a cause. The cause, the cause of the matter, but also from the beginning.
At that time, I just returned from Beijing to participate in the Ministry of Culture, a meeting on the protection of national culture, is preparing to organize the "Shaanxi First Student Art Festival", to his great help, so that the work has taken off. First of all, he recommended Mr. Wang Weikeng, a writer and musician who was close to him, to join me, which was a great help to me. This young writer, who wrote and published the world-shaking report "Zhouzhi Louguantai Suspension Bridge Collapse Deaths and Injuries", not only played a role in the strengths of the "Qinfeng Newspaper" I hosted the executive deputy editor, but also a generous donation to solve the thorny problem of the festival's lack of funds at the time, so that I felt for the first time that the two of them the heart of the Buddha's compassion. 40 college and university students participating in the art of the college students. More than 40 colleges and universities to participate in the University Art Festival 11 awards held successfully, is with their enthusiastic help, inseparable. I was so excited that I wrote a poem to Guangping Jun and Wang Weikong of the mountain villa at that time, to describe their feelings (see the "Notes").
As early as 2000, when Guangping was the general manager of Ba Ling Villa, he proposed the idea of establishing a Buddha Garden at the Villa and constructing a 100-meter Buddha, and in 2005, he formally started to build the Great Amitabha Temple. 2006, he invited a high priest to come to Xi'an to take the helm of the temple, and *** with him to open the mountain and build the temple. Venerable compassion and wisdom, skillfully put the dust of labor for the Buddha, leading the masses of the two sequences, the implementation of "into the Buddha's knowledge, according to the teachings of the practice, the precepts as a teacher, practice first" of the building of the temple policy for the construction of the four ten big jungles, a variety of explorations and practices, and innovation, pioneering, and building a new vision of Buddhism on earth.
When I first came here, I learned that they have invested millions of dollars in capital, built the main project of the lodge gate building, office building, octagonal building, meals and fasting garden, comprehensive entertainment park, East Lake water stage, ladder, look forward to the double Pavilion and multi-faceted kiln and so on. Its natural protection and artificial cultivation of walnut ridge, jujube forest slope, cherry au, apricot groove, Ba Liuping, grape corridor and other nature reserves, has also begun to take shape. This is the turn of the new century, the temple at the beginning of the "performance of Guangping".
At that time, when I saw the Ba willow, the cool breeze, and listened to the rhyme of the sutra, the birdsong accompanied by the sound, I felt relaxed and happy, and it was very comfortable, so I proposed sixteen scenic views as follows:
The head of the White Deer Plain, the green phoenix and the song, the Emperor sat in the tent, the dance pavilion at the East Lake, the childish shadows at the West Lake, the star of longevity lying in a drunken stupor, the auspicious elephants coming out of the mountain, the yellow dragon swinging, the heavenly ladder and royal road, the Jaiban garden and food, the two pavilions and the faraway view, the three Qin scenic spots, the echoes of the palms of the voice, the willow of the Ba willow, the fruit ridge, and the grassy house of the field. Fruit Ridge, Tianjia Cottage.
Some of the above landscapes are written according to the scenery, some are imagined according to the scenery, and some are wanted to rework and add. All this shows that at that time, I was here on the natural scenery, how much appreciation, admiration and fascination!
My favorite climb that level of the "Stairway to Heaven", despite the old, step by step to the top of the stairway to Heaven, looking back at the foot, a Qinchuan scenery, all in view, only feel the weather, relaxed and happy, can not help but think of the Han and Tang dynasties of Chang'an and the splendor of the glorious Buddhist culture, is incomparably proud of! The feeling of oh! Until the return to the bottom of the mountain, but also from time to time to look at the road I climbed through the sky, how steep and charming!
Out of kindness, but also out of professional instincts, I confided in Guangping a bold idea in my heart, that is, to draw a picture of the most ancient Chang'an characteristics of Buddhist culture and Xi'an's ancient folklore (such as folk opera, opera, music, dance, paper-cutting, shadow, clay sculpture, stone carving, etc.) of the protection, inheritance, development and prosperity of the blueprint. "The blueprint. This is because, for thousands of years, all folk activities, most of which are interdependent with Buddhist culture and development, such as preaching, exhortation, singing, shadow, crafts and many other cultural and recreational activities, are held in Buddhist temples, puja period.
My idea, got Guangping Jushi's strong ****ming, so we have another sixteen scenes of the design, which is the realization of the plot belongs to the humanities landscape of the sixteen scenes: treasure Qionglou, Qu Yuan Pavilion, teahouse restaurant, cloth hanging branches, shadow soft sound, calligraphy and painting gallery, paper-cut windows, sedan chair mountaineering, the countryside marriage, high slopes, wild singing, lawn horseback riding, the sound of the wilderness Qin, the ancient temples and the ancient bells, the Buddha's yard! It is a very important part of the story.
Now that I've said it, I've done it.
On September 27, 2003, with the support of Guangping Jun, a symposium on the preparation of the Chinese Opera Journal? Shaanxi Volume" writing symposium was held at Ba Ling Villa. Everyone was very satisfied with this beautiful and elegant environment for compiling literary and artistic journals.
Later, Guangpingjun was known to have formally shaved his head and become a monk in 2005, meticulously reading the sutras from his teacher and y studying Buddhist theory.
In March 2006, I came here, I organized the Xi'an Dajichang Drum Society, participated in the Grand Dharma activities by the Abbot Shi Yuanhui Nianfo enlightenment, witnessed the masters of the whole process of law enforcement, see from Gansu, Henan, Shenyang and the province of Shangluo, Wugong, Lantian, Lintong and Xi'an believers in the grand spectacle of the Dharma and the thousands of birds released to fly the comfort of the action, broaden the horizons, and grow the I was so excited that I followed the video closely. I was so excited that I followed it closely and videotaped four episodes to preserve the temple's rare and precious information (see /v/b/123111425-1255160850.html and /v/b/123108393-1255160850.html).
Then, in 2007, Mr. Guangping took the full precepts under the seat of Elder Shangben Shimhwan, and devoted himself to the study of Buddhism and the family business of RuLai.
When I came here again on July 28 this year, he was already the "abbot" here. Once in the door of the Buddha, will look around, see this place has been refreshed, beautiful. In addition to the original Buddha Gate, Tian Dao, double pavilions, octagonal buildings, meals and fasting garden and rows of kiln buildings, many new, rising from the ground, there are Nianfo Hall, Jizang Hall, Jizang Pavilion, Maitreya Pavilion, the three Guanyin and the Dharma Square and so on. They tower under the blue sky and white clouds, showing a golden light, four walls of brilliant . Atmosphere of the image, giving a person "Buddha's light", "auspicious clouds dance" feeling. With pious feelings of respect for the Buddha, we visited one by one, could not help but be surprised and marveled at. Mind, if not the source of wisdom, Guangping, Guangru and other masters to honor the Buddha's compassionate heart, how to have this grand move to help the world live?
The most heartwarming, the most people sigh and admiration, in Guangping, Guangru and other masters of the elaborate arrangements to engage in sending the "afterlife" of the good deeds. In today's language, it is the "end-of-life care" for the elderly.
At present, the temple has absorbed more than 20 provinces such as Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, etc., people who have the destiny to stay, to send the "dying comfort, care and guidance". The construction of Nirvana City and two phases of elderly residents' resting houses have created favorable conditions for the cultivation of elderly residents. The temple has set up seven Buddhist chanting groups to provide "end-of-life services" for practitioners, and has also opened a telephone line to provide guidance for the "dying". At present, it has implemented the end-of-life care and assistance for American Chinese Zhang Guohua and 109 bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, and monks*** from all over the world, and in accordance with the Buddhist rituals and regulations, it makes the end-of-life people leave the world peacefully and return home openly and peacefully. This has been widely praised and well received. During our visit, we witnessed the heart-wrenching and touching scene, still unforgettable.
Looking back to August 2003, when I first came here, after a full 10 years, it is really evocative, a thousand feelings!
In a surprisingly small apartment, I accompanied Ms. Zhang Yan, director of the Shaanxi Qinwei Cultural Communication Center, to meet with me after many years of separation Guangping monk. He was as straight as a tree, red-faced, simple, down-to-earth, easy-going and humble as ever, but with more wisdom, thoughtfulness, sophistication, knowledge and foresight in the study of Buddhist culture. From his insightful Buddhist aphorisms, we can see that he is just like a Buddhist master who is full of wisdom. He is a different person from what he was ten years ago. No wonder his visit to Macau last year to promote Pure Land Dharma was so fascinating and popular!
As we chatted, we listened quietly and benefited greatly.
We ate watermelon while talking about the endless words, the richness of their feelings, and the sweetness of their taste. Talking about the Buddhist culture of the Han and Tang dynasties, talking about the folk opera of Chang'an, talking about the connotation of Buddhist music in Xi'an drum music, and also popular in the Chang'an area of chanting, scripture rhythms, good advice, Buddhist songs, etc., flying colorful, and it is not happy. In the company of the master, we went to the meal garden meal, eat vegetarian, drink strong tea, singing Buddhist songs, light and flavorful, leisurely and comfortable.
I can not help but sigh: another seven years, this place, this person, there has been such a big change, really exciting, gratifying. After seeing this, I believe in the power of Buddha, the firmness of the group mind, the beauty of the good heart and the prosperity of the Buddha's work!
Subsequently, I often go there to seek advice from Buddhist masters, so I am convinced of the future of the full range of Buddhist temples, Buddhist heritage and the prosperity of the Buddhist arts, and send a vow to follow the heart of the blessing!