Wutai Mountain is located in northeastern Shanxi Wutai County territory, an average elevation of more than 1,000 meters above sea level, the highest point of the North Taiwan Yemen Peak elevation of 3,058 meters, known as the "roof of North China". Wutai Mountain is about 300 kilometers in circumference, because of the five peaks such as five big pillars, rising from the ground, standing tall, the peaks are flat as Taiwan, so the name Wutai. And because of the climate on the mountain more cold, the summer still do not know the heat, so also known as Qingliang Mountain. Is a blend of natural scenery, historical relics, ancient art, Buddhist culture, folk customs, summer recreation as one of the tourist areas.
Wutai Mountain is a famous Buddhist resort, is the Bodhisattva Manjushri's dojo, and Wutai Mountain and its long history of temple building and the scale of the grand, and in the first of the four famous Buddhist mountains - so there is the Golden Wutai called, in Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and other countries enjoy fame. Wutai Mountain temples were first built in the Han Ming Emperor, the Tang Dynasty due to "Manjushri faith" flourished, as many as 360 monasteries. In the Qing Dynasty, with the introduction of Lamaism to Wutai Mountain, there appeared two temples of Qing and Huang with their own characteristics. The area surrounded by the five tops of the Wutai Mountain is called Tai Nei, and its periphery is called Tai Wai.
I, Wutai Mountain has become a Buddhist holy legend legend Wutai is the earliest Taoist territory, "Taoist scripture" said Wutai Mountain for the purple mountain, had built a purple temple. The Qingliang Mountain Records said that when the Buddhist Manjushri Bodhisattva first came to China, he resided in Shiben Cave, which was in the Taoist Xuanzhen Guan, indicating that the Wutai Mountain was a Taoist stronghold at that time.
When Buddhism was first introduced to China, it was practiced by only a few people. In the second year B.C., an emissary of the king of the Dayuezhi Kingdom (an ethnic minority that originally lived in the Ili River Valley in western Xinjiang, China, and was founded after moving westward to Central Asia), Icun, came to Chang'an, the capital of China at that time, and he orally taught the Buddhist scriptures to the disciple of a doctor named Jinglu, which is the earliest record in Chinese history books about the spread of Buddhism to China.
Buddhism's introduction to Wutai Mountain is widely believed to have begun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. History records that in December of the 10th year of Yongping (67 A.D.), Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty sent an emissary to the Western Regions to seek the Dharma, along with two Indian monks, Regent Morten and Zhu Fan, to Luoyang.
In the eleventh year of Yongping, a monastery was built in the south of the Royal Road outside the West Yongmen Gate of Luoyang to house the two Indian monks. In order to commemorate the White Horse Sutra (Forty-two Chapters of the Sutra) to lose the image (statue of the Buddha) of the merit, so the name of the White Horse Temple.
In the eleventh year of Yongping, Regent Morten and Zhu Fan came to Wutai Mountain (then called Qingliang Mountain) from Luoyang. As there was a stupa of Ashoka's relics in the mountain from a long time ago, and as Wutai Mountain was the place where Manjushri Bodhisattva practiced his teachings and resided (according to legend, Emei Mountain is the place where Pratyekabuddha Bodhisattva, Putuo Mountain is the place where Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Jiuhua Mountain is the place where Jizangwang Bodhisattva practiced his teachings and resided), the two of them wanted to build a temple, but as Wutai Mountain was the base of Taoist religion at that time, the two of them were quite marginalized, and they played a notice to Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty. The two sides reached an agreement to burn the scriptures to determine their authenticity (according to legend, the place where the scriptures were burned was in present-day Xi'an). As a result of the burning, all the Taoist scriptures were burned, but the Buddhist scriptures were not completely burned, and the two of them were given the right to build a temple. Taiwan's mountainous terrain, rivers, where to build a suitable temple? Qingliangshan Zhi": "in the left side of the tower, there is Shakyamuni Buddha's footprints, its length of one foot six inches, six inches wide, a thousand wheel phase, ten fingers are now". Legend has it that the two of them not only found the footprints, but also found the "relics", coupled with the Yingfang Village, the mountain's mountainous terrain, the weather is extraordinary, and India's Lingwu Mountain (Sakyamuni Buddha's practice place) is similar. For these three reasons, it was decided to build a temple here. After the completion of the temple, the temple took the name of the mountain - Lingwu Temple. In order to show his faith in Buddhism, Liu Zhuang, the Ming Emperor of Han Dynasty, added the word "Dafu" (which means Hongxin), and thus the full name of the temple was called Dafu Lingwu Temple after the completion of the temple. Dafu Lingwu Temple is now the predecessor of Hin Tao Temple. From then on, Wutai Mountain began to become the center of Buddhism in China, Wutai Mountain, Dafu Lingwu Temple and Luoyang White Horse Temple as the earliest temple in China.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the development of Buddhism in Wutai Mountain saw its first climax. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty expanded the Lingwu Temple on a larger scale and built twelve temples around it, including the Good Scripture Temple and the Zhenrong Temple. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, the number of temples on Wutai Mountain increased to more than two hundred. To the Sui dynasty, the Sui emperor and the imperial edict in five platform top each built a temple. That is, the East Terrace Wanghai Temple, the South Terrace Puji Temple, the West Terrace Falei Temple, the North Terrace Lingying Temple, and the Center Terrace Evangelical Temple. Also because the Wutai Mountain is Manjushri Bodhisattva to perform the place of religion, so the five platforms on the top of the temple are dedicated to Manjushri Bodhisattva, but the five Manjushri's legal name is completely different: the East Terrace Wanghai Temple for the smart Manjushri, South Terrace Puji Temple for the wisdom of the Manjushri, the West Terrace Falai Temple for the lion Manjushri, the North Terrace Lingying Temple for the Immaculate Conception of Manjushri, the center of the Terrace to perform the teachings of the Temple for the Rutu Manjushri. From then on, all to the Wutai Mountain pilgrimage to worship, are to the five top of the temple worship, called Chao Tai. At this time, the name of Wutai Mountain has appeared in a large number of Northern Qi historical records.
The Sheng Tang period, the development of Buddhism in the Wutai Mountain appeared a second climax. During this period, according to the Ancient Qingliang Biography, there were as many as 300 monasteries and more than 3,000 monks. At this time the Wutai Mountain, is not only one of China's famous Buddhist mountains, but also a real Buddhist shrine, known as China's four great Buddhist mountains.
Two, the formation of the Wutai Mountain Buddhist shrine Wutai Mountain has become a Buddhist shrine, and in the Chinese and foreign Buddhist community has had a significant impact, is the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. With the Tang Dynasty is a key period in the history of the development of Buddhism in Wutai Mountain.
The Li Tang dynasty rose up in Taiyuan and had the world, so Wutai Mountain was regarded as "the place where the ancestors planted their virtues". When Li Yuan was fighting against the Sui Dynasty, he made a great wish to Buddhism, saying that when he became emperor, he would promote the Three Jewels. In the second year of Wude (619), Li Yuan gathered monks in the capital and established ten great virtues to manage the affairs of monks and nuns. After Tang Taizong took the throne, he revitalized the business of translating sutras and made Polo Po-Ka-Lo Mi-Duo Lo preside over it. He also provided for 3,000 monks and built monasteries all over the old battlefields. In the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), the imperial edict said: "Wutai Mountain, Manjushri must house, all the saints secluded, the realm of Taiyuan, really my ancestors planted the place of virtue, it is appropriate to fear." "is the year, Taishan built ten shakya, degree increased by hundreds." Wu Zetian attached great importance to the role of Buddhism in the struggle for the throne. In the second year of Changshou's reign (693), the famous monk Bodhidharma Liuzhi and others went up to translate the "Treasure Rain Sutra," claiming that the bodhisattva appeared in the form of a woman, thus creating a big public opinion for Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne. In the first year of the Shengli era (695), Bodhi Liushi and Sikhon Nandu were ordered to re-translate the Avatamsaka Sutra. The translation was completed in the second year of the Shengli era (699). The new translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra said, "There is a place in the northeast called Mount Qingliang. Since ancient times, a multitude of Bodhisattvas have been living there. There is a Bodhisattva named Manjushri, who, together with 10,000 Bodhisattvas in his retinue, always preaches the Dharma in it." In the second year of Chang'an (702), Wu Zetian claimed to have "traveled to the five peaks" and ordered the reconstruction of Qingliang Temple, the representative temple of Wutai Mountain. Upon completion of the work, Venerable Da De Shen was appointed as the abbot of Qingliang Monastery and given the title of "Duke of Changping County, with an honorary salary of 1,000 households, and in charge of the affairs of monks and nuns in the capital." This was the beginning of Wutai Mountain's dominance in the national Buddhist community, and the beginning of its development into a famous mountain and holy place, utilized and held hostage by the feudal rulers.
According to records, the Tang dynasty from Emperor Taizong to Emperor Dezong, "where the nine emperors, all leaning to admire the spirit of the mountain, to stay in God's sacred realm, the Royal Zazha Tianyi, every light five tops, in the make incense and medicine, constantly years, as for the hundred of Peking returned to the Chong, Shuguang help for a gift, can not be fully remembered carry on." Obviously, from the Tang Emperor Taizong to the Tang Emperor Dezong, are on the Wutai Mountain Buddhism to give great support and help.
From the Buddhist classics, in addition to the new translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra, said Manjushri bodhisattva residence, "the name of Mount Qingliang", "Buddha said Manjushri treasure dharani sutra" also cloud: "Buddha told the King of the King of the Diamond Miracle that: after my demise in the northeast of the state of the South Alimony, there is a country called the big Zhenna, which has a mountain called five tops! , Manjushri children marching to live, for the congregation born in the saying." As the Buddhist classics said Manjushri Bodhisattva residence - "cool mountain" "five tops of the mountain", with the topography of Mount Wutai, climate, environment, very similar, so, Chinese and foreign Buddhists will be the Mount Wutai this "five peaks towering out of the Therefore, Chinese and foreign Buddhists took Wutai Mountain as the natural existence of "five peaks towering out of the sky" and "there was no heat or heat", and regarded it as the residence of Manjushri Bodhisattva in their illusory world. In this way, Wutai Mountain has become a Buddhist pilgrimage to the holy land, famous at home and abroad, prominent in the world. It goes without saying that Wutai Mountain, as a holy place of Buddhism, was made famous by the strength of the Li Tang dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was highly revered, and Manjushri was especially honored by Buddhists. The state stipulated that the statue of Manjushri must be enshrined in the fasting halls of all temples throughout the country. Because the dynasty and the world all honored Manjushri and regarded Wutai Mountain as the holy place of Buddhism, so Wutai Mountain was unprecedentedly prosperous, and there were many famous monks, Cheng Guan is a prominent representative.
Cheng Guan, (738-839), commonly known as Xiahou, Daxiu, was a native of Shanyin, Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). At the age of eleven, he became a monk at Baolin Temple in Yingtian, attained enlightenment at the age of fourteen, and at the age of thirty-nine, he "vowed to travel to the Wutai Mountains, making a tour of them one by one." After visiting the famous temples in Wutai Mountain, he stayed at the Dahuayan Temple to study the Avatamsaka Sutra, and lectured on the Sutra in the temple for five years. Later, Cheng Guan felt that "the old Huayan Sutra was too simple and complicated." So, he "thought about making the sutra from day to night." On the eighth day of the fourth month of the first year of Emperor De Zong's Xing Yuan (784), Cheng Guan refused to go out and re-coordinated the commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra in the Dahuayan Temple's Chiru Pavilion. To the De Zong Zhen Yuan three years (787) on November 5, lasted more than three years, finally wrote out the "large square Buddha Huayan Sutra sparse" 60 volumes. During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Guan was honored by Emperor Daizong as a teacher. Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty honored Cheng Guan as a "professor and monk", and "he was given the title of Master Zhen Guo and entered the record of great monks in the world." Emperor Xianzong came to the throne, "Edicts the Secretary to cast a separate gold seal, relocated to give the monk system Qingliang Guo Shi's name, the unified crown of the world's Buddhist monks, the bishop of the door thing."" Mu Zong, Jing Zong Xian Xian Ju (big) Hugh, all sealed Dazhao Guo Shi. Wenzong Tai (Da) and five years, the emperor received heart precepts in the division. In the first year of Kaicheng, the Emperor gave the Master a hundred years of birthday, gave agricultural wealth and food, and awarded him the title of Daitong Guoshi." ""The important ministers of the Chinese and foreign tai pou, salty to the eight precepts of the ritual and the teacher."
Cheng Guan "born in nine dynasties, for the seven emperors," in the Tang Emperor Kai Cheng four years (839) died, aged 102. Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty "specially suspended the court for three days", ordered "important ministers onyx", and solemnly buried him. He was honored as the "Fourth Ancestor of the Avatamsaka Sect". Tang Dynasty, Wutai Mountain famous monks, which is also an important symbol of the formation of the Wutai Mountain Buddhist holy land.
Wutai Mountain Buddhist holy land formation of another sign, is the large-scale construction of Buddhist monasteries and the number of monks increased. In the Tang Dynasty, Wutai Mountain recorded Buddhist temples have more than seventy, and the scale is very grand.
With the construction and expansion of Buddhist temples, Wutai Mountain, the number of monks is also increasing. Tang Dezong Zhenyuan years, the mountain monks and nuns amounted to ten thousand people. Prosperous development of the temple caused by the socio-political, economic and major negative impact, the Tang Emperor Wenzong in Huichang five years (845), the abolition of the Buddha, ordered the demolition of the temple word, ordering the monks and nuns to return to secularism. In summary, the national demolition of large and small temples more than 44,600, monks and nuns to lower more than two hundred and sixty thousand people, the recovery of tens of millions of hectares of land. Wutai Mountain is no exception, the monks scattered, the temple was destroyed. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he revitalized Buddhism again. The government stipulated that the number of monks in Wutai Mountain still amounted to "5,000 monks". In fact, with the addition of private and traveling monks, there were more than "five thousand monks". Throughout the ages, the number of monks in Wutai Mountain was the largest in the Tang Dynasty. The number of temples and monks was a sign of the formation of the Wutai Mountain Buddhist holy land in the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty Wutai Mountain Buddhist holy land formation of another symbol, is the foreign Buddhists competing pilgrimage and the infinite admiration for the Wutai Mountain. The Tang Dynasty, a strong state, economic prosperity, high reputation in the international community, is the center of economic and cultural exchanges between Asian countries. With the expansion of international exchanges, Wutai Mountain was admired by Buddhists from India, Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka. Pilgrimage to Wutai Mountain and to Wutai Mountain to seek Buddhist scriptures and Buddhism of many foreign monks.
Wutai Mountain as a Buddhist shrine is the formation of the Tang Dynasty, is the Li Tang Dynasty with the help of strong national prestige, along with foreign economic and cultural exchanges in the world's expanding.
Three, Wutai Mountain Buddhist temples created a brief description of Shanxi Wutai Mountain is famous in China and abroad Buddhist holy places, with Zhejiang Putuo Mountain, Sichuan Emei Mountain, Anhui Jiuhua Mountain and known as China's four great Buddhist mountains. And Wutai Mountain with its long history of temple building and the scale of the grand, in the Buddhism of the four famous mountains first. According to a variety of ancient records, Wutai Mountain in the Eastern Han Dynasty Yongping years already had a temple building. According to legend, Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, dreamed of a golden man sitting on an auspicious cloud, floating from the western sky, and knew that there was a Buddha's senses, and then sent his ministers, Cai Dark, Qin Jing, and others, to the west to search for and pray for the Buddha's teachings. Cai, Qin and other people in the Dayuezhi get Buddhist scriptures and statues, and coincidentally met with the local missionary in the Tianzhu Kingdom (now India) monks Regent Morten and ZuFanLan, that is, invited to China with. Yongping ten years (67 AD), the Sanskrit monk Han envoys with white horses carrying the scriptures and statues to Luoyang. When Emperor Ming of Han saw the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, it was the same as what he had seen in his dream, and he believed more and more in Buddhism, so he ordered the construction of the White Horse Temple in Luoyang and instructed Sakyamuni and Zululan to spread Buddhism in China. Yongping eleven years, the two monks came to cool the sacred realm of the Wutai Mountain, see the five tops of the hinterland surrounded by Taihuai, its mountainous terrain and Sakyamuni Buddha's practice place Lingwu Mountain can not be divided into two, returned to Luoyang after the Han Ming Emperor was asked to build a monastery in the Wutai Mountain. Thus, Emperor Ming of Han issued a decree to build Dafu Lingwu Temple in Wutai Mountain. Dafu, is the meaning of Hongxin. The temple is said to be Lingwu, meaning that the hinterland of Wutai Mountain in the East is similar to Lingwu Mountain in the West. In this way, Luoyang Baima Temple and Wutai Mountain Dafu Lingwu Temple became China's earliest established monasteries. Dafu Lingwu Temple is the predecessor of the present-day Hin Tong Temple.
Four, the main attractions of the Nanshan Temple: Nanshan Temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty, the entire temple **** 7 floors, the lower three floors called the Temple of Ultimate Bliss, the middle floor called the Hall of Good Virtue, the upper three floors called Youguo Temple. The stone carvings and clay sculptures inside the temple include Buddhist legends, Taoist allusions and patterns of forests, trees, flowers and grasses, which is one of the best in Wutai Mountain. Standing on the highest floor of the Youguo Temple, you can see the other four platforms of the Wutai Mountain.
Xiantong Temple: Xiantong Temple is one of the largest and oldest temples in Wutai Mountain, and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang is one of the earliest temples in China, which is located in the center of Wutai Mountain. The Daxiongbao Hall of Xiantong Temple is the main place for holding Buddhist activities, and the statues of Shakyamuni, Amitabha Buddha and Medicine Buddha are enshrined in the hall, which is open and spacious, with ancient color and aroma. Limitless Hall for the brick structure, which is enshrined in the bronze cast Vishnu Buddha, the hall has no beams, the shape is very unique, has a high artistic value. The Bronze Hall is a bronze building with tens of thousands of small Buddha statues inside the hall, which are rare bronze relics. The bell tower in front of the Hian Tong Temple contains the largest bronze bell in Wutai Mountain, the Changming Bell, on the surface of which is engraved a Buddhist scripture of more than 10,000 characters in regular script.
Tayuan Temple: Inside the Tayuan Temple, there is a landmark building of Wutai Mountain--Daibai Pagoda, which is 56.4 meters high and white in color, and is known as "the first holy place of Qingliang". There are more than two hundred copper bells hanging on the top of the pagoda, and the sound is clear and crisp when the wind blows. To the east of the White Pagoda, there is a small white pagoda, which is also known as Manjushri Hair Pagoda because it is said that the golden hair left behind by Manjushri Bodhisattva when he manifested his sainthood is hidden inside the pagoda. In the north side of the Great White Pagoda, there is a wooden building with more than 20,000 books written in Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan scripts.
Buddha's Peak：Buddha's Peak is one of the largest and most complete Lamaist monasteries in Wutai Mountain, which is the main venue for the Yellow Sect Puja from the fourth to the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Chinese lunar calendar every year, and during which time you can climb up the mountain to see the grand spectacle of the lamas "subduing the demons". Inside the temple are the Hall of the Heavenly King, the Hall of Shakyamuni, and the Hall of the Bodhisattva, and there are a number of monuments and plaques inscribed by the emperor because successive emperors have climbed to the top of the Bodhisattva. In the east courtyard hall and backyard, there are two white jade four-pronged column monument, the monument body on all sides were engraved with Chinese, Mongolian, Manchu, Tibetan four kinds of text written by the inscription, are the Qing dynasty Kangxi emperor handwriting.
Other temples: Taiwan: Shouning Temple Bishan Temple Puhua Temple Dailuoding Qixian Temple Ten Square Church Shushu Temple Guangzong Temple Yuanzhao Temple Guanyin Cave Longquan Temple Luo Shuji Temple Golden Pavilion Temple Zhenhai Temple Ten Thousand Buddhas Pavilion Observatory Temple Bamboo Temple Collective Blessing Temple, outside of the Taiwan: Yanqing Temple Nanchan Temple Secret Temple Buddha Temple Rocky Mountain Temple Zunsheng Temple Guangji Temple and so on five, the climate five Mount Wutai has a cold climate, and also known as the "Cool Mountain! ". The average temperature throughout the year is minus 4 degrees, July to August is the hottest, respectively, 9.5 degrees and 8.5 degrees, January is the coldest, the average temperature of minus 18.8 degrees. The Taihuai area starts spring 1 month earlier and fall 1 month later than the top of Taiwan, with a temperature difference of about 6 degrees. The average temperature throughout the year is 2-3 degrees, with a minimum temperature of minus 30 degrees and a maximum temperature of 30 degrees. Taihuai area in the summer air clouds closer, humidity, often rain.