What is the difference between Dabei Temple in Haicheng and Dabei Ancient Temple?

The difference between Dabei Temple and Dabei Ancient Temple in Haicheng is: Dabei Temple is a formal temple, while Dabei Ancient Temple is a grove of lay people.

The specific differences between Dabei Temple in Haicheng and Dabei Ancient Temple:

All the monks in Dabei Temple in Haicheng, Liaoning adhere to the precept not to catch money and eat one meal a day. The monks get up at 2 o'clock every morning, recite the Shurangama Mantra 10 times, recite the precepts for 2 hours in the afternoon, and only rest for 4 hours a day. To maintain the Buddhist system, the journey begins on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year. On the way, he begged for food. The precepts in the temple are strict and the monks are dignified and dignified. The precepts of the Buddha are fully reflected here! There is no merit box in Dabei Temple, and there are two Buddhist services per month (Chaobu on the 14th and Pufo on the 15th, no fees are charged).

I convert twice every year on the eighth day of April and the fifteenth day of July. Those who take refuge must memorize the Heart Sutra and the Great Compassion Mantra before being issued a refuge certificate. At the Dabei Temple in Haicheng, Liaoning, all monks adhere to the money precept and eat one meal a day. There is no merit box in the temple, and there are 2 Buddhist services per month (14 Chao Dharma and 15 Pu Buddha, no fees are charged).

Convert twice a year on April 8 and July 15. Those who take refuge must memorize the Heart Sutra and the Great Compassion Mantra before being issued a refuge certificate. The monks get up at 2 o'clock every morning, recite the Shurangama Mantra 10 times, recite the precepts for 2 hours in the afternoon, and rest for 4 hours every day. Maintaining the Buddha's system, the journey starts on August 15th every year. On the way, he begged for food. The precepts in the monastery are strict and the monks are dignified and dignified! The Buddha's precepts are fully reflected here!

The abbot of Dabei Ancient Temple is not a monk. To be precise, there is no abbot or abbot, because the head of the family is not a monk, but a layman. His surname is Tan, and he is the forest chief of the lay community. The monks and nuns all obey the arrangements of the forest chief. I have never met Mr. Tan Linchang in person, but I have only heard his voice, which is very kind and gentle. I heard that Mr. Tan Lin has a daughter who is not young now. He and his wife are also very affectionate. He has devoted himself to Buddhism for many years and has achieved profound attainments. He intends to become a monk.

Just when he was about to become a monk, his wife became pregnant again (and later gave birth to a son). Naturally, it was not easy for him to become a monk at this time, but he was very pious and eager to worship the Buddha, so he decided to become a monk. Naturally, the size of the Jushi Forest he built was small at first. Later, people were gradually moved by his sincerity, and the size of the Jushi Forest became larger and larger.

It was pouring rain when I went there for the second time, so I did some work during the break. From a rough observation, there were no less than two or three thousand people participating in the Buddhist ceremony. You can imagine the grand occasion when the weather is good. I think Tan Linchang has the style of Nichiren, the founder of Nichiren Buddhism, a large sect of Buddhism in Japan.

Generally, for Buddhist services in temples, the client pays a certain amount of money, and the monks and nuns chant extraordinary sutras. Most of the clients have low attainments and do not know what the masters are chanting, or they know very little about it. Dabei Ancient Temple does not ask for money from anyone, and it is up to the victim to decide whether to pay or not.

What’s more important is that everyone who practices Buddhist services is given a copy of the "Zhongfeng Three Hours Lecture Song" (I don’t remember the name very accurately), and the monks and masters will lead everyone to read it sentence by sentence. After singing and reciting, the Buddhist attainments and religious identity of some people who often go there will of course gradually deepen, so I think Tan Lin has the bearing of an educator.

In the three Buddhist services, the melody started from Namo Amitabha every time and was very slow. I felt like climbing a mountain. At first, it was a very gentle and flat slope, and it was very easy to walk; gradually it turned to Amitabha. After four words, the rhythm becomes faster, as if the road becomes steeper and more difficult to walk; when Amitabha is recited many times in one breath, the specific singing method is to recite the first "A" character in the third tone, and the remaining "A" characters in the third tone. Four sounds, if you look closely, it looks like on a steep slope that goes straight up and down. The people on top are pulling hard, and the people below are pushing hard, and they are helping the people in the middle to go up.

Looking from a distance, chanting and singing like this is like a sharp arrow piercing the sky in a straight line, soaring rapidly, passing through many realms at once, until everyone is exhausted, their voices are hoarse, there is nothing to sing, and there is no way to go higher. At this time, the rhythm suddenly slowed down, and a very gentle Namo Amitabha was recited many times, like climbing a mountain and finally reaching the top of the mountain.

Extended information:

Allusions to the Dabei Ancient Temple: According to legend, when Li Shimin, king of the Tang Dynasty, led his troops to the Eastern Expedition, he played chess with his general Xue Rengui on the top of this hill. There is a magical stone chessboard on the mountain. The stone chess pieces can move back and forth on the chessboard, but they cannot be taken off. There is a flat land on the top of the mountain, which is called "Take Off the Boot Top". It was formed by the soil shaken off when the King of Tang took off his boots. There are also stone pots and horse hoof prints left by the Tang Dynasty kings on the mountain. Later, people called this hill "Tangwang Mountain" and it has been passed down to this day. In recent decades, these ruins on the mountain have disappeared due to quarrying and mining here.

On Sanhuang Mountain in the southeast of Tangwang Mountain, there was an ancient temple, Tangwang Mountain Dabei Temple. According to legend, Tang Wang Li Shimin came to Tangwang Mountain during his eastern expedition. One day, when the King of Tang was sleeping, he dreamed that Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Great Master of the South China Sea, enlightened him and said that the King of Tang was in danger... Because of the Bodhisattva's rescue, the King of Tang escaped the danger. After the Tang Dynasty returned to the dynasty, he ordered the temple to be rebuilt. The Tangwangshan Dabei Temple was built here.

Reference materials: Dabei Temple - Baidu Encyclopedia Dabei Ancient Temple - Baidu Encyclopedia