What are the characteristics of the temple architecture in Yandang Mountain?
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced to Yandang Mountain. However, the real rise of Buddhism here was in the Tang Dynasty. Legend has it that Nozana, a disciple of the eminent monk Tathagata Buddha in the Tang Dynasty and ranked fifth among the Sixteen Arhats, came to Yandang Mountain and built the first Buddhist temple.
According to legend, Tathagata Buddha once told Nozana: "You will build a temple in a place with wonderful landscapes. In that place, use the name of the flower as the village and the name of the bird as the name of the mountain."
Later, Nozana traveled around the world with 300 disciples and searched many places but could not find this place. One day, he came to the foot of Yandang Mountain and saw that it was surrounded by the sea and the wind, with colorful flowers, fragrant flowers and birds singing. He was secretly happy, so he asked a local old man the name of the place and the mountain.
The old man replied that this place is called Furong Village and the mountain is called Yandang Mountain. When Nozhenna heard this, he was very happy. He knew that he had finally found the place predicted by Tathagata Buddha, so he led his disciples into the mountain and started to build a temple. Buddhism has flourished since then. Nozhenna then passed away at Dalongqiuguan Waterfall. . People therefore respect him as the founder of Yandang. After Nozana, many monks began to practice in Yandang Mountain.
In the gap on the left side of the giant wall of Gassho Peak in Yandang Mountain, there is a finger-sized stone statue that looks like Guanyin Bodhisattva. People call it the "One-finger Guanyin". According to folklore, one day, when Guanyin Bodhisattva was floating over Yandang Mountain, he saw fireworks soaring into the sky and firecrackers booming, so he transformed into an old woman and went down to see what was going on.
It turns out that people are carving images of Bodhisattva out of sandalwood in Guanyin Cave. To complete this Buddha statue, 990 pounds of silver are needed. So the Bodhisattva who transformed into an old woman went to the abbot and advised him not to do this because it would waste the people and money.
The abbot refused to listen and said: "Practitioners only seek to transcend the mundane world, why do you care about money?" He also blamed the old woman for "burning incense, worshiping Buddha and reciting sutras for a lifetime in vain". Unexpectedly, before the abbot finished speaking, a strong wind blew up from the Gassho Peak, blowing away the uncarved sandalwood statue of Guanyin without a trace, and strings of pearls fell down from the Guanyin Cave. When people went to pick it up, the pearls turned into water drops and flowed away. At this time, a voice came from the air: "Whether you are sincere or not, it depends on your sincerity. If you build a giant statue, you will kill people!" And the uncarved sandalwood statue became smaller and smaller, and finally it was only nine inches and nine minutes long, and it was attached to the between the gaps. The abbot was lying on the ground, motionless. Yandang Mountain is known as the "No. 1 Mountain in the Southeast" for its beautiful scenery. Gu Kuang, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, called Yandang Mountain a fairyland on earth like a Peach Blossom Spring in "The Journey to Immortals". There is a pair of large stone pillars in the middle of the apse, engraved with a couplet written by Zhao Shungeng, a famous scholar in the town:
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have different streams and the same purpose; the east and west sacrifices have two vertical branches and their origins.
The Jiyun Taoist Temple in Yandang Mountain was also built in the Tang Dynasty. Jiyun Taoist Temple was first built in 889. Later in 1013, it was given the title of "Jinghui Temple" and later renamed "Jiyun Temple". In the later Ming Dynasty, it was merged into Baihe Temple. According to the Records of Baishi Mountain compiled by Shi Yuanfu, a native of Xiang in the Qing Dynasty:
When it was in its prime, it was a tall and magnificent sill with dozens of monks living in it. The name is Jungle.
Later, Jiyun Taoist Temple collapsed due to a hurricane, and what survived was rebuilt later. The Taoist Temple is located at the southern foot of Hengshan Mountain, covering an area of 2064 square meters, and is divided into two entrances. There is a pair of large stone pillars in the back hall, engraved with a couplet, saying:
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have different streams and the same purpose; the east and west sacrifices have two vertical branches with different origins.
The Guanyin Cave in the Hezhang Peak of Yandang Mountain was the earliest residence of the eminent monk Shan Mu in the Tang Dynasty. Guanyin Cave is like a large stone chamber, which is naturally formed. There is a stone pillar hanging to the ground in the cave, and there are statues of Guanyin carved on the cave and on the stone walls around the cave. Guanyin Cave is 100 meters high, 40 meters wide and 40 meters deep. The Buddhist tower in the cave is built against the rock, with a height of 9 stories. At the entrance to the cave is the Heavenly King's Hall, with the Four King Kong sculptures inside. There are 377 stone steps behind the hall, leading directly to the roof. The top roof is the Guanyin Hall, and the rest are monks' quarters.
Looking from the left wall of the eighth floor to the entrance of the cave, you can see a slightly larger statue of Guanyin sitting on a lotus platform. This is called the "One-finger Guanyin". Looking out from the top of the cave, there is only a thin line in the sky, which is called "a thin line of sky". There are also springs for washing the heart and washing the jade in the cave. There is also a heart-washing pool next to the main hall on the top floor, with clear and sweet water.
There is a nunnery built next to Guanyin Cave, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. Behind the Guanyin Cave, there are ancient trees and boulders stacked on top of each other, with the inscription "The Great Master Reappears". There is also a legendary story in Guanyin Cave in Yandang Mountain!
According to legend, 1,000 years ago, there were many rocks and thorny vines growing in Guanyin Cave. Foxes, centipede spirits and wolves lived there, and they were all very ferocious.
One day, an old monk came to Guanyin Cave. By that time, he was exhausted. He saw Guanyin Cave and wanted to go there to recite the Lotus Sutra. At that time, he forgot about thirst and hunger, and quickened his pace to recite the Sutra. Thorns and vines scratched the old monk's face, but he felt no pain and continued to move forward quickly.
The old monk finally arrived. He was chanting sutras in the Guanyin Cave, and the water dripped down bit by bit on the rock. The old monk called it "clear spring". The old monk recited the sutra for a day and a night. The foxes, centipede spirits and wolves living in the Guanyin Cave all teased the old monk, but the old monk still just recited his own sutra and ignored them.
The water sprayed next to the old monk was called "heart-washing" by him. The fox and his gang wanted the old monk to die. He asked the centipede spirit to drop venom on the "clear spring" for the old monk to drink. However, the old monk was unharmed after drinking the water from the "heart-washing" fountain.
The foxes had played tricks on the old monk for several days, and they were all tired. Sitting next to the old monk and listening to the old monk chanting sutras day and night, I was finally inspired.
The fox wanted to change his ways, so he asked the wild foxes to remove the rocks from the cave. The centipede spirit also wanted to change his mind, so he asked the poisonous centipedes to bite off the thorn vines in the cave. The old wolf asked the wolves to push the rocks in the cave down the mountain. The old monk finally turned into a stone statue and still stays in the cave to this day.
In the Song Dynasty, Yandang Mountain entered its heyday, especially when the small court of the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to Lin'an, Wenzhou's economy entered a period of great development, and the post road also passed through the west inner valley of Yandang Mountain, so at this time Yandang Mountain Many new temples and ancient temples were built in the mountains, which was very prosperous for a while.
There is an ancient temple in the Yangtze River of Lingyan Mountain in Yandang Mountain. It is backed by Lingyan Rock and is called Lingyan Temple after the rock. The temple was built in 979 and is well-known in the capital because of its beautiful scenery. , Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty specially granted 52 volumes of imperial scriptures, and in 999 he was awarded "Lingyan Zen Temple".
Lingyan Temple is surrounded by rugged peaks and towering ancient trees. It is one of the eighteen ancient temples in Yandang. The temple has more than a hundred temples and meditation rooms, and is known as the "First Temple in the Southeast". It is surrounded by majestic peaks, towering ancient trees, and a secluded environment.
Shortly after the completion of Lingyan Temple, Nengren Temple, the largest temple among the eighteen ancient temples in Yandang Mountain, was also built. Nengren Temple was first built in 999. It is located on the bank of Dalongqiu Jinxi Rock in Yandang Mountain. It faces Flame Mountain and Daichen Peak in the southeast, Yanwei Waterfall is in the north, and Guanyin Peak can be seen in the distance.
After the Southern Song Dynasty, the influence of Nengren Temple became more and more important. At its peak, there were 300 monks and thousands of pilgrims every day, making it one of the famous temples in the country. There is a large iron wok in the temple, which is more than 1 meter high and about 2.5 meters in diameter. The wok weighs 18,500 kilograms and was cast in 1092. Therefore, Nengren Temple is also called the Big Wok Temple. There is a piece of square bamboo behind Lingyan Temple. This square bamboo was transplanted from Nengren Temple earlier.
In ancient times, the area around Nengren was a deep mountain forest, where ferocious beasts often appeared and harmed the people. Therefore, at that time, one or two families did not dare to settle here. Later, everyone got together and settled in a village in the Nengren area. However, the houses built in the village were often burned down by fire, and the people suspected that the Flame Peak opposite Nengren Temple was causing trouble.
In 1092, people cast a large iron wok weighing 37,000 kilograms under the Flame Peak and filled it with water to conquer the Flame Peak. Since then, the feng shui here has improved, the weather has been good every year, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the temples are full of incense.
One day, a brother and a sister came to Nengren Temple from Kuocang Mountain. The elder brother was a person who knew Feng Shui. Seeing that the Feng Shui here was good, he buried a copper coin near Nengren Temple as a souvenir. You will be prosperous and wealthy in the second half of your life.
Later, my sister also took a hairpin from her head and inserted it here as a souvenir. It just so happened that the hairpin stuck right into the eye of the copper coin that my brother had buried. Later, the hairpin grew bigger day by day and turned into a square bamboo. After a few years, the square bamboo grew into a large area.
One day, there was a severe drought. It didn’t rain for several months, and most of the square bamboos in Nengren Temple withered. The kind-hearted Master Chengyuan of Lingyan Temple transplanted all the living Fangzhu trees to Lingyan Temple, watered them every day, and the Fangzhu trees were saved. This square bamboo has been passed down from generation to generation, and to this day, a lush piece of square bamboo still grows behind Lingyan Temple.