Taiping xingguo temple (hereinafter referred to as xingguo temple) is located in Daxianshan, Xun County. The name of its temple was given by Zhao Guangyi, the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, with his own title "Taiping and Xingguo". At least 1030 years old now. Compared with other royal temples, Taiping xingguo temple is like a hermit, deep and quiet.
Temples are like the eyes of mountains-the artistic charm and cultural spirit of mountains. A mountain, because of the temple, is more quiet and distant. Numerous temples and Taoist temples add a lot of mystery to the mountains. Walking in the misty mountains in the morning, I feel the pleasure of walking alone. Compared with the hustle and bustle of ancient temple fairs in the mountains, today's silent mountains are quiet. I'm walking into this mountain scene in early spring with those sporadic tourists.
Visit Taiping xingguo temple
Along the brick mountain road on the east side of Dadong Mountain, you can see Taiping xingguo temple with its back to the cliff and west to east. The xingguo temple Mountain Gate on the high terrace, with three wide doors and red lacquered wooden doors, was built in the Qing Dynasty and is said to have been transformed from the King's Hall of Earth Hidden. On the red plaque is the name of the temple "Taiping xingguo temple" inscribed by Zhao Puchu, president of the late Buddhist Association. There are four heavenly kings enshrined in the mountain gate, namely the East King, the South King, the West King and the North King, in order to pray for good weather. There are also inscriptions on the walls of the room to rebuild the temple. The main buildings in the temple are: Daxiong Hall, Guanyin Cave and "barometer" Chaoyang Cave.
Beyond the mountain gate is Maitreya Hall. Maitreya sits on the lotus throne in the temple and smiles at everyone. A pair of couplets at the door is "A big belly can accommodate things that are difficult in the world; Laugh often, laugh at the ridiculous people in the world ",which conveys the wisdom of life after entering the WTO."
Xingguo temple monks say that Maitreya Hall is the old gate of Taiping xingguo temple. At that time, when people entered xingguo temple, the first thing they saw was the smiling Maitreya Buddha. There is a folklore about the origin of Maitreya Buddha. In the late Tang and Five Dynasties, there was a "bag monk", short and fat, with a round belly and a big smile. His parents died when he was a child, and later he became a monk in a temple. Usually, he cherishes every grain of food. When he cooks with fire, he picks up rice and beans and puts them in a cloth bag. When he encounters a poor harvest, he will give alms to the hungry people with the accumulated grain. People often see him carrying a cloth bag and begging for alms everywhere, so they call him a "cloth bag monk". The monk in the cloth bag is unpredictable and can predict the ups and downs of rain or shine. When it is going to rain, he wears a pair of wet shoes; Wear wooden slippers when dry. On his deathbed, the cloth bag monk read a poem: Maitreya is really Maitreya, with hundreds of billions of people in both places. Always shows the time when people don't know. After reading it, I fell into silence. At this time, people suddenly realized that this mysterious cloth-bag monk was actually the reincarnation of Maitreya. Later, Maitreya was enshrined in the temple.
As one of the main buildings in xingguo temple, there is a woodcarving niche in the Hall of the Great Hero, which is dedicated to the "sand sculpture" of Sakyamuni in the Ming Dynasty. Sand sculpture and wood carving niches are exquisite and of high artistic value, but unfortunately they were destroyed in the "four clean-ups" movement in 1965. Today, there are three buddhas enshrined in the temple: Sakyamuni, Amitabha and Pharmacist Buddha.
There are eight caves on the mountain, two of which are concentrated in xingguo temple-Guanyin Cave, which was built in the early years of the Republic of China and Chaoyang Cave in the Ming Dynasty. Chaoyang cave is located in the north of Guanyin cave, named after Chaoyang, also known as Ziyang cave. Chaoyang Cave is the largest cave excavated on the mountain, with a voucher-shaped top. The cave is 4. 1 m deep, 3.46 m wide and 2.5 m high. There are three Buddha statues and eighteen arhats in the cave. It is said that when it rains, water will seep from the cave wall, and when it clears up, the cave will dry first, which is a natural "barometer".
Song Taizong became attached to xingguo temple.
There is no textual research on the founding date of Taiping xingguo temple. At present, there is a stone tablet in the hospital, which was erected in the second year of Taiping and Xingguo (977), and it is a tablet of "Giving Peace to xingguo temple". Due to the age, wind and rain, the inscription has been blurred, and only one-third of the handwriting can be distinguished. Perhaps due to scrawl, this inscription was not included in the Jin Shi Lu of Xun County by Qing Dynasty and Xiong. According to Mr. Fu, a cultural figure in Xunxian County, the inscription recorded in detail the process that there was a temple without a name at that time, all monks reported it to the court, and the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty named the temple. Mr. Fu, who has studied this inscription quite well, told reporters that skipping illegible handwriting can still tell us that Taiping xingguo temple has existed since the late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms period. Taiping xingguo temple was not called a temple in the Tang Dynasty, but called buddhist nun, later called xingguo temple. Until the third year of Taiping Xingguo (978), Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi awarded the title of "Taiping xingguo temple" with his own title, and erected this monument as a memorial. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there were frequent wars in Xun County, and Taiping xingguo temple was repeatedly abandoned. During the years of Tiancheng, Ganyou and Guang Shun, Taiping xingguo temple was restored many times.
Taiping xingguo temple is the only temple named after the emperor in China. What is the indissoluble bond between Emperor Zhao Guangyi of the Northern Song Dynasty and Taiping xingguo temple, which made him give this ancient temple such a title? There is a story circulating in the local area:
Legend has it that when Zhao Guangyi entered Youzhou, he was chased by enemy soldiers. Zhao Guangyi was badly injured and fled to the bank of the Yellow River, but he didn't cross the river by boat (the Yellow River hadn't changed its course at that time). Zhao Guangyi was seriously injured, with the raging Yellow River in front and the enemy behind him. His life is at stake. At this time, the monks in xingguo temple risked their lives to save him back to the temple, take turns to take care of him and give him medicine every day. Under the careful care of monks in Taiping Temple, Zhao Guangyi's injury soon recovered. In order to send Zhao Guangyi across the river, the monks went through many twists and turns and found their father and daughter who fished on the river for a living. The father and daughter who suffered from the war heard that Marshal Dasong was going to cross the river and agreed without hesitation. On a dark night, father and daughter rowed Marshal Zhao across the river. Because of the urgent water, they were discovered by nomads. Nomads shot arrows at the boat at will, and the old fisherman was hit by several arrows. On his deathbed, he did not forget to tell his daughter to send Marshal Zhao to the other side. Gu Yu endured the pain of his father's death and paddled, finally sending Zhao Guangyi out of the jaws. Later, Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne and became emperor. He heard that there was a temple without a name, and he did not forget to save his life, so he named the temple Taiping xingguo temple after himself. Taiping rejuvenating the country for three years (978), a monument "Taiping xingguo temple Story" was erected to commemorate this experience. Taiping xingguo temple became famous from then on.
Buddhist Culture in Taiping xingguo temple
Master Yuan Jie, abbot of Taiping xingguo temple, and Liu Hongliang, director of Xunxian Religious Affairs Bureau, chatted with reporters with great interest about the Buddhist culture in xingguo temple.
According to Liu Hongliang, the early Buddhist activities in Taiping xingguo temple were very regular, and monks and nuns needed about 4 hours in the morning and evening classes every day. On the first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, Hua Yan Zhong Hui will ring 108 in xingguo temple to show that 108 kinds of troubles will be relieved. In the old society, in addition to the usual Buddhist activities and the grand commemoration of Buddhist festivals, monks and nuns were invited to recite scriptures. In the 1960s, due to the destruction of the "Four Clean-ups" and "0" Movements, Taiping xingguo temple Company was robbed, Buddhists were regarded as "ghostly" to criticize and rob their homes, and religious activities in Taiping xingguo temple stopped. It was not until 1986 that Buddhist sites in Taiping xingguo temple were reopened. Taiping xingguo temple is the earliest temple in modern Henan Province.
Master Yuan Jie is the current abbot of Taiping xingguo temple and once lived in Kaifeng Temple, a royal temple. The arrival of Master Yuan Jie, like a clear spring, injected new vitality into Taiping xingguo temple, and finally put the Buddhist activities in the temple on the right track. He said that the formal Buddhist activities in xingguo temple can fully demonstrate the connotation of Buddhist culture. The performance of Buddhist music in the history of Taiping xingguo temple has a very high score, even higher than other monasteries in the Central Plains. He said that without a certain scale and influence, ordinary temples do not have the conditions to form an orchestra. In Henan, apart from Suoguo Temple in Kaifeng and Chaohua Temple in Xinmi, only Taiping xingguo temple in Xun County has a history of playing Buddhist music.
However, due to the age of the old monk in Taiping xingguo temple, the Buddhist music in the temple can no longer be performed normally. In 2008, Master Yuan Jie successfully declared the Buddhist music of Suoguo Temple in Kaifeng as a national intangible cultural heritage. He said that it is urgent to remedy and inherit the Buddhist music of Taiping xingguo temple in Xunxian as soon as possible, which is of great significance to cultural inheritance and intangible cultural heritage protection.
Buddhist music is mainly used in Buddhism and Dojo activities. After the founding of New China, the local government was very concerned about monks and nuns, and did a lot of rescue and excavation of temple music. During the period of 1957, as a Buddhist music group in Anyang area (Xunxian was under the jurisdiction of Anyang at that time), Xunxian monks performed "Ode to Six Sentences" and "The Wind is Like a Songtao" at the third national music and dance concert held in Zhengzhou, and won excellent performance awards. At that time, Henan People's Broadcasting Station also recorded music. Master Yuan Jie has been busy with the restoration of Buddhist music in xingguo temple since he became the abbot of Taiping xingguo temple in Xun County. He tried to find the director of Xunxian Radio and Television Bureau and Anyang Radio Station, but failed to find the recording of the performance at that time. Fortunately, there is still music left in the world!
Playing music was once the specialty of monks and nuns in Taiping xingguo temple. The score of percussion music is Miyachi notation, and its name is: boarding 156 reverse train. The treble is called "sharp" and the bass is called "flat". Most monks and nuns used to become monks when they were young. After becoming a monk, the first thing to learn is music, that is, playing musical instruments. Playing musical instruments include pipe, sheng and flute; Percussion instruments include drums, gongs, cymbals and bells. The titles of the songs played are: Lock Nanzhi, I lament today, Xiao Qingyang, Liu Hanyan, Xiao Kaimen, Caoxihe, five Buddhist sounds, three hymns, sword soldiers, six hymns, the wind is as loose, hymns.
At that time, Xunxian monks were divided into civil and military, and literati mainly recited scriptures and played music; Monks mainly practice martial arts and master acrobatic skills. In the old society, whenever there was a festival or funeral, they had to perform various programs along the way or at the venue, which was called "playing cymbals". The performance on the venue is called "field cymbals"; Walking and playing along the way called "Lu cymbals". Playing cymbals with music is a form of folk social fire party, which shows the characteristics of ancient juggling and unique religious art. This ancient and unique artistic activity has always been kept in the hands of monks. In addition to the urban and rural areas of Xun County, their activity areas also extend to hua county, Neihuang, Tangyin, Qixian, Weihui, Fengqiu, Changyuan and other surrounding counties and cities, and the reputation of "playing cymbals" has been spread by the masses in the footsteps of monks.
Monks call "playing cymbals" martial arts, and its posture, whether kicking, shooting or posture, shows Shaolin's martial arts style. In the past, musicians who played cymbals were all dressed in robes and played in awe. Among them, the performers wore short robes, long white socks and cloud shoes, which was very graceful. During the performance, they all listened to the drums of tambourines. In the field of "Lu cymbals", qigong, magic and martial arts are mixed. The main contents of the program are: playing with flying cymbals, throwing knives, playing with missiles, playing with vegetables, playing with water ropes, ropes and so on. The postures are: Su Qin carries a sword, Kuixing carries a bucket, cleans up an isolated tree, Zhang Fei cheats a horse, a phoenix grabs a lie, a lion wags its tail, a black dog leaps across its hip, and holds the moon. Some of these programs are performed during the day and some at night, but all of them are performed by Buddhist bands, and before each program is performed, a Zen talk is said, mostly seven or five ancient poems or rhymes. For example, playing with cymbals, you will say, "A small copper fork can be made by a skilled craftsman. "I am in my hands today, and I am playing in all directions." For another example, when playing missiles, you will say, "Small missiles are hydrangeas, fly to the sky and have a swim. Make a gift before the Buddha and turn it into a treasure on my head. "
Finally, Director Liu Hongliang said with regret that the monks in Xunxian County had been insisting on these acrobatic skills until the early days of the founding of New China. Later, with the development of agricultural cooperation, monks joined the production team to participate in agricultural labor, giving up the training of basic skills and the performance of artistic activities, and these juggling activities were interrupted.
Precious cliff stone carvings
In the late Tang Dynasty, wars were frequent, and people's desire for peace and tranquility was urgent. On the cliff behind the mountain xingguo temple, there is an inscription left by Hong after he visited the Dashi Buddha in the first year of Tang Jianzhong (AD 780), which is the earliest preserved mountain inscription so far. The inscription reads: "Climb to Da _, pass by, climb up to Kun Yi, press down to Hong He Gen, be loyal and virtuous, offer abundant benefits, be a mountain god and a river god, and surround the sea. On April 26th of the first year of Tang Jianzhong, Weber became a monk in Deyou, and sent messengers to persuade doctors. " It expresses Hong's good wish that swords and guns will be put into storage and the world will be at peace. Because of its high historical and artistic value, it was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit by the State Council in June 20001.
However, the historical fact that Hong mistakenly stopped Tian Yuebing, which led to the subsequent mutiny and dismissal (according to "Old Tang Shu Hong Chuan") tells us that in the late Tang Dynasty, when the national fortune declined, stability and peace were simply an idiotic dream. Next to it is the inscription of Jiangjiaole, which records a large-scale rebellion in Li Xilie in the history of the Tang Dynasty, only four years apart from the inscription of Hong. It is recorded in the article that after the victory of the counter-insurgency, the soldiers followed the practice of "Ma Yuan's expedition to the south, and built flags on copper pillars", washing their troops at the foot of the mountain, brushing their horses and Dou Xian's northern expedition, and giving joy to Yanran.
Cliff stone carvings in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are distributed on the cliff behind Taiping xingguo temple, silently telling the ups and downs of history and the changing situation.
xingguo temple
Address: Xun County, Hebi City, Henan Province