Feel the serenity of the thousand-year-old temple

During the Spring Festival in 2019, our family will return to Nanchang as planned for the Spring Festival. The son said that for the convenience of visiting relatives and friends, New year's parties and activities, he insisted on driving there. This is the first time we have driven far since we changed the cart. Fortunately, their daughter-in-law could also drive, and the two rotated for more than ten hours and returned to their hometown a year ago.

On the day of the second year of junior high school, there was a rare sunny day in Nanchang, and the son suggested that he take his grandchildren and parents out to play. Among the choices of scenic spots in the province, the children finally chose Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain as the destination for an one-day tour. I guess I may have spent too much time in the noisy and noisy places of the metropolis. I want to change the environment to experience the serenity and tranquillity of Buddhist shrines.

At about 9: 00 in the morning, our party of three generations and six people came to the Donglin Temple on Lushan Mountain, which is more than 100 kilometers from home. after a more than two-hour drive, when we approached the Donglin Temple, we saw long queues of cars on both sides of the road entering the temple. Cars, vans, motorcycles and other vehicles of different sizes have already been parked. We used all the available space to find a space to park the car, so we had to go to the temple on foot and blend into the bustling crowd!

When I entered the temple, my son told me and my wife that in order not to disturb your activities of visiting and relaxing and worshiping Buddha, they would lead the two grandchildren to play, so you can move freely.

Donglin Temple, located at the western foot of Lushan Mountain, is the birthplace of Jingshi Zong. It was founded by Huiyuan, a famous oriental monk in the Jin Dynasty, in the ninth year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 384), more than 1600 years ago. It is connected by rafters and Motong, Danhui Biying, and its scale is so far that it is called the residence of ten thousand monks. It is one of the eight Buddhist centers in China.

In the Tang Dynasty, Donglin Temple was very popular, and the teachings of Huiyuan and Donglin were also introduced into Japan after monk Jianzhen traveled to Japan to give lectures. It is said that Donglin religion in Japan originated here. In history, Donglin Temple has made contributions to the cultural exchanges and friendly exchanges between China and Nepal, China and India, and China and Japan.

In the south of the temple, there is a clear stream in front of the temple. Tiger Creek detour to the west, across the stream is a stone arch bridge, which is the place where the story of Huxi Sanxiao takes place in the cultural history of our country. Crossing the Huxi Bridge, about 100 meters northbound is the first mountain gate of Donglin Temple, on which hangs the stone carvings of Jin Jian Donglin Temple. On the hill to the west of Donglin Temple, there is Huiyuan Tomb Pagoda, the first ancestor of Oriental Buddhism Pure Land sect.

Countless literati have left famous ink marks in Donglin Temple and Xilin Temple, such as Bai Juyi's chanting of Donglin Temple and White Lotus, and Lu you's title Xilin Wall. There are many celebrities associated with Donglin Temple, such as Tao Yuanming, Meng Haoran, Jianzhen Master, Han Yu, Wang Yangming, Huang Tingjian, Wang Anshi, Su Dongpo, Yue Fei, Lu you, Zhu Xi, Kang Youwei and so on.

There are many cultural relics in the temple, such as: the Tang Dynasty Zunsheng Tuoroni Sutra Building (AD 683), which is the oldest extant stone carving in Donglin Temple; in the past, the translation platform invited the scriptures of the Western regions to the translation site of Donglin Temple; the remnant monument of Liu Gongquan; the inscription of Kang Youwei; and the preface of Li Yong's Donglin Temple Stele. Congmingquan, out of Muchi, Dharma Protection Hercules, Liu Chaosong, Xie Lingyun, Lushan Huiyuan Monument, Wang Yangming Poetry Stele and so on.

Such a profound cultural heritage has formed a unique Donglin Pure Land culture. Today, the Pure Land has reached all over the world. Donglin Temple has frequent contacts with Japan, Singapore, the United States, Canada, Malaysia and other countries, as well as Buddhist circles in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Jingzong culture is used to build a golden bridge for foreign exchanges, communicating the links between different countries, regions and nationalities.

The biggest highlight of Donglin Temple on Lushan Mountain is that it has no commercial smell. There are no tickets, no incense goods, free incense, no fortune-telling, but there are many volunteers providing services. It is a true Buddhist shrine.

During this trip to Donglin Temple, a pair of couplets jumped into my mind and impressed me: morning bells and twilight drums awakened celebrities in the world, and the Buddha called back Kuhai fans to come to the monastery, mostly to seek peace of mind. Although there are many people here, everything is so quiet and tranquil, the steps of people walking, the posture of looking at the scenery, the voice of whispering conversation, every temple, and even those scenery, all give people a feeling of serenity and solemnity. Buddhism is quiet. It's a quiet land.

According to others, when you go to Donglin Temple, you must go to the smart spring behind the temple to drink smart spring water, climb the pagoda behind the mountain, and feel the serenity of the thousand-year-old temple. The tower above is majestic and tall, and there are many statues of Buddha embedded in the tower, and there are also statues of Buddha on each floor. The upper tower, also known as Shili Pagoda, is set up by Buddha Tuoba Dhara Zen master. When he first came from the western region, he brought several Sakyashiri to be buried here. The original tower has been renovated several times, but now it was rebuilt in 1998.

Further up the bluestone road in the bamboo forest, you will come to the highest point of the temple. Along the way, you will find many sincere tourists who take one step and pay three respects. The Buddhists walked up the stairs, and several Buddhists climbed up step by step, and several old people in their seventies were also very pious. I was shocked by the sight.

My wife and I went to the top of the tower in one breath and, at the hint of others, went into the temple to ask for lots. We lit incense candles, worshiped the Bodhisattva, and went to the abbot to draw lots. I won the lottery, but my wife was very lucky and accidentally drew lots. The abbot congratulated and congratulated him, saying that it was not easy to draw lots, and that he needed blessings for the rest of his life. When we came out of the temple, according to the will of the Bodhisattva, we walked nine times around the pagoda to show that the Bodhisattva bless the Tian Chang Di Jiu (Eternal Dumpling) and live a long life. We walked lightly, counting circles, looking at the distant scenery, tall and straight bamboo forest, lush, green as the sea, shaded, in the forest sea ancient temple, as if there is a paradise like elegance and purity. Look at the people around us. We seem to realize something and have mixed feelings.

Nanchang, February 16, 2019