Guoen Temple consists of Banshan Pavilion, Shanmen Archway, King Kong Hall, Daxiong Hall, Sixth Patriarch Hall, Abbot's Room, and the corridors on both sides include Zhutian Buddha Hall, Zen Room, Guanyin Hall, Sixth Patriarch Memorial Hall, Five Hundred Arhats Hall, Baoen Pagoda and other buildings The main entrance of the temple hangs a plaque inscribed with the imperial inscription written by Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty: "Edict bestows upon Guoen Temple", giving people a sense of grandeur and nobility, bearing the national title of Guoen Temple; the memorial arch on the mountain gate has three inscriptions: "The First Place" The big characters and the door couplet are "Only when you make progress will you know that the mountain is number one, and when you enter the door, you will realize that the earth is unparalleled." It gives people the feeling of a sudden flash of inspiration, and the feeling of "thinking for thousands of years and seeing thousands of miles".
Throughout the Guoen Temple, the temples and halls are built against the mountains, well-proportioned, each with its own characteristics and integrated into one.
Guoen Temple is backed by Longshan Mountain, so it is also called "Longshan Temple". The mountain gate of Guoen Temple faces west. In front of the square at the main entrance of the temple is a golden vase-like lotus pond. The lotus flowers reflect the sun and are a special kind of red. A 10-meter-long giant dragon leaps across it, with a compelling momentum. A pair of giant dragons seize the treasure. The three-dimensional carvings are majestic and majestic on the high wall in front of the temple that is nearly 100 meters long. After unique decoration, the temple is sophisticated and has a spectacular layout, with a construction area of more than 10,000 square meters;
The main body of Guoen Temple is a platform made of three-level rectangular boulders arranged in Doukan style. The temple is built up in sequence according to the mountain topography. It is divided into three interior halls, namely the Heavenly King's Hall, the Mahavira Hall and the Sixth Patriarch's Hall. On both sides are the Buddhist halls and Zen rooms of Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, Mahasthamaprapta, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra. On the side of the temple are buildings such as the Guanyin Hall and the Repaying Enlightenment Pagoda.
Guoen Temple is a famous Lingnan temple that integrates the essence of Tang Dynasty architectural art. It is backed by green mountains and faces the Luxi wilderness. It is surrounded by lush trees, distant mountains, birds singing and flowers fragrant, and the environment is quiet.
The Longshan Mountain where Guoen Temple is located is called "Kasaya Ridge" by the locals. There are three peaks on the ridge, which are called "Sanbaoding". There is a mountain range winding down from the "Baoding Peak", which looks like a swimming dragon. Guoen Temple is It is built at the "Longshou" with an altitude of 164 meters, so it is also called "Longshan Temple".
Longshan, the mountain is not high but the bells are beautiful, and the Luxi River, the water is not deep but clear and clear, making people feel the clarity of the river and the green mountains. All these make people realize the shortness, preciousness and beauty of life.
Stepping into the mountain gate archway, you can see the three characters "No. 1" written on the archway, and the couplet reads "Only when you make progress will you know the mountain is number one, and when you enter, you will realize that the place is unparalleled." A sudden inspiration came to my mind, and I felt as if my thoughts could last thousands of years and my vision could reach thousands of miles.
Passing through the Shanmen Archway is the square in front of Guoen Temple. The grass and trees in the venue are green, the water is gurgling, the green Bodhi leaves have grown, and the wishing stickers of devotees have been hung, and the pagoda incense burners are full of cigarettes...
Longshan was originally a famous mountain, and the Guoen Temple was already built on the mountain. From the moment Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, opened the altar to preach, it became the place where the Sixth Patriarch Huineng founded the Taoist temple to propagate Buddhism. It is known as "China's "The birthplace of Zen" and "the first sacred place in Lingnan". Later, a Japanese eminent monk called it "the ancestral court of the ancestral court".
Guoen Temple is built on the mountain. It is large in scale and neatly laid out. The buildings are connected into one, looming in the dense forest of the valley of Longshan... The standing Longshan, with its still dignity, restrains the wanton pursuit of lust. Its Zen sound and sound symbolize the rebirth and baptism of the human soul.
…
At dawn the next day, people from Liuzu Township came to the Guoen Temple hall early.
"Dang-dang-dang-", the morning bell rang. At this time, in the main hall, red candles were burning high, wisps of incense were shining, the Buddha's light was shining, and Sanskrit sounds were singing.
Under the rising sun, the solemn and majestic palace is filled with a cordial and harmonious atmosphere today. Waves of elegant Sanskrit sounds lingered in the hall, whirling between heaven and earth.
Hundreds of oil lamps were burning in the main hall, and the sandalwood was filled with smoke. On the Buddhist altar, the golden statue of Buddha Sakyamuni smiled happily, holy and kindly. In front of the Buddha statue, devout fellow villagers of the Sixth Patriarch kneeled.
"Folks, what's going on with you? What are you doing kneeling down? Get up quickly." Under the guidance of Shenhui and Fahai, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng came out of the abbot's room and staggered towards the hall. He bent down to help the villagers in front of him, and at the same time greeted the villagers cordially and saluted!
Amidst cordial greetings, Shenhui and Fahai led the Sixth Patriarch Huineng into the hall.
On the big red throne of the pulpit, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was not wearing the cassock that radiated wonderful brilliance and was passed down by the ancestors of the past generations. Instead, he was wearing an ordinary monk's robe, which made him appear more cordial and peaceful.
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng sat cross-legged on a futon. Since then, the wanderer who has been wandering for most of his life has finally returned to his hometown, and finally met his fellow villagers and gathered together happily!
Facing the villagers under the hall, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng's eyes filled with tears. In his blurred eyes, he could see his mother's kind face, his father's pain, the paparazzi who grew up playing with clay pots and going up the mountain to collect firewood together, Wen Zai, and the passionate Xiaolan. , kind folks, the back of the Fifth Patriarch... scenes passed before his eyes...
After a long time, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng calmed down and looked at the villagers under the hall affectionately. At this moment, he had many, many things to say to the villagers. But for a moment I didn’t know where to start... Thousands of words turned into one sentence: "Hello, fellow citizens!"
As soon as the Sixth Patriarch Huineng finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the hall.
"Hello, Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch!" the villagers said in unison excitedly.
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng stood up amidst warm applause, clasped his hands, bowed to the audience, then sat back on the futon, and began to talk to the villagers about the Zen he advocated - "Zen and the Six Paramitas of Zen" The Zen of Zen is the same thing, but it is also two different things; it can be said to be the same thing, but different from the Zen of the Four Zen and Eight Concentrations. As we all know, there are four maxims in Zen Buddhism, which are called special transmissions outside the teaching. Words directly point to the human heart, and one can become a Buddha by seeing one's nature. Since it is a separate transmission from outside the teachings and does not establish words, language should be eliminated, so why should we talk about it? Because without the help of words and words, it is very difficult to enter Zen, and it is impossible to achieve it. Enter through the door. So, here, I have an explanation. The so-called not establishing words does not mean not using words. The straight path does not establish words, that is, the two characters are not established, and they are also words. Therefore, those who do not establish words mean that they are not attached to words, but And we cannot leave words, we still have to use language and words as a finger to mark the moon, because when we point to the moon, we forget to point to the moon. This is the function of language."
After the Sixth Patriarch Huineng made a concise opening statement on "Zen Zen", he then turned to the topic of the origin of Zen:
First, let me talk about the origin of Zen. Of course, this issue can only be discussed briefly and cannot be expanded upon. If you want to expand the explanation, even if you spend several days and nights dedicated to teaching the origin of Zen, you can’t make it clear or clear. At the same time, speaking like that is a more academic approach, which is not suitable for an occasion like ours.
Regarding the origin of Zen, I would like to explain it in two points: one is in India and the other is in China.
As we all know, in India, the origin of Zen is that when the Buddha was approaching Nirvana in his later years, one day he held up flowers and showed them to the public at the Lingshan meeting. Millions of people did not know what his intention was. At this moment, only Venerable Kassapa was smiling. At this time, the Buddha said: "I have the Dharma Eye Store, the wonderful mind of Nirvana, the reality is formless, the subtle Dharma door, I don't have any written words, I teach it to outsiders, and I give it to Maha Kassapa." This is what Zen calls Zen. origin.
Of course, the purpose of this koan is just to point out that Zen is "a separate teaching from outside the teachings, does not establish words, directly points to the human heart, and becomes a Buddha by seeing one's nature." It cannot be viewed from the historical and textual perspective of us modern people. Whether there is this thing or not, whether it is history or legend, has nothing to do with Zen. Because what Zen wants to explain is neither history nor legend. Even history cannot explain Zen. Therefore, the public case of Buddha holding flowers and showing them to the public at the Lingshan meeting is the origin of Zen in India. Venerable Mahakasyapa is the first ancestor of Western Heaven Zen, which has been passed down to the 28th ancestor of Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma came to China to teach the Dharma. He was not only the 28th ancestor of Western Heaven, but also the first ancestor of China. His teaching of the Dharma went through many ups and downs. When Master Bodhidharma came to China, it was a period when Chinese Buddhist teachings were prevalent, and the scope of teachings was basically ready. Under such an environment, it would be quite difficult for Master Bodhidharma to come to China to teach the Zen method of "separate teachings without establishing written texts". Patriarch Bodhidharma arrived in Nanjing and had a question and answer session with Emperor Wu of Liang, but there was no tacit understanding between them. So he had no choice but to bid farewell to Jinling and follow the route to Chang'an directly to Songshan Mountain in Henan. There, I faced the wall for nine years, waiting for someone to come. From the simple fact of facing the wall for nine years, you can imagine the difficulty of promoting Zen Buddhism at that time.
It took nine years before the Second Patriarch Shenguang went to Songshan to seek refuge with Zen Master Bodhidharma and seek peace of mind. Shenguang was later called Huike, which was changed to him by Bodhidharma. I believe everyone is familiar with this koan, so I won’t take up too much time talking about it.
Huike received the method of peace of mind from Bodhidharma, which was the beginning of Chinese Zen. It took more than two hundred years for it to reach me.
In my past, it was passed down from person to person. The so-called six generations passed down the light. These six generations were basically single passes. Why a single pass? It's not that I don't want to spread it more, but it's a rare person. Among them, from the Second Patriarch to the Third Patriarch and the Fourth Patriarch, very few people believe in it. The fourth ancestor is Master Daoxin of Huangmei Shuangfeng Mountain. That place is very good, a place where talented people come out. It was only from the Fourth Patriarch that he opened a dojo and established a base for teaching the Dharma. The Fourth Patriarch "opened the Zen door wide and received many disciples." That is to say, it was only after the Fourth Patriarch that Zen Buddhism really gradually opened up. Starting from the Fourth Patriarch, he not only opened up the situation by spreading the Dharma, but also found new ways in terms of living resources, farming and supporting himself, and only then did he truly get out of the dilemma of teaching the Dharma.
It can be seen from this that at that time, the vast number of believers' resources were under the control of the masters who promoted the teachings, and the method of transmitting the heart was not accepted by many people at that time. Without the resources of believers, life must be very difficult. Begging for alms is not an option in China, and there are no believers. What should we do? In the mountainous areas, people can only farm and feed themselves.
The Fourth Patriarch's monastery is said to have 1,500 people living there. They open their own fields, grow their own food, and earn their own living. From then on, the fourth ancestor passed on to the fifth ancestor, and the fifth ancestor passed on to the sixth ancestor, and Zen Buddhism really blossomed in China.
The origin of Zen Buddhism in China is roughly as follows: Bodhidharma started it, the second and third ancestors continued it, and the fourth, fifth and sixth ancestors officially established a large scale. After the Sixth Patriarch, Zen Buddhism developed extensively. During this period, it went through more than 200 years of arduous transmission of the teachings. The origin of Zen Buddhism in China is roughly like this.
