1. The radiance of Buddha nature
In September, when the sweet osmanthus was fragrant, a group of friends and I set out from Kunming and made a special trip to Jizu Mountain.
Jizu Mountain was named Qingdian Mountain in ancient times, also known as Jiuqu Mountain. It is located in Binchuan County in Dali region, covering an area of about fifty square kilometers. There are clusters of peaks and ridges, with nine twists and turns, three branches extending forward and one behind, like chicken feet, so the mountain is named after its shape.
The fame of Jizu Mountain is related to Venerable Kasyapa, the great disciple of Sakyamuni.
"Wu Deng Hui Yuan" records:
After saying the verse, (Kasyapa) took the monk's pear robe and entered Jizu Mountain to wait for Ci Shi to be born. That is, the fifth year of King Zhou Xiao's reign, Bingchen.
"A Drop of Caoxi" also records:
One day Ananda asked: Brother, besides the golden cassock passed down by the World Honored One, what else can be passed down? Kassapa called Ananda, and Ananda agreed. Kassapa said: "Turn down the pole in front of the door and pay it to the Venerable Ananda as soon as you put it down." After renewing my long-cherished promise, I will bid farewell to King Ashi, go to Jizu Mountain and sit on the ground, thinking to myself that now I am being swept away by excrement, holding the Buddha and Sangha Gali, I will pass through fifty-seven years, six hundred and thousand years. When Maitreya was born, Ananda personally carved a statue of the venerable one and left it at the Huashou Gate. The small statue now enshrined in Kassapa Hall comes from ancient times.
In addition, similar records are found in books such as Journey to the West of the Tang Dynasty and Fa Xian Zhuan. Kassapa is one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni. Chinese Zen Buddhism lists him as the first generation patriarch to pass down Buddhism. It is said that Kassapa came to Jizu Mountain to spread Buddhism with a gold-threaded cassock and the relic tooth, and entered the Huashou Gate at the foot of Tianzhu Peak, the main peak of Jizu Mountain, to wait for the birth of Maitreya Bodhisattva. To this day, there are still many relics of Kasyapa in the mountains for people to pay homage to. However, the above-mentioned records and legends have not been confirmed by historical data. Judging from the time and scope of Buddhist activities in India at that time, it is impossible for Kasyapa to come to Jizu Mountain. For this reason, scholars and Buddhists throughout the ages have been arguing endlessly. Scholars re-examined the evidence and found that the monks relied on the Buddhist scriptures, each relying on it and refusing to give in to each other. This can be regarded as one of the great unsolved mysteries of Buddhism.
Although this debate will continue for a long time, it is an indisputable fact that Jizu Mountain became a famous Buddhist mountain because of Kasyapa.
Chinese Buddhism was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Although Yunnan at that time belonged to the Nanzhao Kingdom, Buddhism from the Central Plains had already influenced western Yunnan. In the Song Dynasty, the Nanzhao Kingdom broke away from the rule of the Central Plains. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that Kublai Khan destroyed the Nanzhao Kingdom and western Yunnan was re-integrated into the territory of China. As a part of the Central Plains culture, the spread of Buddhism in western Yunnan reached its climax during this period. In the entire western Yunnan, there is almost no mountain without a temple, and no temple without a monk. Buddhism in Jizu Mountain also entered its heyday at this time. There are 36 temples and 72 nunneries in the whole mountain, and the number of monks at most is more than 5,000, making it a truly famous Buddhist mountain. Since the history of the Yuan Dynasty was too short, most of the Buddhist historical sites left in Jizu Mountain date from the second half of the Ming Dynasty. In the previous Tang and Song Dynasties, although Zen Buddhism flourished in the Central Plains, the practice of banging and drinking and the practice of public cases never disturbed the evening drums and morning bells of Jizu Mountain. As a famous mountain, it was also omitted from the "Dongtian Buddha Diji" written by the Song Dynasty. And none of the great writers of the Tang and Song dynasties like Li, Du, Ou and Su had ever visited the peaks and deep ravines of Jizu Mountain and left a few words about its forest and spring demeanor.
As a mountain, Jizu Mountain is ancient; as a famous mountain, it is much younger than the three mountains and five mountains in the Central Plains; as a famous Buddhist mountain, even though it has the oldest legend, even though the Ming Dynasty monk Da Cuo , it has been called together with Wutai, Emei, Putuo and Jiuhua. However, due to its remote location, its influence in the country cannot be compared with the four famous mountains. In this century, the reputation of Jizu Mountain has gradually faded away. Especially after the 1980s, the State Council listed Jizu Mountain as a key Buddhist activity site and opened it to the outside world. Coupled with the improvement of transportation conditions, the number of tourists and pilgrims in Jizu Mountain gradually increased. , now there are hundreds of thousands of tourists going to the mountain every year.
We, a group of eleven people in three cars, set out from Dali yesterday afternoon, had dinner in Binchuan County, and then drove up the simple road in Jizu Mountain under the thick night sky. The danger along the way was indescribable. When we arrived at the Man Yue Yuan Hotel where we were staying, it was already midnight. At that time, the mountains were high and the moon was small, and the rocks were as green as ink; the pines were undulating in the wind, and the bells and drums could not be heard. In addition, the hotel's electric lights are only available until ten o'clock in the evening, and each room is only illuminated by one candle. Everyone was already exhausted, so they no longer had any interest in night excursions or night talks, and went to bed separately.
The crisp and melodious chirping of birds woke me up from my sleep. When I opened my eyes, I saw masses of dense green, together with the soft dawn, squeezing straight into the room from the cracks in the window. He hurriedly put on his clothes, washed up, and walked out of the gate of Full Moon Garden.
Only then did I see clearly that the hotel was in the middle of a mountain, surrounded by thousands of pine and chestnut trees, forming lush and moist green cliffs. Full Moon Garden is at the bottom of this cluster of cliffs.
Take a walk along a narrow path on the right side of Full Moon Garden. The path is lined with ferns and cattails, their stems and leaves covered with dewdrops. After walking no more than ten meters, my two trouser legs were already soaked. The path led to a gentle slope covered with shrubs. When I walked there, I suddenly heard the sound of water. Looking for the sound, I saw another unfathomable canyon not far ahead. It turns out we are not at the bottom. This canyon dropped from my feet. The ethereal forest trees are curling up like wisps of smoke. Occasionally, there are a few rocks that stand out from the trees and are covered with green lichen. The intermittent sound of water rose from beneath the rocks and trees. Standing alone among the calamus bushes, bathing in the colorful and fragrant green rain and the sound of the stream spraying snow over the cliff, my heart was suddenly filled with the joy of being born in this world.
In recent years, I have often visited famous mountains and rivers, and also walked through some famous Buddhist mountains. Although they are all famous, their inner qualities are completely different. Huangshan and Zhangjiajie are famous for their unique rock peaks and ravines, while Putuo and Jiuhua are famous for their thick and simple mountain shapes. This is in line with the simple and unpretentious style of Buddhism. It seems that the selection of Bodhisattva dojos also has common aesthetic principles. According to the Buddhist point of view, everything contains Buddha nature. Since everything exists, of course it includes mountains, rivers, grass and trees. Any form of life is worthy of admiration, and mountains, rivers, vegetation and trees also have their own life forms. The trees are green and yellow, the flowers are withering and blooming, the mist is curling up, and the streams are flowing, which are the wisdom activities of their respective lives. In all kinds of activities, in the light and in the sound, there is the presence of Buddha. On the first morning when I came to Jizu Mountain, I was faced with the mysterious artistic conception given by the mountains and rivers in front of me. The incredible world and unreasonable life that I had brought up the mountain were all immediately melted into the light of Buddha nature.
As I continued walking along this narrow mountain road, the sound of water gradually faded away, and I suddenly heard another sound; low and long, like a slow singing voice. This voice is a bit sad and has a certain temptation. The further I walked, the clearer the sound became, and I could even hear the lower sound of wooden fish mixed in with it. This is the chanting sound of the monks. Finally, I saw the red walls and black cornices of a temple on the other side of the forest.
2. Nostalgia for the past in Zhusheng Temple
This is the consecration temple.
Before going up the mountain, I had studied the classics about Jizu Mountain. Zhusheng Temple was originally called Bo Men'an and was built at the foot of Bo Men Peak on the side of Full Moon Peak. It was founded by a layman named Chen during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. In Jizu Mountain, Bo Men'an is not a famous temple. Now, Zhusheng Temple, which was rebuilt from it, has become the largest temple in the mountain.
This reconstruction work was completed by monk Xuyun.
I have already talked about the life of Monk Xuyun in another article. Here, I will only talk about his relationship with Jizu Mountain.
In 1902, the 63-year-old monk Xuyun, after paying homage to Mount Emei, passed through Shaijing Pass and Huoran Mountain, went to Huili Prefecture and entered the Yunnan Province border, passed through Yongbei County, crossed the Jinsha River and came to Jizu Mountain . This is Monk Xuyun’s second visit to Jizu Mountain. The first time was when he was 50 years old, when he went to the mountains to worship the relics of Kassapa Bodhisattva. At that time, all the monks in the temples on the mountain were descendants of each other, regardless of whether they were monks or laymen. When foreign monks like Xuyun came, they were not allowed to take orders at all. Xuyun deeply felt the corruption of the monks in the mountain and vowed to revive Buddhism in Jizu Mountain. However, he knew that the opportunity was not ripe at that time, so he could only leave sadly. This time when he came back for the second time, he first went to various temples in Jizu Mountain to offer incense. These temples were still the same as before, and he was not allowed to hang out. He could only sleep in the open under the wild trees on the deserted slopes with the monk Jiechen who was traveling with him. Despite this, the monks in Jizu Mountain were still afraid of this foreign monk's famous name and did not allow him to live on the mountain. He had no choice but to bring Jiechen and tearfully down the mountain to Kunming. He stayed in seclusion at Fuxing Temple for one year. In the spring of 1904, due to the entreaty of monk Qimin and others of Guihua Temple, Xuyun came out of seclusion and first taught the "Yuanjue Sutra" and "The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters" in Guihua Temple, with more than 3,000 converts. Later, at the invitation of Master Mengfo, he went to Qiongzhu Temple to lecture on the Shurangama Sutra. For a time, Xuyun's reputation in Kunming was huge. Zhang Songlin and Li Fuxing, then governors of Dali Prefecture, led a group of officials and gentry to make a special trip to Kunming to welcome Xu Yun to the Three Pagodas Chongsheng Temple in Dali Prefecture. Admiral Li kindly invited Xuyun to stay in Chongsheng Temple. Xuyun said: "I don't live in the city. I have long made a wish to place orders in Jizu Mountain, but the descendants on the mountain won't allow it. If you, the protectors of the law, can encircle a piece of land in Jizu Mountain for me, I would like to place orders there. Everyone, in order to save the monks in central Yunnan and restore Kasyapa's monastery, this old man has fulfilled his wish." Admiral Li praised the good deeds and ordered the magistrate of Binchuan County to handle it. Thanks to official support, Xuyun returned to Jizu Mountain. He did not want to live in any of the ready-made monasteries with monks and abbots. Instead, he found a dilapidated courtyard to settle down in. This dilapidated courtyard was Bo Yuan.
Since Jiaqing, no one has lived in Bo Yuan. Xuyun was stationed here and discovered that the reason why the incense in Bo Yuan was not strong was because there was a huge stone like a white tiger squatting there on the right side of the gate, which caused the Buddha's position to be uneasy. He decided to break up the boulder and build a life-release pond there to resolve the ominous sign of the white tiger. So a mason was invited to cut the stone. Who knew that after several days of cutting, there was not even a crack in the boulder. Then he peeled off the dirt around the boulder and found that it was a huge boulder without roots, nine feet four inches high and seven feet six inches wide. The top is flat and you can sit in lotus position. Xuyun summoned more than a hundred mountain people and asked them to move the boulder twenty-eight feet to the left. The mountain people worked hard for three days, but the boulder could not move. The mountain people felt that their efforts were in vain, so they dispersed in droves. Xu Yun knew in his heart that if this huge stone was not moved, the reconstruction of Bo Men'an would not be successful. So he prayed to the Jialan, chanted the Buddha's mantra, and led more than ten monks who followed him to move the huge stone to its original position.
This incident caused quite a stir in Jizu Mountain. People from far and near came to see this miracle, and they were all amazed and amazed by the divine help. The good deeds were titled "Clouds Move Stones", and there were many poems written by scholar-bureaucrats. Xuyun himself also wrote two poems:
Looking for strange traces on the craggy rocks, the moss still retains ancient seals,
The sky has not yet been completed and is left to me; the clouds see the changes and want to follow the dragon;
I dare to move mountains to laugh at my stupidity, and I have heard the law but I have never met a tiger.
Since the eight winds cannot blow, the sky has always been accompanied by two or three pine trees.
Bo Yu Peak embraces the Brahma Palace, and the golden tutu is still there.
I have traveled thousands of miles to visit the Tao, and now I have traveled a thousand miles to the mountains;
There are moss marks on the rocks in the deep mountains, fish shadows play on the pines in the pond under the bright moon,
Overlooking the outer world of Kyushu, the sky wind blows several bells!
As the boulder moved, Xuyun stood firm on Jizu Mountain. After that, he traveled thousands of miles to raise funds for the reconstruction of Bo Yuan. He walked from Tengchong to Yangon in Myanmar via Wanding, then crossed the sea to Penang Island, then to Taiwan and Japan, and then took a boat from Osaka to Shanghai. This journey lasted for more than a year. During this period, I raised money and sent it to Jizu Mountain one after another. Jiechen, who stayed in the mountain, supervised the construction of Bo Yu'an. By the time Xuyun arrived in Shanghai, the newly built Baoyu Temple had been completed and was renamed Yingxiang Temple by Xuyun. The new temple is magnificent and has become the most magnificent Zen temple in the mountain. At this time, although Emperor Guangxu was in power, the power of Empress Dowager Cixi was overwhelming, and Xuyun's fame also caused a sensation in the capital. Prince Su Shanqi and a group of princes and ministers who accompanied him during the Gengzi Rebellion jointly asked Xuyun to come to the capital to protect the Dharma and preach. Xuyun stayed in Beijing for several months, and at the initiative of Prince Su, the Minister of Internal Affairs presented a memorial to Emperor Guangxu requesting that the Tibetan Sutra be awarded to Jizu Mountain. On June 6, the 32nd year of Guangxu's reign, the emperor announced that the Yingxiang Temple at Boyu Peak in Jizu Mountain, Yunnan, would be given as a gift to the National Protectorate and Consecrated Zen Temple, and the "Long Zang" and the full set of Luan Jia would be bestowed upon him. He was granted the title of Abbot Xuyun, Master of Fo Ci Hong Dharma.
This is how Bo Yuan became Zhusheng Temple.
Now, I am standing in front of the mountain gate of Zhusheng Temple, feeling a faint excitement in my heart. In the late autumn of last year, in the vast twilight, I visited the last stop on my journey to the Xuyun Buddhist Kingdom - Zhenru Zen Temple in Yunju Mountain, Jiangxi Province. In that famous temple, which is like a natural castle, I heard the auspicious evening bell, rippling in the scarlet maple forest and the quiet smoke. A year later, I stood in Jizu Mountain on the southwest border and once again experienced the light of Buddha's compassion that filled the earth. At this time, the sky was full of morning glow. The red maple leaves, white reeds, green pine forests and dark brown rocks all became crystal clear and gentle due to this bright glow. Xuyun rebuilt many temples throughout his life, the most famous of which are Nanhua Temple in Caoxi, the ancestral home of Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, Yunmen Temple in Ruyuan, the ancestral home of Zen master Wen Yan, Huating Temple in Xishan, Kunming, and the Zhu Temple in Jizu Mountain. Holy Mosque. According to the Shurangama Sutra, since the birth of Sakyamuni, the first thousand years have been the Era of True Dharma, the second thousand years have been the Era of Immortal Dharma, and the following ten thousand years have been the Era of Ending Dharma. Xuyun was born in 1840 and died in 1959 at the age of 120. The day he passed away was in the year 2986 of the Buddhist calendar, and there were only 14 years left in the Buddhist image era. From 1973, Buddhism began to enter the 10,000-year End of Dharma Age. According to the classics, the first Zen master in the era of Chinese Buddhist iconography should be Yunmen Wenyan, and the last Zen master must be Xuyun. From Yunmen Wenyan to Xuyun, Chinese Zen flourished and declined again and again. By the time Xuyun lived in the world, Zen Buddhism was not only unknown to the world, but even the monks in the temple could not afford a cup of Zhaozhou tea or half a Yunmen cake. The two most important sects of Chinese Buddhism are Pure Land and Zen. There have been disputes between the two sects from the beginning, and they can even be unable to reconcile when they are fierce. Only a few great masters in history were able to integrate Zen and the Pure Land and create a renaissance of Buddhism. There is no doubt that Xuyun belongs to this category of great Buddhist figures. Zen is the Buddhism that best embodies Chinese characteristics. Xuyun alone inherited the five schools of Zen, including Linji, Fayan, Caodong, Weiyang, and Yunmen. The so-called "one flower and five leaves" is the master of Zen. At the same time, he was deeply influenced by the Pure Land sect and was supported by monks from various sects. Although "heaven will give great responsibilities to these people," we are in the transition period from the Dharma-like era to the Dharma-ending era, and personal efforts to move mountains will not be able to hold back the trend of the times. This was deeply felt from the moment I stepped into the consecration temple.
The mountain gate and the main hall are not on the same central axis, and the gate is on the right side of the hall. Xuyun is well versed in Feng Shui, and there must be a reason for building it this way. The front of the hall is a large screen wall, with side doors on both sides. There is a couplet on the door heads of the left and right doors, which together are:
take a step back and think
How many times can I come back?
This couplet is as clear as words, but its meaning is profound.
Beyond the screen wall is a deep canyon. If you take a step back, you will be in the canyon. There are gurgling streams, colorful wildflowers, dense jungles and bluestone paths leading outside the mountains. The monks who strictly abide by the "Baizhang Qinggui" and practice asceticism are unwilling to set foot on this bluestone path and go to the city outside the mountain. Cities are places where people are full of desire. People have become slaves to material things, greedily seeking wealth and sensory pleasure at the expense of their original pure spirit. "I entered the city yesterday and came back with tears streaming down my face." This is the feeling shared by both cynics and ascetics. When a mentally and physically exhausted person occasionally escapes from the worldly life of intrigues and deceit, and comes to this monastery in the mountains, facing the solemn light of Buddha, he will experience the kind of relaxation he has never had before. This is the liberation of the bound heart. The Buddha statues, incense, magical instruments and cassocks in front of him all shone with charming brilliance. "Oh, this place is so nice, I should go here often to worship!" People who have a joyful heart will often sigh like this. But, how many times can you come back? Once you walk back to the city, you are like a top again, being whipped by the whip of life, spinning involuntarily and unable to stop for even a moment.
I think that most of the pilgrims who come to the consecration temple cannot understand the profound meaning of this couplet. In other words, more people have no chance to see this couplet because they are obsessed with the kaleidoscope-like city and do not want to enter Jizu Mountain to cleanse their polluted souls.
This is why there are so few pilgrims in Zhusheng Temple.
I walked into the Mahavira Hall. Incense smoke was curling up, bells were scattered everywhere, and the monks who had attended morning classes had dispersed. The Buddha statue illuminated by the sun is still so solemn, and does not show even the slightest trace of sorrow because it is in the age of the end of the Dharma. After worshiping the Buddha devoutly, I wandered gently in the main hall, recalling Xuyun's hard work in rebuilding the Zhusheng Temple 90 years ago. The "Cloud Moves Stone" statue is no longer visible outside the temple, but the poem Xuyun chanted for this purpose, "Looking down at the dusty objects in Kyushu, and the sky wind blows several bells," still burns in my heart like balls of flames. .
At this time, a very old monk came over, I bowed and asked him: "Master, how many years have you lived in the temple?"
"Three years."
"Xu Yun, are there any other attractions in this temple?"
"What Xuyun?"
The old monk's rhetorical question made me feel deeply sad. Seeing my confusion, the old monk enthusiastically explained: "There is no one named Xuyun in our temple."
I originally wanted to ask him many questions, such as when he became a monk, why he became a monk, etc., but when I saw the dirt-stained cassock on his body, I walked out of the Mahavira Hall without asking any questions.
Let the flow of history wash away the confusion of reality. Wandering in the small courtyard of the Consecration Temple, I opened my diary and recited this poem that I had copied just a few days ago:
There is a Dharma feast in the mountains, and I can retreat to Zen in my spare time.
Cold rain fell in the forest valley, and the towers were covered with purple smoke.
After the Qing Zhai is gone, I stand in front of a lamp in the middle of a verse.
Thousands of years have left empty bowls, and the heavens are everywhere.
This five-character poem titled "Listening to the Sutra and Joyful Rain at Bo Men'an" was written by Li Zhi, a famous thinker during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, when he came to pay homage to Jizu Mountain and stayed at Bo Men'an.
Fleeing to Zen when frustrated was almost a tacit retreat for ancient Chinese intellectuals. After Li Zhi won the imperial examination in his hometown of Quanzhou in 1552, he began to live as a low-level bureaucrat with a low salary for many years. It was not until he was appointed as the prefect of Yao'an in 1577 that his life turned around. Before Li Zhi was appointed as the prefect of Yao'an, he already enjoyed the reputation of a thinker and was admired by many literati and scholars. He was the most rebellious scholar of the Ming Dynasty. He pursued individual freedom even at the expense of antagonizing the bureaucracy on which he relied for survival. From a secular point of view, his appointment as the prefect of Yao'an should be the most prosperous time in his life. However, he did not miss this hard-won official position, but went to Bo Men'an in Jizu Mountain to listen to scriptures. At that time, Bo Men'an was still a newly built temple. Li Zhi only left this poem in Jizu Mountain, which shows that he had a special liking for Bo Yu'an. In addition, it also shows that only the "Dharma Banquet" at Bo Yu'an is meaningful and meaningful. The elder who lectured on the sutra was able to attract the heartstrings of this great thinker of the world with the thinking of a Zen practitioner, so that he even issued the "empty bowl for thousands of years" Sigh.
A few years after leaving Jizu Mountain, Li Zhi resolutely resigned from his official position as the prefect of Yao'an and went to Huang'an in Hubei to give lectures. A year later, he simply went to the "Zhifo Temple" in Macheng to become a monk. He wanted to use the empty bowl that had been idle for thousands of years to contain his cry for the liberation of his personality.
From Bo Yu'an to Zhusheng Temple, from Li Zhi to Xu Yun, for more than four hundred years, the noise of history has polluted the soul of China again and again. Li Zhi, who advocated freedom of individuality, and Xu Yun, who insisted on getting rid of "self-grasping", had completely different pursuits in life. In the starry sky of history, they also left their completely different echoes. However, this temple in Jizu Mountain made these two great figures resonate in the glory of "Buddha". Today, standing in the consecrated monastery, I can still feel the aftermath of that resonance. Through the silent surface of Zen, I see the vivid spirit that is about to explode in its core. It is personal and public; it belongs to Jizu Mountain and is also Chinese.
3. Talking about Zen in Jinding Temple
Jinding Temple is built on the top of Tianzhu Peak, the main peak of Jizu Mountain, which is 3,240 meters above sea level. Looking up at this peak from in front of the Zhusheng Temple, it looks majestic and unique, like a tranquil tutu between heaven and earth.
In the morning, the accompanying guide had hired horses for us to go up the mountain. From Zhusheng Temple to Jinding Temple, there is a muddy mountain road ten miles away. The mud oar was ankle-deep, making it difficult to move forward. Therefore, the mountain people developed the business of leading horses to see off guests climbing mountains. More than a dozen horses carried us, the pilgrims from the city, through the dense jungle, swaying and swaying, and we began another journey to visit Zen in Jizu Mountain.
The hiking trail that winds along the canyon with flowing springs and waterfalls is like a beautiful gallery. The sunshine on the plateau in September has absolutely no dust, so it looks particularly bright, and seems to have a little crimson color. When shining in the woods, the colors are deep and shallow, overlapping, emerald and brown, golden and ocher. They change with each other, giving people a fleeting but unforgettable beauty. And the rocks in the woods that are covered with sunshine seem to be coated with a layer of honey. They feel warm, even springy.
At the Tretchiakov Gallery in Moscow, I saw more than a dozen original works by Shishkin, the outstanding Russian painter of the 19th century. This painter, who is famous for his forest paintings, has captured the soul of the forest with his artistic brush. Walking on the mountain path of Jizu Mountain, I seemed to have entered Shishkin's dreamlike painting world. Young trees are rarely seen in the forests here. Those pines, maples, chestnuts, and beechs, from their majestic and furrowed trunks, you can imagine how ancient they are. I have not walked through many mountains, but there are not many. There are so many ancient trees on one mountain that I can only see here. It was already past ten o'clock in the morning, and wisps of mist were still lingering on the crisscrossing branches, like the sound of bells from a Buddhist temple drifting here and lingering. The occasional red-walled tower courtyard also makes you feel that it is not a "material" existence, but some kind of suddenly solidified spiritual form. This feeling was also experienced by the ancients before me.
A Ming Dynasty poem "Wandering from Jizu Mountain to Nianhua Temple":
When I arrived at Nianhua Temple, the scenery of the mountain was completely different.
The door opens into the green mist, and the pavilion stands tall in the green.
The deep path is white with frost, and the overhanging rocks are red with sunlight.
Looking across the forest at Huashou, the shadow of the tower stands in the distance.
Qing Dynasty poem "Friends Bringing Wine to the Mountains":
Ten miles of pine trees and green moss, stone bridges and flowing water around the mountains.
The old monk went into meditation and put on his clouds, and the layman came to meditate and brought wine.
When the yellow leaves fall, the stream is hidden, and the peaks bloom where the smoke breaks.
Fuqiong roars to attract black cranes, and don't forget to guess when eagles and falcons fly back.
The people who wrote the poems were neither Zen nor famous, just ordinary literati who had no knowledge of the classics. However, at this point in their career, the "mountain sentiment" they had never seen before excited their senses, leading to the rapid formation of spiritual crystallization and writing such a beautiful poem.
After riding for more than an hour, we arrived at Kasyapa Temple halfway up the mountain. There is a cable car here to climb the Golden Summit Temple. We stopped our horses and boarded the car. After more than 20 minutes, we arrived at the top of Tianzhu Peak.
Tianzhu Peak is also known as Siguan Peak. As the name suggests, standing on the highest peak of the Thirty-Six Peaks of Jizu Mountain, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery on all sides. Watch the sunrise in the east and see how this precious heart of the universe rises in the turbulent waves of the Jinsha River and magnifies the light in the chaotic world; in the west, at the Erhai Lake under Dian Cang Mountain, the waves are as flat as a mirror. Under the beautiful sun, I really don’t know. What is the wind and waves? Looking to the south, looking at the sea of clouds, beautiful buildings, jade buildings, and fiery trees and silver flowers, you can see how the changes in the Buddhist country are illusory; looking at the snow waves in the north, you can see the Lijiang Jade Dragon Snow Mountain hundreds of miles away, and a majestic swimming dragon. What a graceful gesture to swim into the vast and empty world of Bodhi.
Standing on Tianzhu Peak, the tranquil mood I felt when walking in the valley suddenly became heroic. Look at the densely clustered mountains at your feet. The big ones are like green snails, the small ones are like sparrow eggs, the trees are like burning incense, and the rocks are like bells. The mountains, rivers and clouds are vast and vast. For those who live in isolation, this is an ideal place. Sitting on the top of the mountains, you can only talk to the clouds and the wind. I think the determination of the monks who first built the temple here is truly worthy of admiration by future generations for their determination to practice asceticism. Not only is he isolated from people, but even flowers, birds, insects, and fish full of Zen spirit cannot enter this pure land.
In the short-lived Yuan Dynasty, Jinding Temple was a famous temple in western Yunnan. In the following hundreds of years, it was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, and rebuilt and destroyed again and again. From the second half of the sixteenth century to the first half of the seventeenth century, that is, the seventy or eighty years from Emperor Wanli to Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Ming's regime went from prosperity to decline, and political ominous omens followed one after another. A period that led to the collapse of a huge feudal empire. It was during this period that Jinding Temple reached its heyday. With the sponsorship of a group of officials from Yunnan at that time, it was transformed from a hut into a temple of considerable size. Later, a "Luo City" was built around the temple, and then Mu Tianbo, the hereditary Duke of Guizhou, ordered the Taihe Palace in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, to be moved to it as a treasure to guard the mountain. At this point, Jinding Temple integrates Buddhism and Taoism into one city, with the temple in front and back, Tianshi Zhang guarding the door, and the Tathagata Buddha sitting in command. It has become a grand sight and has become the first jungle in Jizu Mountain.
The reason why the country is unlucky and the poets are so lucky is because poets are a cynical bunch. When faced with many difficulties, poets are just the ones to cheer them up. But the country is unlucky and the Buddhists are lucky, which seems a bit contrary to common sense. In troubled times and the country is in turmoil, how can people have time to recite the Buddha's name? However, if you think about it a little deeper, this is also natural. The world is uncertain and people cannot see the light. If they don’t pray to the Buddha, what else can they pray for?
According to Buddhist explanation, all opposition arises from "emptiness" and disappears from "emptiness". A single person can escape into Buddhism, but it is obviously impossible for the entire human race to escape into Buddhism. This is the reason for the existence of Buddhism. When disaster approaches, people always turn to mysterious powers.
Standing in front of the mountain gate of Jinding Temple, you can enjoy the leisurely feeling of looking at the mountains, the quiet feeling of thinking about the ancient times, and the Zen feeling of asking the Buddha. The shape and glaze of this mountain gate seem to contain some Theravada Buddhist style, and have some similarities with the temples I saw in Thailand. Theravada Buddhism already exists in western Yunnan. This kind of combination of architectural styles is difficult to see in the mainland.
Although there are horses to ride and cable cars to sit on, there are still very few tourists coming to Jinding Temple. Entering the mountain gate, you will find the Tongzhuang Hall. After passing the Bronze Hall, there is a nine-story brick pagoda. After passing the brick pagoda, you will find the Mahavira Hall.
After paying homage to the Buddha in the Main Hall, I heard the sound of wooden fish when I went out. Xun Sheng entered a cramped monk's room on the side of the main hall and saw an old monk reciting the Amitabha Sutra. After chatting with him, the old monk told him that he was from Sichuan and worked in a rural supply and marketing cooperative before becoming a monk. After retiring, he went to Jizu Mountain to become a monk. "I am still receiving a pension, and my son will receive it every month." The old monk said this, seeming a little proud. I immediately had doubts about the old monk’s motivation for becoming a monk. So I asked him, "Do you know Xuyun?" "Xuyun? Which Xuyun?" The old monk looked at me confusedly, "I haven't heard of it." After hearing what he said, I saluted and left the monk's room.
While my colleagues were drawing lots to ask for fortune-telling, I strolled into the Zhi Ke Hall and was greeted by a middle-aged monk. He is thin, wearing glasses and has a gentle manner. Through conversation, I learned that his name was Wei Sheng, a native of Guangxi. He became a monk three years ago. He was originally a newspaper reporter and is now a Zhike monk at Jinding Temple.
It can be seen that Weisheng regards Buddhism as the ideal of life. I have some understanding of the nature of Zen. He believed that Zen had died out in China. When he learned that I had visited famous Zen temples such as Jiuhua, Putuo, Qixia, and Lingyin, he couldn't help but say with emotion: "How can you find Zen masters in those places! Nowadays, Chinese temples have almost become a pure land. More and more temples cannot go a day without doing homework. It seems that Buddhist temples are just homework, and it has become a chanting sect. This trend is strongest in Jiuhua and Putuo. Nan Huaijin said that now in China, there are even half-reaching monks who have achieved the status of Arhat. None, it makes sense.”
When Wei Sheng said this, he showed a look of anger. Then talking about Xuyun, he said: "Zen has one flower and five leaves, and is divided into five sects: Linji, Caodong, Fayan, Weiyang, and Yunmen. Monk Xuyun, one person, inherited the five sects and is the master of modern Zen. , no one can compare with the Zen masters of this century. But if we compare Xuyun with Nanquan, Huangbo, and Zhaozhou, I don’t know how far behind he is."
This is the first time I heard such comments about Xu Yun during my visit to Zen. I developed respect for Wei Sheng, not because of his cynical words, but because I saw that he was indeed a Zen practitioner.
Unknowingly, I talked with him for about two hours. When we were leaving, I asked him again: "Where can we find Zen masters in China now?" Weisheng replied without thinking: "There is already a Zen master north of Kunlun. Mahayana atmosphere. There are still some people in Tongbai Mountain and Taibaiding in Zhongnan Mountain who are retreating there. However, you can’t find it even if you go there. Even if you go outside his retreat, you can’t see it. Next month, I will leave Go northwest.”
"Going to find the Mahayana atmosphere?"
"Yes." Weisheng replied with confidence.
Wei Sheng's conversation was like pouring cold water on my devout pilgrim enthusiasm. Living in a busy city, when I came to Jizu Mountain, I felt like I was in a paradise. Seeing the mountains of ancient trees, moss-covered pagodas and ancient temples, I felt like I was away from this world. However, in Wei Sheng's eyes, this place is still a bustling place of mortals, and it is still a human realm where Zen masters are unwilling to stay for a long time.
After leaving Jinding Temple, on the way down the mountain, I saw a poem written by Monk Dacuo on a ruined wall:
Every time the mountain path twists and turns, there is a deep and unique sky.
When you arrive at the door, greet the crane first, and sit down for a while to practice Zen.
The water is so melodious that I forget about the world, and the pines are so high that they don’t count the years.
The mantra of the reciprocal sutra is far away, and the second brother washes away the worldly fate.
This monk Dacuo, whose original name was Qian Bangqi, served as a censor during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty and patrolled Yunnan. After the death of Ming Dynasty, he went to Jizu Mountain and became a monk. His jungle life is rarely mentioned by future generations. But the "Jizu Mountain Chronicles" compiled by him is the best Jizu Mountain Chronicles that can be read today. Obviously, he became a monk in order to preserve his reputation, and he still belongs to the category of "people who fail to achieve their goals and flee to Zen". Therefore, he believes that the high pines and melodious waters of Jizu Mountain can cleanse the worldly fate of ordinary people like us. After all, none of us are true Zen masters.
