The car stopped at Wuxi Bridge. It was already dusk, and the sound of gurgling water could be heard among the cobblestones under the bridge. Looking sideways at Jiuhua Mountain on the left side of the road, it looks like a stone forest in the sky, as soft as mushrooms and as strong as halberds. There is an elusive brown color in the gray that is visible to the eye.
Jiuhua Mountain in Qingyang County, Anhui Province, together with Putuo Mountain, Wutai Mountain and Emei Mountain, is known as the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. They are the Yinghua dojos of the four great Bodhisattvas respectively. Mount Putuo is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva, Mount Wutai is dedicated to Manjushri Bodhisattva, Mount Emei is dedicated to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Mount Jiuhua is dedicated to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. According to the ancient saying, I should be one of those people who are “unwilling to escape from Zen”. In today's world, it is no longer possible to live a life of clouds and water, but taking a few days of leisure to visit famous Buddhist mountains and meditate to enlightenment can be regarded as an explanation of the mood of Jielu.
Wuxi Bridge is the confluence of the five streams that flow from Jiuhua Mountain: Jiuxi, Pianxi, Shuxi, Shuangxi and Lianxi. It is also a must-pass for going up the mountain. Tour buses coming to Mount Jiuhua from Shanghai, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhu, and Anqing go up the mountain here every day, and the tourists' mood of worshiping Buddha also becomes solemn here. While the driver was asking about the conditions on the way up the mountain, I bought a bottle of Gujing tribute wine from a small shop on the roadside. The driver told me that you are not allowed to drink alcohol when worshiping the Bodhisattva. I smiled. The Buddhist precepts cannot restrain me, not to mention that a Zen monk from the Song Dynasty once said: Eat if you want, sleep if you want, whatever you want is a Buddha. While chatting, I didn't realize that the car had passed the Tianmen Gate and was hovering over the mountains. The small buildings in twos and threes on the roadside are all temples. The faint fragrance floats and the sound of bells and chimes is heard. Suddenly, the dark mountain peaks flashed with fluorescent light, the blurred rocks became covered with snow, and the moon rose. You feel the light, but you don't see it. It is hidden in the jungle of incense, like the deep heart of an old Zen monk that is not exposed to the outside world. After driving 500 kilometers a day, I suddenly felt an indescribable sense of relief.
Shangtiantai Temple
During more than a thousand years from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, as many as 170 large temples were built in Jiuhua Mountain. There were frequent wars and robberies, rises and falls, and many temples were built and destroyed repeatedly. This century has probably been the most deserted time in Mount Jiuhua. Today there are only more than 30 large temples left. This, of course, does not include those huts where monks and nuns guarded alone and the stone caves where the tutu faced the wall. Compared with the prosperous days of the Buddhist Kingdom, where "there were four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, and so many towers in the mist and rain", it was no longer romantic.
Most of the temples on the mountain are concentrated in two places, one in Jiuhua Street and the other in Zhongmin Garden. The main peak of Jiuhua Mountain, Shiwang Peak, is 1,342 meters above sea level, and the Tiantai Peak next to it is 1,321 meters high, ranking second. Pilgrims who go up the mountain rarely go to Ten Kings Peak and go straight to the top of the rooftop. This is all because there is a Tiantai Temple built on the top of Tiantai Peak. According to old records, it is the place where Ji Zang lived and studied Zen. The famous temple with the highest altitude in Jiuhua Mountain. If tourists don’t go there, it means they haven’t visited Jiuhua Mountain. Since I am a seeker of Zen, of course I hope to be able to drink the haze beyond the dust in that cool high place.
From Jiuhua Street to Tiantai Temple, it is 7.5 kilometers. Depart after breakfast. There was a light rain in the second half of the night, and the sun was shining brightly at this time. The scenery that catches the eye all shows that kind of pure and dreamy style. This weather is suitable for hiking and meditation.
Putting aside Zen Buddhism, this mountain road is so beautiful that it makes your heart tremble. The whispering forest is as real as a symbolic spring, the crooked fences on the edge of the village, the clean and quiet bluestone roads, and the small pavilions made of bamboo for tourists to eat on the roadside. Winery, all of which will make you comfortable and deepen your love for this unpretentious scenery.
Of course, there are also unsatisfactory aspects.
There are many isolated boulders and cliffs on the roadside. Originally, they were the most interesting part of the mountain scenery. Nowadays, many of the stones that most attract the attention of tourists are engraved with words, and they are all carved in recent years. I have seen many forests of steles, and more than half of the calligraphy is unflattering. Most of the stone carvings here were made by pilgrims, and they don't give people the beauty of calligraphy. The Ming Dynasty essayist Zhang Zongzi visited Louxia Mountain and once wrote: "The mountains are lined with beautiful rocks, all carved with Buddha statues. It is a hateful thing to be tattooed with Feilai Peak in Hangzhou." , are all ancient punishments. Tattoo means tattooing on the face; tattoo means cutting off the nose. Zhang Zongzi described the carved stone as tattooed, which shows the depth of his hatred. Whether from a Zen perspective or a landscape perspective, I am opposed to stone carving. On the way from Zhongmin Garden to Huiju Temple, I saw a stone carving from 1984. Engraved are two oaths made by Shi Ksitigarbha, the founder of Jiuhua Mountain Buddhism: "Only when all sentient beings are saved can Bodhi be realized; until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha." The words are in regular script, plump and clumsy, and painted red, which is promising. The surrounding greenery brings in the smell of the mortal world. There were quite a few pilgrims taking photos in front of the stone, probably out of their respect for Shi Ksitigarbha!
Shi Ksitigarbha, whose common surname was Jin and given name was Qiao Jue. Legend has it that he was the crown prince of North Korea. He became a monk at the age of twenty-four. He came to China in the fourth year of Emperor Yongzheng of the Tang Dynasty and visited Jiuhua Mountain. He died in the mountains at the age of ninety-nine. Three years after the death, the vat was opened and buried, and the body remained as if it were still alive. Buddhist disciples saw that his enlightened body had the same appearance as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the Buddhist scriptures, so they believed that he was the incarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. From then on, Jin Qiaojue, who was born in a royal family, became the Ksitigarbha who is as "forgiving as the earth and as quiet as a secret treasure"! His vow came from a line in the Lotus Sutra: "As long as there is a lonely soul that has not been saved, I will return to this world to help him." Unfortunately, he had already become a Buddha before hell was over. Judging from the Zen attitude of "nothing in mind, no mind in things", this Jin Jizang is very Confucian. Thousands of years after he became a Buddha, his vows were newly engraved on the mountain, which shows that the religious view of Confucianism and Buddhism is still flourishing today.
In the Zhongmin Garden area, there are seven or eight large temples and even more thatched nunneries, where nuns live. I've been to more than a dozen of them, and they're all very shabby. Some are just half bamboo huts built against the cliff, and some are simply stone caves. An old nun with skin as rough as fir tree bark was guarding a green lantern and a Buddha statue, shining on it day after day, month after year. She didn't have to worry about lamp oil. Many of the female pilgrims along the way carried large oil pots. Whenever there was an incense burner, they would come in and offer a pound and a half of sesame oil. Facing these old people who are determined to practice hard is like facing the lonely autumn maple with red leaves falling on the slope. The maple forest is black when the soul comes, and the maple forest is cold when the soul is gone. Swifts and larks do not build their nests on it, but they build their nests in the Buddha's heart. Needless to say, these thatched huts cost me a lot of money. However, when it comes to the devotion of my heart, I may not be pious at all. I remember a young monk asked his master: "What is a Buddha?" The master replied casually: "I will tell you when a Buddha appears." This eminent monk's sharp wit was really to the point. I think that among the monks and nuns in Jiuhua Mountain, I don’t know how many of them have kissed the Buddha’s feet. Perhaps in their dreams, they have traveled through the colorful Buddhist world as they wished.
After climbing thousands of stone steps from Huiju Temple to Tiantai Peak, I arrived at Tiantai Temple at noon.
Tiantai Temple, also known as Ksitigarbha Zen Temple. Standing on the back of the green dragon at the top of Tiantai Peak. In front of the temple are Duxian Bridge and Pengri Pavilion. The temple is built according to the cliff, and the first, second and third floors of the temple are reasonably arranged on rocks of varying heights. The highest eaves of the temple are connected to the peak stone behind the temple, and under the threshold is the ten thousand-foot abyss. There is neither a patio nor a courtyard in the entire palace, but the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Tower, the meditation room, and the dining hall are all arranged in an orderly manner with a reasonable density.
From the temples I visited, I felt that the Buddhist architecture in Jiuhua Mountain was unique. The design of each temple basically breaks the traditional method of solemnity, majesty and axial symmetry in Chinese temple architecture. Some are leaning against a stone cliff with the moon hanging over the eaves; some are facing a stream and listening to the sound of springs falling on the threshold; some are surrounded by false peaks and green grass at the door; some are traveling in the jungle and are surrounded by farmhouses. This kind of temples, which borrow natural vistas and use natural topography inside, are full of variety, and the appearance of these temples is very similar to the distinctive folk houses in southern Anhui. Except for a few main halls with large roofs, they are all covered with locally fired ocher black pottery tiles. The exterior walls are not resplendent, but painted with white lime, making it look like a farmyard from a distance. In fact, Jiuhua Mountain is also a place where monks and laymen are mixed. The temple is like a folk house, with wooden lattice and small windows, simple on the outside and beautiful on the inside; the cottages and houses also have Buddha statues. From the lush forests and bamboos, you can feel the changes of the seasons, and the beauty of the Buddhist country is first reflected in these exquisite buildings.
When we walked into Tiantai Temple, we caught up with the monks having a vegetarian meal. There are two or three tables around, each person has a bowl of rice and a pot of radish and cooked tofu, and everyone eats at the same table. It turns out that eating this fast meal is more interesting than worshiping the Bodhisattva. The reason was that two young tourists deliberately munched on the roast chicken they brought in the restaurant. A bite of roast chicken and a sip of soju, eating with gusto as if no one else was watching. The aroma of the chicken is nothing at the foot of the mountain, but in this dining hall, which is more than a thousand meters high, it is a real test for the monks' stomachs. Carrots and roast chicken are not half a pound to eight ounces. At first, some young monks looked at the chewer with their eyes, and then several monks became infected, and their eyes and hands began to move in different directions. It seems that the concept of "eating men and women, man's great desires" is like a ghost, always lingering in the Buddhist kingdom. Even in the Tiantai Temple outside the dust, the struggle between Buddha and man cannot be completely prohibited. I, who escaped from Zen, felt from this: Although Chinese Zen was developed based on Indian Buddhism, it is quite different after all. Buddha wants people to become Buddhas and Zen believes that people are Buddhas. Buddha rejects lust, but Zen does not hinder a free and unfettered lifestyle. The prank of the two tourists reminds me of Su Dongpo. Although the old man likes to practice Zen, he is not willing to give up pleasure. Therefore, he eats meat while chanting sutras. I think this is a good way to cultivate your mind and nature. So, I touched the half bottle of old wine I had brought up the mountain and wanted to get a little tipsy. Of course, I will not open a bottle of wine in that hall, under the auspicious light of the Bodhisattva, and ruin other people's practice. It is a boring thing anyway.
After leaving the temple gate, I grabbed a dwarf pine and climbed up a bunch of boulders on the back of the green dragon. I finally found a good place to take a look. Looking south to Huangshan Mountain, you can see a few faint strokes of light ink; looking north to the Yangtze River, you can see a bunch of clouds that are about to be lifted up. The peaks and rocks of Jiuhua Mountain below are covered with greenery and covered with a faint scent of mist. It is really a solemn religious custom painting, and it is also a tranquil natural landscape painting. At that time, I was enjoying this beautiful south of the Yangtze River all to myself. My mind was wandering along the mountain road leading to the fragrant forest. I felt that I was about to realize some wonderful truth. At exactly this moment, the two young tourists who were drunk on sorghum actually crowded around me, not to share the quiet mountain scenery, but to talk and laugh unscrupulously about how they were teasing the monks. This was really a killing scene. When I got angry, I threw the half bottle of old wine into the bottom of the valley.
Huacheng Temple Evening Bell
The climate in the mountains is changeable. As soon as the sun sets, it starts to rain again. Coming out of Gionji Temple, the largest temple in the mountain, I saw tourists on the road wearing simple raincoats made of plastic film purchased locally. There were no brilliant sunsets in the two evenings, today's and yesterday's. The dusk mist slides down the forest leaves and melts into the smoke on the tile ridges. Wandering in the flickering dusk, the warm sense of life will cool down a bit. There are many small restaurants on Jiuhua Street, and they are all clean. It is probably not the time, and the business at this time is deserted. I think this desertedness is also a very charming Zen state. Walking on the street in the rain, recalling the two days of hiking up the mountain, I thought of this five-rhyme poem:
People today worship ancient Buddhas, and there are futons everywhere.
We are all pilgrims when we meet, but I am the banished immortal.
Although the fate of the world is not over, the blood and energy are mysterious.
You Zisongqian asked, where can I practice Zen?
The poem may not be good, and may sound arrogant, but it is my inner monologue immersed in the atmosphere of incense. I walked again and again, and suddenly, I heard a bell ringing, and then another one, and another one... Like a lone wild goose passing through the frost clouds in late autumn, or like a grasshopper fishing alone in the cold river, that kind of clearness, You cannot detect its depth and breadth. What a wonderful bell! I said this to myself. Residents on the street told me that this was the evening bell of Huacheng Temple.
Huacheng Temple is located on Jiuhua Street, about one mile away from Gion Temple. It is the main temple of Jiuhua Mountain Jungle and the monastery of Ksitigarbha. The first person to build a nunnery here was Huaidu, a monk from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the second year of Zhide in the Tang Dynasty (AD 757), due to the relationship with the monk Qiao Jue, a local prominent family donated money to rebuild the temple and named it Huacheng Temple. Legend has it that during one of his missionary journeys, Sakyamuni encountered many hardships and dangers, and his disciples were so hungry and thirsty that they refused to move forward. Shizu then pointed to the front and said to his disciples: "The city is ahead, please go to Hua Zhai." As expected, the disciples went to Hua Zhai to eat. Huacheng Temple got its name from this.
After passing through two alleys, I came to Huacheng Temple. Compared with temples such as Gionji Temple, Zhantanlin, and Zendo Temple, this place is much deserted. Although they are on the same street, they are not far apart. Standing in the square in front of the temple, browsing the Free Life Pond, the Empress Pagoda and the ancillary buildings on both sides of the temple, they all clearly reflect the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. In the deepening dusk, I stared at the graceful and smooth curves of the temple eaves, imagining how their spatial scale meticulously measured the piety of each pilgrim. The late rain washes away the traces of decay on the temple walls. The dim sky between the eaves has been filled with the sound of bells coming from the temple. I suddenly felt all kinds of worries, fears and uneasiness. This may be the nature of my soul, suddenly connected with something I longed for. The true purpose of Zen is to transform human life from monotony to artistic life, full of true inner creation. The twilight falls on my clothes, the rain soaks the melancholy bells, these scenes that make up life contain a fleeting sense of Zen. If you cannot grasp it immediately, it may become an unknown realm for you forever. Linus Pauling, the famous biologist who won the Nobel Peace Prize, figured out the amino acid spatial structure of the polypeptide chain of a spirochet while lying on his bed origami, which is the same as Gautama Buddha attaining Bodhi under the tree. Out of the same endowment. People of great wisdom are good at sinking into a state of tranquility and then awakening from it. From a Zen perspective, this is enlightenment.
The reason why Huacheng Temple is deserted now is because it has been turned into a cultural relics exhibition hall. There are no longer any Buddhist rituals. The only remaining exercises are probably ringing the bell twice in the morning and evening. But it is still a famous temple. The history of Buddha's Jiuhua Mountain is buried in the dazzling array of cultural relics in the temple. Among them is a blood classic, which was written by a monk who spent twenty-eight years pricking his own tongue with blood. There are also several Ksitigarbha gold seals given by the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which remind us of the long history of swords and cassocks. But the most shocking cultural relic is the ringing bell.
The big clock about two meters high hanging on the right side of the foyer was knocked slowly by an old nun. The long bell and pestle seemed to have been condensed into the twilight. I approached it and was showered with fragments of the bell. Groups of black were flying in front of my eyes. The startled bat flew around the beam. I heard this strange bell a mile away. It was melodious and melancholy. Now when I stand in front of it, it is still melodious and melancholy, neither high nor low. I worry about eardrum pain, but it seems unnecessary.
Pushing away the twilight, I recognized that it was an ancient bell. The inscription was almost buried by copper scale. The old nun looked at me, stopped the bell and said, "This is Ksitigarbha's bell."
"Is it from the Tang Dynasty?"
"It's now."
"Isn't this obviously an ancient clock?"
"Don't you hear the bells ringing now?"
The old nun's rhetorical question once again pointed directly at my character. The success of science led to the worship of reason and logic. The old nun opened up my intellectual level from the opposite direction, allowing me to see my own projected spirit. I had been standing outside the bell, and now I was able to enter the inside of the bell. It is a circle without a circumference, an emptiness that ordinary people cannot experience. I took the bell pestle from the old nun's hand and gathered all my passion to hit my heart. The old nun smiled faintly, took the bell pestle again, and pointed to the futon in front of the clock. I knelt down and kowtowed to the ancient bell. The old nun who was ringing the bell and chanting sutras said to me after I finished the ceremony: "The sound of the bell can save the souls of the dead. Seeing your sincerity, I have recited the sutras for the salvation of your lost relatives."
Even though I knew it was just a good wish to save the dead, my father, who had been dead for ten years, suddenly flashed before my eyes. I bowed deeply to the old nun for salvation, and the sound of the bell gave me an epiphany. How to give up your own will? Ah, the lights are dim, how wonderful it is!
Following the sound of the bell, I walked out of the temple gate and watched how it climbed over the ninety-nine lotus peaks of Jiuhua Mountain, bringing human-like dreams to the chickens and dogs lying on the roots of the mud walls, and to the mushrooms in the jungle. Bring the gentle night; see how its responsive vitality transforms the world into heaven.
So, I'm standing outside the bell again.
