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Mount
Jiuhua
Mount Jiuhua Ksitigarbha / Dizang
(the Bodhisattva of Salvation) is enshrined
on Mount Jiuhua.
Mount Jiuhua in Anhui Province,
is one of the four Buddhist shrines, the
other three are Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province,
Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, and Mount
Putuo in Zhejiang Province in China.
It is said that Ksitigarbha
or Dizang (the Bodhisattva of Salvation)
is enshrined on Mount Jiuhua. Ksitigarbha
is one of the Mahayana Bodhisattvas of Buddhism.
Buddhism relates that after the death of
Sakyamuni and before the emergence of Maitreya,
Ksifigarbha was the Bodhisartva that saved
all the living creatures in heaven and in
hell. Like the earth, he was believed to
have possessed an unlimited amount of the
best strains of seeds. Buddhism continues
that in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the
Korean prince Kim Qiaojue came to China
across the sea. He meditated for 75 years
at Mount Jiuhua. During that period, Bodhisattva
Dizang was preached, and large-scale constrtion
of monasteries was undertaken. The Song
(960-1279) , Yuan (1279- 1368), Ming (1368-1644)
and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties witnessed
great changes. During the heyday in history,
there were over 300 monasteries with more
than 4,000 monks. Pilgrims came to Mount
Jiuhua all the year round, and was reputedes
"the Fairy City of Buddhist Kingdom".
With the elapsing of time, only 78 monastteries
with over 1,500 Buddhist images left on
Mount Jiuhua.
The great poet Li Bai (701-762)
in the Tang Dynasty travelled to Mount Jiuhua
three times, and wrote the wonderful lines
on "Nine lovely hibiscus blooms wringing
up, out of blue water in the far-off sky"
Following his example, over 300 scholars
of the past dynasties have left behind more
than 500 popular verses. Here exist waterfalls,
springs, peaks and clouds, all are intoxicating;
temples and nunneries built against the
cliffs all possess the style of dwellings
of South Anhui Province. At the shrine,
visitors will find beauty in tranquillity
and cordiality in elegance. When visitors
climb up the mountain along the northern
route where the scenery is most beautiful
and monasteries and historic sites are most
numerous. Ganlusi (Sweet Dew Temple), one
of the four Buddhist monasteries at Mount
Jiuhua, located half way up the mountain,
is now Mount Jiuhua Buddhist College. Inside
the temple, halls are spacious, Buddha images
numerous, and luxuriant trees and tall bamboo
make the environment peaceful and quiet.
Looking from a distance, visit(as see this
lovely Taoyan Waterfall at its best when
the river is swollen from seasonal rains.
At this time the water spills over the tiers
with tremendous force, creating a strong
breeze that fans mist into every nook and
cranny around the falls. The view is indeed
spectacular.
Encompassing 120 square kilometres,
Mount Jiuhua boasts 99 peaks, of which Tiantai
(an elevation of 1,325 metres), Lianhua,
Tianzhu , and Shiwang are the most magnificent.
The main peak of Shiwang towers 1,342 metres
above sea level. There are over 300 monasteries
scattered in the clouds and mist at Mount
Jiuhua during the heyday in history. After
experiencing many vicissitudes, only 78
monasteries have been left on Mount Jiuhua.
It is said that Mount Jiuhua ranks first
among all the four Buddhist shrines in China,
in terms of the concentration of Buddhist
monasteries, the furnishings in them and
the perfection of the Buddhist images preserved.
Anhui Province carved more
inscriptions into the cliffs of Mount Jiuhua,
a famous tourist attraction and a sacred
place of Buddhism in China for more than
2,000 years. But only 40 original inscriptions
survived before 1996. The local government
carved about 100 more, the writing of celebrities,
Chinese calligraphers and Buddhists. The
Mount Jiuhua Administration Office set up
a special group to supervise the project,
which was completed by the end of 1998.
Chinese workers started construction
on September 9, 2001 of the world's largest
statue of Bodhistattva at Mount Jiuhua.
The copper statue is a 15.5-metre-tall likeness
of the Buddha god of wisdom. The archetype
of the statue is Jin Qiaojue, a prince from
the Xinluo Kingdom (former name for the
Korean Peninsular), who, according to historical
records, went to Mount Jiuhua to become
a monk in 719 ane spent 75 years there until
his death at 99. The Luoyang Copper Processing
Conglomerate using imitauon gold copper
built the statue.
The Precious Hall of the
Bodhisattva Incarnate
It is located on Shenguang Ridge
west of Huachengsi Monastery. In the hall
there is an incarnation pagoda housing Bodhisattva
Dizang. Buddhism has it that in the Tang
Dynasty (618-907), the Korean prince Kim
Qiaojue came to China across the sea. He
meditated for 75 years at Mount Jiuhua and
passed away, or achieved nirvana at the
age of 99. Because he looked very much like
Bodhisattva Dizang described in Buddhist
legends after his death, he was believed
to be the incarnation of Bodhisattva Dizang,
and was called gold Bodhisattva Dizang by
the people of later generations. An incarnation
pagoda (Dizang Pagoda) was built for worship.
The place holding the pagoda was then called
the Hall of the Incarnation. Crossing the
Jiuhua Street, visitors see a flight of
straight, precipitous steps leading directly
to the Precious Hall. In front of the hall
there is a horizontal board hanging above,
carrying the words "First Mountain
in the Southeast" At the centre of
the hall stands a seven-storey pagoda made
of red wood. Top of the pagoda is decorated
with a golden parasol, and inside the pagoda
are eight small chambers on every storey
with over 100 statues of Dizang in the chambers.
Big statues of Dizang can also be seen in
front and behind the pagoda. On both sides
in the hall stand gilded status of ten Hell-kings
in different gestures? The floor of the
hall is paved with white marble, its roof
is covered with iron tiles, and the hall
is surrounded by exquisite stone pillars,
carved, and painted corridors. Another horizontal
board at the back of the hall carries the
pledge of Dizang. Aceording to the monks,
onks, on the anniversary of Dizang's nirvana,
Chinese and foreign pilgrims come to worship
and give alms.
Accommodating 5,000 people,
the Centenarian Palace was built at the
edge of a precipice on the East Peak and
visitors can witness the incarnation of
Monk Wuxia, which has existed for over 400
yeats but is not yet decayed. Monk Wuxia
copied Huangyangjin Buddhist Scripture into
81 volumes in 38 years with the blood of
his tongue and fingers mixed with gold powder.
Buddhism has it that Manjusri or the Bodhisattva
of Wisdom, or Wenshu in Chinese, is the
left attendant of Sakyamuni. His birth place
is said to be on Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province,
North China. As the left attendant of Sakyamuni,
he is in charge of wisdom, usually shown
riding a lion. Standing side by side with
Wenshu, Samantabhdra or Puxian / the Bodhisattva
of Universal Benevolence is the right attendant
of Sakyamuni, Mount Emei in Sichuan Province,
Southwest China, has been known as the place
where he gained enlightenment. He is often
shown riding an elephant. Guanyin or Avalokitesvara
is the left attendant of Amitabha Buddha.
She appears as one of the Three Western
Sages headed by Amitabha Buddha. Guanyin
is described as a Bodhisattva of Great Mercy,
who helps the needy and relieves the distressed,
cures the disabled and saves a sinking vessel
whenever they call her title Bodhisattva
Guanyin. Guanyin, usually standing or sitting
on a lotus flower with a treasure vase full
of dew held in her right hand, was introduced
into China with Mahayana Buddhism and was
first known as "Guanshiyin." In
the Tang Dynasty the Chinese character "shi'
was left out because it happened to be part
of the name of the reigning emperor -- Li
Shimin (599-649, ruled 626-649). Thus Guanyin
became the usual name. Buddhism has it that
Guanyin has 31 different images with 32
incarnations. Many of the images are female
ones. As early as the Northern and Southern
Dynasties, the female image of Guanyin appeared,
and became quite popular in the Tang Dynasty
(618-907). Guanyin has many names: the White-Robed
Guanyin, Dragon-Head Guanyin, Fish-Basket
Guanyin, Water and Moon Guanyin, Medicine-Bestowing
Guanyin, etc. Sometimes Guanyin stands on
a lotus flower, godhisattva Guanyin gained
enlightenment on Mount Putuo, on Zhoushan
Island, Zhejiang Province, East China. Guanyin
in female image is often depicted holding
a tiny chinaware flask in her hand. In the
Hall of Guanyin, these goddess images sometimes
sit amidst burning red candles. On her three
birthdays, lots of aged pilgrims come in
and kowtow before them with offerings of
incense. Her birthdays fall on the 19th
day of the 2nd, the 6th and 9th lunar months,
said to be the time for the Bodhisattva
to achieve Nirvana or ascend to the Buddhist
Western Happy Region. At Mount Jiuhua, there
are now over 600 monks and nuns in 94 temples.
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