Humanistic travel expert/niche secret land scout/hiker
When I checked in to the Dawan Art Center in Baietan, Guangzhou, I happened to pass by Guangxiao Temple, and I deliberately got off here on the way back to visit this thousand-year-old temple again, looking for the relics left by the six ancestors Huineng when they came out of the mountain here.
Guangzhou City Well on Guangxiao Road
There is a station called Ximenkou on Metro Line 1, after leaving the station is Guangxiao Road, walking along Guangxiao Road to the north, both sides of the road present the most authentic Guangzhou city life. It can be seen from the name of the west gate that this is the west gate of the old Guangzhou City, but with the changes of the years, the ancient city has long been difficult to find.
Gate
At the end of Guangxiao Road is Guangxiao Temple, the mountain gate is majestic and magnificent, the couplets on both sides are: Wuyang on the ancient temple, the first place to visit the forest. Scan the code at the door and buy a ticket, the ticket price is not expensive, only 5 yuan. When I walked into the mountain gate, I was greeted by the Tianwang Palace, and the Maitreya Buddha statue sitting in it was looking at me with a smile. Walking through the Tianwang Hall and entering the temple, I suddenly had a sense of peace.
Hall of the Heavenly King
Guangxiao Temple was originally the residence of Zhao Jiande, the grandson of Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, when the Three Kingdoms of Wu was degraded to Guangzhou, he built a house here to give lectures, and after his death, the house was donated to change to a temple, and the original name was stopped by the temple. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the famous Indian monk Tan Maya came here to spread Buddhism, built the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and renamed it Wangyuan Temple. In the early Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Faxing Temple, and in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was renamed Bao'en Guangxiao Temple, and later changed to Bao'en Guangxiao Temple, referred to as Guangxiao Temple, and has been used to this day.
There is a saying among the people that "there is no Guangzhou City, there is Guangxiao Temple first", which shows its long history.
The flower dragon in front of the Daxiong Treasure Hall
The front of the courtyard is the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and there are drum towers and bell towers on the left and right sides. There are several flower beds in front of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and the workers are concentrating on the creation, and one of them has been completed, which is a flower dragon made of lilies and other flowers, which looks lifelike, which also shows the intention of the temple.
Fistula Tower
Go around to the back of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, where stands a small pagoda, which is exactly the pagoda I want to see. After receiving the mantle of the five ancestors of Zen Buddhism, Huineng returned to his hometown Xinxing in order to avoid the pursuit of his fellow brothers, and hid for fifteen years.
Fat tower and linden tree
In the third year of Tang Gaozong (676), Master Yinzong gave a lecture in the Faxu Temple, and Huineng also came to listen to the scriptures. After hearing this, Hui Neng felt that both sides were not enlightened, so he said: It is neither the wind that moves, nor the flag, but the heart, and if the heart of the benevolent person does not move, then the wind does not move and the flag does not move.
bodhi tree
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and Master Yin Zong hurriedly invited him into the inner room, only to know that it was the sixth ancestor who had received the mantle. This day is the eighth day of the first month, and it has become the day when the six ancestors come out of the mountain. On the fifteenth day of the first month, Master Yinzong cut his hair and received ordination for Huineng under the Bodhi tree behind the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and built a tower at the place where the hair was buried, and it was completed on the eighth day of April of the same year, and was named the Fat Pagoda, which is the seven-level octagonal pagoda in front of him.
He circled the pagoda three times clockwise to show his respect for the six ancestors, and then came to the foot of the tall Bodhi tree next to it, where Huineng cut his hair. In the first year of Liang Tianjian (502), the Indian monk Sanzang came here to give a lecture and brought a Bodhi sapling, which was planted in the temple, which is the earliest Bodhi tree transplanted in China. Unfortunately, the original tree was blown down by a strong wind in the second year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1797), and this tree is currently transplanted from Nanhua Temple and is still planted in the same place.
Washing bowl spring
At this time, it suddenly began to rain heavily, and I quickly ran to the cloister to take shelter from the rain. I saw a circular pavilion by the cloister, and the plaque hanging on the pavilion reads "Washing Bowl Spring", and then I noticed that there was an ancient well in the pavilion, and there was a guardrail around it, and the wellhead was also covered with an iron net, which was obviously also a treasure.
According to legend, in the first year of Liang ordinary (520), Bodhidharma was stationed in Xiguang Xiao Temple, in order to take the clear spring, he dug a well in the temple. At that time, Bodhidharma pointed to this and said: There are more than 10,000 taels of gold below, so "the greedy chisel with force", and finally get a clear spring. Some people say that Bodhidharma deceives people, and Bodhidharma replied: This is gold that cannot be calculated in catties. The sixth ancestor Huineng once washed the bowl here, so it was called the washing bowl spring.
(Geek Travel)