Origin of Tianning Temple

Tianning Temple in Changzhou was awarded the title of Emperor Qianlong

Tianning Temple was formerly known as Daning Temple. On an autumn day in October 1945, our Yuanjia Village heard that the abbot of Tianning Temple Relying on "Yao Hai", the master told a story about how Daning Temple was awarded the title of Tianning Temple. According to legend, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was not born to a bannerman. Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty brought the son of the then Prime Minister Chen Gelao (Chen Shiguan of Haining, Zhejiang) into the inner palace for transfer. At that time, on the same day of the same month, the queen gave birth to a child. A girl, a boy born in the Prime Minister's family. The royal family used a trick to carry the boy into the inner palace, but what came out was a girl. Chen Ge was so shocked that he was stunned and dared not say anything. Once the news was revealed, he would be beheaded, and Chen Ge had no choice but to resign. Decades later, the leader of the Honghua Society, Yu Wanting, sneaked into the inner palace and informed Qianlong of the ins and outs of the plot. Qianlong was dubious and decided to make a private visit incognito in order to find out the truth. Qianlong brought a servant of Xinfu all the way south from Beijing for a private visit in disguise. One day when he arrived at Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, he saw a fat monk sitting cross-legged and meditating with his eyes closed. Qianlong stepped forward and asked, "May I ask the master's name?" , the fat monk replied that my Dharma name is Bayi, please give me whatever you want, because Qianlong was visiting privately incognito and could not talk much, so the master and the servant returned to the inn after picking up the incense. Qianlong asked Xinfu's servant, the monk who had just been meditating was called Bayi. What was his professional title? The attendant replied, "Long Live Tiao Ye", "Bayi" is a character. Qianlong said, "What character is it?" The attendant replied, "Y" added under the character "Bazi" is the character for father. , what’s the reason for the monk’s shoes being placed upside down? The attendant spoke with a Jiangsu Subei accent, and the shoes were turned upside down, which means the child has arrived. The first sentence said that the eighth is the father, and the second sentence said the child has arrived. Isn’t this a meeting between father and son? Qianlong thought to himself that although father and son met once, they did not recognize each other, and the knot in their hearts was not yet untied. A few years later, Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River for the second time. On the same day, Qianlong came to Changzhou. It was summer in Changzhou that year. The boat docked at Shuimen Bridge, and he went ashore and wandered around the Shuimen Bridge. The shop flags on the street were blown by the breeze. In front of him was Yuehe Restaurant, and the master and servant walked into the store. He found a seat by the window and sat down. The waiter came forward to serve him and helped with food and drinks. He especially recommended a dish called Qianzi. After Qianlong ate it, he kept saying it tasted great. Until a few years later, when he wanted to eat Qianzi in the palace, he made the imperial kitchen laugh and cry. This is something to talk about later. Qianlong's master and servant were full of wine and food, and came all the way to Daning Temple. After they entered the mountain gate, they saw a fat monk lying on the ground taking a nap at the kitchen stove, with his head resting on the iron fork that burned the fire, his hands stretched out. , his feet spread apart, and when he saw it, it was the word "天". Qianlong said secretly, and his entourage knew it well. The master and servant had learned from the experience in Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang a few years ago, and already had an idea in their hearts. The two of them watched the Buddha holding the incense without saying a word. After turning the incense, the two of them were already sweating on their backs. The master and his servant rushed to the main hall, met the abbot, and asked for tea first. The abbot expected to pay for it and serve good tea. The master saw that the two donors were dressed unusually. It was hot at that time, and he saw the ivory brought by the two donors. The folding fan made of bones has a great origin. After sitting down, the abbot asked whether the two benefactors came to the poor temple to burn incense to pay their wishes or to ask for fortune-telling. While drinking tea, Qianlong said, "I have finished burning incense. May I ask, master, what happened to us just now?" When I entered the mountain gate, I saw a fat monk with an iron fork on his head and his hands stretched out. What was the name of the monk? Qianlong was secretly shocked, how could he know my whereabouts? There are actually two reasons. Chen Ge is always a wandering monk who doesn't pay attention. Over time, flaws will inevitably be revealed. The two donors who came today were not ordinary, so the host blurted out that there was no fat monk and there was a little emperor. Qianlong was so shocked that he kept hehehehehhhhhhhh. Qianlong’s inner secret. The abbot of Zudaning Temple told the truth. He thought in his heart that this abbot has a lot of magical power and skill, so he cannot be blamed. However, he was dissatisfied and thought of a way to treat you. With that, Qianlong was paying close attention to his followers. After a while, the entourage went down to do something. Qianlong thought to himself, I want to test you, ask you to advance and retreat, and see how you handle it. After a while, the entourage took a basket of eggs and gave it to the abbot. At this time, Qianlong thought to himself, you, the monk, took it. Eggs, moral disrespect is the crime of beheading for bad monks. , If you don’t take the eggs, you will be disobeying the order or beheading me. Let me see what you do. Seeing that the monk was not in a hurry, he went to pick up a basket of eggs and said, The emperor gave me a basket of peaches, which are seedless and hairless. The old monk will take you to the West to save you from being stabbed in the human world.

When Qianlong heard this, he shouted, "Okay!" There are rewards for blurting out words! The entourage took out the Four Treasures of the Study, and Qianlong drew a pen on the large characters of Daning Temple. From then on, Daning Temple in Changzhou was renamed Tianning Temple. After Qianlong returned to Beijing, he allocated land to rebuild Tianning Temple in memory of his father. After traveling to become a monk in Tianning Temple, Qianlong also built a Tianning Temple in Xuanwu District, Beijing. In order for Lao Tzu to travel around, dozens of Tianning Temples were built across the country. It is said to be the largest jungle in the southeast. Tianning Temple is the only one in Changzhou. , folklore is not complete