In 1341 AD, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos and war, and people needed the comfort of religion even more. A Zen master named Tianru came to Suzhou to lecture on scriptures and spread the Dharma. At first, he lived in Changmen, which was the place where his teacher had his monastery 40 years ago.
A disciple of Zen Master Tianru, he took a fancy to a place next to Loumen, which was quiet and peaceful with towering ancient trees. What is even more surprising is that there are many Taihu stones from the Huashi Gang relics in this wasteland. These Taihu stones are vivid and look like lions. The disciples bought land and houses for Zen Master Tianru here and built a Zen forest. In order to commemorate his teacher, Tianru named this Zen forest "Lion Grove" (also written as "Shizi Forest"). Also known as "Bodhi Zhengzong Temple".
The lion is the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva, the wonderful truth in the Tathagata's teachings, and the non-dual enlightenment of Zen Buddhism. A lion's roar enlightens the chaos and puts an end to it.
To build the Lion Forest, the old monk Tianru invited many skilled craftsmen and drew many exquisite patterns, but none of them were satisfactory. He thought of Ni Yunlin.
Ni Yunlin, named Zan. Wuxi people have been running the business for several generations and have become a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River. He lost his father when he was young and was raised by his eldest brother. He was a son of a wealthy family and never changed his mind when he was young. He traveled around with the Taoist priests of the Quanzhen Sect. When he was twenty-three years old, his eldest brother passed away, and the burden of running the family fell on his shoulders. Because he was not good at managing money, in the turbulent times, he could only sell his land and wander around the world. Monk Tianru is his respected master. The author of "Dream of Red Mansions" calls Ni Yunlin, Tang Bohu, and Zhu Zhishan the most outstanding people in modern times.
Dynasties changed, and in the sixth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1373), Ni Yunlin once again came to the Lion Forest designed by himself, but he could not find the exit from the maze he designed. I have been playing games and enjoying myself for a lifetime, but I still can’t find the path. During this revisit, Ni Yunlin left behind the "Lion Forest Picture". A year later, Ni Yunlin passed away. This painting was his final account of the world.
It is said that Zhang Shixin, Zhang Shicheng's younger brother, was arty and admired Taoist scholars. He sent a large sum of money to Ni Yunlin to paint, but Ni Yunlin tore up the silk material sent on the spot. Later, Zhang Shixin found trouble and beat Ni Yunlin severely, with whips raining down. Witnesses said that Ni Yunlin never said a word.
When asked by a good-hearted person, Ni Yunlin replied slowly: "As soon as he makes a sound, he becomes vulgar."
The arty one was Qianlong, who was an admirer of Ni Yunlin and copied " Three "Lion Grove Pictures", I came to the Lion Forest six times. When I came to the Lion Forest for the first time, I traveled thousands of miles from the capital to bring the original "Lion Grove Pictures" to the garden and admire them one by one. The Changchun Garden in the Old Summer Palace is modeled after the Lion Grove Garden.
The owner at this time was Huang Xi. His father bought the garden and renamed it "Sheyuan". Huang Xi became the top scholar in high school, renovated the mansion, and reorganized the courtyard. Because there were five pine trees in the garden, it was named "Five Pine Garden".
In the middle of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the Huang family declined and the garden collapsed, but only the rockery remained. In 1917, Shanghai pigment giant Bei Runsheng purchased the Lion Forest, added some new attractions, and gave it its old name of "Lion Forest". After liberation, Bei's descendants donated the garden to the country. The Suzhou Garden Management Office took over the renovation and opened it to the public in 1954. One of Pei Runsheng's grandnephews is the world-famous architectural design master, Ieoh Ming Pei, the designer of the Suzhou Museum.
The rockeries in the Lion Forest are layered upon layers, hiding mysteries. Along the cave, turn left and right, up and down, and you will lose the way you came in a few steps. I saw my companion calling me on a rockery not far away, but they were so far away that they couldn't meet up, which made me extremely anxious. Sometimes after crawling through a cave, it suddenly dawned on me.
Don’t worry, this is a Zen garden and a place of practice. Calm down and slowly enjoy this picturesque scenery! It’s as if Ni Yunlin is watching you with a smile, letting you feel the craftsmanship of this art and the sharpness of Buddhism with your heart!