Wutai Mountain is located in Wutai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, ranking first among the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. Wutai Mountain is located in the northeast of Shanxi Province, belonging to Wutai County, Xinzhou City, and 23 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan City, the provincial capital. It is called "Four Famous Buddhist Mountains in China" with Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui, Emei Mountain in Sichuan and * * *.
Mount Wutai, together with Nepalese Lumbini Garden, Indian Rokuyaon, Bodhgaya, and Naga, is known as the five Buddhist holy places in the world. The first person to promote Buddhism in Wutai Mountain was Sangwang Auden, a bright mage (the third generation of the living Buddha who lived in Tibet), who personally went to Wutai Mountain to spread Buddhism in 71 BC. "Records of Famous Mountains" records: "Five peaks of Wutai Mountain stand tall, higher than Yun Biao, and there are no trees on the top of the mountain, which is like a platform for laying soil, so it is called Wutai."
Wutai Mountain is one of the earliest places where Buddhist temples were built in China. Since the tenth year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty, I have taken two venerable persons, Morton and Zhu Falan, to Luoyang, China. The following year (A.D. 68), when the venerable Morten and Zhu Falan came to Wutai Mountain in Shanxi, they found that the mountain landform of Wutai Mountain was very similar to that of Indian Lingjiu Mountain where Sakyamuni Buddha practiced Buddhism, so they asked Emperor Han Ming to build a Buddhist temple here.
after the completion of the temple, it was named as Dafu Lingjiu Temple (the predecessor of Xiantong Temple today, with the reputation of "Shiyuan clan"). Among them, Bukkoji and nanzenji are the two earliest existing wooden structures in China.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the development of Buddhism in Wutai Mountain reached its first climax. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty expanded the Lingjiu Temple on a large scale, and built twelve monasteries around it, such as Shanjing Courtyard and Zhenrong Courtyard. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, the number of temples in Wutai Mountain soared to more than 2.
In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty wrote a letter to build a temple on each of the five terraces. Namely, Wanghai Temple in Dongtai, Fusaiji Temple in Nantai, Farei Temple in Xitai, Lingying Temple in Beitai and Yanjiao Temple in Zhongtai.
In the Tang Dynasty, the development of Buddhism in Wutai Mountain reached its second climax. During this period, according to Gu Qingliang Biography, there were as many as 3 monasteries in the whole mountain with more than 3, monks. Wutai Mountain at this time is not only one of the famous Buddhist mountains in China, but also a veritable Buddhist holy land, and is known as the first of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. This is the beginning of Wutai Mountain's dominant position in Buddhism in China, and it is also the beginning of Wutai Mountain's development into a famous mountain and holy place under the use and auspices of feudal rulers.
the Tang dynasty was a center of economic and cultural exchanges among Asian countries with its prosperous economy and strong national power. With the expansion of international exchanges, Wutai Mountain is also admired by Buddhists in India, Japan, North Korea and Sri Lanka. There are many foreign monks who worship Wutai Mountain and go to Wutai Mountain to seek Buddhist scriptures and dharma.
Extended information:
Historical legend about Wutai Mountain
According to legend, Wutai Mountain was originally called Wufeng Mountain, and the climate was extremely bad. In winter, water dripped into ice, sand and stones flew in spring, and it was extremely hot in summer, so farmers could not grow crops in the fields at all. Manjushri happened to preach here, saw people suffering and decided to change the climate here.
Manjusri Bodhisattva learned that there was a sacred stone called "Xielong Stone" at the Dragon King in the East China Sea, which could make the dry climate moist, so she became a monk with alms and borrowed it from the Dragon King.
When Manjusri Bodhisattva came to the East China Sea, she saw a huge stone outside the Dragon Palace. Haven't walked to the front, have felt a chill head on. Manjusri Bodhisattva saw the Dragon King and explained her purpose. The Dragon King said apologetically, "exorcist can borrow anything, except this dragon stone.
Because it took hundreds of years to salvage it from the bottom of the sea, it is unusually cool. When the dragons come back from work every day, they are sweating profusely and are unbearable hot, so they rest on it. If you borrow it, the dragons will have no place to rest. " Manjusri Bodhisattva has repeatedly stated that he is a monk of Wufeng Mountain, and he specially came for help for the benefit of the world.
The Dragon King is unwilling to lend the sacred stone to others, and it is inconvenient to directly refuse Manjushri's request. It is estimated that the old monk could not carry the stone away by himself, and the Dragon King reluctantly agreed to say, "The sacred stone is very heavy, and no one can help you. If you can carry it, take it!"
Manjushri thanked the Dragon King, walked up to the sacred stone and recited a spell, which immediately turned the boulder into a small projectile. Manjusri Bodhisattva stuffed the projectile into the sleeve and floated away. The old dragon king was stunned and regretted it.
When Manjusri Bodhisattva returned to Wufeng Mountain, it was the scorching sun. Because there was no rain for a long time, the earth cracked and people suffered deeply. Manjusri Bodhisattva placed the sacred stone in a valley in the middle of the mountain, and a miracle happened: Wufeng Mountain immediately became a cool natural pasture. So, this valley was named Qingliang Valley, and people built a temple here, named Qingliang Temple, and Wufeng Mountain was renamed Qingliang Mountain.
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