The Origin of Duobao Temple in Chengdu

As early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, a master named Zhang Bao came here. Master Zhang Bao washed his hands in Shahe, but he saw that the water was clear, the shore was green, and Shan Ye was gray. This immortal water from Ma Xu Bridge in the north of the city was deeply rooted in people's hearts at that time. When he came here to practice, he felt that he had found a good place, so he opened a pure land against a woodland as a Dojo and practiced Buddhism all day. Later, he accepted many disciples. At that time, this area was still a wilderness, and the small temple was simple and could only shelter from the wind and rain. In the Tang dynasty, the temple got a sum of money, so it was built and rebuilt, which was a new one. At that time, Chinese Ambassador to Xichuan Li Yan also happily wrote an inscription. Ouyang Tong's tablet "Master of Sound Guidance" is world-renowned. This was the first major overhaul of Duobao Temple, and it became famous from then on. 1430 During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the temple was burned by soldiers and immediately reduced to ashes. Some monks devoted themselves to other places, while others stayed and persisted. It was not until Yingzong succeeded to the throne that the court took a fancy to it, so it allocated funds for reconstruction and set up two square stone pillars, called Shilou, which was three feet high and two feet in diameter. One of them is engraved with "Buddha's top wins Dalagni curse" on the front and "Duobao Temple Stone Building" on the back, describing the reconstruction of Duobao Temple this time. After the temple was repaired, the court also awarded the Tripitaka and built a special sutra pavilion. The abbot decided to lead his disciples to Beijing to show his gratitude to the emperor. In Beijing, Liang was summoned by the young Emperor Yingzong and told him to manage temples, promote Buddhism and broadcast kindness. He also sent three thousand pieces of silver as a trip back to Shu. In ancient times, silk was a rope with copper coins, which meant a thread. A trace (string) is a thousand words, and three thousand silk is not a small number. A year later, Liang and his disciples returned to Chengdu. Seeing that the tower on the north side of the mountain gate was somewhat dilapidated, in order not to disgrace the emperor's favor, I renovated it and built a tall tower. At this time, Duobao Temple was not only tall and majestic, but also planted tens of thousands of pines and cypresses around the temple. From a distance, it is really dense, with bells and drums everywhere, and at this time, the biggest expansion of the temple has begun. The temple includes a large area of land outside Da 'anmen, east to Guancao Mountain, south to Shahe on the left side of Duobao Temple, west to Tugou and north to Xiangbizui. More than 370 fields are included in its property. At that time, no matter how many acres, it was rich for a while. This is also the most glorious time in the history of Duobao Temple. There are many monks and nuns in the temple, which are thriving, and pilgrims from south to north all come here. Since Duobao Temple has been so splendid for thousands of years, why did it die quietly? After all, Duobao Temple is located in the suburbs, which is too far away from the city. At that time, the traffic was inconvenient, and there were no horses and chariots, so it was inconvenient to come and go, so not many people came here. During the Qianlong period, Duobao Temple gradually became deserted and the incense was sparse. Occasionally, someone comes and starts singing birds. In the early years of the Republic of China, the world was in chaos. At that time, the abbot suddenly made trouble because of lax discipline. A monk, unable to bear loneliness, secretly ran out to drink and gamble, got into a fight with a soldier and ran back to the temple. Warlords have long been eyeing this fat meat, so they came to you, threatened and lured, and took the opportunity to seize the temple land. Since then, temples have declined and never recovered. Without incense and land, all the monks fled. Although the abbot suddenly changed his name, he still didn't. He had no choice. He took a look at the once glorious temple with the parcel and went back to his hometown to farm. The once glorious Duobao Temple was closed. It is said that many years later, someone came here, and the temple was abandoned long ago, leaving only broken bricks and tiles. In a bare jungle and thorns, you can still see the two stone buildings, one of which is engraved with the Lotus Sutra set in Yongzheng, and the rest are nothing.