There is an ancient temple in the Tang Dynasty in Anhui Province. There are not many tourists on weekdays, but when the autumn wind comes and the plants are covered with Yellowstone, the ancient temple is crowded with people, and tourists from afar just want to see the charm of these two ancient ginkgo trees. This is Hoonji from Shouxian County.
The ancient temple was built during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that it was built on the orders of Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty. Before Tang Xuanzang went west to seek dharma, he had traveled all over the country. At that time, he was still young. Returning from the Western Expedition, he is 43 years old, and Shouxian is far from Chang 'an. It is unlikely that Tang Xuanzang personally supervised the construction, but it is possible to send disciples to build it.
Originally called Tuozengji, this temple became famous after its completion. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were nine towers to store relics. When Su Shi visited the ancient temple, he wrote: "Shouzhou has seen the White Stone Pagoda, but the low pagoda has not turned to Huangmaogang."
1862 stupa was destroyed, leaving only three floors. 1977 was completely demolished, and now only the pagoda site is left, which is desolate. Surprisingly, when the stupa was demolished, the underground palace was accidentally discovered under the stupa. There are gorgeous murals in the underground palace, and there is a stone box with a silver coffin, a gold comb and some relics.
Whose monk are these relics? Who made such a beautiful gold coffin? There are no answers to these questions, but they add to the mystery of Hoonji and tell the world the splendor of the ancient temple.
I was lucky enough to see the gold coffins and relics preserved in Shouxian Museum. There are dozens of relics, such as large and small glass balls with different colors and small gold vases, which are exquisitely made. They are painted all over and carved with great care. They must be expensive. These two cultural relics have also become the treasures of Shouxian Museum, attracting many tourists every day.
Hoonji was renamed Ming Dynasty. It is said that the abbot of the temple once saved a big snake. Later, when the abbot became ill, the serpent came to lick the abbot's body to eliminate the disease, hence the name Hoonji. Legend is a legend after all. No one would want the serpent to save his life, but the source of the name must be related to repaying kindness.
In Shouxian County, Anhui Province, everyone knows Hoonji's name and enjoys a high reputation among the people. After I arrived in Shouxian, my first scenic spot went here. This ancient temple is located in an alley. When I went there, I was building a road, surrounded by iron gates. I turned to leave without finding the entrance.
When I got back, I thought that such a famous temple should be left alive. Sure enough, when I rushed to it for the second time, I found a gap, so I could bend over and go through it. People with incense walked by, just because I was too careless the first time and took an extra trip.
The ancient temple is very peaceful, with yellow walls, green glazed tiles and pine trees. It looks like a thousand-year-old temple. The temple doesn't accept tickets, so you can enter and leave at will. There's not even a monk at the door. Exactly: "Deep alleys and ancient temples are silent for thousands of years."
There is a couplet on the mountain gate: although the sky is vast and moist, there is no grass without roots, and Buddhism is poor and difficult. I like this couplet very much. It is often said that Buddhism can cross people. In fact, what you can cross is yourself after all. To experience, to feel, to mend, to be merciful, and to cross yourself is liberation.
I went directly to the Hall of the Great Hero, which is the most magnificent building in the temple. There are two ancient ginkgo trees in front of the temple.
Both ginkgo trees are male trees, planted in 635 AD, the same age as the ancient temple, further verifying the age of Hoonji. For more than 65,438+0,000 years, ancient trees and temples have stood side by side and experienced storms. Spring goes to Qiu Lai, cold goes to summer, and it is prosperous and far away from the world of mortals. It has witnessed the changes from generation to generation and has long been a sacred tree in the hearts of Shouxian people.
From the perspective of Buddhism in China, Ginkgo biloba itself is a sacred tree. Ginkgo biloba is one of the only rare tree species in China and is known as a "living fossil".
Its golden leaves can grow for thousands of years and flourish. Ginkgo biloba is a sacred fruit, which is called "the Bodhi Tree of China". Staying in the golden autumn season is like shining golden armor, dazzling and eye-catching, which outlines a gorgeous and beautiful autumn scenery.
There are 1 1 thousand-year-old ginkgo trees in the ancient city of Shouxian County, which are called the national treasure ginkgo trees of Shouxian County, and the two densest trees are in Hoonji. The two trees are more than 20 meters high, and the single tree is a forest, which covers the sky and is spectacular. It's just that when I went there, it was still early, and the leaves were not all yellow. The yellow ones were green and were in a transitional stage.
It is said that 1 1 turned yellow in the middle of1October. At that time, the whole tree was like a golden fairy tale, which was amazing in autumn. Many tourists will come here to pick leaves one by one, because ginkgo trees have lived in the temple for more than 300 years/kloc-0, and the leaves are contaminated with aura, so many people will come to pick leaves as a souvenir.
There are eighteen arhats clay sculptures in Daxiong Hall, which are rare treasures. It is the work of Yang Huizhi, a sculptor in the Qing Dynasty, and there are only fifteen statues left. Of all the temples in China, there are only three sets of Yang Huizhi's eighteen arhats, and the other two sets are located in Hangzhou and Lhasa respectively. Keshou County is only a small county, which shows the status of Hoonji.
Then there is the "Pilu Buddha Hall", which is dedicated to Pilu Jinna Buddha, the Dharma Buddha of Sakyamuni. There are three kinds of Buddha bodies, namely: Pilu Channa Buddha, Lu Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha. Lu is a Buddha who reports to the body, and Sakyamuni Buddha is a Buddha who responds to the body, that is, a Buddha who lives in real life.
If the moss steps are not swept every day, the ginkgo leaves will fall in the autumn wind. Now that late autumn has arrived, Hoonji's ginkgo is about to be amazing. If you want to enjoy the brilliant autumn colors, come to this thousand-year-old temple.
Address: Old Town, Shou County, Huainan, Anhui. Tickets are not accepted.
Transportation: There are few buses in the old city, so it is recommended to take a taxi or ride a bike.