On the Thousand-year Historical Origin of Dali in Kunming from Two Temples

In my impression, the Buddhist temple should be a deep place where "my road twists and turns, passing through an empty valley sheltered from the wind and flourishing leaves, and reaching a Buddhist temple", a pure land on earth, with Cenlou dotted with distant sky, or the Qingyuan artistic conception of "clouds are still there after the green hills, and four or five peaks are painted in the southeast". However, these two monasteries in Yunnan have their own unique personalities and do not belong to any of them. These two temples are Chongsheng Temple at the foot of Cangshan Mountain in Dali and Yuantong Temple in downtown Kunming.

Kunming, Dali is more than 300 kilometers away. Due to geographical, traffic, population, ethnic and other factors, cultural differences formed earlier. Even in today's extremely convenient transportation, the cultures of the two places are still harmonious but different, each with its own characteristics, but these two temples have a profound historical origin as early as the Nanzhao period thousands of years ago. At that time, Dali was the western capital of Nanzhao and Kunming was the eastern capital of Nanzhao. Two monasteries, one in the west and the other in the east, face each other at a distance, which is the symbol of Nanzhao's heyday. Today, through these two monasteries, we can vaguely trace back to Dali and Kunming thousands of years ago.

The uniqueness of Chongsheng Temple is that it once carried the imperial atmosphere of Nanzhao for a hundred years. As a famous royal temple and political and religious center in Nanzhao Dali, in its heyday, it can be said that "Gaotang will eat thousands of people and ring bells and drums". Needless to say, nine of the twenty-second generation kings of Dali became monks in Chongsheng Temple. Once the beauty of Jiangshan is abandoned, it is often accompanied by ancient buddhas. What is the charm of this Chongsheng Temple?

Yuantong Temple, located in downtown Kunming, is quiet in the middle of the noise and sees the big from the small. Its connotation, as the name implies, is harmonious and harmonious, which not only combines the three major sects of Mahayana Buddhism (also known as northern Buddhism), Mahayana Buddhism (commonly known as Hinayana Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhism (also known as Lamaism), but also vaguely shows some traces of the coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism.

Chongsheng Temple —— The Imperial Weather of Opening and Closing the Atmosphere

Dali is a unique country in the history of China. In the 22nd generation, nine emperors became monks, and religion had a great influence on the secular world. Those ancient cities and ancient books have long since disappeared, leaving only Buddhism. Whether it is stupa grottoes or folk beliefs, the spiritual pursuits of Nanzhao and Dali for thousands of years are infiltrated between Canger like snow.

At the foot of Cangshan Mountain, the resplendent Chongsheng Temple, with morning bells and drums, tells the story of the rise and fall of an ancient country and a legendary history. From a distance, this is not a wound spreading on my road, passing through a protected valley, but a royal palace with an open and closed atmosphere. Thousands of years ago, it was the Wubai saints in Cangshan who went out for more than 300 miles to isolate the sun, the moon and the sky? We don't know, we can only stand on our feet and weave those stories by imagination.

Nowadays, there is no emperor in Chongsheng Temple, and those legends have disappeared in the long river of history, leaving only the words of Ling Xing's judgment, while the tradition of "exotic land, harmonious world" has always been preserved. In 2006, the Chongsheng Temple, which was rebuilt and opened to the public, reappeared the great achievements of the tenth generation Nanzhao King in persuading Feng You-"The foundation is seven miles, with a weekly area of more than 300 mu, 890 houses, 400 statues of Buddha1/kloc-0, and 45,500 statues of bronze". There are three towering pagodas in front of the temple.

The restoration of Chongsheng Temple ended Dali's century-old history of pagoda-free temple and formed the beautiful scenery of Baota Temple. The planning and layout of Chongsheng Temple takes the protection of the three pagodas as the core, which originates from history, draws lessons from the characteristics of the layout of famous foreign temples, and integrates the essence of architectural characteristics of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the primary and secondary axes, eight platforms with nine floors and eleven floors are planned and constructed. The whole antique building community covers an area of 600 mu, with a building area of 20080 square meters and a total investment of 65438+82 million yuan. On the main axis are Dapeng Golden Winged Bird Square, Shanmen, Dharma Hall, Maitreya Buddha Hall, Eleven Guanyin Hall, Daxiong Hall, Ayiye Guanyin Pavilion, Shanhai Daguan Stone Archway and Wanghailou in turn. On both sides of the central axis and on the secondary axis, there are the Logistics Communication Office of the Ministry of Justice, the Abbot Hall, the Guest Hall, the Zhaitang Hall, the Arhat Hall, the Thousand Buddha Gallery, the Ancestral Temple and the Buddhist Research Institute.

The whole layout is magnificent, solemn and beautiful, without losing national characteristics. The Buddha statues in the temple are based on John Zhang Warm Roll, Five Hundred Arhats and cultural relics unearthed from the Three Pagodas carved by Li Guangxiu in the Ming Dynasty. The statue combines the characteristics of "Zen Buddhism" and "tantric Buddhism", forming a unique statue style in Dali and restoring the imperial atmosphere of Chongsheng Temple.

Yuantong Temple-A Pure Land in the Noise

In the first year of Tang Yongtai (765), Nanzhao built Tuodong Town on the north bank of Dianchi Lake, and at the same time built a number of temples with Nanzhao Buddhist characteristics, among which Butuo Temple, which was built under the cliff of Luofeng Mountain in the northeast suburb of Tuodong Town, was one of them. Butuo Temple is the predecessor of Yuantong Temple.

"Budura" is a transliteration of Sanskrit Potalaka, which is also translated as "Potala" or "Putuo", meaning "Mingshan Mountain with small white flowers" and is the Guanyin Dojo. "Tong Yuan" is one of the 32 names of Guanyin, also known as "Master Tong Yuan". Therefore, "Budura" or "Tong Yuan" is a temple dedicated to Guanyin.

Guanyin, with the introduction of Tibetan tantric Buddhism into Yunnan, first settled in Erhai Lake and became one of the main idols of Yunnan tantric Buddhism. Nanzhao maharaja regarded Tuodong City as the "East Capital". At the beginning of the city construction, Butuo Temple was built in Kanongji. After several repairs, the temple formed the Yuantong Temple we see today.

However, after entering the mountain gate, all the monasteries are upward. The Hall of Ursa Major is higher than the mountain gate, while Yuantong Temple is just the opposite. After entering the mountain gate, it is not uphill, but downhill along the central axis. The exquisite Tong Yuan Scenic Square stands in the middle of the gentle slope, while the Tong Yuan Treasure Hall is located at the lowest point of the temple. There is a pool in front, and cloisters on both sides connect the opposite doors around the pool, forming a unique style of waterside temples and pond courtyards. Castle Peak, clear water, colorful fish, white bridge and Hong Ting complement each other with the temples in the temple, with picturesque scenery.

The surrounding scenery of Yuantong Temple is beautiful. The cliff behind the temple is steep, the mountains are lush, the trees are shaded, the springs under the cliff are gurgling, and the sunrise and sunset are reflected on the stone wall, which is beautiful and moving. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a poem of "Ancient Water Sound, New Mountain Scenery" and an inscription of "Xia Hengping". Although there are buildings all around now, the temple is full of green hills, halls, colorful squares and waterside pavilions. There is a hole in the sky and a cloud in the sky: "The ancient temple is in a busy city. It is confusing to see how you can settle down." The Buddha takes it to heart, and tourists and spectators can pay tribute at will and go to Elysium. "

The buildings in Yuantong Temple are mainly Mahayana Buddhism (also known as northern Buddhism), and there are also Buddhist temples of Shangpai Buddhism (commonly known as Hinayana Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhism (also known as Lamaism). The bronze Buddha Hall of Hinayana Buddhist Temple is an exquisite Thai building with slim appearance and rich gold, which is located at the back of Tongyuan Hall. The Puguang Mingtang, a temple of Tibetan Buddhism, is in the east, where Tibetan Buddhist monks are enshrined.

In addition, the eight-hole wood carving immortals on the archway in Tong Yuan Scenic Area, the Taoist immortals such as Samsung in Antarctica, the Taoist clay sculpture immortals on the two walls of the main hall, the word "shou" on the screen, and the stone carvings of Zhang Sanfeng and Taoists all reflect the coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism in Yuantong Temple. It is also the name "Tong Yuan", which is homophonic and harmonious.