introduce
Xuanzhong Temple is located in Jiaocheng County, driving about 10 kilometers northwest, you can see a winding and flat mountain road, which leads directly to the distant mountains. Along the mountain road through layers of mountains, you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery along the way.
Walking to a place, a tall stone tablet stands impressively by the side of the road, with six big characters written: Namo Amitabha. At this time, it seems as if a thick sandalwood is blowing towards your face. Even if you have never been here, you will still guess that there must be an ancient temple not far ahead. That's right, at the end of the mountain road is Xuanzhong Temple.
Xuanzhong Temple is hidden in the green bushes of Shibi Mountain. If you are lucky, you will happen to see one or a few brown-eared pheasants taking a leisurely walk. Don't be surprised that the brown-eared pheasants will not hide when they see people, because they have often come to the temple to forage for several years, and they have lived in harmony with the monks for a long time. This is also a unique view of Xuanzhong Temple. The mountain gate of Xuanzhong Temple is just under the cliff, and the two ends of the gate are written "Ancestral Court of the Pure Land of the World, Holy Land of Mahayana in China". Go up a section of the slope, and you will see the archway of the temple, with a letter: Pure Land Ancient Temple. From this, the ancient and important position of Xuanzhong Temple is clear at a glance.
Who built the temple on the mountain here? How did Xuanzhong Temple become the ancestral home of the Pure Land? In fact, the answer is not complicated. Xuanzhong Temple, also known as Shibi Xuanzhong Temple and Yongning Temple, was founded in the second year of Yanxing in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 472).
Regarding Tan Luan's founding of Xuanzhong Temple, some people once raised doubts, thinking that Tan Luan's birth time did not match the founding time of Xuanzhong Temple. According to the existing records, it is generally believed that Tanluan was born in the first year of Chengming, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, in 476 AD, while Xuanzhong Temple was founded in 472 AD. Judging from this time, it is indeed contradictory to say that Tan Luan founded Xuanzhong Temple. So here comes the question, was Xuanzhong Temple founded by Tanluan? There is more than a thousand years between the Northern Wei Dynasty and today, and the history has a long history. All historical materials and historical books have survived endless ups and downs in the vastness of mist, and all kinds of inaccuracies, mistakes or loss are inevitable. For example, there are historical materials claiming that Tan Luan once wrote two volumes of "An Le Ji" and handed it down to the world. In fact, "An Le Ji" was written by his later disciple Dao Chuo, and what Tan Luan wrote was "Annotation on Past Life". Therefore, what our descendants have to do is to find more detailed, reasonable, and rigorous basis among the many complicated clues to restore the historical truth as much as possible. The "Stele Ode to the Statue of Maitreya" currently in Xuanzhong Temple was engraved in the 26th year of Tang Kaiyuan (AD 738). The inscription has detailed records, and the founder of Xuanzhong Temple is Tanluan. According to other historical records, in the second year of Yanxing in the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, in 472 A.D., Tanluan was already in charge of the initial construction of Xuanzhong Temple, which coincides with the inscription on the "Stele Ode to Maitreya". It can be seen from this that it is impossible for Tanluan's birth year to be in the Chengming period, at least it should be before the second year of Yanxing in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
There is also a more direct evidence, which is the "Four Arrivals of Teci Temple Mountain, Forest, Land and Soil" existing in Xuanzhong Temple. The inscription records: "In the second year of Yanxing Emperor Xiaowen, the sixth lord of the Wei Dynasty, the patriarch Tanluan of Shibiyu first built the temple, and it was not until the first year of Chengming." "The Four Records of Special Bestowed Temple Mountains, Forests and Lands" was established by monks Huimiao and Huizhi. It was engraved on May 23rd in the third year of Changqing in the Tang Dynasty (823 A.D.). The whole story of Xuanzhong Temple. In summary, although the exact date of Tanluan's birth still needs further research, there is no need to doubt that Tanluan was the founder of Xuanzhong Temple.
We already know that at the age of 51, Master Tanluan met Bodhiliuzhi, the Buddhist monk of North India, and obtained the true Buddhist method of liberation from life and death from Bodhiliuzhi. "Shou Jing", and decided to believe in the Pure Land from now on, and specialize in promoting pure karma. In fact, at that time, Tanluan was already an eminent monk. He called himself the Great Master of Wei Xuanjian, and was respected by the emperors of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and monks and common people. Live in Bingzhou Temple.
Tanluan did not go to Shibi Mountain after leaving Bodhiliuzhi, but left Bingzhou Temple after doing in-depth research on the teachings and thoughts of the Pure Land. At this time, it was a matter of course for Master Tanluan to build a temple to realize his ambition. Therefore, it can be said that Xuanzhong Temple came into being as a fundamental Taoist temple dedicated to promoting the pure land.
Bingzhou is relatively close to Shibi Mountain in Jiaocheng, which is probably one of the main reasons why Tanluan chose Shibi Mountain to build a temple. In ancient times, Shibi Mountain was densely forested, with continuous springs in four seasons, deep valleys and steep cliffs, and towering mountains. A Wendi deep ditch ran from northwest to southeast and was about 10 miles long. Master Tanluan chose to build a temple in the middle of the ditch, with the mountain on his back. Facing the valley, the environment is very quiet and pleasant, which is very in line with the artistic conception of "pure land".
opening hours
Winter 8:00-18:00, no admission at 17:00; summer 8:00-19:00, no admission at 18:00.
