There are countless scenic spots and historical sites in all parts of the country, and of course there are also some ancient temples. Among these temples, there are only a handful of historical and famous ones, such as Beijing Jietai Temple, one of them. There is also a precept a

There are countless scenic spots and historical sites all over the country, and of course there are also some ancient temples. Among these temples, there are only a handful of historical and famous ones, such as Beijing Jietai Temple, one of them. There is also a precept altar here, which is hailed as the number one precept altar in the world by people. There are 113 strange stone statues on the precept altar, and they all tell us three principles... What kind of stone statues are they, and what is the reason? Let me reveal the secret below.

Jietai Temple is hidden in Ma'anshan outside Beijing city. Although the overall area of ​​the temple is not large, it is preserved very well. It is one of the most antique and original temples. According to historical records, Jietai Temple was originally named Huiju Temple . It was built in in the fifth year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (622 AD), and has a history of 1,400 years. By the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yingzong of the changed his name to Wanshou Temple, but because there was a decree altar in the temple, it was called decree temple by the local people, and it has been continued to this day.

In the 1990s, the cultural relics department conducted a census of cultural relics on Jietai Temple, with a total of more than 1,000 cultural relics of various types, from the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as pottery, gold and silver ware and jade, as well as stone statues and inscriptions and stone carvings. Among these cultural relics, stone pagodas, sutra pagodas and verb altars are rare treasures, especially well-preserved verb altars, which are the largest existing verb altars in my country so far. They are about 4.2 meters high and are stacked in three layers. Each layer has Sumeru mount , and there are also exquisitely carved stone statues and patterns.

The precepts are the place where the precepts are passed. As recorded in the Ming Dynasty's "Leave the Qing Sun Letter·The Precepts Altar": The precepts altar is opened every March, which is a place where monks in the world take precepts, and is called the Ten Thousand Precepts Altar. When ordinary people become monks, they usually need to be ordained and practice. Usually, the place where they are ordained is the precept altar, and then the abbot preaches the precepts to their disciples at the precept altar. Although the altar is an important building, not all temples have an altar. Because building an altar requires huge expenses, only larger temples can afford it.

There are three well-preserved altars in the world, namely Taiqing Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian and Jietai Temple in Beijing. The first altar in the world is Beijing Jietai Temple. As mentioned above, the precepts at Jietai Temple have three levels, which represents the holy land , Mount Sumeru , which is the center of the universe. Therefore, the precepts have a very high status in people's minds, not only the home of the spirit, but also the home of the soul. It is worth mentioning that the stone statues on the altar also have three meanings for us ordinary people.

First: Let us understand the importance of peace. After investigation, experts confirmed that in the Gengzi Incident in the late Qing Dynasty, Jietai Temple was baptized by war many times, and many stone statues on the Jietan were also destroyed. Later, a master who claimed to be the descendant of Zhang, a clay figure in Tianjin, took action and it took half a year to basically restore the destroyed stone statue on the altar. However, some have not been restored, with the purpose of leaving the mark of war, so that we modern people can understand that peace is hard-won and that we know how to cherish the beautiful life of the present.

2: Let us learn how to treat others well. After ordinary people take the precepts, in addition to practicing hard, they must also know how to do good and be lenient to others. As the saying goes, one good thing a day will bring you three thousand achievements. Taking the ordination at the altar is a powerful sense of ritual and will be blessed by the altar of sacrifice to the gods, but in fact, the kindness in the heart is also the best protector. In daily life, we should also speak more and do more good deeds. Only when we do kindness to others can others show kindness to us, so we are our protector.

3: Let us know the way to succeed. According to statistics, there are 113 small stone niches on the four walls of the ring hall, including 28 upper floors, 36 middle floors and 49 lower floors.In each stone niche, there is a small stone statue, which is the God of Rhinoceros, but each God of Rhinoceros is different. Some are hideous Rakshasa, some are majestic generals, some are hypocritical scholars, and some are the shapes of some animals. Experts say that such different precepts represent the vast number of sentient beings, which means that as long as everyone is dedicated to goodness, they can step on the right path and achieve success.

There is also a very well-known temple - Tantuo Temple. Every holiday, Tantuo Temple is crowded with people, but Jietai Temple is as deserted as ever. This is due to historical reasons and modern reasons. But this is also good. The more tranquility you have, the more you practice, and you can always maintain the original appearance of Jietai Temple.

Reference materials:
"Jietai Temple and God" Author: Wang Cheng, Publisher: China National Photography Art Publisher

Wen Lan Hairun Studio Editor-in-chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's