Fazhao of Tang (Fourth Patriarch of the Lotus Sect) Fazhao. I don’t know what kind of life background he was. In the second year of Dali of Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty (767 AD), he lived in Yunfeng Temple in Hengzhou (now Hengyang, Hunan), and was diligent in practicing and n

Tang Fazhao (Fourth ancestor of the Lotus Sect)

　　Fazhao. A person who doesn’t know what his life background was, in the second year of Dali (767 AD), he lived in Yunfeng Temple in Hengzhou (now Hengyang, Hunan), and practiced diligently and never slacked off. One day, when I was having a meal in the vegetarian hall, I saw five-color auspicious clouds in the bowl with porridge. A mountain forest temple appeared in the clouds. There was a mountain to the northeast of the temple, with a stream at the foot of the mountain, and a stone gate to the north of the stream water. There was a temple inside the stone gate, and its plaque was engraved: "Da Sheng Zhulin Temple". One day, I saw in the bowl again that there were several temples in the clouds, with pools, water, high platforms, palaces and pavilions, and tens of thousands of Bodhisattvas living in it. Fazhao asked some good teachers about the realm he saw. A monk said, "The wonderful changes of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and saints cannot be speculated by the sentiments of ordinary people. But if we only look at the geographical situation of mountains and rivers, this place should be Mount Wutai."

　　In the fourth year of Dali (769 AD), Fazhao opened a five-meeting Buddhist chanting temple in Hudong Temple in this county, which sensed the auspicious clouds covered the sky, and solemn pavilions appeared in the clouds, Pure Land Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva , and the bodies of the three Western saints filled the void. After seeing this, the people in Hengzhou burned incense and watched for a week, and it took a long time to disappear. Another day, Fazhao met an old man and said to him, "You once vowed to go to the golden world of Mount Wutai to worship and see Manjushri Bodhisattva . Why stop moving forward now?" After that, they disappeared. Fazhao then went to Mount Wutai with several like-minded people.

　　On April 6, in the fifth year of Dali (770 AD), Fazhao and his group arrived at Fuguang Temple in Wutai County. At the fourth o'clock that night (1-3 o'clock in the morning), Fazhao saw a strange light shining on his body from afar, so he approached and followed. After walking fifty miles, I saw a mountain with a stream at the foot of the mountain and a stone gate to the north of the stream. When I saw two boys who claimed to be Shancai and Nanda, they guided Fazhao to a temple with the plaque saying: "Da Sheng Zhulin Temple", just like I saw it in a bowl in the past. Here, the gold is the seven treasures of the earth, and the entire temple is solemnly decorated with treasures. Fazhao then entered the temple and entered the lecture hall. He saw Manjushri Bodhisattva on the west side and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on the east side. Each of them sat on the throne of the master. Tens of thousands of Bodhisattvas surrounded him. Manjushri and Samantabhadra are the public speaking around him. Fazhao then asked forward and bowed, and then asked, "The ordinary beings in the era of Dharma-Ending are far away from the time when the Buddha was alive. They have shallow knowledge and poor roots, and their karma and afflictions are particularly deep. The pure Buddha nature that they originally possess cannot be revealed. And the Dharma is vast and vast. I don't know what method to practice to get the most important point of Buddhism?"

: "The method of chanting Buddha's name you are practicing now is the most suitable for this Dharma-Ending Age. Among all practice methods, there is no better than chanting Buddha's name and offering the Three Jewels. If you can do this, you can quickly and perfectly practice both blessings and wisdom. The two methods of chanting Buddha's name and offering the Three Jewels are the most superior and important. I Manjushri In the past kalpas, I obtained all the wisdom of Tathagata because of visualizing the Buddha, chanting Buddha's name, and chanting Buddha's name. Therefore, you should know that all dharmas, Prajna Paramita, and profound meditation, and even all Buddhas in the ten directions are born from remembering Buddha's name. Therefore, we can see that the method of chanting Buddha's name is the king of all dharmas."

　　Fazhao asked again: "So how should you recite?" Manjushri Bodhisattva replied : "In the west of this Saha world, there is Amitabha Buddha. The vows made by that Buddha are incredible. You should continue pure thoughts one after another and not let them stop. After your death, you will definitely be reborn in the Pure Land and stay in a place of unretreatment forever."After saying that, Manjushri and Samantabhadra, the two great saints, stretched out their golden arms and stroked the head of Fazhao, and said, "Because you recite the Buddha's name, you will soon attain the supreme Bodhi." If there are good men and women, and hope to become a Buddha as quickly as possible, there is nothing better than chanting Buddha's name. As long as you recite the Buddha's name with all your heart, you can quickly attain the supreme Bodhi. "After listening, Fazhao happily bowed to the Bodhisattva and then left the lecture hall. The two boys sent him out of the temple. As soon as they looked up, the entire temple suddenly disappeared and disappeared. Fazhao therefore piled up stones there to mark its place.

　　On April 13, Fazhao and more than fifty monks went to the Vajra Cave on Mount Wutai, piously and respectfully On the thirty-fiveth day of the Buddha's name, Fazhao only worshiped ten times, and suddenly saw that the whole place became vast, vast, solemn and clean, with a palace built from pure glass, including the two great saints, Manjushri and Samantabhadra. Later, Fazhao went to the Vajra Cave alone, hoping to see Manjushri Bodhisattva again, so he fell to the ground and bowed respectfully. Suddenly, he saw a pure monk named Buddha Poly, who guided him into a temple with the plaque at the door titled " : "Vajra Prajna Temple", the entire temple is made of strange treasures, and the pure and bright light shines brightly.

　Although Fazhao has repeatedly experienced incredible auspicious responses, he has never told others. In December of the same year (that is, 770 AD), he entered the Buddhist chanting temple at Huayan Temple, cut off his diet and set a date, and vowed to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. On the first night of the seventh day, Fazhao was chanting Buddha's name, and saw a pure monk entering the temple and tell him: "How can you not show the extraordinary realm of the golden world of Manjushri Bodhisattva in Mount Wutai? "After saying that, he disappeared. Fazhao felt very strange in his heart at that time. The next day, he saw the pure monk again, and he still said it yesterday. Fazhao then replied: "I do not dare to hide the incredible state of Manjushri, but I am afraid that ordinary people will become suspicious and slander them. "The pure monk said, "The Great Sage Manjushri Bodhisattva, who is now living in Mount Wutai, is going to attract slander. What do you have to cherish yourself and what can you let go of? Just tell the sentient beings in the world universally the realm you see, so that all those who see and hear will develop the Bodhicitta, just like plastering a poisonous drum, it can be universally used as a cause and condition that affects sentient beings (referring to all those who see and hear and hear will develop the Bodhicitta). "Fa Zhao recalled the realm he saw and heard, and recorded it and spread it to the world.

　　The second year (771 AD ), Shi Huicong from Jiangdong, and some monks from Huayan Temple, accompanied Fazhao to the Vajra Cave, and the place where stone marks were set up in the Dasheng Zhulin Temple to pay tribute to the ruins of the past. After coming to this place, just as the public was in the hearts of sadness and joy, he suddenly heard a bell. Its voice was elegant and loud, and the syllable passages were clear and distinct. Everyone felt more and more surprised and weird, and then they realized that the realm of what Fazhao saw and heard was indeed true, so they wrote this matter Write and record it on the wall of the Vajra Cave. All those who wish to see and hear can develop the supreme bodhicitta together. Later, a community temple was built on the place where the plaque was entitled "Da Sheng Zhulin Temple", which was still called Zhulin Temple .

　　From then, Fazhao devoted himself to chanting Buddha's name, and worked diligently day and night and rested continuously. One day, he suddenly saw the monk Buddha Poly telling him : "Your Lotus in the Pure Land has been accomplished, and the lotus will bloom in three years. "When three years arrived, Fazhao told the public, "I'm leaving." "Then he sat upright and passed away. Some people also said: Fazhao once held a five-meeting chanting Buddha's name in Bingzhou, Shanxi. When Emperor Dezong of Tang , the emperor ordered him to enter the capital and asked him to teach the palace people in the palace to chant Buddha's name. There were also as many as five-meeting chanting, so he was called "Five-meeting Master". (Biography of the Song Dynasty monks Lebang)

Attachment: Introduction to Dasheng Zhulin Temple

Zhulin Temple is located west of Jiulonggang, near Zhulin Village on the south foot of Central Tai, 26 kilometers away from Taihuai Town.If you take a car to Zhulin Temple, you will gradually become more and more open and distant. The temple area is full of flowers, the mountain springs flow down the temple, and the mountains are surrounded by shallow mountains. People are in it, as if they are in a huge lotus. This place with a very magical color was noticed by monks as early as , in the Tang Dynasty, and interpreted many mysterious and bizarre stories, which eventually became a nationally famous Pure Land Temple in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Zhulin Temple was first built in during the reign of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1,200 years. Although it has been built since then, the deep marks of Tang Dynasty still exist today. From the time of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan , the Emperor of the Li family dynasty believed in Buddhism and was called Du. When she was in her youth, she had a deeper relationship with Buddhism. After becoming emperor, he not only built a temple and pagoda on Mount Wutai, but also ordered people to carve their own imperial appearance into the mountain to worship the Bodhisattva. Wu's worship of Buddhism greatly flourished Buddhism in Mount Wutai. When it was passed down to Li Yu , although the national strength began to decline, Buddhism was growing day by day. It was true that officials believed in Buddhism and the people worshipped Buddha. Li Yu, the eleventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was also a bit ridiculous. He quelled the " Anshi Rebellion " and recovered the two capitals. After returning to the Daming Palace , he believed that it was the protection of the Bodhisattva. His belief in Buddhism can be said to be even more than that among the emperors. Therefore, in the first year of Yongtai, the Tubo army was at the city. Instead of ordering the three armies to go to meet the enemy, he pulled out the "Sutra of the Protector of the Country and the King of Protecting the Country" from the palace, and ordered Bukong Sanzang to organize a Dharma Assembly. He could still lead all officials to burn incense and recite the scriptures in a moderate manner. Strangely, Li Yu really sang this ridiculous "empty city plan" (the foreign soldiers retreated without knowing the truth). This period can be said to be the heyday of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty. The legendary reason for the construction of Zhulin Temple was because Li Yu heard , Wutai Mountain Zhulin Temple , on the hillside of Zhulin Temple in Wutai Mountain, singing and reciting the beautiful Wuhui Dharma sound. Li Yu, Daizong of

Chang'an , burned incense and sat quietly in the Daming Palace one day. Suddenly, the sound of Dharma came from his ears, lingering in endlessly. After careful analysis, it is like a sheng and a singing Qin, a wonderful sound bird (the Buddha bird in the Western Paradise, also known as the Jialing Pinjia bird) singing, and it is like a stream and mountain spring, competing for the wonderful sound of the clan, and its rhythm is extremely beautiful, which makes the emperor feel comfortable all over. After Daizong escaped from the Zen realm, he ordered people to go and check it out immediately. The messenger came to Wutai Mountain Zhulin Ridge and saw a monk in a ragged monk's robe in the wilderness. He was walking in the mountains and forests and singing to the sky. The envoy returned to Kyoto and conveyed the Dharma to the great sage. Emperor Daizong of Qin. When Daizong heard this, he was overjoyed and ordered Fazhao to be appointed as the national teacher and ordered him to build the Dasheng Zhulin Temple at the place where Manjushri showed his holy to promote the Dharma sounds of the Five Associations.

　　About the history of Master Fazhao , he is a famous monk named Kuiji, Master Wutai Mountain in the Tang Dynasty (the great disciple of Tang Xuanzang ), Master Degan (by Wu Zezai's order, stationed in Xilitun Qingliang Temple , in charge of national Buddhist affairs), Bukong Sanzang (the three generations of Emperors of Tang Dynasty who were ordered by Daizong to initiate the national master), and Chengguan (the master of the Nine Emperors of the Tang Dynasty, who was named Qingliang National Master, and once lived in Dahuayan Temple, which is now Xiantong Temple ). He is a native of Tianzhong County, four provinces. He believed in Amitabha when he was young. He first became Huiyuan and went to Lushan to become a Western temple. Later, he went to Hengshan to teach Chengyuan to recite Amitabha. Fazhao inherited the Pure Land thought of Huiri School, and absorbed the parallel visualization and chanting Buddha's name of Taochuo. With the five sounds of blowing the treasure tree through the stroke of the Great Amitabha Sutra, the Five Consorts of Buddha's chanting Buddha's Dharma was established. He was respected by Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty as a national teacher (also known as the Five Masters of the Five Pure Land Masters), and wrote "The Five Pure Land Masters of the Pure Land of Buddha Reciting Sutras and Contemplations". He was the fourth ancestor of the Pure Land of Buddhism in my country. The story of his realization that the Wuhui Buddha's chanting in Mount Wutai should have a virtual element, but he did build Zhulin Temple in the 14th year of Zhenyuan (798), and set up a Pure Land Temple in Mount Wutai, which specializes in dialectically promoting the Wuhui Buddha's chanting method he founded.Later, when Fazhao entered , Bingzhou was promoted, Dezong, the son of Daizong, sent an envoy to welcome him to Chang'an and ordered 500 monks and nuns to sing. Therefore, the Wuhui Dharma sounds and Buddhist music from Mount Wutai were introduced to the palace. For a time, the Buddha sounds inside and outside the palace were vast, and the Wuhui sings spread throughout the country. Master Fazhao became famous throughout the country.

　　The Zhulin Temple created by Master Fazhao is not only grand in scale, solemn and beautiful, but also has perfect rituals and a prosperous reputation. Therefore, half a century later, the eminent monk Yuanren and Quoting Master Yuanren and Quoting Master was attracted to the Tang Dynasty. Master Yuanren Cijue is the third-generation master of Yanli Temple in Hiei Mountain in Japan and a famous monk of the Tianzong in Japan. As the identity of "Ask for the monk", he lived in Zhulin Temple for half a month during the more than two months of visiting Mount Wutai during the reign of Kaicheng in the Tang Dynasty (838). He conducted a detailed visit and inspection, and carefully studied the temple's doctrines, rituals, Buddhist rituals and Buddhist chanting of the five associations. His disciples Wei Zheng and Wei Xiao were also at the All Saint White Jade Altar in the temple (it was one of the only two precepts in the country at that time, and the other was in Songshan. Only by taking precepts in Mount Wutai and Songshan could one become a formal monk and nun). He asked the great master to enter the altar to receive the full precepts. This confirmed from one aspect the solemnity and prosperity of Zhuyao Temple at that time. In the " Entry to the Tang Dynasty to Seek the Dharma Tour " written by Yuanren, the Zhulin Temple has a detailed description. It is said that the Zhulin Temple at that time included the Law Court, the Kuyuan, the Huayan Court, the Pavilion Court, the Buddha Hall and the Prajna Temple for chanting Buddha. Due to Yuan Ren's introduction, the reputation of Zhulin Temple lasted for a long time in Japan (at that time, two Buddhist temples in Japan were named and renamed Zhulin Temple one after another). In front of the main hall of the ancient bamboo forest temple in Wutai Mountain, a monument erected by a Japanese monk on Mount Hana in 1942 for Master Yuanren Cijue. It has become a witness to Chinese cultural exchanges. From now on, all Japanese Buddhist believers who come to Mount Wutai will come here to visit and rituals. In this sense, whether it is Fazhao or Yuanren, their contributions to Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges and the friendly exchanges between the people are indelible.

Zhulin Temple is backed by the middle platform, facing north and south, built on the mountain, covering an area of ​​2142 square meters. Since Fazhao founded the temple. It has not been repaired in all dynasties. Among them, the Sakyamuni Relic Tower built by the Ming Dynasty, can be regarded as a representative building in Wutai Mountain (this tower is a hundred bright relics treasured by a farmer in the Ming Dynasty, which was collected by the Mu family in Yanjing in the fourth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty.) This 25-meter-high pavilion-style brick tower has five floors of octagonal shape, with a magnificent and beautiful shape. The tower can reach three floors, with layers of carved brackets, tower eaves, bases, rafters and tiles clear and elegant. There are five upper layers in the pagoda, which offer 13 Buddha statues including Sakyamuni, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, , Ksitigarbha , etc. It is the only pagoda that can be walked up to Mount Wutai.

　　Bhulin Temple to was rebuilt from ancient lamps. Wanli htmlMaster Zhencheng rebuilt during the 2nd year. The original mountain gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Bell and Drum Tower, the main hall, the side hall, the Zen temple, etc. Later, due to wind and rain, it was eroded by man-made destruction and became decadent. In recent years, the newly built Dasheng Zhulin Temple has been rebuilt from Miaojiang and Miaojiang's disciples (current abbot Jingxian) based on the original site. The newly built Dasheng Zhulin Temple is divided into two parts. The upper part is Chinese Buddhist Academy and the lower part is a Buddhist chanting site. At present, on the basis of the six major courtyards, the Great Temple, Wuguan Hall and teaching buildings with modern facilities have been built. Their majestic and grand style is impressive and has become a famous Chinese Male Buddhist Academy in Mount Wutai.

Why is the Zhulin Temple in Wutai Mountain called Dasheng Zhulin Temple? This question is pointed out and very direct. Students, when it comes to this Zhulin Temple, in Buddhism, the first temple of Sakyamuni Buddha is called Zhulin Temple . In India, there were no temples at first, and they were all called monasteries, also called silence, which was the place of practice. Our Wutai Mountain Bamboo Forest Temple is in the realm of Bodhisattvas, which means that only Bodhisattvas can see the bamboo forest, and we are still a bit far away now. So there is a saying in Mount Wutai: Zhulin Temple does not have bamboo , lion's nest does not have lions, Qingliang Bridge does not have bridges, and Vajra Caves does not have caves. Why? Because these are all the realms of Bodhisattvas. (Reprinted from Miaojiang Master Teaching)