When tourists feel the hustle and bustle in Humble Administrator's Garden, Hanshan Temple and Tiger Hill, the niche and elegance of Xiyuan are probably only known by local people-tasting a pot of Xiyuan Zen tea, making a bowl of noodle soup in the early morning, and meeting sticky temple cats everywhere, which is Gusu time.
/kloc-in 0/8, Seongji voluntarily withdrew from the national 4A scenic spot. Four years later, can Cylons survive without 4A aura?
Saionji was founded between the Yuan Dynasty and the first year of Zhengzheng. It was called Guiyuan Temple at that time, and it has a history of more than 700 years. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Mao Lin, a lawyer, preached legalism here, renamed it Zhuangjie Fawu Temple, and was commonly known as Saiweng Temple by Suzhou people because of the release pond in the West Garden.
On the bank of Shangtang River, on the side of Qiao Feng Road, a yellow wall and a ceramic tile wall separate the noisy world. On this shore, people are living, and on the other shore, people are avoiding dust and cleaning up.
Behind the wall, Wisdom Bridge and Fude Bridge span the Shangtang River, which is said to be the blessing and expectation of the abbot of the temple to all beings. The river flows and the bridge is mottled. In and out of the temple, exquisite tourists will always step on different arch bridges and make small prayers in the dust.
Walking through an empty gate, an empty gate and an empty gate, you enter the real West Park.
Actually, saionji is not too big. On the front garden side of the river, the bell tower and drum tower stand opposite each other at the end of Bodhi Road. Every morning and evening, bells and drums will ring for major sacrificial activities and homework.
When the morning bell rings and Sanskrit sounds around your ears, you can also get a little peace of mind and body in saionji.
Passing through the Heavenly King's Hall dedicated to the four heavenly kings, the magnificent Hall of Great Heroes came into view. The Hall of the Great Hero is leaning against the mountain with double eaves, seven feet wide and upturned cornices, which has typical characteristics of Buddhist temples in the south of the Yangtze River.
The Buddha statue in Daxiong Hall is solemn and agile, dedicated to three Buddhas: Sakyamuni Buddha is the founder of Buddhism, leading others to feel him consciously; The pharmacist Buddha is the leader of the oriental glass world. He protects people from disasters and prolongs their life. Amitabha is the leader of the western paradise, leading all beings to get rid of their troubles.
Although Siangji is a minority temple in Suzhou, locals like to burn incense here. Candles burn for a long time, igniting hope, and falling down is prayer.
The only well-preserved and highly carved Luohan group portrait in Jiangsu is in the Luohan Hall of Xiyuan Temple. Counting arhats has also become a leisure game for tourists and pilgrims.
Choose an arhat who is destined to start counting the imaginary years, stop when you count to which arhat, write down the arhat, and exchange it for an arhat card to get the corresponding poem title.
Ren Guang Release Pond is surrounded by the West Garden, and the water in the pond is sparkling and agile, with twists and turns, sometimes bright and sometimes dark. The release pond is not only a place for doing good deeds, but also a place for tourists to hang out.
In the past, there were two spotted channel catfish in the pool, which were 400 years old in the Ming Dynasty and were called Fangfang and Yuanyuan respectively. It is said that seeing spotted salamander will bring good luck and is a sign of auspicious arrival.
Although I didn't meet them when I went, I met many koi fish, pigeons and turtles. Creatures everywhere add vitality to saionji.
There is a pavilion in the center of the release pond. You can lean against the fence to watch the snow in winter and have fun with fish in summer. The water gallery lingers, the pavilions and ponds set each other off, and the gardens and temples blend together. Only in saionji can we appreciate the noble and elegant scenery.
Su-style noodles have a lot to pay attention to from ingredients to noodles to soup, such as traditional Aozao noodles, Fengzhen meat noodles, soup fried fish noodles, street snacks mutton noodles and so on. ......
Saionji's vegetarian noodles have been tested by local pilgrims for many years, and it is worth a taste in the mountains and rivers.
The vegetarian restaurant in the temple is near the Tianwang Temple, and you can see it by walking through the narrow cloister under Ruyi Gate. On weekdays, the vegetarian restaurant provides three kinds of vegetarian noodles, vegetarian buns, some side dishes and drinks, and vegetarian biscuits. Vegetarian buffet is provided on Saturday and Sunday.
Vegetarian restaurant provides three kinds of vegetarian noodles: Jixiang noodles, Guanyin noodles and Ruyi noodles. Guanyin noodles are the signature of saionji. When we went, we found that many diners arrived early in the morning. After paying the ticket, they deliberately wanted to eat a bowl of soup of Guanyin noodles.
/Guanyin noodles 15 yuan/
Guanyin noodle soup is bright, sweet and rich in toppings. As soon as the toppings of vegetarian dishes made of mushrooms, oil gluten and bamboo shoots were put out, the aroma of fungi and bean products suddenly filled the whole booth.
Mushrooms are tender and smooth, bamboo shoots are big and crisp, and oil gluten absorbs the sweet soup in the mouth, and multiple fresh flavors turn into rich layering in the mouth. With a chopstick and a spoonful of clear soup, the fasting in the morning was cured and appeased.
/Ruyi noodles 10 yuan/
If Guanyin noodles can represent the typical Soviet taste, then Ruyi and Jixiang noodles are the representative works of salty taste. Ruyi noodles are covered with roasted bran, day lily, bean sprouts and fungus.
Fermented and steamed bran is rich in pores, soft and elastic in taste, absorbs the faint chrysanthemum fragrance of day lily, and supplements the protein and energy that vegetarian noodles lack.
Compared with the crisp taste, the fully soaked day lily in the noodle soup is softer and smoother, and its unique fragrance also adds a little sweetness and aftertaste to the faint soup.
/Auspicious noodles 20 yuan/
In contrast, the auspicious face is relatively light. Snow-white noodles are covered with two large pieces of vegetarian chicken, and pickled vegetables and edamame are added to enhance the flavor. Serve a bowl of auspicious noodles with lots of benefits based on fresh and tender vegetables.
Vegetarian chicken has a sense of existence both in size and thickness, and it is a little full to eat. Vegetarian chicken imitates meat with vegetarian diet, with soft skin, elastic teeth as a whole, and softness and rigidity.
Surprisingly, after gently tearing the vegetarian chicken, the tofu inside is white and smooth, and the beans soaked in the soup are mellow. Add some refreshing and spicy shredded ginger, or pour a spoonful of balsamic vinegar and spicy sauce, and you will be full if you are not careful.
/Seasonal drinks, sour plum soup, red beans, coix seed, water, five-treasure tea/
The noodle restaurant also provides freshly cooked seasonal drinks. Sour plum juice is cool, sweet and sour, and half a bottle can relieve boredom and summer heat. The clear soup of freshly cooked red bean barley and the precipitation of red bean barley are layered, which is light and quenches thirst. Five treasures of white fungus with peach gum Chaze is made by stewing white fungus, lotus seeds, red dates, medlar and peach gum for 2 hours. Thick gum overflows and tastes slightly sweet, so it can be used as afternoon tea.
/Handmade Dim Sum/
Handmade snacks are small biscuits made by temple staff according to the situation. When we went, we sold cranberries and matcha flavors. Although vegetable butter is used in the formula, it is not cheap at all and smells good. It's the kind where you can finish a box unconsciously.
/vegetable bag, knife-cut steamed bread, bean paste bag, vegetable bag/
There are Xiyuan vegetarian bags for sale near Jingxiang, but you need to buy them early. There are not many kinds, only steamed bread, bean paste bag and vegetable bag. Knife-cut steamed bread is bigger than fist, several times bigger than fist.
The bean paste bag is exquisite and the filling is solid. The taste is special, which is different from that sold outside. This bean paste is rich in flavor and moderate in sweetness. The stuffing of vegetarian dishes is very chopped and fresh, and the overall taste is fresh and sweet.
Some people say that saionji voluntarily withdrew from the 4A scenic spot for the sake of being undisturbed in the clean place of Buddhism, while others say that it is to reduce the ticket from 25 yuan to 5 yuan, so that all living beings can get in touch with Buddhism and Zen. I prefer the latter statement.
In fact, the biggest feeling that Siangji brought to people was not his birth and seclusion, but his presence with the Buddha when he joined the WTO.
Saionji, located in Gusu City, is small, but there is no lack of human joy and fireworks. Known as the "Holy Land of Cats", there are many cats in the temple, and they maintain a harmonious relationship with monks, volunteers and tourists.
You can see beaver flowers sleeping naked or big oranges patrolling bravely everywhere. Just squat down and wave, meow, and a cat will come.
Many cats in the temple also have legends. The income of the big orange Dangdang, once kneeling on the abbot's mat, is the most Buddha cat. Xiaohei, who has been sleeping in the corner of Luohan Hall for a long time, guards his home for the Buddhist holy land.
The name of this black cloud covered with snow is Qianba. It is said that it was very ill when it was taken to the temple. Volunteers from the whole temple collected 1800 yuan for it, and took it to the pet hospital for treatment and careful care before it recovered.
In spring, "snow cats play with wind flowers" and in winter, "I don't go out with raccoons" is also a pleasant life.
Qi Fei, a pigeon in the West Garden, landed on the cornice; Koi fish plays in the release pond, and the little turtle swims around; The cat snores in the shade and the breeze chirps.
Tips: Although saionji is open to all living things, abandoning animals does not mean releasing them! ! )
After a visit, if you want to know more about Zen and Buddhism, you can also pour a cup of Xiyuan Zen tea, choose a scripture in the teahouse and sit quietly and copy it.
The teahouse provides antibacterial hand sanitizer. Before copying, wash your hands, choose a Buddhist scripture, meditate in your heart and copy carefully until it stops naturally.
The teahouse is dark and quiet, the lights are dim, and the old fan rotates with the creaking sound. When you meditate on the scriptures and drink a cup of Zen tea, the whole person's mood becomes clear and quiet.
Zen tea is made from leaves of Sophora japonica, flowers of Siraitia grosvenorii and chrysanthemum morifolium. There is a slight bitter and faint tea fragrance at the entrance. After entering the throat, rich plant saponin and xylitol bring wonderful and persistent obvious sweetness, and the entrance is very refreshing.
"The bamboo shadow sweeps the street motionless, and there is no trace at the bottom of the pool."
Although Saiweng Temple is on earth, it is a real temple. Monks can be seen everywhere, cats are at your fingertips, and tourists who read Buddha and worship incense can learn Buddhism everywhere. ......
Just like this, leaving the mortal dust and returning to the mortal dust created a temple with extraordinary temperament in Gusu.