The area of a Buddhist temple depends on the economic conditions of the temple. A small temple can only use one house, and a big temple may have one hundred houses. Temple layout, according to the provisions of Chinese etiquette, the main buildings are built on the central axis, symmetrical left and right, low in front and high in the back; Taking the Ursa Major Hall as the center, from the mountain gate to the lobby to the left and right bell and drum towers, the construction will be carried out according to local conditions. No matter what kind of temple, there are lions, flagpoles, archways and gatehouses in front. There are two kinds of roads after entering the door, one is straight and the other is circuitous.
The main buildings of the temple are as follows:
General's Gate: The main entrance and exit of the whole temple, surrounded by a large wall. The big temple has a main entrance, and the small temple has only a mountain gate. There are generally three doors, one main door and two auxiliary doors. There are generally three temples, and some temples have five doors. There is a plaque on the door that says "Koukou Temple".
Tower courtyard: There were towers in early temples, which were generally built on the central axis, large and small, such as the Shaolin Temple Tower in Dengfeng and the Shangsi Tower in Guangsheng, Shanxi. Buddhist temples in Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties all had pagodas. The tower courtyard is generally square, with low walls on all sides and high towers in the courtyard.
Buddha Hall: It is the main building in the temple, including the front hall, the middle hall, the Ursa Major Hall and the back hall. Among them, Daxiong Hall is the central building of the temple. It is tall and luxuriously decorated, with three, five, seven and nine rooms. Generally, there are sacrificial halls or pavilions in front of Buddhist temples.
Singing: There is a big pavilion behind many temples, which has different uses, including Guanyin Pavilion, Wanfo Pavilion, Sutra Pavilion, Lukun Pavilion, Giant Buddha Pavilion, Thousand Buddhas Pavilion, Maitreya Pavilion and Relic Pavilion. The system of building large pavilions in Buddhist temples originated in the Tang Dynasty, and later influenced Buddhist temples in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. In addition, the Buddhist temples in Shanxi have a tall attic at the entrance of the mountain, which is a local feature of Shanxi and rare in other places.
Dharma hall: It often appears in contemporary Zen temples, that is, three or five houses in general, which are used for meditation, lectures and teachings. Don't try to enter the temple unless it is a Zen temple.
In addition, there are bell and drum tower, porch and monk's room in the temple.
(two) the location of the temple and the location of the temple
The location of Buddhist temples can be divided into two situations: building a temple on the flat land is the flat land temple; If a temple is built on the mountain, it is called Rishan Temple. Temples are widely distributed in China, and temples are built from prosperous cities to vast rural areas.
Mountain temples are generally built between mountains, some at the foot of the mountain, some at the mountainside and some at the top of the mountain, which is determined by the choice of suitable places for each temple. A temple, if the economic income is high and the monks are powerful, will build a big temple in the mountains. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, Zen Buddhism has developed rapidly and advocated "purity and inaction", so Zen temples are generally simple.
Most mountain temples are built halfway up the mountain. When logging in, they need to meander upstream along the mountain stream. From a distance from the foot of the mountain, the whole temple is hidden among thousands of trees, and there is no temple at all; If you stand in the temple and look at the scenery ten miles below the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the village houses and forests. This is the case with Lingjiu Temple in Jiu Feng, Xuanzhong Temple in Shibi Mountain in Jiaocheng, Baijiayan Temple in Taihang Mountain and Guangsheng Temple in Zhong Zhenshan.
It is also common to build temples at the top of the mountain. There are temples at the top of Emei Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain and Wutai Mountain, and there are also temples at the top of Pingliang Kongtong Mountain and Luliang Mountain.
The temple built at the foot of the mountain is usually called Shangen Temple. Building a temple at the foot of the mountain is a signal that it can climb the mountain. There are temples or scenic spots on the mountain, and the temples at the foot of the mountain have become the general approach roads and the main roads into the mountain. Sichuan Emei Mountain National Security Temple is not only a mountain root temple, but also the general guide and access for people to climb Emei Mountain.
Shanjia Temple refers to the construction of a temple in the crevice between two mountains or in the crevice of one mountain, which can be seen from the outside before and after, and there are crevices on both sides of the mountain. This is a strange and ingenious work, which makes full use of the terrain.
Building a temple by the river is also unique. This kind of temple is built on the edge of a big river, such as Yingjiang Temple in Anqing. You can see the vast Yangtze River as soon as you get out of the mountain gate, which is really verve.
Build a new Buddhist temple in Jiangxin, which can be called Jiangxin Temple. Jiangxin Temple is built on the island in the center of the great river, surrounded by the river, with spectacular weather. For example, this is the location of Jiangxin Temple in Wenzhou. Wenzhou Jiangxin Temple can be seen from both sides of the Yangtze River. The temple is divided into two courtyards, east and west, each with a tower, which becomes the symbol of Jiangxin Temple and can be seen from a distance. Even in foggy days, the second tower can be seen from a distance, which is very attractive to people.
(3) The first temple in China.
The White Horse Temple in Luoyang is the first ancient temple in China and the world-famous Galand. It is the first official temple after Buddhism was introduced into China, and it has been praised as the "source of Buddhism" and "ancestral hall" by Chinese and foreign Buddhist circles.
Baima Temple was founded in the 11th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (68). History: In the seventh year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Zhuang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, sent envoys to the western regions to worship Buddha because he dreamed of the Golden Man at night. In 67 AD, the Chinese ambassador and two Indian monks arrived in Luoyang with photos of Morton and Zhu Falan, riding a white horse and carrying Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues. Emperor Han Ming greeted them personally. In 68 AD, Emperor Han Ming ordered the construction of a temple outside Yong Men. In order to commemorate the merit of the White Horse carrying scriptures, the temple was named White Horse Temple.
The White Horse Temple faces south, with a total area of more than 200 mu. Its main buildings are the Heavenly King Hall, the Giant Buddha Hall, the Ursa Major Hall, the Jieyin Hall and the Kunlu Pavilion.
(4) Huayanzong Zuting Temple-Caotang Temple in Huxian County There are several ancestral temples in Huayanzong, one is Caotang Temple in Huxian County, the other is Huayan Temple in Chang 'an, and the phase temple in Chang 'an.
Caotang Temple is located at the foot of Guifeng Mountain, southeast of Huxian County 10 km. There were four temples in Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty, the first one was Caotang Temple. This is the place where Kumarajiva, the master of Yao and Qin, first translated the scriptures, and the Kumarajiva Tower in the temple still exists today. Mi, the fifth ancestor of Huayan Sect in Tang Dynasty, once lived here and wrote the Map here. Later, at the end of the war, the temple was destroyed by half, and when Zhaozong came, he ordered the reconstruction of Caotang Temple. See "Buddha" Volume 53 for details.
When Caotang Temple was built, it had three axes. The front of the central axis is the Mountain Gate and the Hall of Ursa Major, and the west axis is the Kumarajiva Tower and the Tower Hall. The East Axis is a monastery. The whole temple is 80 meters long from east to west and 50 meters wide from north to south, covering a total area of 4000 square meters. It is a rectangular temple with towers and temples side by side.
Why is the temple named Caotang? According to "Notes on the Secret Collection", vegetation can become Buddha. Both Tiantai Sect and Zhenxuanzong advocated that vegetation could become Buddha. Vegetation becomes Buddha and grass becomes Buddha's seat, which means paving Buddha's seat with auspicious grass.
The Kumarajiva Tower was built to bury Master Kumarajiva. Kumarajiva is from Qiuci (central Xinjiang), his father is Indian, and his mother is King Qiuci's sister. After becoming a monk, Kumarajiva traveled all over the western regions and observed the members of the group from time to time. After that, he went from Qiuci to Chang 'an, entered Caotang Temple, and translated 380 volumes of Da Pin.
Prajna Sutra), Prajna Sutra (short essay), Prajna Sutra, Vimalakīrti Sutra, Amitabha Sutra, etc. When the master died and was cremated, his tongue was hard and the fire did not melt. It was really clever.
The plane of Kumarajiva Tower is an octagonal single-story building, which is made of eight colors of stones, so it is called "Tower of Babel". There are many bases under the tower, including Xumi Mountain (that is, Guangming Mountain), Guangshan Mountain and Miaogao Mountain, with four donkey kong at the waist. At present, the stone pagoda is well protected. (3) Jingtu Zongzuting Temple-Xi Ji Xiang Temple Ji Xiang Temple is located on the source of Shenhe River, 6 kilometers south of Chang 'an County, Xi, and its side is the water source of pickaxe. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a large Buddhist temple was built here, formerly known as Guangming Temple, and later renamed Ji Xiang Temple. Ji Xiang Temple faces south and has a large area. Daxiong Hall, built in ancient times, is nearly 100 meters from the north-south mountain gate, so it is called "riding over the mountain gate". After the ancient temple was abandoned, a new hall was built at the southern end of the central axis 100 meters. After years of renovation, it is today's Daxiong Hall. To the north of the temple is a Buddhist temple. The rest of the houses in the temple were rebuilt later.
The West Courtyard of Ursa Major is the Master Tower of Good Guidance, also known as Ji Xiang Temple Tower. There is a Ye Jing Tower in the East Courtyard, which is backward. The whole temple is surrounded by earth walls, which constitutes the main courtyard of Ji Xiang Temple. To the west of the Western Wall is Ming Cheng Pagoda, and to the northeast of the Eastern Wall is Tang Yuan Pagoda. The master of good guidance is the great monk of Guangming Temple, also called Guangming Monk. He lived in a temple for 30 years. He never takes off his clothes except taking a shower, and always sits and sleeps with his clothes on. Buddhism is called "not falling into Dan". He lifted up his eyes and saw no ordinary women, indifferent to all fame and fortune, giving lectures every night, spitting out thousands of white lights. In the first year of Yonglong (680), Tang Gaozong died, and Emperor Gaozong conferred the title of "Guangming Temple".