"dijiu" bodhisattva
"Dragon" walked out of Dongyue Temple
When it comes to Dongyue Temple Association, we have to mention Dongyue Temple. Dongyue Temple, as the birthplace of temple fairs, is a temple built with Dongyue the Great as the main Buddha. It was founded in Yuan You Middle School in the Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of nearly a thousand years. During this period, there were many repairs, including two repairs in the fifty-third year of Kangxi and Meng Dong in the year of Daoguang Guimao (1843 10), and the inscription is still there.
According to legend, Emperor Dongyue is the god of life and death who is in charge of ghosts and gods. "The Book of Filial Piety" records: "Mount Tai, the god of heaven, Sun Ye, calls people's souls. Everything in the east begins, so we know that people have a long life. " According to the five elements, A, B and Yin in the East are harmonious. Wood is the life and death of all things, that is, human life. Because of this, Emperor Dongyue was also widely honored as "King of Earth Hidden" and "Yan Luowang". Dongyue Temple has a great influence in the surrounding areas. On holidays, people will come here to make a pilgrimage to ensure peace for one year. The incense is flourishing and there are more people, and a temple fair has gradually formed.
During the interview, the reporter also learned that there is a legend about the construction of Dongyue Temple. During the period of Yuan You in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a very rich man there. His wealth is comparable to that of Shen Wansan in Zhouzhuang of Ming Dynasty, but he is stingy but superstitious. There happened to be a clever local who always wanted the miser to spend some money. One day, when a wise man passed by the rich man's field in Dongyue, he saw that the geomantic omen here was excellent. So he went home and got a small bag of soybeans and a long wooden Buddha with a ruler. He quietly came to the ground, dug a hole with his hand, put soybeans under the hole, covered it with a layer of mud, then put the Buddha statue in, covered it with soil and compacted it, so that there was no flaw outside.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly it began to rain, and the underground soybeans expanded rapidly after absorbing water. This expansion pushes the Buddha statue out of the ground and looks like it grows on the ground outside. This strange thing happened to be discovered by the rich man's long-term workers. The long-term worker flew back to the rich man's house and shouted, "Master is not good, there are bodhisattvas in your field." The rich man didn't believe it, so he went to the field with the long-term workers. At first glance, it really is. On the same day, the rich invited Mr. Feng Shui to ask for directions. After reading it, Mr. Feng Shui also thought it was a rare treasure, and suggested that the rich build a temple on the spot to give the bodhisattva a place to live. So the rich man gritted his teeth and began to build temples. I didn't want the people to listen to that rumor at that time. They also donated money, so the largest temple in Fiona Fang was built at that time. Because the wise man buried the woodcarving statue of Dongyue Emperor at that time, the newly built temple was called Dongyue Temple.
Bodhisattva grows underground, and Andong Yuemiao grows. Although this is only a beautiful legend, it is still talked about by local people. They told reporters that thanks to this wise man, there was such a temple in the local area, which promoted the development of local religious culture.
Original site reconstruction
Reproduce the splendor of temple fairs
According to "Shipai Town Records", "Dongyue Temple has an area of eight acres and its northwest wall is ten feet long. The main temple, Sheng Di Temple, is more than ten feet high and covered with gold. On the left and right sides in front of it are four donkey kong. On both sides of the main hall are ten halls, in which there are instruments of torture, such as oil pans, grinders and sharp knife mountains. Advise people to be kind. In the east and south of the main hall, there are Tibetan Medicine Hall, Tibetan Medicine Hall and Guanyin Hall. In addition, there is a mountain gate, a public hall, six Buddhist temples, three monks' houses and a stage for offering sacrifices to the gods. The huge scale and majestic form of Dongyue Temple make it the most famous religious shrine in Changkuntai (Changshu, Kunshan and Taicang). Unfortunately, the ancient temple was demolished during the Cultural Revolution, leaving countless regrets for the local people.
1994, with the approval of the superior, local people from all walks of life donated money to rebuild the current Dongyue Temple on the original temple site. Feng is 70 years old this year and used to be an accountant in the temple. The old man told reporters that the local people have also made great efforts to rebuild the temple. Village leaders went door-to-door to raise money, and ordinary people also actively donated money to help each other, eventually raising more than 65,438+10,000 yuan.
The newly rebuilt Dongyue Temple covers an area of 6 mu and has 32 large and small houses. The apricot-yellow flagpole of Dongyue Emperor towers over the ruins between temples, and the Wannian Baoding is separated from the courtyard. The red carp in the release pond is free and unfettered, and the bronze bell of Anmin is simple and dignified. Dongyue Hall, Guanyin Hall and Leizhen Hall are resplendent; There are as many as 86 immortals from all walks of life, the first of which is the Emperor Dongyue, who is dressed in gold and is as high as three or four meters. There are also Jade Emperor, Guanyin, Earth Treasure King, Fengbo, Rain Master and Lei Gong. Dongyue Temple is now managed by Tang Fuyuan of Kunshan Taoist Association. Temples also have cashier full-time financial management. Every donation in the temple is strictly recorded. In addition to maintaining the daily expenses of Dongyue Temple, the rest will be handed over to the Taoist Association to support social welfare undertakings.
Tang Fuyuan told reporters that there is also a white marble Guanyin in the Tang Dynasty in the temple. She returned to Dongyue Temple after living in Japan for more than 50 years, adding a magical color to Dongyue Temple. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, Guanyin in white was brought to Japan. 1997, Buddha collector Ikeda invested in bacheng town Shipai. I also lived in Shipai for a long time. I heard that there was an Dongyue Temple here for nearly a thousand years, so I left Baiguanyin in Dongyue Temple. Dongyue Temple is even more fragrant because of the addition of this kind of ancient white Guanyin. Every year, the birthday of Emperor Dongyue even attracts tourists from surrounding cities to form a temple fair with tens of thousands of people.
Temple fair has become a folk culture.
new stage
Zhu Wenlin, an insider, told reporters that before the reconstruction of Dongyue Temple, Dongyue Temple Fair was just a grand ritual activity. With the development of economy and the need of people's communication, temple fairs are gradually integrated into market trading activities while inheriting sacrificial activities. At this time, the temple fair was named "Temple Fair" and became an important form of China market. With the needs of social development, temple fairs have gradually increased entertainment activities, and visiting temple fairs has become an indispensable part of people's holidays. In recent years, Dongyue Temple Fair has become a more distinctive and influential temple fair and a new stage for displaying local folk culture, enjoying a high reputation in Suzhou, Kunming, Taichang and Shanghai.
Xiao Chen, who has attended several Dongyue Temple Fair, told reporters that today's Dongyue Temple Fair can be said to be one of the most lively days in the local area. In the morning, good men, women and tourists from Changshu, Kunshan and Taicang flocked to Dongyue Temple. The meeting was held shoulder to shoulder, with horns ringing, gongs and drums ringing, bamboo and silk ringing and laughter. Merchants even set up stalls near Dongyue Temple, and everything is complete.
Various folk performances have become the highlights of the temple fair. Dragon dance, boxing, flower basket, etc. After passing a busy street, I moved into the courtyard of the temple. The local people took turns to go into battle, setting off one climax after another, attracting thousands of people to stop and watch. Among these teams, the most striking one is undoubtedly the Dragon Dance Team. Today, the local dragon dance team has expanded from the initial six to nine. Every temple fair, these dragon dance teams spontaneously formed by ordinary people will never be absent. They will not only worship the Emperor Dongyue in turn, but also hold various performances in front of the temple. The stage that used to worship God has now become a stage where all kinds of folk art lovers compete to perform. Not only locals, but also people from Changshu and Taicang will come to perform their own special programs. "As long as there is nothing urgent, everyone will come to the temple fair. Even the elderly in their 70 s are scrambling to go out to participate in the performance. " Tang Fuyuan told reporters, "For the sake of safety, they are not happy to let them not participate in the performance!"
Of course, today's temple fairs are not only activities for the elderly, but also more and more young people. During the interview, Tang Fuyuan told reporters that many young people in some dragon dance teams take time off from work to train, and even if they take time off, they have to attend temple fairs. "With the integration of fresh blood, we believe that Dongyue Temple will get better and better." He said.
Since 1994, Dongyue Temple Fair with local characteristics and rich folk culture has been held almost every year, and the number of participants has been increasing. Recently, the bacheng town Municipal Government also funded the expansion of Dongyue Temple, and provided all kinds of support and assistance during the temple fair. "This kind of activity is also rare in Kunshan, which provides people in the festival with a colorful literary life, enables people to enjoy spiritually, and creates conditions for Bacheng to enhance its popularity." The person in charge of bacheng town said so. Get off at Chaoyangmen subway station and walk 200 meters east.