Zhu Qing memory
The smoke is boundless.
The dragon elephant in the thatched cottage is unclear.
The bell dimly discernible clouds.
The cross-crane man came to pick up the jade girl
"A thousand-year-old temple, with quiet environment, towering pines and cypresses, swaying bamboos and chanting. A faint mist surrounds the ancient temple, which is quiet and far-reaching, and exudes a mysterious atmosphere everywhere. " This is the reporter's imagination of "Caotang Smoke" before going to Caotang Temple.
Caotang Temple is located in the southeast of Huxian County. On the occasion of Tomb-Sweeping Day, a group of people came to Caotang Temple. They saw that Caotang Temple stood quietly, the bamboo gate was closed, two magnificent stone lions were lying on both sides, and the temple only opened a small door next to it for visitors to pass. I came to the smoke well of Caotang Temple, but I didn't see a trace of smoke floating. In the reporter's subsequent pursuit of "Caotang Smoke", several beautiful legends and stories about this statement were found.
A generation of eminent monks created a thousand-year-old temple.
The Caotang Temple faces south, and a gold plaque inscribed by Mr. Zhao Puchu hangs above the tall mountain gate. Stepping into the courtyard, pine, cypress and bamboo are sparse, and the ground is shaded. Perhaps it's because it's spring, and the whole yard has a faint fragrance of flowers and plants, which blends with the incense offered by pilgrims. Northbound along the blue brick-paved forest vagina, there stands an antique bell pavilion on the roadside, corresponding to the tablet pavilion, and further on is the main hall. There is a Buddha statue in the center of the hall, which was made of gold and clay in the Ming Dynasty. In front of the Buddha statue, there is a sitting statue of Kumarajiva presented by Japanese Rilian Sect.
The reason why Caotang Temple became a thousand-year-old temple has a lot to do with Kumarajiva. Kumarajiva was not only a monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but also a famous Buddhist translator. Leo Lee, director of the Institute of Buddhism of Northwest University, told the reporter that the existing Caotang Temple was a small part of the Xiaoyao Garden of Qin State after the Sixteen Countries Period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Yao Xing, the last king of Qin at that time, advocated Buddhism. In the third year of Yu Hongshi (AD 40 1 year), he welcomed Kumarajiva, a monk from Qiuci, to Chang 'an, lived in Mingxi Pavilion in Xiaoyao Garden to translate Buddhist scriptures, and then built a temple in the garden for Luo Shi to live in. Because the translation field in Kumarajiva is covered with grass, it was named "Caotang Temple".
Outside the west gate of the main hall of Caotang Temple, there is a hexagonal pagoda pavilion surrounded by red brick flower walls, in which stands the most precious cultural relic of Caotang Temple-"heptachord Sanzang Master Kumarajiva Pagoda". There are two green cypresses in front of the tower, and there is a small well with a diameter of only a dozen centimeters between the cypresses. This is the famous landscape of Caotang Temple, "two cypresses and one well". It is said that Kumarajiva was cremated after his death, but only his tongue did not rot. His disciples collected his relics and built stupas to commemorate him. The eye well was originally used for drinking water for 3000 monks in the temple. One day, a lotus suddenly grew, and all the monks dug it up. It turns out that the root of lotus grows on Kumarajiva's tongue, which is probably the origin of "Koulian". So the monks planted cypress trees by the well to protect them.
Beautiful legends are connected with beautiful stories, and the reporter once mistakenly thought that this well was the famous smoke well, that is, the birthplace of thatched cottage smoke. Later, I learned that the smoke well is still deep in its northern bamboo forest. Here, the reporter met Qin Li, a monk in the temple. He told reporters that he is from Shandong and has been to many temples all over the country. He has been in Caotang Temple for three years, chanting Buddha and helping to cut vegetables in the canteen of the temple. When the reporter asked him about "Caotang Smoke", he said: "I have never seen Caotang Smoke, but I believe that Caotang Smoke must exist, only in the Tang Dynasty. Because there was a famous' Kaiyuan Shi Sheng' at that time, the climate was favorable and the people were harmonious, and the Caotang Temple was a treasure trove of geomantic omen. There are bound to be some anomalies in the prosperous times, so there will be smoke flowing from the Caotang Temple to the capital. "
Through the faint bamboo forest, on a cobblestone path, stands an inconspicuous hexagonal wooden pavilion. Because of the age, the pillars in the pavilion have become very mottled, and in the middle of the pavilion is the famous smoke well. The drilling platform is built high and hexagonal. The reporter visually observed that the well was more than 20 meters deep. Because the wellhead is too small, it is impossible to know whether the well water is clear, but it can clearly reflect a person's projection. Legend has it that this is the birthplace of Caotang cigarettes.