It was a Saturday in winter vacation, and the weather was really good. There are white clouds floating in the clear sky in Wan Li. We drove to Rongxian County, about 40 kilometers west of the city center. It really looks like a rock. Looking from a distance, there are green mountains and green waters, lush trees and pavilions. The giant Buddha stands on the mountain, just like a giant standing in front of Dongshan, protecting Rongxian, an ancient cultural city with a long history.
The gate of the Great Buddha Temple in Rongxian County is at the foot of Dongshan Mountain, and the entrance is winding and secluded. We walked slowly up the stairs, and the first thing we saw was the Maitreya Hall. There is a Maitreya Buddha Lohan in the temple, with a big belly and a deep navel, open chest and bare waist. He can laugh at the past and talk about the present, and can accommodate the world, and he doesn't know the bitterness of the world. Standing in the temple and smiling happily at Maitreya, the sorrow in the world suddenly vanished, adding a little joy to the tourists. Walk along the corridor and you will find a spacious and tall hall. Sitting on the cliff, the Buddha is kind-hearted, peaceful and serene, with his upper body exposed outside the temple, his head flush with the mountain and his lower body hidden in the temple. My mother told me that Lu You, a patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, was once the judge of Rongzhou (now Rongxian). His name is Zhenruyan Dongshan, so this giant Buddha is also called Dongshan Giant Buddha. The Buddha statue looks like a cliff facing south of Sakyamuni. According to historical records, the Great Buddha Temple was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, and it took eight years to complete, with a history of 1800 years. The Buddha statue is more than 36 meters high, with a head length of about 9 meters, a shoulder width of 12 meters and a foot width of 3.5 meters. It is the second largest Buddha in China, second only to Leshan Giant Buddha. If only distinguished by its name, Rongxian Giant Buddha is undoubtedly the largest statue of Sakyamuni in China. We chatted and unconsciously climbed to the Great Pagoda and enjoyed this treasure in China's treasure house of stone carvings with a history of over 1800 years. I marvel at the superb skills and shining wisdom of our ancestors.
On the west side of the Great Buddha Hall is a vivid and elegant dharma hall. The founder of Dharma stood in the waves with rosary in hand and reed leaves in his foot, and went through hardships to come to China from distant India, where he devoted his life to the friendship and religious and cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Indian peoples. On the east side of the Great Buddha Hall, the abbot, Buddhist scripture building and Zen room live next to each other, and different styles of buildings complement each other, forming a group of buildings with different shapes.
When I left the Dharma Hall, I felt that "there was no way out". Looking closely at the miscellaneous trees, there is a narrow path around the forest and mountains, reaching halfway up the mountain. Climbing up, I saw a huge "horn platform" carved on the stone wall halfway up the mountain. The cliff under the stage is like a claw, and the smoke cloud is born under the stage, which is a wonder of the Great Buddha Temple. Lu You boarded the "small platform" many times and wrote the poem "Abandoning the platform without a hermit screaming, there is still a high door in the left house". Later, when bidding farewell to Yeongju, he recited the swan song of "Xiao Tai carries wine cloud shoes, and the fairy cave looks for plum rain seats". When Zhao Yong, a poet in the Ming Dynasty, toured Wutai, he also wrote a seven-rhythm poem: "Dongshan is sunny at dawn and Wutai Mountain is leisurely and comfortable. The road passes by the Jinbiyan, and people walk in the paintings of Danqing. Laughing is endless, and I am in a daze. The spring breeze comes home with a full load, so it is necessary to study it carefully. " After returning to China, Zhao Xi, a scholar and calligrapher in Qing Dynasty, wrote that "there is no room for Lingyun Temple in the good mountains, but there is a shortage of Feng Shui in Una", which became the highest evaluation of Rongxian Giant Buddha by later generations.
Stepping on the roaring platform and circling along the winding steel ladder, I climbed to the top of the mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain overlooking the landscape of Rongzhou, I saw only faint smoke clouds, and the Xushui River around the city was like a silk belt. The streets of the city are very neat, with rows of tall buildings. Outside the city, fields crisscross, forests are green and farmers are smoking. Looking up, the white tower on Longtou Mountain, known as the "vertical pen", is immersed in the harmonious autumn sunshine, pointing directly at the blue sky, as if taking the blue sky as paper, writing the prosperity of Rongzhou today.
In such a sacred place, it is really fascinating. How happy we children are to sing while playing games. Just as I was having a good time, my mother told me that it was getting late and we reluctantly left the Rongxian Giant Buddha, but the tall and majestic Rongxian Giant Buddha remained in my memory forever.