
7On the 19th of the month, believers holding flowers welcomed the Tianguan Maitreya Buddha statue from Lumbini, Nepal in Fenghua City, Zhejiang Province.At around 9:15 am that day, a strange "sun halo" phenomenon occurred in Fenghua City, Zhejiang Province. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dingchang )
Fenghua is a beautiful and mysterious city located on the coast of the East China Sea in Ningbo, Zhejiang.
This is not only the "hometown of Jiang's family", but also the Chinese Maitreya - the Budai Monk. Therefore, Fenghua is called the "Maitreya Yingji Scenic Site".
The Buddha of Compassionate Light came from heaven to repay sentient beings
7On the 19th of the month, the statue of Maitreya Buddha from Lumbini, Nepal, the world Buddhist center, was officially "moved" to Fenghua.
Lumbini, Nepal, is the birthplace of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, and is called the "hometown of Buddha". Fenghua is the place where the Chinese Maitreya Buddha was born, became a monk, spread the Dharma, attained enlightenment and passed away.
Sarpotam Shresta, president of the Nepal Anigor Association of China-Nether Friendship Association, said: "Tianguan Maitreya's journey to Fenghua is a continuation and sublimation of the Buddhist cultural exchanges between the two countries.Chinese Buddhism and Nepal Buddhism, Lumbini and Fenghua will be closely linked with this.”
The Heavenly Crown Maitreya is a statue of Maitreya Buddha passed down from ancient India, and is famous for wearing the Heavenly Crown.The Buddha "Traveling East" of this "Traveling East" is 1.6 meters tall.
On that day, the sun was shining.We went to Ningbo Lishe International Airport with our believers to welcome the Fengtianguan Maitreya.
When Guan Maitreya arrived at Yuelin Temple where the monk Budai became a monk that day, suddenly, people exclaimed and looked up at the sky, and saw a round halo appearing on the sun, like a dizzy sun.The Buddha's voice suddenly sounded at Yuelin Temple, and the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Maitreya in the Heavenly Crown began.
The next day, I was in Xuedou Temple and happened to meet Jingren, the chairman of Yuelin Temple.He told me: "Tianguan Maitreya is first dedicated to Yuelin Temple. During the Fenghua Maitreya Cultural Festival on September 19 this year, he will be staying in Xuedou Temple and holding a consecration ceremony.”
Regarding the strange celestial phenomena that the city was fighting for, Jingren smiled calmly and said, "The sky is filled with compassion, and the Buddha repays all living beings."”
Maitreya and Fenghua have a long history, and the mystery is intriguing.
2008On November 8, 2019, eminent monks from home and abroad gathered in Xuedou Temple in Fenghua.Elder Issein, President of the Chinese Buddhist Association, and Elder Hsing-yun, a famous Taiwanese wizard, consecrated a newly built 56.7-meter-high Maitreya Buddha statue on Mount Xuedou.
What unusual relationship does Xuedou Temple and Maitreya have?
With this question in mind, I went up to Xuedou Mountain and walked into Xuedou Temple.
Visiting Mail in Xuedou Temple
Xuedou Temple, this thousand-year-old ancient temple is composed of a Maitreya Buddha, a magical legend, and a world-renowned monk, connecting a great cultural history.
In Chinese Buddhist temples, Maitreya Buddha statues are generally worshipped, and the Maitreya Buddha statues are placed in the center of the "Mountain Gate Hall" or "Tianwang Hall", because he welcomes guests with joy and smiles and makes people feel happy as soon as they enter the temple.Xuedou Temple directly built a Maitreya Temple, which enshrines the 5-meter-high Maitreya incarnation - the seated statue of the monk Budai, which is the only Buddhist temple in the country.
In the "Da Ci Mani Hall", known as the "No. 1 Hall in Jiangnan", we met Gu Xiaodong, deputy general manager of the Xuedou Mountain Giant Buddha Scenic Area in Fenghua City. He introduced: "This newly built Song Dynasty-style treasure hall is a wonder of temple architecture. It has five to nine rooms, supported by 60 cedar woods with a height of 18 meters and a diameter of 1 meter.Without a single nail, it has a full wood mortise and tenon structure.”
According to Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya and Sakyamuni were contemporary figures.Sakyamuni predicted that Maitreya was born in Nirvana and was born in the Tushita Heaven Palace. After living there for 5.6 billion years, he would be born in the human world and become a Buddha under a dragon tree.“So, Maitreya is both a Bodhisattva and a future Buddha.He wants to be born in the world to save sentient beings who have not been saved by Shakyamuni Buddha.Maitreya is most closely related to us. The huge cloisonné mural on three walls of this hall tells the story of Maitreya."Gu Xiaodong continued.
Chinese Maitreya Bag Monk
So, how did Fenghua and Maitreya become connected?
Pan Feng, deputy director of the Xuedou Mountain Buddhist Mountain Construction Office in Fenghua City, said this: After Indian Buddhism was introduced to China, a strange monk appeared in Fenghua, Zhejiang during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.This monk spoke indecisively, often carried a cloth bag with a tin staff, and swam around with the Arhat beads in his right hand. When he saw people, he begged for them. All the things he got were hidden in the cloth bag. Therefore, people called him "Budai Monk".
The monk Budai has his chest and abdomen exposed all day long and smiles openly. Moreover, he is humorous, witty, smart and wise, kind to others, optimistic and tolerant, and is highly respected and loved by people.Because "the above agrees with the principles of all Buddhas and the lower agreement with the opportunities of sentient beings", this monk is also called "the here".This monk named Qizhi became a monk at Yuelin Temple in Fenghua in his early years and often went to Xuedou Temple to preach the Dharma.
According to the "Five Lanterns Huiyuan" record of the Zen lanterns in the Song Dynasty, before the monk Budai passed away, he sat upright on a rock and said, "Maitreya is true Maitreya, with a clone of hundreds of billions of people;It is always shown to the world, but people do not know it.”This verse implies that in the world, Maitreya is by your side, but you just don’t realize it.
As soon as the verse spread, people suddenly realized that the Budai Monk was the incarnation of Maitreya Buddha.At that time, an outstanding stonemason carved the image of the cloth bag monk on the stone. His unrestrained body and bright smile were so vivid.The smile and casualness of the big-bellied Maitreya show the characteristics of tolerance, kindness and humor. Gradually, the big-bellied Maitreya replaced the traditional statue of Maitreya and became the real image of Maitreya in the minds of the Chinese.Therefore, some people say that if it were not for the unique image of the big-bellied Maitreya, then the belief in Maitreya might not have been so deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Xuedou Maitreya Dojo
Chinese Buddhism worships the five great bodhisattvas, the Yinghua temples of Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Guanyin and Ksitigarbha are Mount Wutai, Mount Emei, Mount Putuo, and Mount Jiuhua.So, where is the Aspirational Divine Hall of Maitreya Bodhisattva?
Master Taixu, a Chinese Buddhist monk, and Zhao Puchu, former president of the National Buddhist Association, determined that Fenghua Xuedou Mountain is a holy land of Maitreya, and together with Putuo, Wutai, Jiuhua and Emei, it is collectively known as the "Five Famous Mountains of Chinese Buddhism".Maitreya's "compassion", Guanyin's "compassion", Manjushri's "wisdom", Ksitigarbha's "wishness", and Samantabhadra's "action" are the five great Bodhisattva methods believed by the Chinese people.
Pan Feng said: "China (Fenghua )The Maitreya Cultural Festival in Xuedou Mountain is mainly composed of five famous mountains, five Dharma doors as the content, and five wisdom lamps as the form. The causes and conditions are extraordinary. The five lamps are gathered in the original world, and the monks preside over the rituals, and the prosperous era is presented.”
1987During the reconstruction of Xuedou Temple in 2008, Zhao Puchu visited and sent a message: "Xuedou is the place where Maitreya Yinghua. The buildings in the hall should be different from other temples, and the Maitreya Hall is built alone."Snowdou Temple has since changed from three major Buddha halls to four major Buddha halls, among which the main host of Maitreya Temple is for Buddhist monks.
In Xuedou Temple, monks’ daily morning classes are essential to recite Buddhist scriptures about Maitreya.
Master Yizang, President of Zhejiang Buddhist Association and Abbot of Xuedou Temple, introduced: "Xuedou Temple was founded in the Jin Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, prominent in the Republic of China, and rejuvenated in the present.Emperor Hui of the Western Jin Dynasty in the Yuankang year (291Year ),There is the top of Mount Nijie, and the famous waterfall courtyard.The first year of Huichang in Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty (841Year ),Relocated to build the current site.In the late Tang Dynasty, Maitreya was born into a monk named Budai in Fenghua and moved to Xuedou, so Xuedou was honored as the holy land of Maitreya.Xuedou Temple was rebuilt in 1985. In September 2005, the State Administration of Religious Affairs approved the construction of the open-air Maitreya Buddha, which attracted worldwide attention.In November 2008, the Buddha was consecrated, the temple became more spectacular, and Xuedou Temple entered a new historical period.”
Xuedou Temple has a long history and is world-famous. It is both a famous Buddhist temple and a tourist destination.From ancient times to the present, many eminent monks have emerged and their incense has flourished. They are one of the ten Zen Buddhisms in the world.After reading "The Ancient Collection of Xuedou Songs", Su Dongpo was naturally desirous of yearning: "I first drank the Lushan River in this life, and I would only study Xuedou Zen in the next day." Until his later years, he sighed: "I will not be able to regret Xuedou for the rest of my life!”
Happy Chinese
Walking out of the "Great Ci Mani Temple", we walked through Longhua Square and along the Future Avenue to visit the Open-air Maitreya Buddha.This world's largest open-air sitting bronze Buddha statue, 56.74 meters high, symbolizing the next 5.6 billion years after Maitreya's next life.
The belief in Maitreya was introduced to China with Buddhism, and was mainly expressed in the "Maitreya Sutra", "Maitreya Sutra to become a Buddha", and "Absolutely the Sutra of the Tushita Sutra", known as the "Three Sutras of Maitreya Sutra".The original meaning of Maitreya is "Cishi", which means having a compassionate and kind heart towards all living beings.The belief in Maitreya actually expresses people's pursuit and yearning for a happy life.
In China, almost no one does not know about Maitreya, and we can see Maitreya's kind and cute smiling faces everywhere.In the hearts of ordinary people, the big-bellied Maitreya has long surpassed the scope of Buddhism, and people regard it as a symbol of tolerance, kindness, wisdom and happiness.It is often said that men wear Guanyin and women wear Buddha, and this Buddha is the big belly Maitreya.Just as Master Xingyun wrote the inscription for the Great Buddha of Xuedou Mountain: "Maitreya on earth", it means: Everyone can become a Buddha, and becoming a Buddha must be in the human world.
Xu Mengting, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of Fenghua Municipal Party Committee, said: "The Budai monk always smiles and is the image of Maitreya China and a symbol of happy Chinese people.The Maitreya spirit and culture are even more profound.Everyone will have their own insights when seeing Maitreya.There is a couplet on Xuedou Mountain: When you flow down and look up, you will be happy to see it, and the waterfall seems to contain Zen;Put it in and pour it out. The waste is not useless, and the cloth bag also has the heart of Buddha.Shangtianzhu Temple in Hangzhou is: a big belly can accommodate the sky and the earth, but what cannot be tolerated by others;I always laugh, laugh at the past and the present, and laugh at the world.The most widely circulated couplet: a big belly can accommodate things that are difficult to tolerate in the world;Smile always and laugh at the ridiculous people in the world.At this moment, when I looked at this Maitreya, what I thought of was: let go of my worries and take on my responsibilities.”
Fenghua City is actively building the "Maitreya Faith" center and developing a spiritual journey.Cultural scholar Ye Xiaowen wrote in "Meeting "Maitreya Culture" on the Road": A Maitreya belief in it, but it turns out that there is indeed culture in it.This culture is actually not the culture of "God", but the culture of "people". It is to use God to think about what people think and what people say.Since the reform and opening up, Fenghua, Zhejiang and even the whole country have been developing rapidly. People have worked hard and lived and worked in peace and contentment, and everyone is happy.