Chapter 7 Cigarettes curl up at Shintokuji Temple

Standing on the open and flat land under Zhaojin Mountain, it is hard for me to imagine that this place was originally a temple full of incense and Buddhists.It is the Shende Temple of the Sui Dynasty that was accidentally discovered in the county records and an accidental excavation by the descendants.The city inch under Pingxia is Siping Village. The ancient "Yaozhou Chronicle" records: Sui Renshouzhong (AD 601-604), "built the Daxiang Pavilion in the Longhua Temple of Bushouyuan, and built the Shencong Temple, also known as the Shende Temple, on the eastern peak of Zhaojin." Renshou four years ( In April of 604 AD, "Dharma Master Salman Senghui was ordered to place relics in Shende Temple and build a spiritual pagoda."People who have read the ancient "Yaozhou Chronicles" naturally have many question marks in their hearts, and the exact location of Shende Temple has become a mystery that is difficult to solve.

With a lot of confusion.In the voluminous historical annals, history may leave some clues, and this has to start with Chang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.Since the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the nobles of Xianbei have paid great attention to using religious methods to paralyze and rule the people, and various religions have developed unprecedentedly.According to "Wei Shu · Shi Laozhi", it was the first year of Emperor Xiaowen Taihe (AD 477). "There are hundreds of new and old temples in the capital, more than 2,000 monks and people: 6,478 temples in the four directions, and 77,258 monks and nuns." By the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were 30,000 Buddhist temples nationwide. There are more than one million monks and nuns in Yusuo, and the number of Buddhist temples increased to more than 40,000 in the Northern Qi Dynasty, with more than one million monks and nuns.In the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the predecessor of the Sui Dynasty, there were more than 10,000 monasteries and more than 2 million monks and nuns.These monasteries not only exploited the monks, but also "sangzhi households, millet and temple households. Organized in the state town", and the monk households no longer bear the state's taxes and corvees.Temples often "repay the profits to pass the market, or overturn the bond deeds. Invading the poor and poor, it is impossible to know the extremes."Exploiting the people by putting usury, and posing a huge economic threat to the ruler.In the time of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, in the face of the enormous prestige of Buddhism on social development, the talented and generous Emperor Wu of Zhou dealt a heavy blow to Buddhism and Taoism.A large number of Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures were burned, more than three million monks and nuns were forced to return to secular life, and a large number of fields owned by the monastery were confiscated.According to the "Continued Biography of Eminent Monks" Volume 26 "Secret Biography of Shi Dao", Emperor Wen Changjian of the Sui Dynasty was born in the Prajna Temple in Tongzhou (now Dali, Shaanxi Province) and was raised by a nun Zhixian. middle.Due to the influence of Buddhism since childhood, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was very intelligent and understood Buddhism.Zhixian once predicted that his marriage would become a great cause.When Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty exterminated Buddhism, the nun Zhixian avoided being attacked because he hid in the Yang family.Due to the turbulent Buddhist relationship, after Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, the whole country vigorously promoted Buddhism. From the first year of Renshou, it took four years to build 111 Buddhist buildings in 111 states across the country to place The relics of the cremated remains of the Supreme Buddha and eminent monks.The pagoda relic enshrined in Shende Temple in Zhaojinsiping is one of them.

Time entered April 1969, Siping City welcomed more than ten educated youths who went to the countryside, because they wanted to lay the foundation for these educated youths to build houses, which awakened the memory of people in the city.Immediately, some villagers recalled that when plowing the pond at the foot of Zhaojin Mountain, they often used plowshares and found relatively regular bluestones.These bluestones are different from the sand and stones on the local hills, making the foundation solid and durable.When the villagers were digging out these bluestones in memory, at first they only saw some miscellaneous ruins and rubble, and slowly dug out many Buddha statues, and then dug out many blue bricks.After cleaning up these products, an underground palace surrounded by blue bricks is presented in front of people.After the excavation of the underground palace, a huge stone box was found, which contained funerary objects such as a gilded copper basin, a copper vase with Persian elephant ears, and Persian coins.The stone box is a cup-top type, which is divided into two parts: the cover and the seat.The top of the cover is engraved with the nine characters "Inscription on the Emperor's Relic Pagoda with Big Eyes", and around the characters are engraved with illustrations of four auspicious beasts: Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu.The four brakes are engraved with curly grass patterns.The four sides of the facade are engraved with flying apsaras and vines.There is a square vertical groove in the center of the letter seat, and the gilt copper box is placed in the groove.There are two platforms along the mouth, and the stone inscription "under the stupa" is placed below.The facades around the seat are line-carved vines and portraits of the four disciples and the four heavenly kings.The entire stone box is exquisitely carved, with smooth lines, and the figures are lifelike and lifelike.According to the "Inscription on the Relic Pagoda", the relic pagoda of Shende Temple was built by Yangjian Emperor Jingwen in the fourth year of Renshou (AD 604), and the Dharma Master of the dynasty, Samana Senghui, was sent to escort the relic.Go to Siping, which was called Yichuan at that time, to build a pagoda to worship, and placed it in the Shende Temple built in Renshouzhong of the Sui Dynasty (AD 601). Historical records and actual discoveries have a reasonable point of agreement due to the continuous unraveling of this mystery.

It can be imagined that Shende Temple was built by the emperor, and the central government sent personnel to escort the relics to the temple grounds for worship. Its scale is very huge.At that time, Shende Temple was located at the foot of Zhaojin Mountain in the Changsheling Mountains outside Shimen Guananmen on Qinzhi Road. The traffic from Chang'an, the capital city, and all directions to Siping through Qinzhi Road was very convenient.It is not difficult for us to imagine the lively scene of pilgrims, smoke and fog, and frequent rituals at that time.From the place names of some villages around Shende Temple, we can also feel the grand scale of the temple.There are place names such as Sipo, Sigou, and Siping in the temple area; there are city names such as Grave Beach, Water Prison, and Xiufanggou near the temple.The author's village is located on the water slope across the river from Shintoku-ji Temple. When I was young, I dug out many blue pottery pots.According to the old people, these are the urns of the monks in Siping Shende Temple after they returned to the west.All this also shows that the temple at that time had facilities such as cemeteries, textile bases, and prisons, and its majesty and solemnity can be seen.

Standing on the piled-up Zhaojin mountain ridge in Changsheling, you can look far away at Zhaojin Mountain East Peak and the flat ground where Shende Temple is located.Surrounded by two gurgling streams, the protruding peak is like a blue-gray pearl.Two dragons playing with a pearl is wonderful.In particular, the rock surface is shining brightly. If it contrasts with the brilliance of the golden walls of the Shentoku Temple in those days, and it is accompanied by the curling cigarettes of the Shentoku Temple praying for blessings, it is not difficult for us to imagine what kind of prosperous scene it will be!

However, the majestic and magnificent temples and the scene of incense and mist have disappeared, and there are no records in the historical records.Perhaps we can find some answers in combing the context of history.After Sui was replaced by Tang.The rulers of the Tang were more sycophants of Taoism and Buddhism than the Sui.More than that, the main reason is that the ancestor of Taoism, Li Yu, was worshiped by the rulers of the Tang Dynasty because of the same surname.But the influence of Buddhism is far greater than that of Taoism. Coupled with the influence of major historical events such as Xuanzang's pilgrimage, most emperors in the Tang Dynasty also worshiped Buddhism, and most bureaucrats and nobles believed in Buddhism. The scale of De Temple has been developed freely.Judging from the last six Persian coins unearthed by Shihan, the foreign exchange of Shentoku Temple reached its peak at that time.The camel caravans of shrewd Persian merchants also set off from Chang'an, the capital city, to Shende Temple through Qin Zhidao's secret door, seeking the unique psychological and spiritual comfort of the Buddhist world.Time passed to 840 A.D., and the building of the Tang Empire was severely damaged by the "Anshi Rebellion".The foundations of politics and economy have also been shaken, and the overall national strength is becoming more and more constrained.Tang Wuzong, who had just succeeded to the throne, keenly saw the disadvantages of the temple economy: the temple owned a large amount of land, and the number of monks and people was increasing.It does not bear the national tax, which makes the government's increasingly tight fiscal revenue even more stretched.The development of this kind of contradiction made Tang Wuzong and Zhou Wudi, both talented and general, order the extermination of Buddhism in order to eliminate the threat of the temple economy to the regime.History.This time to destroy the Buddha, more than 4,600 monasteries were demolished, more than 260,000 monks and nuns were ordered to return to lay life, and 150,000 monastery slaves were released as taxpayers.The seven years from 840 AD to 846 AD before Tang Xuanzong came to the throne.There is no detailed record in the annals of whether Shentoku Temple has suffered a heavy blow, but it is certain.Shentoku Temple must have been severely damaged during this relatively special period.If it has not been destroyed, its scale may have been severely weakened. Therefore, this period is a more striking sign of the decline of Shentoku Temple.The "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" between Tang and silk is the continuation and development of the separatist regimes in the late Tang Dynasty.During this period, wars continued frequently, and warlords ruled the roost. "New History of the Five Dynasties-An Zhongwei Biography" said: "The emperor would rather have a kind? He who has a strong soldier and a strong horse is the ear." At this time, the emperor was ruled by a big warlord, and the governor was ruled by a small warlord. The brutal and vulgar warlord regime, It must have greatly weakened the influence of Buddhism, and the role of Buddhism as a tool of royal rule to ignorant the people has gradually disappeared.All this undoubtedly formed a serious constraint and stagnation on the current situation for the further prosperity of the Shende Temple.During this period, the warlords fought.Or the destruction and threat of war and mutiny.Therefore, it is possible that Shentoku Temple has never been able to recover from a setback, and has been gradually annihilated in the heavy historical dust...

There is such a folk legend, although there is a certain basis, but its accuracy cannot be tested.Legend has it that the Sui and Tang dynasties.Due to the ruler's emphasis on Buddhism, Shende Temple enjoys a lot of tax incentives.The monastery economy has been well developed.Shende Temple has a foot-chopping gate at the foot of Zhaojin Mountain, where monks repent after violating the clear rules and precepts.Shende Temple has an embroidery room in Xiufanggou of Tianyu River: there is a prison on the flat across the river in front of the temple, and this place has always been called a water prison.There is a cemetery in the western part of the temple. This city is called Fentan Village, and this village name has been used to this day.During this period, although the temple had many rules and regulations, the abbots of the temple often exploited the people at will, were extravagant and lustful, and committed all kinds of evil.They often put some innocent people in special water prisons.What's more, they will often go beyond the Buddhist regulations and wantonly rob the women of the people.Legend has it that a beautiful royal princess went to Shende Temple to offer incense, and was favored by the greedy and lustful abbot.The abbot sent his monks to forcibly detain him in the temple for the abbot at that time to vent his desire and have fun.The royal family lost the princess and sent people to search everywhere.One day, when searchers who acted as shopkeepers and sold rouge with a load were wandering around Shintoku Temple.Suddenly seeing the figure of the princess full of eyes in the pavilion of the temple, the search personnel kept calm and quickly reported the news to the emperor who lost the princess and was in great pain.The emperor was furious when he heard the news, and immediately sent troops to Siping Shende Temple to rescue the princess.After withdrawing the princess, the emperor was very angry.He ordered the army to flatten the Shende Temple.Thousands of monks and nuns in the temple were all imprisoned in water dungeons, and then the water dungeons were burned down. Shende Temple and surrounding facilities were also burned.As for who this princess is, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Later Liang Dynasty and the later Tang Dynasty ruled here alternately. It is very likely that she was the daughter of a warlord emperor in Xun during this period, and it is impossible to debate now.Because the underground palace is an underground palace built in the Sui Dynasty.With a long history and all the monks and nuns of the temple were killed, the underground palace of Shende Temple has become an eternal mystery, buried deep in the ground of the temple by the dust of time.Years passed and wars continued, the underground palace gradually faded from people's sight and impression, and became a forgotten corner.It was not until this accidental excavation in 1969 that the mystery was solved.

Although everything in Shende Temple has become a long history, the Buddha's great kindness, great compassion, and the protection and well-being left to Sri Lanka, the huge spiritual and tourism wealth formed from this will be The light will shine forever and benefit the common people.