The Buddhist Universe
According to Karunapundarika Sutra，when the 8th son of the ancient India Saint King, Mintu, became a monk, his Buddhist name was Puxian (Samantabhadra). When he cultivated himself and became a Buddha, he made ten practices and vows before Shakyamuni Buddha to enlighten living creatures, follow the Bodhisattva-carya, attain the bodhi and beget positive karma. Avatamsaka Sutra mentions: “In the southwest, there is a mountain named Bright. Samantabhadra often promotes and explains Buddhism doctrines to his 3,000 followers (disciples) there.”Yi E Lai, a book written by Hu Shi’an at the end of the Ming Dynasty mentions: In 63 AD, a herb gatherer whose family name is Pu encountered a deer in the mountain. He was so surprised that he chased it to the summit, but it could not be seen again; instead, he saw bright light blazing at the cliff edge, with emerging violet clouds, interweaving a bright net. He sighed and said:“ The auspicious creature is rare, perhaps it is a mystical animal from the heaven. Then, he asked Monk Qiansui who came from India about this and he answered:“This is an auspicious sign of Samantabhadra, who is guarding Tathagatha in the Dharma ending age. He appeared here to benefit all the living creatures. You can make a thorough inquiry with Master Teng and Master Fa. Then he went to Luoyang, met with the two masters and told them what he saw. The masters said:“Well,it is rarely seen. What you saw is Samantabhdra...” Mt. Emei Records in the Qing Dynasty recorded the story that Mr. Pu went back to Mt. Emei and built the Puguang Hall. This is regarded as the main evidence that Buddhism was introduced to Mt. Emei in the Han Dynasty. Biographies of Eminent Monks, the earliest Buddhism historic material in Sichuan which was written by Liang Huijiao in the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-420) recorded: Hui Chi, the younger brother of the eminent monk Hui Yuan in the Jin Dynasty...wanted to have a look at Mt. Emei, so he left his elder brother and decided to go to Sichuan in 399. Hui Yuan had no idea how to keep his younger brother round, so he said goodbye to Hui Chi sadly. After Hui Chi arrived at Chengdu, he lived in Longyuan Vihara and was received by the provincial governor Mao Ju. He went to Mt. Emei in the following year. Seeing the beautiful mountain and clear water, he decided to build a temple to worship Samantabhadra’s statue. The temple, named Puxian(Samantabhadra) Temple (the current Wannian Temple) is the earliest and one of the most complete temples in Mt. Emei, and the statue is definitively the first Samantabhadra’s statue in Mt. Emei.
The whole story seems absurd as it lacks evidence. We may believe there do exist a man Mr. Pu who saw the trace of a deer, because it was common for a herb gatherer to find the traces of beasts in the mountain. But what is absurd is that people confound the trace of a deer with that of an elephant (Samantabhadra’s seat is a six-tooth white elephant). As with the time, Mr. Pu lived at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty(about 317), but Monk Bao Zhang lived in 414 to 657, How can they meet since there is a gap of about 200 years? Without enough proof, the above can only be legendary stories.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty View is more reliable. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Master Hui Chi arrived in Sichuan and went to Mt. Emei. He was the first monk who came to Mt. Emei. He worshiped Samantabhadra in the then Puxian Temple (current Wannian Temple). Thus, monks came before temples were constructed, followed by the construction of the statue of Samantabhadra. That goes well with the practice.
To sum up, analyzing from the above viewpoints, the Eastern Han Dynasty is the rudimentary stage for the development of the religions in Mt. Emei since Buddhism appeared at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties (266-420) and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589) are the foundation stage of Buddhism in Mt. Emei. After Master Hui Chi built Puxian Temple, Monk Hui Tong and his sister Hui Xu constructed Black Water Temple, and Monk Ming Guo turned Qianming Taoist Temple to Zhongfeng Temple during the period. Although the three temples were not large at that time, with their efforts, Buddhism stand firmly in Mt. Emei, which laid foundation for the further development of Samantabhadra’s Way-place.
In the Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, Buddhism in Mt. Emei enjoyed sound development. History records show that, in the Tang Dynasty, a group of eminent monks came here from afar. They expanded old temples, built new ones and recruited disciples to promote Buddha Dharma. Among them, Master Hui Tong had greater influence, as he rebuilt Puxian Temple, Black Water Temple, Huayan Temple, Yanfu Temple (the former Ox Heart Temple), Zhongfeng Temple and built Qingyin Pavilion. The Buddhist holy land took shape at that time; therefore, the period was called “Buddhism-reviving Period Brought by Hui Tong” in history.
In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the government supported Buddhism in Mt. Emei very well. At that time, Mt. Emei enjoyed a widespread reputation as a Buddhist mountain, and many monks came here from afar. The most famous monks including Monk Huizhen Guangwu, Sanzang Jiye, Mao Zhen, Hui Yuan, etc., who built temples and promoted Buddha Dharma, brought prosperity to Buddhism in Mt. Emei. In this period, there were three eminent monks: painter Monk Dao Hong, the achievements of whom were took in the Dictionary of Famous Chinese Painters; Monk Bie Feng, a friend of the famous poet Lu You, who wrote the poem Epitaph on the Stupa of Bie Chuan after he passed away; and Monk Huai Gu, a famous poet and one of the “Nine Monk Poets”. The famous writer Ouyang Xiu once quoted his verses.
Buddhism had its most prosperous period in Mt. Emei during Ming and Qing Dynasties. Great amounts of earth and wood were utilized to build temples. Having once been a monk, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty, worshiped Samantabhadra, and supported the development of Buddhism very much. He even wrote a poem himself and sent it to an eminent monk in Mt. Emei named Bao Tan, which goes, “the precipitous cliff knows this is a reincarnation, who comes to continue the cause of the previous life. I ask someone what are there in the mountain. The answer is that gentle breeze and bright moon are the closest friends.” Shuxian King Zhu Chun learned from his father and wrote a poem for a monk in Mt. Emei named Guangji, “an eminent monk flew away from the mortal world, and decided to stay in the mountain for a certain number of years. Every inch of the land is covered by silver-like ice and snow. Free from distractions, he is as free as clouds.” Grants from emperors greatly enhanced the status and reputation of Buddhism in Mt. Emei. In a short period of time many outside monks came to live in Mt. Emei for learning. The famous Master Bie Chuan was among them. The master worked hard on the “three theories” (abstinence, composure and intelligence). He built a temple and carried a hoe himself to afforest the mountain. The biggest nanmu grove in the mountain (Gude Grove) was planted by the master. In order to praise his merits and virtues, later generations called the nanmu grove planted by the Master “Gongde Lin (Merits and Virtues Grove)”. Also, a big bronze bell was made and hung in the former Daji Temple, remembering his good name forever. Besides, Master Wuqiong built the Dafo Temple in the east of the county, and enshrined a 3.6-zhang(1 zhang = 1.33 meters)-high bronze thousand-hand Avalokitesvara, making it a prosperous religious lodge at the time. At that time the number of Buddhist masters visiting Mt. Emei increased, so many new temples were built, including Hongchun Ping, Bailong Cave, Cisheng Nunnery and Jinlong Temple. It is said that there were nearly 100 big and small temples and over 1,000 monks in Mt Emei at that time, which demonstrated the prosperity of Buddhism in Mt. Emei.
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty took supporting Buddhism as a national honor. He once met all the hosts of the temples in Mt. Emei, sent minister Prince Haiqing Wuge to pray on behalf of him and gave Buddhist books and couplets to each temple. Due to the emperor’s support, Buddhism in Mt. Emei boomed for a long time, with many temples constructed. For example, Monk Guan Zhi rebuilt Fuhu Temple and promoted Buddhism, and his disciple Monk Ji Wan planted ten thousands Phoebe zhennan around the temple. Now, the trees are exuberant and they even blot out the sky and cover the sun. The place is “Bujin Forest” near Fuhu Temple. Such Buddhism stories are numerous. In the Republic of China period (1912-1949), the development of Buddhism in Mt. Emei was blocked as the result of the chaos caused by war. The number of lay Buddhists declined sharply and pilgrims were few.
After the founding of New China, Buddhism in Mt. Emei entered a new era of development with the support of the government. Just after liberation, the people’s government allocated funds to repair Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Huazang Temple, Wannian Temple, Hongchunping, Xianfeng Temple, Xixiang Pool, Huayan Peak, Woyun Temple, etc. in large scale, and another 14 temples including Dacheng Temple, White Dragon Cave, Chudian Temple, etc. were renovated; hence, Buddhist relics were properly protected and Buddhist ceremonies can be held as usual. However, during the “Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)” and the “Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)”, Buddhism in Mt. Emei was under great impact, with Buddhist cultural relics destroyed. Buddhism did not recover and develop until 1979. Entering the 21st century, the flourishing and harmonious social environment provides favorable condition for the development of Buddhism. Mt. Emei is known as the “Buddhist Holy Land” and “Famous Mountain under Heaven” at home and abroad.
Historical materials shows that Buddhism in Mt. Emei experienced five stages of development, namely, bring-in, development, boom, decline and frustration. Now, it is in the sound and harmonious development stage.
