The gods of Mengjia Longshan Temple gathered
Taipei Xianghuo Street Buddhist Shrine
——Cycling Chronicle and Caprice around Taiwan (61) Continued II
The façade of the apse is spacious, composed of three halls such as Mazu Temple, Wenchang Ancestral Hall and Wusheng Temple, which gather Buddha, Taoism and Confucianism and immortal Buddha in one hall; its scale or withering work are all rare masterpieces of temple architecture, which is famous for being an international tourist attraction. The roof of the apse is a heavy eaves of the mountain, the two wings are hard mountain single eaves, the crest of the house Caizi Shou clay sculpture shear, for the typical Confucian, Taoist gods and Buddhas worship place, the left and right dragon roof for the hard mountain single eaves, the left with the bell tower, the right with the drum tower, the morning bell twilight drum, the bell and drum tower roof with a pointed helmet roof, flat hexagonal shape, unique shape. The roof ribbons and cornices of the temple are shaped by auspicious animals such as dragons, phoenixes and unicorns, and are decorated with stained glass porcelain pieces of sheared and cross-toed pottery, which are magnificent in color, which can be called the essence of Taiwan's unique shearing and sticking art.
The apse of Longshan Temple enshrines the gods of Taoism and Confucianism, the gods of Mazu Hall are decorated with male left and female right, and the gods of the harem are decorated with left and right martial arts, which is completely in line with the etiquette system, the gods are different, the division of labor and cooperation, the incense is flourishing; the stone carving wall of the apse is engraved with the carving of the vivid "red hair fan blowing method snail", and the character column of the apse is also engraved with "Outing Ji Fun Map", in which the characters are varied, riding horses, tying shoes, taking off the bucket, opening their mouths and shouting, the action is realistic and easy and interesting, it is a very characteristic stone pillar, slowly searching, and the four changs of life are also inside The front and back of the apse roof are decorated with the addition of the double dragon, and the middle is the Caizi Shou cut and paste, most of which belong to the temple dedicated to Taoist gods.
The story in the right stone carving window of the Humen in the rear hall - the story in the incense burner is "Li Bai Xiebiao", Li Bai knew The Fanwen, was summoned by Tang Xuanzong to interpret the Fanbang Submission, and answered with a grass Fanwen; Li Bai saw that the eunuch Gao Lishi and the Taishi Yang Guozhong, who had humiliated the Humen Left Stone Window in the past, were beside him, so he ordered the two of them to wear ink with their boots, and then they drunkenly unraveled the Fan Table and enjoyed themselves; the story in the incense burner of the left stone carving window of Humen was "the godson of the Three Niangs", and the husband of wang Chun'e, the third lady of the Xue family, joined the army and lived by weaving cloth and his son; his son did not succeed in his endorsement, and after being trained, he came out to resist, The three women cut off the loom, the righteous servants were beside to persuade him, and his son read angrily from then on.
"Twilight Drum Morning Bell" refers to the temple in the morning and evening chanting, ringing the bell and drum to collect the heart; the roof of the bell and drum tower in the apse is hexagonal, triple eaves, the roof slope is curved in reverse, shaped like a helmet or palanquin roof, so it is called "helmet roof" or "palanquin roof" style, which is the first practice in Taiwan, and later became popular, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is an example; Longshan Temple has an underground toilet, the underground is divided into three floors, the bottom layer is a septic tank, the second floor is a maintenance room, the third floor is a toilet, men and women are separated; the ground is equipped with disabled toilets. The stairs leading to the toilet are made of marble, the walls are pasted with dark red wall tiles, the appearance is quite symmetrical with the monuments, there are air conditioning equipment and temporary generators, even the taps are automatic detection of segmented flushing, and there is a special person to manage, the underground toilet of Longshan Temple, the first to integrate modern equipment into the cultural places of the monuments.
The main hall of the main shrine Guanyin Bodhisattva Guanyin Buddha, commonly known as "Guanyin Mother", to save the world's great compassion bodhisattva, care for the tragic voice of all sentient beings, so also known as "Guanyin", referred to as "Guanyin", it is said that it can incarnate thirty-two kinds of images, the modeling features are usually decorated with a seated Buddha on the crown, holding a water purification bottle or lotus, the Guanyin Bodhisattva statue of Longshan Temple was invited to the stage by Quanzhou Jinjiang Anhai Longshan Temple, during the Second World War, the main hall was hit by shells, the hall was completely destroyed, only this statue stood safely on the lotus seat, believers are called " The Apparition of the Buddha "became more devout in worship of faith." Jizo King Bodhisattva, also known as the Lord of the Underworld Sect, according to Buddhist scriptures, was used by the sentient beings after the destruction of Shakya and Maitreya to save the suffering, and in order to save the suffering beings in the six reincarnations, the King of Jizo vowed that "hell is not empty, and vow not to become a Buddha"; the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha - expression of compassion and solemnity (is the work of the famous carver Huang Tushui from Mengjia, which was also destroyed during the Second World War, and the present object was reproduced by the Wenjian Association of the Executive Yuan in 1989 with the original model, one of which was given to Longshan Temple for eternal preservation).
Manjushri Bodhisattva - one of the four bodhisattvas of Buddhism in our country, is the most knowledgeable, multi-talented and eloquent bodhisattva in the Buddhist sect, symbolizes wisdom sharpness and might, second only to Shakyamuni Buddha, for his left attendant, honorific title is "Great Wisdom Manjushri Bodhisattva"; Puxian Bodhisattva - one of the four great bodhisattvas of Buddhism, second to Manjushri Bodhisattva, representing virtue, honorific title "Daxing Puxian", for Shakyamuni Buddha's right attendant; it is said that the Eighteen Arhats are chinese monks who have studied "Buddhism" in the past generations, and are highly skilled in martial arts, and the Eighteen Arhats and Eighteen Arhats are out of the blue. With a compassionate mind, traveling the world, and practicing heroic deeds, after death, he was worshipped by everyone on both sides of Guanyin Bodhisattva; Wei Da's protector was tall and mighty, also known as General Wei Tian, with a face like a child, a kind heart, and a vajra pestle in his hand, and was revered in the Buddhist temple as "Wei Da Bodhisattva", who was also the protector god in Buddhism; the garan protector who was powerful in appearance and armed with a sharp axe was also the protector god in Buddhism and the guardian god of the Buddhist temple.
The apse is dedicated to Mazu and enshrines other large and small deities to meet the various needs of the people. There are many gods, which is one of the characteristics of Longshan Temple; many gods also have names and surnames.
Among the gods are the "Wenchang Emperor Jun", the god who can make the disciples famous and prosperous, and the main literary fortune; there are also the famous Great Kui Xingjun, also known as "Kui Xingye", who is said to be able to shelter the famous scholars who take the examination; and there are also the Ziyang Confucius who is worshipped as the main god of the academy and was named after the "Ziyang Library" in Fujian, the Great Confucian Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty;
Folk proverb Cloud: "Kui Xing picks up the pen to double Kui, Wen Chang leaves his eyes to send Lu Lai", "Shi Lu plus body, monopoly of the head", "Kui" is the head of the Big Dipper Seven Stars, and the Temple Examination High School is also the Da Kui Tianxia, the reader serves him as the guardian deity, the Song Dynasty Great Ru Zhu Xi is because of his four books and five classics as a model for the examination of the imperial examination, and also set up in Fujian "Ziyang Study Room", so he was named the main god of the academy; among the gods, there is also a "Wenchang Emperor Jun" mount called "Lu Ma" - it is said that "Lu Ma has to run, and the official position rises step by step". Therefore, some people worship it as the "God of Luma", all of which are actually due to people's desires to be weird.
Among the gods, there are also those who have been loyal and courageous all their lives, who have gathered the great achievements of "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith", and the kings of all generations have been titled and sacrificed to the Guan Sheng Emperor, whose highest honor is "Martial Saint"; there is also a generation of "divine doctors" Huatuo Immortals who are proficient in meridians and the art of nourishing nature, especially proficient in prescription medicine and acupuncture, and are good at curing all kinds of difficult diseases.
There are also the gods who are in charge of the rewards and punishments of good and evil, the reincarnation of karma and karma, which guides people to distinguish between right and wrong in their actions, to deter the evil ones from doing wrong, to persuade people to accumulate goodness, and to belong to the underworld and reside in the Yang Dynasty; there is also the god of the land, Fude Zheng, the god of the land, the most kind and lovely "land father".
There are also the twelve wives (also known as the "twelve mothers-in-law") who are in charge of the affairs of the birth, the birth injection, the supervision of the birth, the delivery, the keeping of the fetus, the rebirth, the care of the child, the injection of men and women, the sending of the child, the birth of the child, the health maintenance, the holding of the child, and the twelve wives who assist the deceased mother-in-law (also known as the "twelve mothers-in-law") - these are the gods in the world who pray for justice, desire health, reward good and punish evil, distinguish between right and wrong, human reproduction, environmental protection, etc., and many good visions look forward to and admire.
Among the gods, there are also the "Three Realms Gong" who are in charge of the affairs of the water realm of heaven and earth, namely the Heavenly Official, the Earth Official, and the Water Official, the Three Officials Emperor; the Tianguan Yipin is the Ziwei Emperor, who manages the Divine Realm, gives blessings to people, and the Yao Emperor is the RenganTian, and is crowned as the Heavenly Official; the Diguan Erpin is the Qingxu Emperor, the Guan Fan Jie, who can forgive people's sins, Emperor Shun reclaims the land and is made a land official; the Water Official Sanpin is the Emperor of Dongyin, the Guan Yin Realm, can solve human disasters, Emperor Yu is good at controlling water, and is crowned as a water official, and the Three Officials Emperor of Longshan Temple is held on the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and it is estimated that it should be the Water Officer of the Three Officials Emperor;
There is also the legendary dragon master in the shape of the dragon head, that is, the sea dragon king, not only the sea god sacrificed by the boatman, but also the rain god prayed for rain by the peasants; the sea god or sea king worshipped by the Narcissus King for the navigation industry and traders - the "Narcissus King" was the main god of sacrifice with "Dayu", and the four people who were worshipped in the Narcissus Temple were historically water-related celebrities - Wu Zixu, Qu Yuan, Li Bai, and Wang Bo; and there was also the Jizo King Bodhisattva, who was called the Lord of the Underworld Sect, in order to save the suffering beings in the six reincarnations, vowed to "hell is not empty, and vowed not to become a Buddha."
When visiting the temple facilities and gods just in time for the start of the routine ritual in the temple, for a time the temple was filled with cigarette smoke, bells and drums were chirping, Sanskrit singing sounded, the deacons performed their duties, the crowd of people who came to worship the Buddha surged up, many believers braved the rain to worship the Buddha, many incensegoers stood outside the temple with umbrellas after paying homage to the high incense, and stood with their hands bowed, when the chanting in the temple began, the aura of the Buddha enveloped the entire temple hall and the space of the temple; the cyclists who were mixed in with it felt the solemnity and solemnity of worshiping the gods and worshiping the Buddha At 16:40, I observed the Longshan Temple Festival, and once again saw the taiwanese people's piety and devotion to the gods and Buddhas, and once again saw the religious atmosphere in which the believers coexisted with piety and faith, ignorance and superstition.
I heard that in 1945, the main hall was completely destroyed in World War II, but Guanyin Bodhisattva still sat on the lotus platform and solemnly held the treasure; during the air raid, most of the nearby residents took refuge under the guanyin bodhisattva lotus seat because they believed that it was absolutely safe under the protection of the bodhisattva; but this time the middle hall was seriously destroyed, and no one took refuge under the guanyin bodhisattva lotus seat that day, and the residents rushed to tell each other, believing that it was the protection of guanyin bodhisattva and survived, which also increased the reverence of the believers for guanyin bodhisattva. It is really a pity for posterity to be so pious that it is so pious.
It is said that this Longshan Temple, located in Mengjia, Taipei, was founded on a majestic scale and exquisitely sculpted, and the Mengjia Longshan Temple was destroyed due to earthquakes (Jiaqing 19th year - June 5, 1814, the Longshan Temple building was destroyed by an earthquake), wind disasters (Tongzhi 6 years - August 20, 1867 and then ravaged by typhoons), war (the main hall unfortunately fell on the incendiary bombs dropped by the Alliance at the end of World War II, all destroyed), or fell into disrepair (Taisho 8 years - 1919, that is, the eighth year of the Republic of China, the pillars were damaged by insect erosion, Moreover, the pilaster danqing peeling), or due to the influence of mold corrosion and termite erosion and other factors, it has been rebuilt or rebuilt many times;
Longshan Temple was established in the early third year of the Qianlong Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, after the Jiaqing Year overhaul, the Tongzhi Year minor repair, the Japanese Taisho period of major renovations, and several times after the restoration of Taiwan (of course, there are dozens of minor repairs in the period, such as the decoration of the roof ridge, the painting of the beam frame, the roof of the Bell and Drum Tower, and the reconstruction of the rear hall Wenchang Ancestral Hall due to the disaster of Zhu Rong), which has laid the foundation for today's Longshan Temple; when you visit Longshan Temple, if you look closely, you will find that this is a magnificent and exquisite temple, and there are still remnants of previous constructions everywhere.
I have heard people say that "Longshan Temple is the gathering place of the gods" - this is intended to indicate that there are many gods and worshippers, so it seems that the Longshan Temple, like other temples in Taiwan, is very similar to the gods offered; after visiting and browsing around, what I saw and heard confirmed that the gods offered by Longshan Temple are indeed more and more mixed than other temples; the main shrine of Longshan Temple, Guanyin Bodhisattva, is accompanied by the Worship of the Heavenly Virgin (Mazu), the Wenchang Emperor, the Guansheng Emperor, the Dragon King of the Four Seas, the Eighteen Arhats, the City God, the Lady of the Notes, and the Mountain God , the land gong and other gods and Buddhas, is a typical unity of gods and Buddhas;
Longshan Temple, together with the Palace Museum, the Martyrs' Shrine, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, are listed as several major scenic spots for tourists to visit Taiwan, and have been listed as state-level protected cultural relics and monuments managed by the government; in recent years, in addition to strengthening the maintenance of historical sites, libraries, underground public toilets, cultural relics museums, garden waterfall landscapes, and night lighting facilities have been added; some activities such as youth scholarships and grants, coming-of-age ceremonies, social education activities, emergency relief, winter relief, medical Buddhist lectures, psychological counseling, etc., have been added to promote Buddhism and puji sentient beings. Advocate social education and change customs and customs, so as to make the people's lives happier and healthier.
After leaving Longshan Temple, at about 17:00 in longshan temple, and Longshan temple only a wall away from the homestay to stay; after dinner out shopping - longshan temple near the surrounding streets such as: antique shops, Buddhist furniture shops, incense shops abound, can be described as incense all over the world, dazzling; after a while, and then enjoy the night view of Longshan Mountain, but it is really a thousand emotions! If the gods in Longshan Temple are mixed with the gods of Mengjia Longshan Temple, then the streets around Longshan Temple are full of incense in the world, which can be said to be the holy place of Buddhism in Taipei's Incense Street.
This phenomenon may be commonplace in Taiwan and elsewhere in Taiwan, but it is an eye-opener for someone who grew up from the mainland under the social form dominated by atheism; there is also Qingcao Lane in Lane 224 of Xichang Street on the right side of Longshan Temple (named after the gathering of Green Grass Tea Shops, forming a local characteristic), which displays a variety of medicinal herbs and makes tourists linger here, and Qingcao Lane is also unforgettable and refreshing for cyclists.
When we enter the vicinity of Longshan Temple, we immediately begin to feel that there is an atmosphere of dragons and tigers, and when we follow the increasingly prosperous trend of Mengjia and today's glory, we will sort out our thoughts and thoughts - suddenly we will find that Longshan Temple is like the god's eye on the dragon's body, it is always more than just a temple; in the early days, it led the development of Mengjia, became the best pastime for citizens, and now it is still leading the surrounding people and dominating their way of life.
Although Longshan Temple is regarded as a Buddhist temple, its worship is numerous and complex, most of which are mixed with local beliefs in the early days of Taiwan's development in the past hundred years, but the advantages of this mixture make people's various beliefs and prayers can be expected or met here;
Because of these intricate layers of relationships, condensed into a larger range of interdependent relationships, such as the traditional Chinese flavor of the night market, but also popular here, and gradually with the vendors around The Longshan Temple, and the Longshan Night Market to form a certain interactive relationship, perhaps we can also explore the development of taiwanese religion from the special way of belief produced by this resident's lifestyle.
Longshan Temple every year on the 19th day of the second month of the lunar calendar (the birthday of the gods) has a grand festival, every folk festival has a grand flower lantern, the temple is not surging crowds, the temple has become a sightseeing temple, the surrounding regular flavor of the city street, with a folk atmosphere; every first and fifteenth day of the first month, there are fixed pilgrims to enter the incense;
And every year lantern festival, the temple side more held a grand lantern conference, of course, in the Guanyin, Mazu birthday also has a grand festival, in recent years the management and development of the temple are towards the goal of attracting tourists, so that many activities have no longer maintained a strong local color, although so incense but still exuberant; of course, there are usually domestic and foreign tourists, so Longshan Temple, has become a sightseeing temple.
Wanhua District (formerly known as Mengjia) as the earliest development of Taipei City, Qing Dao light years, and Tainan, Lukang and called "one house, two deer, three ships", once flourished, Longshan Temple is now famous at home and abroad, but the surrounding believers and the temple dependence relationship is closer, more complex, more delicate, the times are changing drastically, the street market landscape is constantly updating, progressing, modernizing, but the area around Longshan Temple still retains the prosperous appearance of the past, the residents of this place with their sincere faith, has always recognized, Identify with the way of life they have always known.
When the times are turbulent, people's hearts are in the chaos of time and space, but people suddenly found that religion is the safest place for their souls to take refuge, so the incense in the temple is more abundant, and the good men and women, whether they are pious and ignorant, righteous faith and superstition, all belong to the Buddhas in the temple to find a way to get rid of troubles and wash the dirt of the soul, so that incense and prayer, blessing and peace have the meaning of life.