Everyone knows that Buddhism was founded in ancient India by Shakyamuni And later introduced to China, influencing the development of Chinese culture for thousands of years. But do you know when Buddhism was introduced to China, and on what day it began? Today I will take a big look at the ancestral court of the "Three Treatises" known as the starting point of the sinification of Buddhism, one of the "Eight Schools of Buddhism", the Ancestral Court of the Huayan Sect, the Ancestral Court of the Nichiren Sect of Japanese Buddhism, and also the first national Buddhist scripture translation field in China, the largest and longest translation field among the three major translation fields of Buddhism, which is the "Caotang Temple" located in the high-tech zone of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.
Filmed in 2020 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
In 401, Yao Xing, the second emperor of Later Qin, built a garden in the southwest of Chang'an City (present-day Xi'an). Yao Xing welcomed the Western Monk Kumarosh to live here, and began to translate Buddhist scriptures, using tomacho as a church, hence the name "Caotang Temple".
Among the many famous temples and ancient temples in China, Caotang Temple has a pivotal position. Kumarosh translated the "Three Treatises on the Middle Way", the "Theory of Becoming Reality", and the "Lotus Sutra" at Caotang Temple, making Caotang Temple the ancestral court of the Three Treatises Sect, the Chengshi Sect, and the Huayan Sect. The Japanese established the Nichiren Sect according to the Lotus Sutra, so Kusado-ji Temple is revered by the Nichiren Sect of Japanese Buddhism as the ancestral court, and the Hatsumaroshi is the first ancestor.
I remember two years ago, I came to the outskirts of Xi'an city at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, where there are two of the most famous monasteries, one is the ancient Guanyin Zen Temple with the ginkgo tree planted by Tang Taizong Li Shimin himself, and the other is the Caotang Temple. The itinerary is the same twice, first to the ancient Guanyin Zen Temple, and later to the Caotang Temple. What surprised me was that the two times I went to the ancient Guanyin Zen Temple was cloudy, but when I arrived at the Caotang Temple, it was sunny, maybe it was just a coincidence.
When I visited Caotang Temple twice, I was impressed by the strong Buddhist culture and numerous historical monuments of this thousand-year-old temple. Perhaps the Buddha's edge is not enough, and the two most important cultural relics in the temple last time have not been able to see each other, which is very regrettable. However, on this trip, I finally got my wish to photograph the famous Kumarosh Stupa in Caotang Temple and the Ming Dynasty giant bell that had been dusted for hundreds of years. About this giant bell, I have already detailed in the previous article, interested friends can go forward to find, September 24 this year's article.
After entering the Caotang Monastery in 401, the senior monk Kumarosh has been proficient in the translation of Buddhist scriptures, successively translating the Dapin Pan Ruo Sutra, the Myo Fa Lotus Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, the Diamond Sutra and other sutras, as well as the "Middle Theory", "Hundred Treatises", "Twelve Doors Theory", "Theory of Becoming Reality", etc. He is a famous translator of Buddhist scriptures in ancient China, and has become a Translator of Buddhist Scriptures with the same name as Xuanzang and Zhenzhen. At the same time, he also trained many disciples, the famous ones are the Four Noble Ones: Daosheng, Sangha Zhao, Daorong, and Sangha, and a huge monastic community of disciples has opened up many Buddhist sects in various places.
In 413 AD, the high monk Kumarosh died at The Caotang Temple. On the right side of the Great Treasure Hall of Theodo Temple, there is the ruins of the Kumaroshi Stupa, which is the spiritual pagoda where the relics of the master Kumarosh are placed. In order to protect the stupa, a special pavilion was built, and the tower is located in it. Usually the door here is locked, this time I have the opportunity to shoot at close range and present it to the majority of readers and friends.
The Kumarosh Stupa has eight sides and is divided into twelve floors, with a total height of 2.47 meters. According to historical records, the pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty, and its pagoda stone is a tribute to the Western Regions, and the tower body is carved with jade white, ink black, light red, light blue, milk yellow, brick blue, ochre purple, silver gray eight colors of jade inlay carving, so it is commonly known as "Eight Treasure Jade Pagoda".
The main body of the tower is a pavilion-style tower, the base is a square base, jade light blue, the side length is 1.7 meters, the height is 26 centimeters, and it is surrounded by indelible bas-relief patterns. There is an empty room under the pedestal, which is presumably the underground palace, where the Kumarosh relics and ritual objects are placed. The bottom floor of the tower is disc-shaped, jade-colored milky yellow, 15 cm high and 135 cm in diameter, bearing the waves of the mountains, and the Sumire seat is rippled with waves.
On the wavy yanglian plate is a treasure niche with a sharp architectural style in the four corners of the octagonal body, with jade ink black, carved pillars, foreheads, and straight windows. The relief on the south side of the tower has a traditional Chinese bubble nail double-open gate with a lock on the door; the double row on the north side is engraved with the inscription of the main book "Yao Qin Sanzang Master Kumo Rosh Stupa".
Further up is the traditional Chinese four-out square roof, under the eaves there are carved Buddha statues flying in the sky, the lines are smooth and vivid. The tower brake system is also unique in style, and the simple brake seat is carved with huge lotus petals and leaves, supporting a jade treasure gourd. The shape and carving of the whole tower are exquisite, and although the entire shape of the tower is not large, it is an excellent Tang Dynasty stone carving work.