Cangshan visits Zen

Number of days: 1 day
Tour kinds: Free travel
The author went to these places: Dali Cangshan Yudai Yunyou Lu Erhai Gantong Temple Gantong Ropeway
Updated: 2022.07.03

When I revisited Dali, I wanted to climb Cangshan Mountain to take a walk on the Yudai Yunyou Road to enjoy the mountains and overlook Erhai Lake, but because it rained for several days and there was no whole time, I never got what I wanted. On the morning of October 23, 2020, I squeezed out time to take a taxi to the south gate of Cangshan Scenic Area and climbed the mountain in the drizzle to visit Jizhao Monastery.

After getting off the bus and climbing the mountain, after walking for nearly 20 minutes, we came to the Jizhao Monastery in the pine forest at the southern foot of Cangshan Shengying Peak. The name of Jizhao Monastery is taken from "feeling and communication, silence and reflection", which was built in the early Ming Dynasty and later destroyed. In the early years of the Republic of China, it was rebuilt by Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan, and the three words "Jizhao An" on the door of the nunnery were inscribed by him.

Jizhao Monastery is known as the most literary nunnery in Dali, mainly because it is full of a wide variety of succulents that grow lushly.

Walking into the nunnery, the whole courtyard is not as solemn as an ordinary temple, nor is there incense lingering, but more like a private courtyard built by people who like to serve flowers and grass.

The flower potted succulents of different shapes in the temple are assembled into ingenious patterns, decorating the porch and courtyard of the palace. In Jizhao Monastery, it is not the smoky incense that worships the Buddha, but the vivid and colorful flowers.

In the silent mountains and forests, the elegant courtyard layout of Jizhao Monastery surrounded by pines and cypresses, and the succulent flowers and plants that can be seen everywhere complement the tranquility of the temple, making Jizhao Monastery full of fresh and elegant atmosphere. While the wind chimes swayed, the charm and Zen of the wonderful fragrance Buddha country were inadvertently immersed in people's hearts.

Walking into the tea room in the nunnery, it is simple and elegant, with a hint of Zen everywhere. It's a pity that I was in a hurry and had no time to sit down to enjoy the flowers, vegetarian fasting, and tea, and appreciate the tranquility and remoteness away from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Maybe I came a little early, I didn't see monks, nuns and tourists in the nunnery, there were people busy in the kitchen of Jizhao Monastery, and the day in the nunnery might not have started yet.

Standing in the small courtyard of the hermitage, looking at the towering pines and cypresses in the drizzle outside the hermitage, and the exquisite flowers in the hermitage, Feeling the atmosphere of Jizhao Monastery that perfectly combines aesthetics and Zen theory, I seem to appreciate the charm of silent care.

Leave Jizhaoan and embark on the return journey. Passing by Gantong Temple, seeing that there was still some time, he raced against time to visit the temple.

Gantong Temple, also known as Dangshan Temple, was founded during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han (145 AD). The Tang Dynasty sage Li Chengmei rebuilt and changed the name of the temple "Gantong", which went through vicissitudes and rose and fell several times, and had the scale of 36 monasteries in the early Ming Dynasty. The existing temples were rebuilt one after another after the Qing Dynasty, and the scale is no longer large.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the eminent monk of Yunnan once wrote a couplet for Gantong Temple: "The temple is ancient and the pine is deep, and the southwest is unparalleled; The horse neighs and the flowers bloom, and Cang'er is famous as the first mountain." Gantong Temple is known as "the famous first mountain in Cang'er", not only because of its beautiful natural scenery, but also because of its cultural heritage.

It is said that in the fifteenth year of Ming Hongwu (1382 AD), Zen Master Wuji, the abbot of Gantong Temple, went to Nanjing to pay homage to Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, and presented white horses and camellia trees. When Master Wuji came to pay his respects, suddenly the neighing of horses and the blooming flowers bloomed. The Ming Taizu regarded this as an auspicious sign and conferred titles upon Master Wuji, thus leading to the prosperity of Gantong Temple. Yang Shen of the Ming Dynasty stayed in the Banshan Building of Gantong Temple for more than 20 days, where he annotated the "Six Books" and transferred the thousand-character phonology.

Xu Xiake of the Ming Dynasty once tasted the temple's specialty Gantong tea in Gantong Temple, saying that it was "absolutely similar to cinnamon" and "the tea taste is quite good", so Gantong tea became a famous tea in Dali, and it was also the "pillar tea" among the three teas of the Bai people in Dali. Gantong tea soup is tender green and chaotic, with rich tea aroma, mellow taste, long-lasting brewing resistance, and is listed as a high-quality hospitality. When I came to the annex of Gantong Temple, I specially looked at the Gantong tea tree.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the master often lived in Gantong Temple in his later years to preach Zen teachings through poetry and painting, and now his handwritten works are still hanging under the eaves outside the lobby of Gantong Temple." A smile is spring" plaque.

Leave Gantong Temple, come to the nearby Cangshan Gantong Ropeway Station, look east, and see the beautiful scenery of Erhai Lake in the misty rain.I think that for the monks and nuns of Gantong Temple and Jizhao Monastery, with the prosperous ancient trees of Cangshan behind them and the clouds and moonlight of Erhai Lake under their eyes, the days of green lights and yellow scrolls may not be too lonely.