归元寺英文导游词

            Guiyuan Temple

            Chinese Buddhist temples are never single buildings. They always
            consist of a group buildings following a fundamental patter, which
            can, however, be modified. The main buildings and their
            symmetrically corresponding secondary buildings form individual
            groups and courtyards. The entire temple complex is spacious. The
            building inside the complex are usually single-storied and the main
            halls are sometimes decorated with a double roof. The towers,
            pavilions and halls can be multi-storied structures.

            The Chinese temple complex has been subject to great structural
            changes throughout the centuries. But temple architects follow the
            basic principles of secular structures from the Tang Dynasty
            onwards. The complexes stand on a central axis, usually a
            north-south axis: east-west only as an exception. (Guiyuan Temple is
            just the very exception.) The main buildings are strung along this
            central axis, their broadest sides facing south or east.

            The most important and most frequently presented building inside a
            Buddhist temple complex are the main entrance gate, the bell and
            drum towers, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Buddha
            and a pagoda.

            Buddhism is said to be founded in India in the 6th century BC by
            Siddatha Gautama (BC565 –BC486), the son of a nobleman and member of
            the Kshatriya caste near the present borders of India and Nepal.
            Buddhism advocates that all the people are created equal and turns
            against the caste system of Brahmanism, so it was popular with the
            common people.

            It was said that Buddhism was spread to China in 2 BC. At the
            beginning, it was only regarded as a kind of witch. About 200 AD,
            Chinese version of Buddhist s criptures began to appear, and thus,
            Buddhist doctrines began to emerge with traditional Chinese
            religious thought. From 2nd century to late 6th century, translation
            and research of Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics were
            becoming more and more popular and many temples were built, which
            reached its peak in Sui Dynasty (581AD-617AD) and Tang Dynasty
            (618-907). Some Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics came
            into being. Buddhism exerts a great influence on Chinese philosophy,
            literature, art and folk customs.

            What is presented before our eyes is a copper statue of a famous
            bodhisattva in Hynayana Buddhism. Bodhisattva is a tittle which is
            only next to Buddha. This statue is the image of Avalokitesvara,
            which has been popular with Chinese people or more than 1,000 years.
            She is called the Goddess of Mercy cordially by Chinese and is
            regarded as the symbol of kindness, mercy and benevolence. When we
            visit the Avalokitesvara Pavilion after a while, I will give a
            detailed introduction about her. This copper statue was sent to
            Guiyuan Temple by Taiwan Buddhists in September 1990. It shows that
            all Chinese, whether in the mainland or in Taiwan, are eager for the
            reunion of the country, even including religion believers.

            The building we see now is the Buddha Hall where one certain Buddha
            and his two assistant bodhisattvases are worshiped. This Buddha is
            Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha means incomparable brightness. According
            to Buddhism, time and space is limitless and thus there are many
            many Buddhas in different spaces and times. But in a certain space
            or in a certain period of time, there is only one certain Buddha who
            is in charge of instructing all living creatures. Amitabha Buddha is
            the Buddha who presides over the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the west,
            which will come in the future. Buddhist s criptures describe the
            Land of Ultimate Bliss as a wonderland, in which no pain exists and
            the people enjoy their lives. In one word, it’s very attractive.
            Some people will think it must be very difficult to enter such a
            world. How can I go to such a paradise? Maybe I have to work hard
            and bear a lot of sufferings. In fact, it’s very easy to enter the
            world. He only need often murmur ‘May Buddha preserve us’ sincerely.
            It’s enough.

            You see, the statue in the middle is the very Buddha. On his left is
            the Goddess of Mercy. On his right is the other bodhisattva who
            follows the Buddha. It is said that he can save all the living
            creatures from three kinds of terrible disasters.

            Now, let’s step into the Buddhist s criptures Pavilion where the s
            criptures of Buddhism are kept. But I ‘m afraid what attracts our
            attention at the first sight must be this snow-white statue. It is a
            statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. This statue was carved
            out of a big piece of jade which is 2-meter-tall and weighs 3 tons.
            It was carved by Myanmar handicraftsmen and donated to the temple by
            the Rangoon Buddhists in 1935.

            If we watch the statue, we may sense that the peaceful expression on
            the Buddha’s face has brought us to a quiet and harmonious state.

            The last building we will visit is the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in
            the north yard. When we entered the yard just now we saw a statue of
            her. Now I’d like to introduce her carefully.

            As a goddess, she swore that she would not become a Buddha until all
            the living creatures suffering from pains were saved. So she became
            a bodhisattva who is most popular among the people and attracts the
            most believers of all the gods and goddesses in Buddhism. It was
            said that one would be saved from trouble and disaster as long as he
            (she) chanted her name and if it was heard by her. Thus she is
            called Guanshiyin, which means ‘hearing or looking on the voices of
            the suffering’. Because of her kind heart and benevolence she got
            another title ‘the Goddess of Mercy’.

            According to Buddhism, bodhisattvases have no distinction of sex,
            that is, they are neither male nor female, because they are
            immortals. But it’s very strange and interesting that most of
            bodhisattvases were engraved or carved in the images of various
            kinds of men in human society. Changes didn’t take place until an
            emperor’s mother thought it was inconvenient to worship a male
            bodhisattva in her bedroom. From then on, Guanshiyin, the
            bodhisattvas began to appear before her believers in the image of a
            beautiful and elegant lady.

            We’ll pay a visit to a very serious, sacred place. Generally, the
            place is regarded as the most holy by Buddhists. It is the Grand
            Hall, where the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni is worshiped. It is
            always the center of a Buddhist temple in construction and in
            Buddhists’ mind.

            The statue in the middle is Sakyamuni. According to Buddhism his
            mother gave birth to him in a garden. He belonged to Kshatreya
            Caste. He married his cousin when he was 16 or 17 years old. At the
            age of 29, he was confronted with the sights of an old man, a sick
            man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. With eyes opened to aspects
            of life newly revealed to him, he broke from the material world and
            became an ascetic. Six years later, he gave up mystic concentration
            that at last brought him enlightenment under a bo tree. He then
            founded an order of mendicants and spent his next 45 years preaching
            his ideas until his death.

            These two statue beside the Buddha are his two disciples. The one on
            the right was said to be Sakyamuni’s cousin and he had good memory
            so that he could remember all the Buddha told his disciples. The one
            on the left was said to be the lord of Brahmnism and he once was
            Sakyamuni’s tutor. But afterwards he was convinced by Buddhism after
            long-term debate between Buddhism and other religions and he
            accepted Sakyamuni as his tutor. Thus he became the eldest one of
            all Sakyamuni’s disciples.

            Next, we’ll pay a visit to the Ahrat Hall in the south court.

            The Ahrat Hall is an important structure in a Buddhist temple. But
            not all temples have an Ahrat Hall, especially, well-kept Ahrat
            Halls are very rare in China. This one is among them, and what’s
            more, it has its own unique characteristics.

            Generally, an Ahrat Hall is a square building. The building is
            subdivided into four small square courts so that the hall can get
            enough sunlight. This kind of structure show some lucky implies in
            Chinese Buddhist culture.

            Another characteristic about the hall lies in these sculptures
            themselves. They were neither made up of wood, nor stone, nor clay.
            A special way was taken in making them, which could prevents them
            from being burned, being soaked or being eaten by insects. All the
            sculptures were floating in water while Wuhan was flooded in 1954,
            but, surprisingly, they were sound and safe after the flood had
            receded. It was really a wonder.

            Ahrats are the immortals in Buddhism. But when you have a look
            around the sculptures, you may find from the expressions on their
            faces that they are so familiar to you. That’s only because they
            were molded on the basis of the people in the reality, so they are
            human beings in our daily life rather than immortals.

            Ahrats are the symbols of harmony, happiness, and good luck, so the
            Wuhan natives have got used to counting ahrats since ancient time to
            pray for peace. There are a few ways of counting ahrats. We can
            count from the first ahrat from left to right or from right to left,
            when we just enter the hall. We can also choose any ahrat as our
            starting point, and count in the same way, left to right or right to
            left. We should base counting on our own ages whatever we take. For
            example, I’m 25, so I should stop in front of the 25th ahrat from
            the starting ahrat. The sculpture in front of which I stop is my
            lucky ahrat. My lucky ahrat will accompany me to spend a peaceful
            and lucky year. Wouldn’t you like to have a try now? If you need, I
            can explain connotation of some ahrats.

            That’s all for the explanation to Guiyuan Temple. Thank you for your
            cooperation and understanding. You will have another 30 minutes to
            have a look around the temple. If you have any problems, do let me
            know. I would like to repeat our bus number, A3074. Please don’t
            forget. See you later.
            
         

好贴，不错，支持