April 12, Xi'an, China, Qinglong Temple/青龙寺 (Part 3 - History):
A model of Qinglong Temple in Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD):
There must have been something like thirty engravings of famous poems about the temple lining the walls of the corridors. Below are three examples of these engravings, from these poems one can get a feel for how Qinglong Temple used to look like. A note on the translations: they are rather unpolished as I just wanted to get the meaning across.
"In Commemoration of Qinglong Temple"
By Zhu Qingyu (Tang dynasty)
The beauty of this temple comes from the mountains,
By the time I summited it was already dusk.
Verdant peaks behind temple buildings,
Scarlet leaves filling the corridors.
Bamboo groves connecting flat areas,
Chirping of insects above it all.
Only the east side remains still,
Since it's close to the city walls.
"Qingming Festival Above Qinglong Temple"
By Huangfu Ran (Tang dynasty)
It's comfortable up in the mountains,
Watching the season pass by.
Sounds of flowing water from near and far,
Views of mountains from east and west.
Setting sun upon the grassy path,
Growing leaves cover the courtyard trees.
Qingming Festival has come and gone,
Just like the seasons and the temple visitors.
"Early Summer at Qinglong Temple"
By Bai Juyi (Tang dynasty)
Light shower settled the dust,
Temple grounds blending with the hills.
Setting sun outside temple gates,
The scene filled with an air of serenity.
An old monk stands in idleness,
There are no worldly passersby in the stillness.
Remaining birds having sung their melodies,
New leaves providing ample amounts of shade.
End of spring was just days ago,
Summer clouds are already towering above.
Every day we feel the passing of seasons,
Our hair graying in the meantime.
Why obsess over bustling cities,
When we can return to the lush countryside?
These verdant mountains are but a corner of the world,
Here I stand and reflect upon the state of my heart.
Huiguo and Kukai
In the first part I mentioned that Qinglong Temple was where Kukai/空海 studied Vajrayana Buddhism (the Chinese Esoteric tradition was also called "Tangmi"/唐密, since it was very popular in Tang dynasty) under Huiguo/惠果. Huiguo was a student of the famous Vajrayana Buddhist master and translator Amoghavajra (Chinese name Bukong/不空). Huiguo eventually became a master himself in the Chinese Esoteric tradition, and was an Acharya (Sanskrit term meaning teacher; translated phonetically as asheli/阿阇黎 in Chinese) who had many students from different places, including from surrounding countries. Kukai was one of his last notable students before he passed away. Kukai returned to Japan in 806 AD and founded the Shingon school of Buddhism/真言宗 (also sometimes called Eastern Esotericism/東密).
Kukai was also a calligrapher and a poet, below are two examples of his works (first is an ink rubbing of his calligraphy work titled "Buddha", second is his calligraphy work named Huushincho/風信帖; both were written in Chinese):
Closeup of Huushincho (from Wikipedia). The original is at Touji Temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Shōryō shu/Xinglingji/性靈集, a collection of kanshi by Kukai. Kanshi/漢詩 is a Japanese word for Chinese poetry. These books here are a gift from Japan.
Bunkyō hifu ron/Wenjingmifulun/文鏡秘府論 by Kukai which discusses Chinese poetry. These books are a gift from Japan.
There are also other gifts from Japan. Left is the top of a khakkhara staff (In Chinese and Japanese: xizhang/锡杖/錫杖, shakujō/錫杖). Right is a Vajra (in Chinese and Japanese: jingangchu/金刚杵/金剛杵, kongosho/金剛杵), this is a Vajrayana ritual object. This particular Vajra is commemorative and bears the names of Huiguo and Kukai:
And that's all for Qinglong Temple. Next up is another famous temple in Xi'an, Daci'en Temple/大慈恩寺.
"酒寧剩欠尋常債,劍不虛施細碎讎。" Take a rest for a while :))) 俺很愛"老土花生麵包"配Taiwan Gold Medal Beers. lol 這人生哪,何須當英雄,吃好喝好且好好活著;『相濡以沫,不如相忘於江湖。』此語出自《莊子·大宗師》:「泉涸,魚相與處於陸,相呴以濕,相濡以沫,不如相忘於江湖。與其譽堯而非桀也,不如兩忘而化其道。 」Lan~*
In JTTW chapter eight, Zhu Bajie tells Guanyin that he inherited his cave from a mysterious figure:
It's called the Mountain of the Blessed Mound," said the fiendish creature, "and there is a cave in it by the name of Cloudy Paths. There was a Second Elder Sister Egg originally in the cave. She saw that I knew something of the martial art and therefore asked me to be the head of the family, following the so-called practice of "standing backward in the door." After less than a year, she died, leaving me to enjoy the possession of her entire cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 212).
叫做福陵山。山中有一洞,叫做雲棧洞。洞裡原有個卵二姐,他見我有些武藝,招我做了家長,又喚做倒蹅門。不上一年,他死了,將一洞的家當,盡歸我受用。
I'm surprised that I've forgotten this "Second Elder Sister Egg" (Luan erjie, 卵二姐) considering how many times that I've read JTTW.
Yu (Wu & Yu, 2012) confirms that Zhu and this figure were married, for the practice mentioned above is a "colloquialism of the Huai'an region, referring to a man living in the woman's house after marriage" (vol. 1, p. 517 n. 31). This means that Zhu had a wife prior to "Green Orchard" (Cui'lan, 翠蘭) from chapter 18.
I was interested in learning more about her and found this Baidu page. It mentions that the luan (卵, "egg") part of her name is actually a transcription error, for the original 1592 edition of JTTW shows a different but similar-looking character. I checked my own copy, and found that it reads Mao erjie (夘二姐, "Second Elder Sister Mao") (see the right side of page 105 here).
Like Baidu, Pleco notes that Mao is the fourth (of 12) earthly branches, which is associated with rabbits. Therefore, Zhu's first wife could have been a rabbit spirit. Can you imagine the kids? They would be a strange pig-rabbit hybrid, pretty much an aardvark.
The Baidu page also mentions that their pairing may be an allusion to yin-yang theory since the fourth earthly branch, Mao (夘/卯, rabbit), is associated with yin wood, while the 12th, Hai (亥, pig), is associated with yang wood (i.e. they complete each other). This kind of stuff is over my head, so I don't plan to delve into it further. But this page does give an overview of the stems and elements.
On a related note, if we were to apply this yin-yang/earthly branch dating approach to Wukong, his partner would be a chicken! This is because the ninth earthly branch, Shen (申, monkey) is yang metal, while the 10th, You (酉, chicken) is yin metal.
With the right attitude, God will repay you twice as much for the misfortunes you endure.
Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in which he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:2)!
09/06 Bible verses
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. (Ecclesiastes 1: 5)
The sun rises and sets, and returns to the place from which it came (Ecclesiastes 1:5).
09/06Good words of wisdom
1. When we are willing to do good things for others, we are saving grace and blessing for ourselves. God will give grace and blessing when the time is right.
2. A strong person may not be a real powerful person. A truly powerful person is one who knows how to compromise himself. What is strong is easy to break, but what is gentle will last forever.
Poetry: Choose to believe
https://youtu.be/vwGFHVXuGaM?si=3hulmzPulZioz0yc
🌺09/06活出美好🌺
只要心存正確的態度,上帝會加倍償還你所承受的不幸。
惟喜愛耶和華的律法,晝夜思想,這人便為有福 (詩篇 1: 2)!
09/06圣经金句
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. (Ecclesiastes 1: 5)