Knowledges from Internet

Buddhism was founded in India around the 6th to 5th century B．C． It is said that the founder of Buddhism was Sakyamuni． About the 2th century，Mahayana Buddhism entered Central China，inhabited by the Han nationality． The Three Precious Treasures include the Buddha，the Dharma(Law 0r Way)and the Sangha(the Monastic Order)． Buddhism has always co-existed with Confucianism and Daoism． Buddhism has and Bodhisattva statues have been placed for worship in monasteries． Up to the present time．Hinayana Buddhism (Lesser Vehicle)is still prevalent as in the regions inhabited by Dai nationality． Their mutual co-existence of the tradition has produced a religion with distinct Chinese characteristics． In addition to Sakyamuni, many other Buddhism has and Boddhisattvas statues have been placed in the same monasteries As Buddhism spread throughout China，Buddhist monks added Chinese characteristics to the Daochang and accordingly placed different Buddhas in the different Daochang in China． The four major sects(Tiantai，Huayan，Jingtu and Chan)appeared between 581 and 755A.D., and they had considerable influence in both China and Japan． This eight-fold path consists of right knowledge, right thought，right speech，right behavior，fight livelihood，fight effort，right mindfulness and right concentration． By following the eight-fold path，Buddhist followers aim to attain Nirvana, a condition of eternal and tranquil bliss that is beyond the limits of death，rebirth，thoughts and feelings． Sakyamuni was a prince．When he was young, he sadly saw that people suffered in poverty，pain，sickness and death．Around the age of 29，the prince made his break from the material world and plunged off in search of enlightenment． As the story goes，Sakyamuni came to a fig tree．He sat beneath it and then he slipped into deep meditation．Afterwards he achieved enlightenment and became Buddha． The four noble truths：life is suffering，the cause of suffering is desire, the answer is to quench desire, and the way to this end is to follow the eight-fold path． Mahayana Buddhism(Greater Vehicle)holds that the fate of an individual is linked to the fate of all others．The Buddha doesn't float off into his own Nirvana，leaving other people behind. He continues to exude spiritual、help to those see—king Nirvana． Hinayana(Lesser Vehicle)holds that the path to Nirvana is an individual pursuit．People who seek Nirvana must tread its path on their own． Tiantai was the earliest sect of Chinese Buddhism．It was founded by Zhiyi during the Sui Dynasty．Zhiyi took the Lotus Sutra as his basis； he classified the other Buddhist sutras into five periods and eight types of teachings and he also emphasized both meditation practice and scriptural study． Huayan Sect was established in the 7th century by a Chinese monk，Fa Zang，of the Tang Dynasty．This sect reached Korea in the late 7th century，and Japan between 725 and 740． Chan Buddhism is a sect of Mahayana Buddhism．The“Channa” is a transliteration of the Sanskrit term“dhyana”．which means“meditation"．It is said that the founder of the Chan Buddhism was Bodhidharma who was known to the Chinese as Da Mo．This sect emphasizes meditation，it holds that the universal“Buddha, nature” is immanent within ourselves． Jingtu Buddhism is based upon a number of Indian Buddhist texts describing a pure land to the west．Especially it is designed for those, who devoutly chant the name of Amitabha and for laypersons who find traditional Buddhist moral rules and meditation discipline too strict． The Tibetan people believe in Buddhism．It is called Lamaism．It spread into Tibet during the reign of Tubo King Songtsan Gambo in the 7th century．By the end of the 14th century，the Tibetan Buddhism had a variety of sects, including the Red Sect，the White Sect and the Yellow Sect． Buddhism was first introduced to China about 65 B．C．by two Indian monks who had been invited by Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty to establish a monastery in China．In the beginning，Buddhism did not have much influence in China due to the prevailing traditional Chinese culture． At the early stage，Buddhist word and ideas, as well as its artistic forms, had to be translated into Chinese terms．One early solution was to employ Daoist terminology，and this had the advantage of sounding familiar． Another solution was not to translate at all but to transliterate，that is，to employ Chinese characters to approximate the sound rather than the meaning of the original word．Transliteration was most suitable for reproducing foreign proper names in Chinese, and this became the standard practice continued to this day． Puxian(Samantabhadra)symboHzes infinite virtue and is represented riding a white elephant．“Puxian”is considered to be one of Sakvamuni’s close assistants．In some monasteries, the statues of Sakyamuni．Wenshu and Puxian statues are placed in the Grand Buddha Hall． Amitabha is also called Jieyin Buddha．Along with Sakvamuni．he attained the state of Buddha-hood through his perfect enlightenment．Amitabha takes charge of the Buddhist Western Paradise．and his work is to usher sentient beings into the paradise when they pass away． The statue of Maitreya is usually placed in the first main hall of a monastery．When Buddhism entered China．Maitreya quickly took on Chinese characteristics and became popular among the people． Guanyin has 33 various images．including an image with 1000 hands，an image with 11 faces． and an image with 48 arms．Guanyin serves as the Bodhisattva of perfect compassion and kindness，helping the needy and relieving the distressed．His infinite Buddhist power is known in every household due to the popularity of the famous Chinese literary classic，The Pilgrimage to the West． According to the Buddhist classics．Wenshu was the third son of the Holy King in charge of reincarnations． Legend has it that as Buddhists entered China， Wenshu appeared on Mt．Wutai． Wenshu holds a sword that symbolizes his infinite Buddhist power and perfect wisdom． According to the Buddhist classics, during the period from the Nirvana of Sakyamuni to the advent of Maitreya， Dizang Bodhisattva vowed to save all beings from suffering in the Six Paths．He vows not to achieve Buddhahood until all the Hells are empty, and is thus therefore referred as the King of Hell． The Four Heavenly Kings are depicted as the Four Warrior Attendants(Vajras)．Their origin stems from an Indian Buddhism legend，and these kings are able to drive out evil and monsters．protect Buddhas， and assure favorable conditions for the growth of crops each year．Therefore, their images are usually placed in the first main hall of a Buddhist monastery． According to Buddhist classics，Sakyamuni's disciples are sixteen Arhats．They are instructed by the Buddha not to ascend into the Buddhist Western Paradise，and instead they are asked to reside in the world, the human beings take care of them, and in return the Arhats bring benefit to human beings． The legend pf the Sixteen Arhats gave rise to the esteem for the Arhats fron Buddhist followers in the regions inhabited by the Han nationality． In addition, the followers increased the Arhat numbers and magnified their Buddhist power, thus bring forth the saying about the 500 Arhats． zhongfeng Monastery has an old name．Qian-ming Tempk． A Daoist abbot whose name was Qian-ming, built the temple in 4th century. During the Northern Wei, according to the relevant historical documents, a Buddhist monk by the name of Mingguo stayed under the foot of the Baozhang Peak of Mt. Emei. Every March 3 of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, Monk Minggno saw Qianming practice witchcraft to deceive people by spreading the story in which Qu Wu of the Eastern Han Dynasty ascends to Heaven as an immortal. Monk Mingguo knew that it was the mischief done by the evildoer. So he gathered some local people to subdue the witchcraft with arrows and bows. Everyone agreed to obey Mingguo because of his persuasive power. Even the Daoist priests in the Qianming Temple were all converted to Buddhism, and the Daoist temple became a Buddhist Monastery. It was named the Zhongfeng Monastery, which means "the Central Peak", because the monastery is located right at the foot of the Baiyan Peak surrounded by 17 large and smaller peaks. The monastery gradually became one of the six largest ancient monasteries on the mountain. During the Tang and Song dynasties many eminent monks and celebrities gathered in the Zhongfeng Monastery, which was magnificent in scale and layout. White peonies grew around the monastery, and the whole peak was crowned with flowers, plants and gardens．

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