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3IA PILGRIM'S VISIT TO THE FIVE TERRACES MOUNTAINS

From uery early times mountains were seen as points of access to heauen or placeswere deities dwelled. As Buddhism penetrated China more fully, this traditionwas enricbed. Monasteries were regulaily bwilt in mountains, and many came todttrdct pilgrims, including both laymen and clerics. The religious goal of a iour-ney to a Buddhist mountain site was to make contact with the Buddha or bodhi-sattua ensbrined at tbe temple and to gain religious merit. Among the manymowntain temples, ones with special treasures-relics of the Bwddha, magnificantpaintings, or stdtues-were particularly likely to become maior pilgrimage sites.

The monasteries of Fiue Terraces Mowntains (Wutai Shan) near the northernborder of China proper were among tbe first to deuelop as pilgrimage sites. Asearll' as the sixth century there were two hundred temples in the mowntains, andthe region soon came to be identified witb the great celestial bodhisattua Man-jttsri. 81, the ninth centltrl, thousands of monks liued in tbe monasteries on thesemountains. ln this period the pilgrims to Fiue Terraces Mountains seem to hauebeen primarily Buddhist monks. These monks included not only Chinese fromother parts of the country, but monks from elsewhere in East Asia, particularlyKorea and Japan and euen occassionally India. Below is an extract from the diarywritten in Chinese by the

lapanesemonk Ennin (793-864), who spent the years

838-847 in China. Ennin recorded his encounters with both holy men and holyplaces and was quick to notice the connections between i?nportant Buddhist es-tablishments and tbe imperial gouernmetxt.

::*----

:*-_:Twenty-eighth Day

fof the Fourth Month of 840]

We entered a broad valley and went west thirty liuntil 10 era when we arrived at Stopping PointCommon Cloister. Before entering the cloister wesaw to the northwest the summit of the central

terrace and prostrated ourselves to show our ::spect, for this is the region of Maniusri. . . .

First Day of the Fifth Month.

The weather was clear and we started out on c -'trip around the Five Terraces Mountains.'$7e 1.-

-i-l: -: i

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; MOUNTAINS

,i "en or places. :bi-, tradition,iJtty carne tot,;l of a jour-iii:e or bodhi-

-',tg the many';. ntagnificant:.Trintage sites.;, :l:e northern:z4rge sites. Asc.runtAins, Andi:stttua Man-;teies on theses seem to haue

Cl:inese fromr. particularly*ont the diary

*eflttbe years

men and holy,:: Buddhist es-

.-turselves to show our re-:on of Manjusri. . . .

fie Fifth Month.

ard rve started out on ou:-aces Mountains.' 7e let:

rur donkey at the Stopping Point Cloister, asking:he monk in charge to feed it. From the cloister we

=aveled about seventeen li west, then turnedaorth to cross the summit, going fifteen /l until wexopped at Bamboo Grove Monastery. There wenet several dozen novices who had come fromrarious places to be ordained there.

After a meal we toured the monastery. It had a:lace for performing circumambulations. For-merly Priest Fazhao practiced calling the name ofjre Buddha in this hall. He was given the posthu-:rous name of Priest Great Enlightenment by im-

-rialedict when he

diednearly

twoyears ago.

Anmage of him was made and placed in this hall.There is also a painting of Buddhapala meeting anCd man when he arrived at Five Terraces in 676.h the Buddha Hall in the Garland Cloister theres a diamond mandala.

Second Day

[e went to theZhenyuan Commandment Clois-rr. On the second story we worshiped the man-,tala of the seventy-two sages and worthies madeix the benefit of the nation, a marvelous paint-rrg. Next someone opened up the Ten Thousandieints Ordination Platform for us to view. It was..rrde entirely of white jade, three feet tall, and,r:agonal in shape. Its base is filled with incense

^h, and it is covered with a multicolored carpet,rbo octagonal in shape, which fits it exactly. TheRilars and beams are painted very beautifully..We

called on Linjue, the venerable monk inEarge of the ordination platform. One hundred'ears old, he had been a monk for seyenty-tworears. His facial features were unusual, makingr,-n look like a veritable saint. He was affable onueeting his guests. 'W'e were told that the year be-

ire, in the sixth month, three monks from the\alanda Monastery in India who came to the Fiveirraces Mountains saw a multicolored cloudirining about his body. They have since returnedn lndia.

The Bamboo Grove Monastery has six clois-us (the Rules Cloister, Living Quarters Cloister,

A Pilgrim's Yisit to the Fiue Terraces Mountains / 733

Garland Cloister, Lotus Cloister, Balcony Clois-ter, and Buddha Hall Cloister) and forry monks.This monastery is not under the control of FiveTerraces. . . .

Sixteenth Day

Early in the morning we left Bamboo Grove Mon-astery, following the valley east for ten /1, thenturning northeast for another ten /1, until we gotto Great Garland Monastery, where we lodged inthe

Living Quarters Cloister. After a meal we vis-ited the Nirvana Cloister where we saw AbbotFaxian lecturing on the Great Calming and Con-templation in the upper story. Forty-odd monkswere sitting and listening to his lecture. 'W'e rec-ognized Priest Zhiyuan, the Tiantai Abbot,among the audience. The magnificence of the dec-oration of the hall is difficult to describe. The ab-bot announced that he had finished lecturing on

chapter four and would proceed to the next partin his next lecture.'S7e went to Priest Zhiyuan's room to pay our

respects to him. He expressed his kind concern forus. . . . The monks of the fifteen cloisters of GreatGarland Monastery all regard Zhiyuan as theirabbot. He receives no alms, is strict il observingrules, eats only once a day, and never misses anyof the six daily worship services. He constantll'

practices the Lotus Repentance and is der-oted tothe concept of the three vieu's [on unrealin ]. He isrespected and honored br the venerable monks ofthe monasteries all over the mountains. His mostdeeply held ambition is to see the bodhisatwa Sa-mantabhadra (Puxian ) and prove the worth of theLotus Repentance.

After drinking tea we visited the Nirvana altarand worshiped the representation of the Buddha

attaining nirvana. It showed him lying on his rightside beneath two trees, sixteen feet long. Hismother was on the ground, distraught. There werealso the four heavenly kings, the eight gods, andthe various saints, some wringing their hands andweeping, some with their eyes closed contemplat-ing. It was exactly as described in the sutras. . . .

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134 I The Era of Diuision and the Tang Dynasty'$7e also saw a portrait of Priest Big-shoe, who

had practiced on this mountain. He made fifty pil-grimages around the mountains, once spending

three years at the summit without coming down.Finally, with the aid of Manjusri, he put on a pairof large shoes, a foot five inches high, one twenty-five pounds, the other ten pounds. They are nowon display in front of the portrait. The priest oncemade fifteen thousand robes to give to fifteenthousand monks. His portrait is now placed in theupper storv rvhere offerings are made to it. . . .

Seventeenth Day

. . . In the er-ening I went up to the BodhisattvaHall Clorster with several other monks to seePnest Chinian. He is seventy years old, but to lookat him i'ou might think he was forty. People saythat his robust appearance comes from the powerof his devorions. The hall was opened for us, and

u-e n'orshiped the incomparably magnificent im-age of the bodhisarrva -\lanjusri riding a lion. Theimage fills rhe fir'e-bav hall. The lifelike lion seemsto be mor-ing majesticallv rvith vapors coming outof its mouth. Alter rve stared at it for a long time,it seemed to move.

The venerabie monks told us that when theyfirst tried to make this statue, it kept splitting, sixtimes in a row. Vexed, the artist said, "Everyonein the world recognizes my unique skill. My wholelife I have been casting Buddhist statues and neverbefore have any split open. This time when I madethis statue I prepared myself by observing absti-nence and concentrated all my skill on makingsomething that would move the people of thervorld to behold and worship it and thus turn theirhearts [to Buddhism]. Now I have cast it six timesand it has cracked six times. Clearly [my work]must displease Manjusri. If this is so, I humblyentreat the Great Sage Manjusri to show me histrue appearance. If I personally gaze on his goldenface, I will immediately copy it and make a statue."

As soon as he had made his prayer) he openedhis eyes and saw before him the bodhisattva Man-jusri riding on a golden-colored lion. After some

time, Manjusri mounted a multicolored cloud ancflew up into the sky. The artist wept for joy. Hethen realized that the statue he had made befor.

had not been right. He changed his model tcmatch what he had seen in size and appearance.Thus the seventh time he cast it, it did not crack,in fact, everything proved easy to do. Once thestatue was finished it was placed in this hall.'Witi:tears in his eyes, the artist said, "'$7hat a miracle.I have seen what has never been seen before. -pray that in all my successive lives, age after age.iwill be a disciple of Manjusri." Having said this.he died.From then on this statue from time to timewould emit light or manifest other signs of its mar-velous powers. A record was made of each man-ifestation and sent to the emperor, who respondecby sending a gift of Buddhist cloaks, one of whicl--can be seen on the statue. Each year an imperia-emissary sends five hundred cloaks for the monksof the monastery. This is in addition to the annua-

imperial gifts of incense, flowers, pearls, canopies.jades, jewels, crowns, chased metal incense burn-ers, large and small mirrors, carpets with designs.white cloth, imitation fruit and flowers, all o:which are abeady considerable. Not all of then:can be displayed in the hall; the others have to bestored in the storehouse. Donations from officia.and private donors from around the country ar.too numerous to list.

When any of the monasteries at Five Terracesmake statues of Manjusri, they always copy thisone, but they never capture more than one per-cent of it.

Inside the hall a canopy with the seven trea-sures hangs over the bodhisattva. Brightly colore;and decorated banners and crowns with rare jeir-els fill the hall, along with untold numbers o:beautifully made mirrors of various sizes.

Exiting the hall to the north we could see thenorthern and eastern terraces with their entirehtreeless high rounded summits. The short grasse:were colorful, so seen from a distance, it lookeclike autumn, though it was the middle of summerReturning to the front of the hall we gazed at th.southern terrace, which is also treeless. Unlike th;

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-: -. iiricolored cloud an;. :-tsr wept fof joy. H;.r.: re had made befor.

:. :nged his model r.-. ..ze and appearanci.:,': ir, it did not crack:: ::S| to dO. Once th.: i-';d in rhis hall. Wiri: .::i. "What a miraclc...: leen seen before, J

= .:r'es. age after age. --,- -." Having said this.

:-= :rom time to timr:: ' :her signs of its mar-. :. made of each man_-.:::or. who respondec.::-oaks, one of which::;h r.ear an imperia.: :-oaks for the monks::iirion to the annual.,. .:s. pearls,

canopies..- neral incense burn-.. ::rpets with designs.: :nd flowers, all of',:-e. Nor all of them

. ::e others haye to be:-:iions from official- ..nd the country are

:::-es at FiveTerraces:-:'.' a11y4ys copy this

: :tore than one per-'.,..:rh the seven trea-

=. -a. Brightly colored-: _ \\'ns with rare jew-

:nrold numbers of', ::ious sizes.::a \\'e could

see the-. ,,,'irh their entirell-:.. The short grasses. ::srance, it looked. :t:ddle of summer.-,-:.. rve gazedatthe

::eeless. Unlike the

:-r.r mountains, its summit stands out by itself,:;hing the blue sky. The western terrace is cut

:-- trom the central terrace and was not visible.

.n front of the Bodhisattva Hall on the end of a--: there was a three-bay pavilion floored with,.:rds and surrounded by a high railing on all:r sides. Beneath it was a precipice going down

.:. thousand feet. The venerable monk told us.:i the Japanese monk Reisen saw ten thousandihisattvas from this pavilion.-\fter we had performed acts of worship at each

.:;e there, we went to Balcony Cloister to see.:bot Xuanliang, who, since the fourth month,:. been lecturing on the Garland sutra and, the

- ::.ntai commentaries to over forty disciples of, :.est Zhiyaan. In the morning he lectures on the';rland sutra in the Balcony Cloister, in the

:., ining on the Great Calming and Contempla-' .q in the Nirvana Cloister, with monks from: ,,ih cloisters attending both. They are joined by:-:nv others from other cloisters [on the moun-- -_-l:.1I1. ...

With a group of monks we went to the upper-:rrv, where we worshiped. The interior urd i*-:=:ior were both impressive, and it had treasures,-::rrlar to those in the Bodhisattva Hall. 'W'e saw:,:< skull of a self-enlightened buddha. It was-.ack and white, like pumice stones in our coun-.-,'. fhs bone inside was strong and as big as a-.','o-pint bowl. It was rhe top of the skull, for on: - I rvas growing white hair about five inches long,,. rich must have grown after being shaved. It was- :ought by a monk from the western regions dur-.-s the Zhenguan period [627-650]. There was..so a Sanskrit version of the Lotws sutra and a

-,ne of the Buddha in a lapis lazuli bottle and two=r' fine copies of the Lotws sutra) one in gold

-raracters, one in small characters.ln front of the building was a gorgeous two_

,:ln. octagonal pagoda. At its base was an Aso_. :n stupa, buried so no one could see it. It is t_rne: rhe 84,000 stupas [the Indian] King Asoka

:.:de [to house relics of the Buddha].Next we went to the Pavilion of Constancy and

-.:iormed acts of adoration. More than fifty:- xks practice meditation there. They all have

A Pilgrim's Visit to the Fiue Terraces Mountains / 135woolen robes and staves, having traveled from allover to come as pilgrims. By imperial commandthis temple has a place for performing rites for theprotection of the country. A monk of the Tiantaitradition is lecturing there on the Rule of the FourParts. He is also a disciple of priest Zhiyuan. . . .

Sixth Day of the Sixth Month.

An imperial commissioner arrived, and all themonks in the monastery went out to welcomehim. The regulations specify that each year theemperor sends such things as clothes, alms bowls,incense, and flowers to Five Terraces Mountainsto be distributed to the twelve main monasteries.Included are five hundred fine robes, five hundredpackages of silk floss, one thousand buddhistcloaks dyed blue, a thousand ounces of incense, athousand pounds of tea, and a thousand towels.Vegetarian feasts are also provided at the twelvemain monasteries.

Seventh Day

On this day the monasrery held the maigre feastprovided by imperial order. After it u.as com-pleted, the monks performed a ritual recitarion ofthe Garland sutra.Inthe evening the imperial em-issary went to rhe Bodhisarrla Hall ri.irh ser.eraldozen monks, hoping to see a manifesration lofManjusri]. He also \\-enr ro rhe \irr.ana Cloisterto pay his respects to Priesr Zhivuan.

Eighth Day

The imperial emissary provided a maigre feast fora thousand monks.

Ninth Day

After eating, the imperial emissary went toGolden Balcony Temple.

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1,36 I The Era of Diuision and th,e Tang Dynasty

Eleventh Day

It was the birthday of the current emperor. Onimperial instructions, the various monasteries atFive Terraces Mountains held birthday maigrefeasts, all ringing their bells at the same time- The

five or six most venerable monks got up from thdrseats to offer incense. I heard that the imperidemissary returned to the capital after offering ircense at the Golden Balcony Temple.

Translated by Patricia Ebrey

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