Journey to the Lands of the Ancestors
Page 2 of 3
of a travel blog by Dhammadipa
Image: Dhammadipa
Trip to China from Monday, May 6 through Thursday, May 16, 2024
Day 4: May 9 - Beijing
On our final day in Beijing, we take a taxi across the city to a Ming Dynasty Buddhist temple about 45 minutes west of downtown. It is Fahai Si, “Dharma Ocean Temple,” and it dates to the mid-15th century CE. Arriving at the top of the wooded hill, we enjoy the smell of pine, the sunshine, and cooler morning air. Fahai’s main building contains original wall paintings from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties that are kept in the dark to preserve their vibrancy. We are given shoe covers and flashlights. Entering the large, shadowy space, we come face-to-face with three colossal Buddha statues - Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya. This grouping is called the “Buddhas of the three times” - past, present, and future eras - and it is emblematic of Mahayana Buddhism. These are replicas of statues that were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. They have “mandorla,” full body halos, in the lovely style that originated from the Newar artists in Nepal, and thus are evidence of the presence of esoteric Buddhism in China. On the ceiling above each Buddha is a “mandala,” a geometric painting of a sacred realm also associated with esoteric or tantric Buddhism, and these are repeated in a tile pattern that covers the entire ceiling with Sanskrit lettering and bright gold, reds, and blues. On the walls, we find evidence of the conservation monitoring program here, where cracks in the walls are being measured using small metal objects that look like bandaids. We also find vast depictions of bodhisattvas but before we can identify them in detail, we are asked to leave. The tension between preservation and access is palpable in this moment. Fortunately, this temple has been the subject of a large digitization project and we can see reprinted images in another building. There, a member of the staff tells us more about the history and use of the building as a monastery in the past. When Professor Sujatha Meegama asks him about the presence today of bowing platforms, as well as fruit and colorful silks that appear to be offerings, he hesitates. Eventually he replies that, while this is a not a place of practice, they do try to allow folks to do simple devotions. The tension between preservation and religion is apparent as well.
Unfortunately, we do not have time to stop at the visitor center where the large-scale digital images of the murals are displayed. Instead, we walk down the hill and eat another delicious, plentiful lunch at one of the many restaurants that line the street that leads to Fahai. Yogurt is a favorite local food, its creamy coolness a welcome contrast to the heat that has arisen by midday. It is evident that much work has been done to repair and upgrade the infrastructure in the neighborhood, and funny cats seem to be the decoration of choice.
We journey back to the center of the city to see the next temple, Zhihua Si, which means “Transforming Wisdom Temple.” The iconography of the two temples is related, and we again find statues of the Buddhas of the three times and ceilings covered with mandalas. Here too there is a group of statues at the rear that is kept dark but motion-detecting lighting has been added. In the same building with the three Buddhas are two large interpretative areas, on opposite walls, showcasing traditional musical instruments and the temple’s history of music performed by monks. This brings a smile, as it reminds me of my training in Japan and San Francisco where the practice of playing ceremonial instruments such as bells, drums, and cymbals is part of everyday life.
In a building with interpretative panels and examples of minerals used in the paintings, I am happy to see that they have preserved a sutra tower. At four meters high, it dominates the room. Sanskrit characters adorn the cabinet so that the contents are organized using the Confucian classical method. It has many long rectangular drawers of varying lengths to house many thousands of rolls of sutras. Atop the sutra tower sits Vairochana Buddha on a blue lotus. Vairochana is the universal Buddha who is first mentioned in the Flower Garland Sutra as the being from whom all things emanate, and his presence here is a reminder of the source of the teachings.
The Water Moon Guan Yin at Fahai Temple wears a crown with Amidha Buddha in it.
Source: click on the photo.
Meditating in the courtyard at Zhihua Temple.
Funny cats line the road to Fahai Temple.
At Zhihua Temple, they have interpretative panels that reveal the history of monks performing music.
The sutras were stored at Zhihua Temple in a unique tower made of custom drawers.
A sculpture of Vairochana Buddha on a blue lotus sits atop of the sutra tower at Zhihua Temple and a mandala is painted on the ceiling above him.
Day 5: May 10 - Lanzhou
We fly about two hours to Lanzhou and arrive at midday. We are greeted by Wang Xiaowei, the Director of Monitoring for the Dunhuang Academy and a friend of Professor Lori Wong. He will be joining us during the rest of our stay in China and helping to coordinate. We arrive in the heart of the city just as the rain begins to entangle the cars traveling on the roads. After a quick lunch at a restaurant at the mall next door to our hotel, we walk across the street to the Gansu Provincial Museum. There are several famous art objects here, including the “Bronze Running Horse.” As we continue through the museum, our guide leads us to two rooms set aside for Buddhist artifacts. Here, there is a unique group of five Tang Dynasty pieces that are said to have contained the relics of the historical Buddha. They are nested, one inside the other, with the largest in the form of a black marble box covered in inscriptions. The inscription on the lid states that it countains relics that were entrusted to Dayun Monastery. Inside the black outer container are successively smaller containers including a gold coffin-shaped piece no larger than 4 cm. The smallest one is a 1.5 cm glass, teardrop-shaped vessel. These objects were rediscovered in 1964. Then, in 2015, the museum gifted the four of the 14 relics that were discovered inside these objects back to the Buddhist monastic community of Dayun Temple, who retrieved them in a public ceremony. Here “relics” means small pieces of the remains of a spiritually accomplished person. This gift represents a meaningful shift, a thoughtful response by a museum that held very sensitive devotional items in its collection.
Later, I am glad that I took photos of the reliquaries, not only because of their historical and devotional significance but also because the gold coffin appears again, painted on the wall at a cave at the Mogao Grottoes.
In the larger room of Buddhist objects, I am surprised to again see large cave grotto reproductions. It is clear that heritage professionals are making an effort to allow folks who cannot visit the caves to experience a bit of them here and at other museums. There are also reproductions of stupas. The scale of the room is impressive. Perhaps the most surprising objects, though, are the skull cups, which are of Tibetan origin and are said to be made of human skulls. Perhaps they are related to the contemplation of death, a practice that began in the earliest days of Buddhism, one advocated by the Buddha himself.
People crowd around the figure known as “Bronze Running Horse” at the Gansu Provincial Museum.
The two largest reliquaries of the set of five.
The third and fourth largest reliquaries in the set of five.
The smallest reliquary in the set of five.
This standing Buddha holds a seed in his right hand.
The standing Buddha in the center and the two bodhisattvas on either side in this video can be seen as one approaches Maijishan.
Dhammadipa pays her respects to the Buddha in the courtyard at Maijishan.
This Buddha’s left hand is in abhaya mudra, giving fearlessness.
Day 6: May 11 - Tianshui
Wang has arranged for us to take a bus to the city of Tianshui. Finally we are headed to one of the cave grotto sites, the most important places we will visit on this trip. By midday we have arrived at the grounds of the former monastery called Maijishan, which means “Wheat Stack Mountain.” It stands 142 metres high, overlooking the Xiaolongshan forest. I imagine the pilgrims who walked along what is now called the Silk Road to this place in centuries past, looking up at their destination above the trees. The “Silk Road” is the name given in the 19th century to a complex web of ancient travel routes by which merchants, monks, warriors, and others traveled over the land and sea, connecting China to central Asia, India, and the Roman Empire.
As we near the entrance to this cave grotto site, we find a lively scene. Street vendors stand by with carts full of souvenirs, two monks in Tibetan robes walk amidst the lay people all moving slowly up the hill, and folks offer incense at a large burner. I wonder whether it was also like this in the 5th century CE when the caves were first carved. The practice of carving cave temples began in India, and the cave sites of Ajanta and Ellora can be visited even today. We have lunch at the employee canteen before starting our journey up the mountain.
It is a beautiful sight with the Buddha and two bodhisattvas looking out over the verdant hills and the thousands of people who have come to visit today. Our guide is self-taught but she is quite knowledgeable, and she shows us some of the most important art in this complex of nearly 200 caves that have survived the earthquakes of the past. Although many caves are enclosed with mesh doors, people show their devotion by leaving offerings of cash at the feet of the Buddha statues and by praying with their hands palms together, in anjali. When we reach the foot of the 16 meter standing Buddha carved into the cliffside, I take a bit of paper from my notebook and write the refuges on it. “Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Buddham, Dhammam, Sangham namasami.” I fold the paper to make it as small as possible and then I place it in one of the niches at the Buddha’s feet, aware that at some heritage sites this would be considered vandalism. Closing my eyes, I chant the refuges, head bowed and hands in anjali. Then I start to cry tears of joy and inspiration. I had not expected to be moved so deeply but that is what is happening. Other people seem to have different reactions. Some seem bored and disinterested, others are curious, still others are reverent.
We see firsthand that water leakage is the biggest problem at this site and humidity is the second biggest. For this reason the conservators here have, at times, been criticized for not enclosing the caves in glass. The Director of Maijishan tells us that he believes that, in this situation, it is best for the caves to “breathe.” The guide also tells me that they are sometimes criticized for not restoring the statues to their original state.
Though construction by meditation master Hsüan-kao began here in the late 4th - early 5th century CE, many of these caves were carved into the rock during the Northern Zhou Dynasty, in 557 – 581 CE. One theme that we will see depicted in these impressive wall paintings again and again is the debate between layman Vimalakirti and the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri. This popular story is from a Mahayana text titled the “Vimalakirti Nirdesa.” Buddhologist Etienne Lamotte concludes that the original Sanskrit text is from the 3rd century CE and many translations have since been made in Chinese, English, and other languages. It is a humorous story in which Vimalakirti turns out to be the wisest of them all.
Each cave has a unique feature, like the cave of the Buddha blessing his son Rahula, the cave of the Buddha holding a seed in his right hand, and the cave where a bed for the caretaker was found. One of the most fascinating caves is number 133 where two people are buried and 16 niches are carved into the walls. It is best known, however, as the “hidden stele cave” because many stone carvings, called stele, were brought here for safekeeping. One of them depicts the life of the Buddha in eight classical scenes and also has scenes depicting the local people. This kind of art is very helpful for learning about what life was like in this area at that time. I was fascinated to see the depiction of the conception of the child that would become the Buddha. In early Buddhist art, such as at the Sanchi stupa in India, Mahamaya dreams of a white elephant entering her side but, in later depictions such as the image at Kizil, to the west of Mogao, there is a boy riding the elephant. In this stele from an even later period, we see not only the boy riding the elephant but also his royal throne atop the animal.
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Beijing, Lanzhou, and Tianshui Highlights
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