Wu Tai Shan as Sacred Site: The Formation and Development of Buddhist Sacred Mount Worship in Medieval China
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Lin, Yun-jo
Abstract
Wu Tai Shan was named the best spiritual place for worship since not later than Northern Dynasties due to its natural environment. In Northern Dynasties, Wu Tai Shan had become an regional religion centre. Many monks visited it to worship; most of them worshiped dhūta, it showed that worship was popular in the period. However, there were not only Buddhism but also celestial legend existing in Wu Tai Shan at the time, it reveals that the phenomenon that both Buddhism and celestial brief existed and developed are also found in Wu Tai Shan. Although Wu Tai Shan was compared with so called Mañjuśrī’s Sacred Sites, which was mentioned in Avatamsaka Sutra, it developed its Buddhism uniquely without being influenced by Manjusri’s Sacred Sites at the time. Wu Tai Shan was noticed and supported by authority due to the religious policies at the beginning of Tang Dynasty. With the trend of the development, Wu Tai Shan was associated with the Mañjuśrī’s Sacred Sites named in avatamsaka sutra; this also became a link of facilitating the brief of avatamsaka sutra. By the support of Wu Zetian, the association between Wu Tai Shan and Mañjuśrī’s Sacred Sites was admitted and supported by the Emperor. Hence, the development of Wu Tai Shan started to be associated with a statement, which Wu Tai Shan was the Sacred Sites of Bodhisattva Manjusri in the world of mortals. Nevertheless, it can be clearly seen that Wu Tai Shan was in the initial stage of flourish from the activities of temples and monks in Wu Tai Shan. Both the scale of temples and activities of monks illustrate that the development of Wu Tai Shan was not particularly flourishing in the period between the surrender of Northern Dynasties and raised attention of Wu Zetian. At that time, it simply concentrated on cooperating with aranya and Cave Temp, which were established to worship dhūta. During the dynasties of the T''ang Emperors Hsuean-tsug and Tai- tsug, due to the influence generated by promoting the Esoteric Buddhism of protecting the kingdom by emperors, Manjusri’s Sacred Sites in Wu Tai Shan transformed its role from Bodhisattva Manjusri, an important role in Esoteric Buddhism, to an objective respected by the Emperor. During the rule of Wu-chou, Bodhisattva Manjusri Sacred Sites was confirmed as a core value of Wu Tai Shan. Later, Wu Tai Shan obtained great support from the Emperor and became a part in the development of Esoteric Buddhism. Although Wu Tai Shan obtained attention by Esoteric Buddhism Manjusri brief, its development of Buddhism did not thoroughly transfer to the principle of Esoteric Buddhism. Beside Chin-gé Temple built by the T''ang Emperor Tai- tsug, other temples also strongly developed in this stage. In addition, various myths happened in Wu Tai Shan matched up the classic image of Bodhisattva Manjusri that he likes to wisely impel and reform people by incarnation. The demands including bagging a meeting with Manjusri to obtain wisdom, entering the temple to learn preach from Bodhisattva in person and even accepting cultivation from Bodhisattva to make Buddhist practice upgrade etc. all made pilgrimage become the most important activity of worship for Wu Tai Shan belief. With the increasing number of pilgrims, Wu Tai Shan acquired more support, including that temples and monks obtained supply and the number of eminent monks who intended to settle down in Wu Tai Shan to worship was growing. As a result, the formation of Buddhism in Wu Tai Shan became greater; it did not merely possess promotion centers of Buddhism and famous monks, who was willing to stay and preach, but also much material support by followers. As a result, Wu Tai Shan was flourishing by Bodhisattva Manjusri’s Sacred Sites; meanwhile, became a key role of promoting Buddhism. From the period between T''ang Emperor De-tsug to Wun- tsug, it can be called the heyday of religion in Wu Tai Shan since the nature changed and the development was completed. At that time, Wu Tai Shan had been the Sacred Sites of Sacred Mountain, which was respected by Buddhist followers. It was influential and significant. As a result, the Emperor and the authority continuingly supported to develop it; they made it the national prayer Sacred Sites. Moreover, they also built a national chancel there to make it the place where monks from everywhere in the country could take precepts and stay. It possessed a grand position in Buddhism. Beside the position of Wu Tai Shan which was emphasized by the authority through legislation, it is where Bodhisattva incarnated, was another motivation to attract more believers to visit. The Pu-tong-yuan（普通院）, which located on the way to Wu Tai Shan and between every mountain, were the places where pilgrims could stay and rest. This situation reveals that the popularity of visiting Wu Tai Shan; numerous pilgrims brought up the demand of setting up the places. In the stage, the scale of the temples was great; the system of monk organizations was mature. Therefore, the authority had to organize a special rule and system to manage monks particularly for Wu Tai Shan. However, the Emperor and authority’s respect and dependant also made Wu Tai Shan become the target of policy execution in Huichang Persecution of Buddhism and hence suffered serious destroy. After the dynasty of the T''ang Emperor Wu-tsug, although Syuan-tsug strongly supported to rebuild the Buddhism in Wu Tai Shan, the development of it had declined at the time due to the decay of emperor’s power in late T''ang dynasty and the disorder of the politic and community. Nevertheless, the built religion of the Sacred Mountain did not disappear for this reason. Comparing with Middle Period（關中）, Hebei area（河北） and the South area of the Changjiang River（江南）, where the political situation was rebellious, the North of Shanxi（山西）, where Wu Tai Shan was located, was relatively stable. Furthermore, the Buddhist community admitted the position of the Sacred Sites in the Sacred Mountain. As a result, Wu Tai Shan became the only existing Buddhist centre in the North during the rule of the late Tang and Five Dynasties。This situation can be inferred from the stable inheritance of the master monk in Wu Tai Shan. At the beginning of Northern Song Dynasty, although the government of Song governed the entire country, there was still the Liao Dynasty against it in the North. Wu Tai Shan was in the North of Shanxi（山西） and became the boundary between Song and Liao. Due to the position of political strategy, Wu Tai Shan played double roles. One was the Sacred Mountain convinced since medieval China; one was the important point of frontier defenses. These two roles brought Wu Tai Shan much attention. It possessed not only religion but also the function of defense. In this stage, the position of Wu Tai Shan had been established firmly; however, the religion of the Sacred Mountain and the development of Buddhism in Wu Tai Shan could not avoid the influence caused by political and social changes. he religion of Wu Tai Shan, which developed since medieval China, increasingly affected the appearances of other sacred mountains. The most important meaning of the religious development in Wu Ti Shan during medieval China was to start promoting Chinese Buddhism and to point out a new direction of religion. The Sacred Mountain, was different from those who contained many temples or who possessed its own faction, was seen a unity and became the carrier of religious resource and execution. In the religion of Wu Tai Shan, Bodhisattva Manjusri was the target of the brief. The myths relative to the incarnation of Bodhisattva Manjusri were the media of promoting the religion; the temples and monks in Wu Tai Shan were the foundation of developing the religion in the Sacred Mountain, and pilgrimage was the most characteristic representation of the religion. The edition of Qingliang-zhuan（清涼傳） can be called the references of the religion. According to the author’s research, the development of Manjusri religion in Wu Tai Shan during medieval China could probably be researched deeply beyond the previous discussion about Bodhisattva. Especially for those religious activities different from other religions, which related to the inheritance and innovation between the pilgrimage of original Buddhism and traditional brief in Chinese mountain. After the position of Wu Tai Shan convinced, other Sacred Sites of Bodhisattva in the world of mortals started growing and developing other briefs different from what Buddhist records mentioned, especially those briefs related to Pure Land and the Sacred Sites in the world of mortals. In the research process, it could be another issue and direction to observe the relationship between Buddhist development and politic and society.
Subjects
WuTai Shan （Mount Wu Tai）
Mañ
juśrīSacred Mountain
Pilgrimage
Avatamsaka Sutra（Buddhavatamsaka Sutra）
SDGs
Type
thesis
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