About 12 kilometers east of the old city of Luoyang City, Henan Province, stands an ancient temple that has gone through wind and rain - White Horse Temple. As the first temple built after the introduction of Chinese Buddhism to the Central Plains, it was built by the government at that time, with a long history, after several ups and downs, but still standing in the city of Luoyang. Today, the scale and pattern of the White Horse Temple originated from the renovation of the 34th year of Jiajing (1555) in the Ming Dynasty. The famous Qiyun Pagoda in the temple was rebuilt in the 15th year of Jin Dading (1175), and it is said that the construction of Qiyun Pagoda can even be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty Yongping Jisi (69 years).
Divine Dream Revelation, White Horse Temple: The Ancestral Garden of Chinese Buddhism.
Legend has it that in 65 A.D., Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty dreamed of a golden man with golden lights on his top, hovering between the palaces. The next day, Emperor Ming asked the ministers, and some ministers thought that this golden man was a "Buddha". Emperor Ming then sent envoys to Tianzhu to seek images of the Buddha. The envoy trekked through the mountains and rivers through the Dayue clan, met two high-ranking monks in Tianzhu, and invited them to return to the Han Dynasty together. After returning to Luoyang, Emperor Ming courtesy the two Tianzhu monks, and built the White Horse Temple, inviting the two masters to explain the scriptures and magnify Buddhism. Therefore, the White Horse Temple is known as "China's first ancient temple" and the "ancestral court of interpretation" of Chinese Buddhism. This unique status makes it difficult for other temples to prosper and compare with it. Since the completion of the White Horse Temple, it has become the most important scripture translation dojo in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Cao Wei period, the introduction of precepts, a major event in Buddhism, was also related to the White Horse Temple. The Tianzhu monk Ke Jia Luo came to Luoyang in the third year of the early Huang Dynasty (222 years) and translated the first Buddhist law in China "The Book of Monks' Precepts" in the White Horse Temple.
The mystery of history, the origin of the name of the White Horse Temple.
There are different opinions, and the most popular legend about the name of "White Horse Temple" is "White Horse Negative Passage from the East". The legend originates from the story of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty dreaming of the Buddha, the messenger returned to China by the white horse carrying the Buddhist scriptures, in order to commemorate the merits of the white horse, the White Horse Temple came into being. To this day, there is still a white horse with the image of the Sutra in front of the White Horse Temple. However, there are many doubts about the specific details of the "Yongping Seeking Law" this time, and the historical books do not record the time, the name of the envoy, the place of arrival and other issues in detail, so some scholars believe that the "Yongping Seeking the Law" may not exist, and the legend that the White Horse Temple got its name may not be tenable. There is also a theory that the name "White Horse Temple" is due to the legend of "White Horse Screaming Around the Tower". Legend has it that there was a foreign king who wanted to destroy the temples, and in the end only the temple was left undestroyed, and a white horse roared around the tower at night, and the king stopped destroying the temple after learning about it, and changed the temple to the temple as the white horse temple. Although it is true that there were many temples called "White Horse Temple" during the Han and Jin dynasties, they gradually deteriorated, and only the White Horse Temple in Luoyang survived and gained fame. However, the lack of conclusive evidence for these claims leaves a historical mystery.
The mystery of linguistics, whether the White Horse Temple is the "White Horse Sutra" or the "White Lotus Temple".
There is also an opinion that the "White Horse Temple" is actually the "White Lotus Temple". In Buddhism, the lotus flower is a sacred object, and with the introduction of Buddhism to China, the significance of the lotus flower in China also became sacred. The Sanskrit word for "lotus" is padma, and the pronunciation of "white horse" is originally a transliteration of this Sanskrit word. Therefore, after having the White Horse Temple, the story of "White Horse Sutra" or "White Horse Roaring Around the Tower" was spread among the people. However, this claim, although unique from a linguistic point of view, lacks more evidence and is not widely accepted.
The mystery of the White Horse Temple, history leaves an unsolvable question mark.
Whether it is the "White Horse Sutra" or "White Horse Roaring Around the Tower", or the transliteration of "Lotus", there is no conclusive historical data to prove the origin of the name White Horse Temple. However, as the first ancient temple in China for thousands of years, the White Horse Temple has witnessed the prosperity of Chinese Buddhism and the rise and fall of feudal dynasties, which is of great significance to the rooting and spread of Buddhism in China. The mystery of the name of the White Horse Temple may never be solved, but it is this mystery that makes this ancient temple even more mysterious and far-reaching.
The origin of the name of the White Horse Temple has always been a mystery, and as the article says, the story of the naming of this thousand-year-old temple is full of legends and mysteries. In this long history, the White Horse Temple became the first temple built after Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains, and it is also the ancestral court of Chinese Buddhism, and its status is obviously extraordinary.
The article delves into several legends about the name of the White Horse Temple, from "the White Horse Negative Passage to the East" to "The White Horse Rings Around the Tower" to "The White Lotus Temple", each of which shows the intricacies of historical documents and folklore. This diversity of interpretations makes the name of the White Horse Temple more mysterious, and it also makes it challenging to find the truth of history.
Among them, the legend of "White Horse Negative Sutra from the East" seems to be the most popular, originating from the golden golden man in the dream of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, named in order to commemorate the exploits of the White Horse carrying Buddhist scriptures. However, the article cleverly points out the suspicion of this legend, that is, the existence of the "Yongping Seeking the Law" incident. It is indeed difficult to find detailed historical records, which also calls into question the credibility of this claim. Similarly, the legend of "the white horse roaring around the tower", although romantic, lacks conclusive evidence.
The saying of "White Lotus Temple" is from the perspective of linguistics, ** the transliteration of "lotus" and the connection between "white horse". Although this explanation is relatively new, it also faces the problem of insufficient evidence. In historical research, the linguistic perspective often provides new perspectives for puzzle solving, which deserves to be in-depth by scholars.
Through the analysis of various legends, the whole article presents the multiple possibilities of the name of the White Horse Temple. This ancient name seems to be a difficult problem left to us by history, challenging our ability to understand and interpret the past. No matter which way the truth is, the thousand-year-old temple of the White Horse Temple has witnessed the inheritance and development of Buddhism in China with its unique historical status.
Finally, through the discussion of the mystery of the history of the White Horse Temple, the article leads readers to think about the complexity and multifaceted nature of history. This technique of digging deep into the story behind the history makes the whole article not only an interpretation of the origin of the name of the White Horse Temple, but also an inspiration for historical research methods. Such articles not only make readers curious about the White Horse Temple, but also arouse a strong interest in the mysteries of history.
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