Wutaishan’s Natural Wonder, the Sky-Gazing Great Buddha

By Chiu-Nan Lai

On June 14, 1996, around noon, the abbot of Pu-Hua Temple in Wutaishan (Five Plateau Mountain), the Rev. Mia-Shen, took two visitors to the site of an ancient Tang dynasty temple, Ling-Feng (Spiritual Peak Temple), to pay respect to the only remaining structure, a stupa of a Ming master. Beyond the stupa there are five flat areas of different heights, a miniature of the five plateaus. The “central plateau” has two pine trees. Turning around, he gazed across the valley to the mountain range across. Suddenly he could clearly see the form of Shakyamuni Buddha in the reclining position, with arms just below the chest area. The head rests at Pu-Hua Temple with a top knot visible. The outline of cheeks, forehead, nose and chin formed by the pine trees were clearly visible. The head faces to the northeast and the feet point towards Nan-Shan Temple. The pine trees above the distant mountain range resemble 10,000 bodhisattvas surrounding Wutaishan.

There have been reports of a “sleeping” Buddha in Wutaishan before. But because the position of sighting is not optimal, few have taken notice. The best location from which to view the Buddha is at the site of the 1,000 year-old temple Ling Feng. The name indicates that in ancient times people knew the existence of the Great Buddha formed by the mountain range. It is only upon climbing this “peak” of “spirituality” that one can see the Buddha.

That particular day was cloudy. The visitors had gone ahead to pick mushrooms. Rev. Mia-Shen thought to himself, “If this is the blessed work of Manjushri, the sun will come out now.” As soon as the thought entered his mind, the sun came out. The visitors returned with handfuls of the famous Wutaishan mushrooms. Rev. Mia-Shen commented that the tops were like the shaved heads of monks. He predicted that after rebuilding this ancient temple, the first group of sangha would be 33, equal to the number of mushrooms they had gathered. They counted the number of mushrooms in their hands: there were 33. That same day one bird flew from the head area of the Buddha to the two pine trees on the “central plateau” five times. There were other auspicious signs that day. They stayed until 5 p.m. before returning to Pu-Hua Temple.

In the nine days following the discovery of the Great Buddha, there were auspicious signs each day. On the ninth day, the energy of the entire mountain range moved. Purplish lights were observed and captured on film. A rainbow-color cloud appeared above the folded hands of the Buddha, shaped like the map of Asia, with lights coming from the position of Wutaishan. Rev. Mia-Shen interpreted it as signifying Buddhadharma will again flourish in Asia, emanating from Wutaishan and surpassing that of the Tang Dynasty. He thinks that the re-discovery of the Great Buddha at this time indicates that Manjushri will teach with his holy form and not through words or speech.

Our group of 22 arrived at Wutaishan’s Pu-Hua Temple on May 13, 1997. Among the group there were three from China; others were from the US, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia. After breakfast, Rev. Mia-Shen took us to see the Sky-Gazing Great Buddha. In the two weeks following we heard Rev. Mia-Shen recount the discovery of the Great Buddha. From our own experiences we can add new stories to the Cool Mountain History.

Rev. Mia-Shen told us that there are five peaks in the hill behind Ling Feng Temple making the site of Ling-Feng Temple very good for meditation. Those of high capability can gain spiritual realization in three to five days. Every morning before sunrise we would find our way to the five-plateau area of Ling-Feng Temple. Some would do prostrations to Great Buddha across the valley, while others sat in meditation or lay on the grass imitating the Buddha form. The sun rose above the Great Buddha’s top knot, often showing up on the film as a splash of rainbow colors.

On the day of the full moon, May 21, 1997, Rev. Mia-Shen came back from Chengdu. He offered to write stanzas with words from each person’s name, communicating a personal message in these verses. It was after 10 p.m. as he was still pondering stanzas based on the eight names of the Lai family. We had decided beforehand to do some prostrations to the Great Buddha at Ling-Feng Temple under the full moon, but Rev. Mia-Shen took his time, waiting until the village was asleep.

Finally, at about 10:20 p.m. our group, along with some members of his monastery, went up to the site of Ling-Feng Temple. The full moon was just rising above the Great Buddha, illuminating the holy form. We prostrated to the Buddha. Suddenly, someone noticed a very bright light above us that kept expanding. This lasted fifteen minutes. All of us felt a tingling of energy sensation over our crowns. Rev. Mia-Shen told us that Manjushri was giving us a blessing. We offered thanks by prostrating toward the light.

Rev. Mia-Shen said that in many years of living in Wutaishan, he had never seen anything like this. Rev. Mia-Shen said Buddha taught on Wisdom Sutra, the Prajnaparamita, for 22 years, the same as the number of people in our group. We believe that what we witnessed was the Buddha light.

The discovery of the Great Buddha reaffirmed Rev. Mia-Shen’s wish to rebuild Ling-Feng Temple. He plans to build a prostration platform with space for 10,000 people and a meeting hall that seats 1,000 people with walls depicting the scriptural references to 10,000 bodhisattvas surrounding the Five Plateau Mountain. Of course, there is a meditation hall in the plan.

After over half a year’s efforts, he now has permission to rebuild the temple. Work began this summer. He hopes to complete the project by June, 1999. This project needs the support of people around the world. Since we found ourselves in the incredible time-space to experience this miracle we have pledged our support of the project. To learn more of the Ling-Feng Temple project, please write to Chiu-Nan Lai, PO Box 42530, Santa Barbara, California 93140, USA.

Wutaishan (Five-Plateau Mountain), known also as Chingliangshan (Cool Mountain) is situated in the northeastern part of Shang-Xi province in China. It is associated with Manjushri and is one of the four sacred mountains of China. The others are: Potala in southeastern China (Chenrezig); Er-Mei Shang in Szechuan province (Samantabhadra); and Jiu-Hua Shan (Ksitigarbha). It is also one of the five Buddhist blessed places on earth – central place: Bodhgaya in India; eastern place: Wutaishan in China; southern place: Potala; western place: Odeon; northern place: Shambala. Wutaishan holds a very special place in the more than 1,000 years of Buddhist and Chinese history.

Shakyamuni Buddha told his disciples that after his parinirvana Buddha Manjushri would continue to teach in Wutaishan. Manjushri embodies the perfect wisdom of the universe. China is considered to be the Land of Manjushri where the people are blessed with intelligence. Tibet is considered to be the land of Avalokiteshvara where the people are blessed with compassion.

The scriptural reference to Manjushri residing in China is as follows: In the Jewel Treasure Dharani, Buddha said to Vajrapani, “After I enter nirvana, Manjushri will teach in the northeastern part of the Southern Continent, where there is a country named Greater China. There is a mountain called Five Plateau. The Youthful Manjushri visits there, teaching many sentient beings. There are also many devas and nagas protecting and making offerings at that place.”

It is said in the Great Avatamsaka Sutra: “In the northeast, at a mountain named Cool Mountain, bodhisattvas visit and stay. Currently, Manjushri frequently teaches among his entourage of 10,000 bodhisattvas.”

Before Buddhism came to China there were many reported appearances, among colorful clouds, of a youth with five hair knots. The Taoists considered this youth to be a manifestation of their master. During the time of the Han emperor Ming-Di (58-75 AD), two Buddhist masters Moteng and Falan brought Buddhism to China. When they came upon Wutaishan, they knew this as the place of Manjushri. There was already a stupa holding Shakyamuni’s relic from King Ashoka from India.

Han Emperor Ming-Di built the Great Faith Vulture Peak’s Temple, now Hsian-Tung Temple. It was called Great Faith because the emperor believed the Indian masters’ words that Wutaishan was like Vulture’s Peak in India.

From ancient times, blessed manifestations have taken place here. Many emperors considered Wutaishan as a special place, and built many temples. The oldest remaining ones are from the Tang Dynasty: the Buddha Light Temple (Fuguan) and the Southern Chan Temple (Nan-Chan). These temples are considered national treasures and are cared for by the government.

Throughout history there have been many well-known masters from Wutaishan. In the Tang Dynasty, Ching-Liang Imperial Teacher Cheng Huan lived 102 years. He lived through nine emperors of the Tang Dynasty, seven of which asked him to be the imperial spiritual teacher. According to Cool Mountain History his height is “nine feet four inches, his hands are past his knees, he has 40 teeth, eyes that glow in the night and a voice like a gong.” The Tang dynasty is often considered to be the peak of Chinese culture. The influence of Wutaishan on the Tang emperors can be seen from the respect given to the Cool Mountain Imperial Master.

Many of the historical and miraculous stories of Wutaishan are recorded in Cool Mountain History. There are eight volumes, amounting to 150,000 words, revised and expanded by Shih Chen-Tsong of the Ming dynasty, based on the original Stories of Cool Mountain by Tang Dynasty Lan-Ku. There are all together 6 versions of Cool Mountain History, spanning a period of 1,169 years, including a Tibetan version written by the Third Changya Rupi Dorje in 1831.

From the Ming Dynasty until modern times, magical manifestations have continued to be reported in Wutaishan. If someone were to write the new version of Cool Mountain History, there would be many more stories, including the discovery last year of the Sky-Gazing Great Buddha.

Praise to Manjushri

Obeisance to my guru and protector Manjushri, who holds
to his heart a scriptural text symbolic of his seeing all things as they
are; whose intelligence shines forth like the sun, unclouded by delusions
or traces of ignorance; who teaches in sixty ways, with the loving com-
passion of a father for his only child, all creatures caught in the prison of
samsara, confused in the darkness of their ignorance, overwhelmed by their
suffering. You, whose dragon-thunder-like proclamation of the Dharma
arouses us from the stupor of our disturbing attitudes and frees us from the
iron chains of our karma; who wields the sword of wisdom, hewing down
suffering wherever its sprouts appear, clearing away the darkness of
ignorance. Whose body is adorned with the one hundred and twelve
marks of a Buddha; who has completed the stages achieving the high-
est perfection of a bodhisattva; who has been pure from the
beginning. I bow down to you, Oh Manjushri — illuminate the
darkness enclosing my mind. Enlighten my intelligence
and wisdom so that I may gain insight into
the Buddha’s teachings and the texts
that explain them.

When to go to Wutaishan

The mountain roads to Wutaishan are practically sealed by the snow in the winter. About 400 monks and nuns stay in Wutaishan in the winter, increasing to about 1,000 in the summer. Visitors come as early as April or as late as October. The many hotels are open during this period, but are closed during the winter. Fresh vegetables and fruits are more plentiful and the weather more predictable during the summer months. For those who wish to visit the five plateaus, especially the highest Northern Plateau (3,058 meters), summer affords the best opportunity. The Eastern, Central and Southern Plateaus can be reached by car, while the others must be visited on foot or on horseback from the Central Plateau. Those who wish a more quiet visit should plan to be there during the off-peak times such as May or September.

How to get there

In the past, pilgrims traveled by foot to Wutaishan, often taking as long as three years. Tibetan pilgrims sometimes had to sell their entire herds to finance the trip to Wutaishan, arriving empty-handed but very happy. The nomads of Mongolia and Tibet come to Wutaishan during July and August, trading horses, yak herds and goods and enjoying a month of festivities and religious celebrations. The grasses and spring water of Wutaishan are famous for their healing properties for people and animals alike.

A more convenient approach is to take the train from Beijing to Taiyuan and get off at the Wutaishan station before Taiyuan. There is a sleeper train that leaves at 9 p.m. and arrives at 4 a.m. Vans depart from the station for the two-hour ride to Wutaishan (cost: about 20 yuan), entering near the Eastern Plateau and proceeding to the heart of Wutaishan, a village called Taihwai. From there one can choose among many hotels.

A new freeway now connects Beijing to Taiyuan. One can take a six-hour bus ride to Taiyuan on the freeway and then a six-hour local bus ride to Wutaishan. The local bus enters the Wutaishan area near the Southern Plateau. On the way to Wutaishan one can stop to visit the two most ancient remaining temples from the Tang dynasty: The Fuguan Temple (Buddha Light) and the Nanchan Temple (Southern Chan). They are well worth the extra travel; the Fuguan Temple is especially recommended.

Otherwise, one can fly to Taiyuan from any major city in China, including Hong Kong, and then take the six-hour local bus trip to Wutaishan. This is the quickest, taking about seven hours from Beijing.

Where to stay

If you made arrangements through a travel agency, you will be staying at one of the two hotels designated for international visitors: the Yoyi (friendship) Hotel, or the Xi-hsien-ger Hotel. They are two- or three-star hotels, and reasonably comfortable. The rates are about $40 to $50 per room per night.

If you have not made arrangements through a travel agency, you can stay at a comparable hotel near Pu-Hua Temple for a little less. It is owned by the national electric company. There are also many low budget hotels in the Taihwai village for as little as $10 per night.

There are no modern facilities at any of the monasteries. If you can handle pit toilets with no doors, etc., then you can stay at Pu-Hua Temple for next to nothing. Pu-Hua Temple operates the only vegetarian restaurant in the entire Wutaishan area. The foods are prepared by the monks with very happy energy.

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