- 目錄
第1篇 歸元寺的導(dǎo)游詞
歸元寺的導(dǎo)游詞
作為一名樂(lè)于助人的導(dǎo)游，就難以避免地要準(zhǔn)備導(dǎo)游詞，導(dǎo)游詞一般是根據(jù)實(shí)際的游覽景觀、遵照一定的游覽路線、模擬游覽活動(dòng)而創(chuàng)作的。如何把導(dǎo)游詞做到重點(diǎn)突出呢？下面是小編幫大家整理的歸元寺的導(dǎo)游詞，僅供參考，大家一起來(lái)看看吧。
歸元寺的導(dǎo)游詞1
各位游客朋友們：
大家好！首先讓我代表海航樂(lè)游旅行社歡迎大家來(lái)到美麗的江城—武漢觀光游覽。我是您此行的導(dǎo)游，我姓許，大家可以叫我小許或者許導(dǎo)就好了，在我右手邊的了是我們的司機(jī)劉師傅，劉師傅啊有多年的駕駛經(jīng)驗(yàn)，車(chē)技相當(dāng)嫻熟，大家可以放心乘坐。在接下來(lái)的時(shí)間里呢，將由我為大家提供導(dǎo)游講解服務(wù)。如果大家有什么問(wèn)題和要求，可以盡管提出，我會(huì)盡力為大家解決。同時(shí)，在這里預(yù)祝大家有個(gè)愉快、難忘的武漢之旅。
在這春意盎然的時(shí)節(jié)，能夠陪同您游覽以獨(dú)特的規(guī)模和五百羅漢堂，而極富盛名的歸元禪寺，一同領(lǐng)略佛教寺院的魅力，用佛教的話來(lái)說(shuō)，那可真是“隨喜”了。
說(shuō)著說(shuō)著，我們今天游覽的目的地就在眼前了，請(qǐng)隨我一同下車(chē)游覽吧！
歸元禪寺坐落于武漢市漢陽(yáng)區(qū)翠微路西側(cè)，是清順治十五年也就是1658年，，由浙江的兩位僧人白光、主峰來(lái)此創(chuàng)建的。取名“歸元”出自《楞嚴(yán)經(jīng)》“歸元無(wú)二路，方便有多門(mén)”，是超出生滅還歸于真寂本源的意思?，F(xiàn)今的歸元禪寺占地近5公頃，建筑面積達(dá)2萬(wàn)平方米?，F(xiàn)存殿堂樓閣28棟，殿舍200余間，莊嚴(yán)雄偉、井然有序。在武漢呢，歸元寺與寶通寺、溪蓮寺、正覺(jué)寺合稱為武漢的“四大叢林”。
大家可以看到，首先映入我們眼簾的是這座杏黃色的大門(mén)，佛教寺院的大門(mén)也叫作“三門(mén)”。 即佛經(jīng)里的三解脫門(mén)，中間的是空門(mén)，左右分別是無(wú)相和無(wú)作門(mén)。這個(gè)寺院的三門(mén)八字朝陽(yáng)開(kāi)，象征著廣結(jié)良緣、普度眾生，寓意吉祥。抬頭呢，可以看到，三門(mén)上方正中鑲著一塊長(zhǎng)方形的直匾，直書(shū)“歸元禪寺”四個(gè)大字。說(shuō)到這兒，可能有的朋友會(huì)問(wèn)了：“這寺名怎么不是橫著寫(xiě)的呢？”確實(shí)，全國(guó)佛教古剎不少，可寺名直書(shū)的卻不多見(jiàn)，因?yàn)橹睍?shū)寺名只有皇帝御賜匾額的寺廟才可以使用，可見(jiàn)歸元禪寺這座民間寺廟在佛教叢林中的地位了之高。
走進(jìn)寺內(nèi)，不知道大家是否覺(jué)得這個(gè)寺廟的布局有點(diǎn)兒與眾不同呢？
寺院作為佛、法、僧三寶的常住地，是講究一定格局的。一般說(shuō)來(lái)，我國(guó)明清寺院建筑的傳統(tǒng)格局是：在中軸線上最前面的是三門(mén)，進(jìn)三門(mén)左右為鐘樓和鼓樓，迎面為天王殿，進(jìn)而是大雄寶殿，其后是藏經(jīng)樓，其他殿堂則分布于中軸兩側(cè)。然而，歸元禪寺卻不是這樣中軸對(duì)稱的格局，這是由它獨(dú)特的建造歷史而決定的。在清順治十七年禪院就落成了，第二年修建大雄寶殿，又在康熙三年祖堂、韋馱殿和方丈室完工，五年后藏經(jīng)閣等建筑也一一落成，道光三十年又繼續(xù)增修了羅漢堂。從而形成了目前的東、西、南、北、中五個(gè)院落的獨(dú)特布局，儼然形成了“袈裟”狀。
了解完歸元寺的獨(dú)特布局后，就讓我們繼續(xù)向里面參觀吧。
現(xiàn)在，大家所看見(jiàn)的這座雄偉的建筑就是大雄寶殿。大殿正中供奉著佛教最高神—釋迦牟尼，您看他“偏袒右肩，結(jié)跏而坐”，顯得是那么的莊嚴(yán)而又肅穆。兩側(cè)是他的弟子阿南和迦葉，整個(gè)塑像都是托沙雕塑而成。佛像背后是一組海島觀音像，只見(jiàn)海島觀音赤足站在鰲頭上，左右侍立著龍女和童子，整個(gè)塑像向前傾覆。仰視上去，觀音的衣袖好像在飄動(dòng)一樣，正在洶涌的波濤上迎面向我們浮來(lái)。這樣的設(shè)計(jì)更增加了宗教藝術(shù)的感染力。
大雄寶殿的前面呢，就是韋馱殿。您看他，身穿鎧甲，手持寶杵，多么威武挺立啊。傳說(shuō)，韋陀是“四天王三十二將”之首的護(hù)法神。用我們現(xiàn)在的話來(lái)說(shuō)呢，他就是保安隊(duì)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)。這尊韋馱像是用整塊樟木雕刻而成，線條刀法都極具唐雕風(fēng)格，是歸元寺的藝術(shù)珍品，也是我國(guó)雕刻藝術(shù)品中的一件寶貴遺產(chǎn)。
請(qǐng)大家小心腳下，繼續(xù)隨我往前走，接下來(lái)我們就要前往羅漢堂了。
大家知道，現(xiàn)在全國(guó)寺廟中保存比較完好的羅漢堂已經(jīng)為數(shù)不多了：東有蘇州西園寺，南有昆明筇竹寺，西有成都寶元寺，北有北京碧云寺，中有武漢歸元寺。但其中最負(fù)盛名、最具特色的就要數(shù)我們武漢的歸元寺了。
歸元禪寺的羅漢堂平面布局呈“田”字形建筑格局，給龐大深邃的殿堂提供了良好的通風(fēng)和采光條件。另外，“田”在漢字里恰好又是佛教中正反兩個(gè)“法輪”的相疊加，這種布局暗示著一種善神降世的吉祥和神秘感。
我國(guó)有句俗話說(shuō)“泥菩薩過(guò)江—自身難?！?，而我們歸元寺的羅漢就不能這樣說(shuō)了，因?yàn)榘。@里的羅漢既不是木雕也不是泥塑，而是采用的一種盛行于唐代的獨(dú)特工藝—“脫胎漆塑”，它的制作過(guò)程十分復(fù)雜。首先要用黏土做成等身的人形胎膜；等到干了以后，用生漆將絲綢或夏布黏附在它的上面；再用生漆將膏灰、木粉混合調(diào)勻，涂刮塑造細(xì)部；陰干后再打磨拋光；然后在塑漆像后取一小孔，向里面注水將泥化成漿，從而脫出胎膜并沖洗干凈；晾干后用木塊封口；再刷上生漆，敷上用漆調(diào)勻的金粉或貼上金箔；然后上彩涂色；最后涂上桐油或亮漆以保持光澤。這樣，一尊佛像才算完工了。
“脫胎漆塑”的制作方法，雖然造價(jià)很高，但所采用的工藝不僅省料，而且體質(zhì)輕盈、堅(jiān)固、不透水，很適合武漢地勢(shì)低洼、冬燥夏濕的氣候特點(diǎn)。兩百年來(lái)羅漢堂幾次遭受洪水侵襲，但洪水退后羅漢任舊完好無(wú)損。如此看來(lái)別說(shuō)是讓羅漢過(guò)江了，就是讓他們飄揚(yáng)過(guò)海也不成問(wèn)題。
我們仔細(xì)看來(lái)，會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，羅漢們的形象極其生動(dòng)。動(dòng)作上，有的在研讀詩(shī)書(shū)、有的在驅(qū)邪除惡；表情上，有的天真憨厚、有的飽經(jīng)滄桑、有的英勇神武，個(gè)個(gè)惟妙惟肖，而且五百尊中竟然沒(méi)有一個(gè)雷同，這實(shí)在令人稱奇。
這羅漢堂除了可供參觀外，還可以用它預(yù)測(cè)一年內(nèi)的禍福。每逢節(jié)假日，人們就會(huì)來(lái)到這里數(shù)羅漢。所謂的數(shù)羅漢就是，根據(jù)首先踏入殿堂的那只腳確定方向，然后隨意選定一尊羅漢為起點(diǎn)，依照自己的年齡，順序往下默數(shù)，數(shù)到現(xiàn)有的歲數(shù)為止，這最后一尊羅漢的身份、表情和動(dòng)作就可以昭示數(shù)者的命運(yùn)。因此，“數(shù)羅漢”也成為了大家參觀羅漢堂的趣是一件。
好了，各位游客朋友們，今天的歸元寺之旅就到此結(jié)束了。希望歸元寺的佛教魅力能給您留下深刻的印象。非常感謝您對(duì)我工作的支持與配合，不足之處還請(qǐng)您批評(píng)指出。美麗的江城期待著與您再次相逢，最后祝大家旅途愉快，謝謝，再見(jiàn)！
歸元寺的導(dǎo)游詞2
各位游客朋友們：
大家好！我是您此次歸元寺之行的導(dǎo)游，大家能夠叫我小朱。在那里，我代表我們旅行社對(duì)大家的到來(lái)表示最最熱烈的歡迎。旁邊這位是我們的司機(jī)師傅———李師傅。李師傅有著長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年的駕駛經(jīng)驗(yàn)，車(chē)技嫻熟，大家盡可放心乘坐。在接下來(lái)的行程中，我們將竭力為大家?guī)Ыo最優(yōu)質(zhì)的服務(wù)。期望大家這天玩的舒心，游的盡興。
下面就請(qǐng)大家和我一齊去游覽一下有著湖北”四大叢林”之一之稱的歸元禪寺。
歸元禪寺，又名歸元寺，是一座具有三百多年歷史的古寺院，始建于清順治十五年，后不斷增修。其位于武漢漢陽(yáng)翠微峰下，與古琴臺(tái)相鄰。佛家言“歸元無(wú)二路，方便有多門(mén)?！睔w元寺寺名即來(lái)源于此。歸元，亦稱歸真，即歸于真寂本源、得道成佛之意。
歸元寺給人的一個(gè)突出印象是它的建筑風(fēng)格與其他寺院不大一致。它不具有整齊對(duì)稱的宏大格局，甚至略顯雜亂。它有東西南北中五個(gè)院落，儼然一個(gè)“袈裟”狀。關(guān)于歸元寺的平面布局呈“袈裟”狀還有一段神奇的傳說(shuō)。傳說(shuō)明宗禎末年，一富豪無(wú)名指斷了，聽(tīng)說(shuō)翠微草庵的長(zhǎng)老醫(yī)道非凡，便來(lái)求他為其再接斷指。長(zhǎng)老見(jiàn)其心誠(chéng)，果然為他接活斷指。富豪感恩戴德，愿為長(zhǎng)老新建寺廟，就其規(guī)模請(qǐng)問(wèn)長(zhǎng)老時(shí)，長(zhǎng)老隨手將破袈裟拋向天空說(shuō)：“就此一袈裟之地?！鳖D時(shí)，袈裟越變?cè)酱?，徐徐降落，竟覆地五十余畝，富豪見(jiàn)長(zhǎng)老有如此法力，欣然買(mǎi)得這一袈裟之地，聘全國(guó)能工巧匠，選各地上等材石，歷經(jīng)數(shù)年方才修建成功，并由法師以“歸元”為寺命名。也有一種說(shuō)法是，初建寺院時(shí)，化緣的和尚無(wú)法在短期內(nèi)湊齊足夠多的錢(qián)做一個(gè)整體的安排。有錢(qián)時(shí)就趕快買(mǎi)地?fù)屝?，否則等到錢(qián)籌集足夠時(shí)，周?chē)鷺?gòu)想中的地方則已被別人搶先買(mǎi)下了。和尚們不得已，只能夠有一筆錢(qián)就修一處。這就構(gòu)成了此刻這個(gè)“袈裟”狀的布局。
說(shuō)話間我們已經(jīng)到了，請(qǐng)大家?guī)Ш秒S身物品隨我下車(chē)。此刻在大家面前的就是歸元寺的山門(mén)了，也就是歸元寺的大門(mén)。各位細(xì)心的游客能夠看出，高大的'山門(mén)呈八字朝陽(yáng)開(kāi)，意為廣結(jié)善緣，普渡眾生，寓意吉祥。大家看這山門(mén)上方中間的這塊豎匾，上書(shū)“歸元禪寺”四個(gè)大字。相傳是當(dāng)年歸元禪寺的開(kāi)山祖師白光法師在寺院建成要離去的時(shí)候，各位禪師率領(lǐng)眾僧挽留未果后，請(qǐng)求白光禪師題寫(xiě)寺名，以此來(lái)永做紀(jì)念，在大家的真誠(chéng)邀請(qǐng)之下，白光禪師便提筆寫(xiě)下了這歸元禪寺四字。
好了，各位游客，我們此刻所在的位置，就是歸元寺的主體建筑之一的藏經(jīng)閣了。說(shuō)到藏經(jīng)閣，大家可能在各類的武俠小說(shuō)和電視劇中見(jiàn)到過(guò)，但是呢，歸元禪寺里可沒(méi)有什么武功秘籍可供尋找，那里主要是一座用于收藏、陳列佛教經(jīng)典藝術(shù)珍品及各種法器的殿堂。
在藏經(jīng)閣旁邊的就是大士閣了，主要是供奉觀音菩薩的殿堂。大家能夠看到左側(cè)墻壁上的楊柳觀音像。畫(huà)像為唐代閆立本所繪。畫(huà)像中的觀音，文靜安詳，體態(tài)豐滿、身姿輕盈，顯示了唐代以豐滿為美的審美觀念。看完了大雄寶殿后，我們?cè)俚巾f馱殿去看看！我們所看到的這尊右手持杵在地的雕像便是韋馱了，不明白大家注意到了沒(méi)有，為什么各個(gè)寺院韋馱持杵的姿勢(shì)會(huì)不同呢大家能夠盡情的發(fā)揮一下自己的想象力。其實(shí)，韋馱持杵的不同姿勢(shì)，與寺廟的規(guī)模大小有著密切的關(guān)系。韋馱左手持杵在肩，則證明該寺廟太小，既不供吃也不供住；兩手持杵的，則證明寺廟為中等規(guī)模；供吃但不供住。我們此刻所看到的這尊韋馱像持杵在地，則證明歸元寺的規(guī)模很大，既能供吃又能供住。
接下來(lái)請(qǐng)大家和我一齊去游覽羅漢堂。羅漢堂是歸元寺最值得一游的地方了。全國(guó)寺廟中保存比較好的羅漢堂已經(jīng)為數(shù)不多，其中最負(fù)盛名的要算武漢歸元寺的羅漢堂了。其他寺廟的五百羅漢塑像有木刻也有泥塑，唯有歸元寺的五百羅漢既非木刻也非泥塑，而是采用的一種盛行于唐代的獨(dú)特工藝————“脫胎漆塑”制成的脫紗像，又稱干漆像。乃國(guó)內(nèi)稀世珍品。
另外關(guān)于歸元寺500羅漢的神態(tài)也有一個(gè)傳說(shuō)。相傳歸元寺建成，要建500羅漢時(shí)，特意從黃陂請(qǐng)來(lái)兩父子塑羅漢，當(dāng)時(shí)的羅漢譜一套在浙江，一套在湖南，老塑匠跋山涉水到湖南把羅漢譜描畫(huà)好才回來(lái)動(dòng)手塑像，但他不愿意照葫蘆畫(huà)瓢，覺(jué)得羅漢譜上畫(huà)的羅漢神態(tài)過(guò)于單一，他想塑出羅漢的各種神態(tài)，而當(dāng)時(shí)歸元寺周?chē)泻芏噢r(nóng)民種地休息飄過(guò)或者在樹(shù)下睡覺(jué)，神態(tài)各異，于是老塑匠便巧妙的把他們化成羅漢的神態(tài)，有時(shí)候還把附近的孩子找來(lái)故意逗他們嬉鬧，記住他們的調(diào)皮樣貌然后塑在羅漢身上。
這羅漢堂除了可供參觀外，人們還喜歡用它來(lái)預(yù)測(cè)一年內(nèi)的禍福，也就是武漢人說(shuō)的“數(shù)羅漢”。數(shù)羅漢有三種方法：第一種是，不論男女，跨門(mén)檻時(shí)如果左腳先跨入則從左邊開(kāi)始，如右腳先跨入則從右邊開(kāi)始；第二種方法是，男左女右，進(jìn)入羅漢堂后，男士從左邊開(kāi)始，女士從右邊開(kāi)始；第三種方法是，隨意選中一尊羅漢，然后順著數(shù)下去，數(shù)到自己的年齡數(shù)時(shí)停下，與之對(duì)應(yīng)的羅漢則象征了您一年的運(yùn)勢(shì)。
接下來(lái)的時(shí)間就留給大家自己安排，大家能夠四處參觀一下，也能夠去數(shù)一數(shù)羅漢，看看自己運(yùn)勢(shì)怎樣樣。我們下午四點(diǎn)鐘的時(shí)候在旅游車(chē)停放處再見(jiàn)。期望大家及時(shí)準(zhǔn)時(shí)到達(dá)。然后，提醒大家隨時(shí)攜帶好自己的隨身物品，注意安全。無(wú)論有什么事，記得，記得什么？沒(méi)錯(cuò)，記得有事找小朱。
好了，各位朋友，完美的時(shí)光總是讓人覺(jué)得短暫，我們的歸元寺之旅就到此結(jié)束了。感謝大家這天對(duì)我工作的支持和配合，若我工作中有什么不足之處，還請(qǐng)大家批評(píng)指正！這次能和大家相識(shí)，我感到十分高興，也期望能有機(jī)會(huì)再次為大家服務(wù)。最后，祝大家身體健康，全家幸福。謝謝！
第2篇 游湖北歸元寺的英文導(dǎo)游詞
guiyuan temple
chinese buddhist temples are never single buildings. they always consist of a group buildings following a fundamental patter, which can, however, be modified. the main buildings and their symmetrically corresponding secondary buildings form individual groups and courtyards. the entire temple complex is spacious. the building inside the complex are usually single-storied and the main halls are sometimes decorated with a double roof. the towers, pavilions and halls can be multi-storied structures.
the chinese temple complex has been subject to great structural changes throughout the centuries. but temple architects follow the basic principles of secular structures from the tang dynasty onwards. the complexes stand on a central axis, usually a north-south axis: east-west only as an exception. (guiyuan temple is just the very exception.) the main buildings are strung along this central axis, their broadest sides facing south or east.
the most important and most frequently presented building inside a buddhist temple complex are the main entrance gate, the bell and drum towers, the hall of the heavenly kings, the hall of the buddha and a pagoda.
buddhism is said to be founded in india in the 6th century bc by siddatha gautama (bc565 –bc486), the son of a nobleman and member of the kshatriya caste near the present borders of india and nepal. buddhism advocates that all the people are created equal and turns against the caste system of brahmanism, so it was popular with the common people.
it was said that buddhism was spread to china in 2 bc. at the beginning, it was only regarded as a kind of witch. about 200 ad, chinese version of buddhist s criptures began to appear, and thus, buddhist doctrines began to emerge with traditional chinese religious thought. from 2nd century to late 6th century, translation and research of buddhist sects with chinese characteristics were becoming more and more popular and many temples were built, which reached its peak in sui dynasty (581ad-617ad) and tang dynasty (618-907). some buddhist sects with chinese characteristics came into being. buddhism exerts a great influence on chinese philosophy, literature, art and folk customs.
what is presented before our eyes is a copper statue of a famous bodhisattva in hynayana buddhism. bodhisattva is a tittle which is only next to buddha. this statue is the image of avalokitesvara, which has been popular with chinese people or more than 1,000 years. she is called the goddess of mercy cordially for chinese and is regarded as the symbol of kindness, mercy and benevolence. when we visit the avalokitesvara pavilion after a while, i will give a detailed introduction about her. this copper statue was sent to guiyuan temple by taiwan buddhists in september 1990. it shows that all chinese, whether in the mainland or in taiwan, are eager for the reunion of the country, even including religion believers.
the building we see now is the buddha hall where one certain buddha and his two assistant bodhisattvases are worshiped. this buddha is amitabha buddha. amitabha means incomparable brightness. according to buddhism, time and space is limitless and thus there are many many buddhas in different spaces and times. but in a certain space or in a certain period of time, there is only one certain buddha who is in charge of instructing all living creatures. amitabha buddha is the buddha who presides over the land of ultimate bliss in the west, which will come in the future. buddhist s criptures describe the land of ultimate bliss as a wonderland, in which no pain exists and the people enjoy their lives. in one word, it’s very attractive. some people will think it must be very difficult to enter such a world. how can i go to such a paradise? maybe i have to work hard and bear a lot of sufferings. in fact, it’s very easy to enter the world. he only need often murmur ‘may buddha preserve us’ sincerely. it’s enough.
you see, the statue in the middle is the very buddha. on his left is the goddess of mercy. on his right is the other bodhisattva who follows the buddha. it is said that he can save all the living creatures from three kinds of terrible disasters.
now, let’s step into the buddhist s criptures pavilion where the s criptures of buddhism are kept. but i ‘m afraid what attracts our attention at the first sight must be this snow-white statue. it is a statue of sakyamuni, the founder of buddhism. this statue was carved out of a big piece of jade which is 2-meter-tall and weighs 3 tons. it was carved by myanmar handicraftsmen and donated to the temple by the rangoon buddhists in 1935.
if we watch the statue, we may sense that the peaceful expression on the buddha’s face has brought us to a quiet and harmonious state.
the last building we will visit is the avalokitesvara pavilion in the north yard. when we entered the yard just now we saw a statue of her. now i’d like to introduce her carefully.
as a goddess, she swore that she would not become a buddha until all the living creatures suffering from pains were saved. so she became a bodhisattva who is most popular among the people and attracts the most believers of all the gods and goddesses in buddhism. it was said that one would be saved from trouble and disaster as long as he (she) chanted her name and if it was heard by her. thus she is called guanshiyin, which means ‘hearing or looking on the voices of the suffering’. because of her kind heart and benevolence she got another title ‘the goddess of mercy’.
according to buddhism, bodhisattvases have no distinction of sex, that is, they are neither male nor female, because they are immortals. but it’s very strange and interesting that most of bodhisattvases were engraved or carved in the images of various kinds of men in human society. changes didn’t take place until an emperor’s mother thought it was inconvenient to worship a male bodhisattva in her bedroom. from then on, guanshiyin, the bodhisattvas began to appear before her believers in the image of a beautiful and elegant lady.
we’ll pay a visit to a very serious, sacred place. generally, the place is regarded as the most holy by buddhists. it is the grand hall, where the founder of buddhism, sakyamuni is worshiped. it is always the center of a buddhist temple in construction and in buddhists’ mind.
the statue in the middle is sakyamuni. according to buddhism his mother gave birth to him in a garden. he belonged to kshatreya caste. he married his cousin when he was 16 or 17 years old. at the age of 29, he was confronted with the sights of an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. with eyes opened to aspects of life newly revealed to him, he broke from the material world and became an ascetic. six years later, he gave up mystic concentration that at last brought him enlightenment under a bo tree. he then founded an order of mendicants and spent his next 45 years preaching his ideas until his death.
these two statue beside the buddha are his two disciples. the one on the right was said to be sakyamuni’s cousin and he had good memory so that he could remember all the buddha told his disciples. the one on the left was said to be the lord of brahmnism and he once was sakyamuni’s tutor. but afterwards he was convinced by buddhism after long-term debate between buddhism and other religions and he accepted sakyamuni as his tutor. thus he became the eldest one of all sakyamuni’s disciples.
next, we’ll pay a visit to the ahrat hall in the south court.
the ahrat hall is an important structure in a buddhist temple. but not all temples have an ahrat hall, especially, well-kept ahrat halls are very rare in china. this one is among them, and what’s more, it has its own unique characteristics.
generally, an ahrat hall is a square building. the building is subdivided into four small square courts so that the hall can get enough sunlight. this kind of structure show some lucky implies in chinese buddhist culture.
another characteristic about the hall lies in these sculptures themselves. they were neither made up of wood, nor stone, nor clay. a special way was taken in making them, which could prevents them from being burned, being soaked or being eaten by insects. all the sculptures were floating in water while wuhan was flooded in 1954, but, surprisingly, they were sound and safe after the flood had receded. it was really a wonder.
ahrats are the immortals in buddhism. but when you have a look around the sculptures, you may find from the expressions on their faces that they are so familiar to you. that’s only because they were molded on the basis of the people in the reality, so they are human beings in our daily life rather than immortals.
ahrats are the symbols of harmony, happiness, and good luck, so the wuhan natives have got used to counting ahrats since ancient time to pray for peace. there are a few ways of counting ahrats. we can count from the first ahrat from left to right or from right to left, when we just enter the hall. we can also choose any ahrat as our starting point, and count in the same way, left to right or right to left. we should base counting on our own ages whatever we take. for example, i’m 25, so i should stop in front of the 25th ahrat from the starting ahrat. the sculpture in front of which i stop is my lucky ahrat. my lucky ahrat will accompany me to spend a peaceful and lucky year. wouldn’t you like to have a try now? if you need, i can explain connotation of some ahrats.
that’s all for the explanation to guiyuan temple. thank you for your cooperation and understanding. you will have another 30 minutes to have a look around the temple. if you have any problems, do let me know. i would like to repeat our bus number, a3074. please don’t forget. see you later.
