Day 14 - 安徽: 九華山

We heard from the guide that there was a snow storm at 九華山 yesterday. So she was unsure if today's weather will be good, but we had perfect weather today and she said it must be blessings from 地藏菩薩 as the area is usually covered in snow, rain or fog throughout the year. 九華山 is an amazing place and there are just so many stories about this mountain that I'm not sure if I'll be able to cover them all.


We first went to 化城寺, the oldest temple in 九華山. This is said to be the place where Earth Store Bodhisattva first cultivated when he arrived at 九華. It houses many artifacts and stories about the Earth Store Bodhisattva of Jiu Hua. And I got my name carved onto the wall tiles of the temple! So next time if you do come, look for the side that says March, 2009 and you'll find my name there! Lolz

We learned that the Earth Store of Jiu Hua Shan is an actual person from what is now Korea, by the name of 金乔覺. He came to 九華when he was 24. Same as me! Lolz. Oh wells, but I'm way far off from his level... When he passed away, his body did not rot, thus becoming a 肉身僧. People then realized that his features were just like the Earth Store Bodhisattva described in the sutras. And only then did they realize that it was Earth Store Bodhisattva who had taken on a human form. But in order to differentiate them, they named his human form 金地藏菩薩 after his family name.


肉身僧, like shariras, is another miracle of the Buddhist world. To attain a body that doesn't decay, the cultivator must have achieved the 金剛身 during his/her lifetime and they will undergo a test after death. Upon death, the body is placed in a huge jar for 3 days. After 3 days, it will be checked for any signs or smell of decay. Then it is stored for 3 years. If still no signs of decay occurs, the cultivator is said to have become a 肉身僧 and it will be gilded in gold as a form of respect. In 九華山, there is a total of 6 肉身僧 including that of 金地藏菩薩(A.D 794). The other 5 was of 無瑕和尚(1623), 大興和尚(1985), 慈明和尚 (1991), 仁義師太 (1995), 明淨和尚 (1999). The last 3 are all very recent!


We visited many temples. 上禪堂 is a place that houses a Guan Yin statue that has water dripping from her vase year through even when temperatures drop to -12 degrees celcius. The backyard also has a very beautiful view. 護國月身寶塔 is the place that houses the un-decayed body of 金地藏菩薩. 地藏禪寺 is the place that houses 慈明和尚's un-decayed body. Many of the locals personally knew 慈明和尚 as he was known to be extremely kind hearted.


After lunch we had to take the cable car to the half way point of one of Mt. Jiu Hua's peak, then climb up another hundred or so steps to 古拜經臺 where 金地藏菩薩 spent many years reciting the sutras here so much so that his foot print was imprinted into the ground which hardened over the years. Along the way there was also a huge rock that looked like a bird and the story was that when 金地藏菩薩 was reciting the sutras, a huge Peng Bird (大鵬鳥）landed on the mountain side to listen to the sutra. Upon attaining the way, it transformed itself into a rock and lived on the mountain side.


From that temple, it was a steps, steps and more steps! A total of 1300 steps to climb up to the peak where 天臺寺 is located. 1300 metres above sea level. Scary but the view was breath taking! Well, partly due to the thinner air up there, but also the surrounding mountains and temples made it look just like a chinese painting. In the last picture above, you can see 天臺寺 far far behind.


On the way back to the hotel, I had a random thought of eating fried bananas and guess what... the first dish served during dinner was exactly that! I guess that was the bodhisattva's way of saying good job for making it all the way to the top! =)