Pagoda of Buddhist Ashes
This Pagoda of Buddhist Ashes was firstly built in AD 1044 and restored in Chongde period of the Qing dynasty. It was named after the 1548th Buddhism relics preserved in the shrine. The 13-meter high 13-storey octagonal multi-eave brick temple consists of five parts: the Underground Palace, the Pedestal, the body, the Eave, and the Kshetra.
Below the Pedestal, there is the Underground Palace. It is used for storing Buddhist relics such as Sariputra's. The pedestal itself is a 17-meter high 5.5 meter wide octagonal throne. There are two parts on the main body. The lower part is a waist-contracted throne prop, which looks like two butt-joined lotuses. There is a kettle-like door opened with a stone-carved beast lying inside on the prop. And the upper part is an octagonal round backing pillar. In the middle of each facet of the pillar, there is an arched niche for a statue of Buddha with two novices on each side. Every seated Buddha on each facet has a unique appellation: the one on the south is called Baosheng Buddha, the southwest Dengguan Buddha, the west Pingdeng Buddha, the northwest Huhua Buddha, the north Daci Buddha, the northeast Puji Buddha, the east Cibei Buddha, the southeast Ashan Buddha. There are 13 stories' eave, under the eaves there are brick-sculptured arches hanging with small bells. Finally on the top of the temple is the Kshetra, which has an octagonal plate (the foundation of the Kshetra) on its bottom, holding a round object (part of the body of the Kshetra).There is an iron flagpole of the monastery on the top of Kshetra, with 3 round and semicircle pearls embedded in it, and a gourd-shaped copper pearl on its tip.
Related folk story
There are various stories about the making of the shrine. Long long ago in ancient times, there were many calamities in Shenyang area. A gale raided the area for seven days and seven nights. Rivers were blocked, wells were dried, crops were dead, and people could live no more. Then a monk came long and told people that the disaster was caused by a yellow dragon lying under the world. People were panic and pledged the monk to rescue them from his calamity by subduing the dragon. After careful study of its topographic features, the monk affirmed that Tawan, peak of Shenyang, was the place where the dragon head lied. Facing the sun and it has a great geomantic position, the monk and his two disciples decided to set up an altar at Tawan to subdue the dragon. After fierce battles the monk managed to kill the dragon, and thereafter people in the village could live peacefully and happily. To commemorate the monk's heroic action, they built a temple named Huilong temple to show their gratefulness. When the monk passed away, his disciples tamped this Buddhist pagoda to commemorate him.
Source: chinatravel.com
Editor: Wang Moyan
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