Shengshui Temple

Shengshui Temple is located on the outskirts of Neijiang City, Sichuan Province. It was first built in the Xiantong period of the Tang Dynasty, that is, 860-870 AD. It was named Xingci Temple in the Song Dynasty. Later, because of the spring water flowing out of the mountain behind the temple, it does not dry up all year round. The water is pure, sweet and refreshing. , is regarded as a spiritual spring, so it was renamed "Holy Water Temple". It is one of the eight major forests in Sichuan Province and is known as "the No. 1 Zen Forest in Zhongchuan". Because of its long history, numerous historical sites, and numerous eminent monks and great virtues, it enjoys a lofty position in the Buddhist community in Sichuan. The temple covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters, with a construction area of more than 6,000 square meters. There are more than 170 large and small temple rooms. At its peak, there were more than 300 monks. It is known as "the No. 1 Zen Forest in Zhongchuan". The monastery is a mountain-style building with a courtyard-style layout. The existing main buildings are distributed according to east, west and middle. To the east are the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Daxiong, the Hall of Sutras, and the Tower of Yuanjue. In the west is the Ancient Great Compassion Hall, and in the middle is the Hall of Faith. There are 67 niches and 450 bodies of cliff statues since the Tang and Song dynasties in the rock at the back of the temple. The total length is more than 60 meters. From the age, it can be divided into Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing stone carvings; from the perspective of content, there are those who explain and teach people, some who promote Buddhism, some who enlighten all beings, and some who inspire people to vow and pray for blessings; from the perspective of subject matter, There are religious and secular ones. Among them, the thousand-handed Guanyin stone statue and the twelve-circle statue of Yuanjue Tower represent different styles of Tang and Song stone statues respectively. The Dabei Hall has a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara statue on the cliff of the late Tang Dynasty, with a height and width of 8 meters, and the carving is extremely exquisite. There are also 20 stone arch bridges, stone squares, and inscriptions and rock carvings of famous people in the Song and Ming dynasties in the temple. The ceiling of the Dizang Hall is painted with pictures of Xuanzang taking scriptures, and the characters are vivid. In addition, the stone arch bridge and the release pool built in the Ming Dynasty, as well as the scripture building in front of the Tibetan scripture building, have high historical value. At the same time, the calligraphy of holy water is dazzling and beautiful. In particular, the books "Holy Water Temple" and "Holy Water Rock" written by Zhao Zhenji, a "famous scholar" in the Ming Dynasty, are bold, elegant and handsome, and have high artistic value.