–Meng Haoran
For miles and miles I sail and float;
High famed mountains are hard to seek.
By riverside I moor my boat,
Then I perceive the Censer Peak.
Knowing the Monk Yuan’s life and way,
I love his solitary dell.
His hermitage not far away,
I hear at sunset but the bell.
晚泊浔阳望庐山
— 孟浩然
挂席几千里，
名山都未逢。
泊舟浔阳郭，
始见香炉峰。
尝读远公传，
永怀尘外踪。
东林精舍近，
日暮但闻钟。
Note: Mount Lu is a high-famed mountain with one of its peaks looking like a censer. The poet gazes on it at dusk from Xunyang, present-day Jiujiang, a town by the riverside, and speaks of his admiration of the hermit who lived in the East Forest Temple at the foot of the mountain hundreds of years ago. The bell rings from the temple makes the poet feel the tranquillity of the hermit’s life.
Meng Haoran (689—740AD) was born during the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In his early years, he harbored ambitions to enter officialdom and once traveled extensively, seeking patronage from influential figures, yet he never achieved his aspirations.
After reaching middle age, he gradually inclined towards reclusion in Mount Lumen, immersing himself in the company of mountains and rivers. This poem was most likely written during his “journey of travel”.
For Meng Haoran, Mount Lu was not an ordinary mountain. When he witnessed its majestic grandeur, he also thought of the transcendence of Master Yuan (Lord Yuan, or Monk Huiyuan). Upon hearing the tolling of the bell from Donglin Temple, it stirred his longing for reclusion.
Master Huiyuan (334–416), whose secular name was Jia, was a renowned monk of the Jin Dynasty and the founder of the Pure Land School in China. At the age of 13, he accompanied his uncle on scholarly travels to Xuchang and Luoyang, among other places, mastering Confucian and Daoist teachings. At 21, he renounced secular life, becoming a disciple of Master Dao’an, specializing in the Pure Land teachings.
In 381 A.D., intending to retreat to Mount Luofu (in present-day Guangdong) to cultivate and spread the teachings, he passed through Xunyang (modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi) and found Mount Lu’s serene and beautiful peaks and forests to be an ideal place for cultivation. He settled there, built Longquan Temple, led a community of pure cultivation, and spread the teachings to benefit sentient beings. Later, as renowned monks and scholars from various places increasingly flocked to him, Longquan Temple became insufficient to accommodate them.
With the full support of Jiangzhou Prefect Huan Yi, a new temple, Donglin Temple (East Forest Temple), was built on the western side of Mount Lu as a gathering place for collective practice.
Since monk Huiyuan arrived at Mount Lu in 381 A.D., he spent over thirty years there, never leaving the mountain or entering the secular world. During his daily walks, he always stopped at Tiger Stream to receive or send off guests. Even when invited by the emperors, he claimed illness and refused to leave. Within the boundaries of Donglin Temple(East Forest Temple), he devoted his heart to the Pure Land, diligently practiced the teachings, wrote books, and spread the sacred teachings, dedicating his entire being to the Dharma and Buddhism.
Leave a Reply