Xianyu cave

Xianyu cave is located in the natural rock cavity of the cliff of bamboo sea in southern Sichuan. It is known as the "Pearl of bamboo sea" for its excellent natural and cultural landscape.

Xianyu cave is deep and dangerous. Only a winding and steep stone step can pass through the cave. On the cave is a vast bamboo forest, and under the cave is the Grand Canyon of bamboo sea.

There are also temples in Xianyu cave. The hall of monks is the place where ashes are stored after the death of the past dynasties. There is a stone pagoda and 15 niches for ashes.

Xianyu cave

Xianyu cave is known as the "Pearl of bamboo sea" because of its excellent natural and cultural landscape. It is located in the chaeryan cliff of Xianyu Cave Scenic Spot in southern Sichuan, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. It is a must to visit southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea.

Historical causes

Xianyu cave is deep and dangerous. It is located in the natural rock cavity of overhanging rock cliff. Only a winding and steep stone step can pass through the cave. On the top of the cave is a vast bamboo forest, and on the bottom of the cave is the Zhuhai Grand Canyon, which faces the guabangyan cave group across the Zhuhai Grand Canyon. Guabangyan is said to be Shao daoren who lived in Xianyu cave and became an immortal. When he recruited Taoists, he put the admission list on the stone wall, so it was named guabangyan.

Xianyu cave is not actually a cave, but a half side cave about 500 meters long, with a cliff on its back and a deep valley in front. Once upon a time, it was full of fragrance. All the temples and pavilions are gone, leaving only a few cliff statues of the Ming Dynasty.

Xianyu cave is also a grotto temple built by mountains and rocks. It was first a Taoist temple, and later Buddhism flourished. After the Song Dynasty, Guanyin hall, Laojun hall and other activity places were successively built. Xianyu cave is actually a place where Buddhism and Taoism coexist. It is said that Su Dongpo, the sage of Meishan, once saw the situation here and wrote a couplet: "the sky is hanging rock, the stone orifices are exquisite, asking when the turbidity was chiseled; looking for ancient caves in the clouds, the seal characters are misty, and seeing the gods flying abroad."

Tourist attractions

LingXiao Hall

When you enter the cave from the Nanshan gate, the first thing you can see is the Taoist temple Lingxiao hall. Lingxiao hall is divided into Lingguan hall, Laojun hall and Yuhuang hall from left to right, which is the historical witness of Xianyu cave's combination of Buddhism and Taoism. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Du chaiye inscribed the plaque of "Lingxiao hall" on the cliff, unifying the three halls.

The statue of Lingguan on the wall is about 1 meter high. It is powerful and powerful with its powerful carving.

Monk Hall

On the right side of Lingxiao hall is the hall of monks, which is the place where the ashes are stored after the Buddha's ascent to heaven and cremation. In the hall, there are seven eaves and a spire stone pagoda, which is the place where the first Abbot's ascent to heaven cremated the ashes,. Because monks are commonly known as monks, it is called the hall of monks.

Second Buddha Hall

Further on, there is the hall of two Buddhas. In the hall, there are three horizontal Buddhas, eight Dharma protectors, and twelve round senses. On the forehead, a group of high relief sculptures, the four gates of the prince's journey, namely the Sutra change story of Sakyamuni. The reason why it is called "two Buddha Hall" is that it is smaller than the big Buddha Hall nearby in terms of space size, and that it is called "two Buddha events" because of the Sutra change of Sakyamuni.

There are two stone cows lying in the waterfall on the overhanging rock in front of the Second Buddha Hall. This scene is called "Tianhe drinking cattle". It is said that in the early morning of one year, the weaver girl was afraid that the old ox would die of thirst and wanted to pull him to heaven. The old ox insisted on helping the bamboo fairy to sow the bamboo before returning to heaven together with the bamboo fairy. Seeing that there was no water to quench his thirst, the old cow would die of thirst. The weaver girl broke the rule of heaven again, broke the Tianhe river with weaving shuttle, and put down a spring to save the old cow. At this time, the old cow had died of fatigue and thirst and turned into a cow. In fact, this is a sweet mountain spring.

Great Buddha Hall

The Great Buddha Hall, also known as the Great Buddha Hall, is a typical hall for the coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism in Xianyu cave. In the hall, there are three Buddhas, Manjusri and Puxian respectively on the left and right. In the back, there are the temple of heavenly concubines and the temple of God of wealth of Taoism. The integration of the three Buddhas, heavenly concubines and God of wealth is the historical witness of the integration of Buddhism and Taoism in Xianyu cave and the difficultness between monks and Taoism.

In the hall, there is also a intact carved stone tablet of Jiulong, which is 50 cm high and 30 cm wide. On the stone, nine stone dragons are carved with their heads raised and tails raised.

Buddism godness Guanyin Temple

Next to the Great Buddha Hall is the Guanyin hall, which was built in the Southern Song Dynasty (1259 AD). It is said that the scale was very small at that time, and the hall was replaced by niches. Because of the expansion of the scale, later generations carved high relief Guanyin and 18 gods on the rock edge. The circle is the foundation of Buddhism, and the Guanyin hall is a circle, which is the best place for Buddhist statues. Therefore, believers all choose this place to worship Guanyin. He Jie, a Hong Kong writer and researcher at the research center of the International Buddhist society, donated money to build the Guanyin in Zizhu in 1994. Guanyin holds the pure bottle, pours the divine water, and saves all living beings. On the stone wall of Guanyin hall, there is a standing statue of Guanyin in the middle, with 18 Arhats arranged on the left and right, and the forehead is inscribed with "facing Buddha centripetally". In front of the Avalokitesvara, there is a rhinoceros playing in the water: a rhinoceros lies in the water box, and the spring of heaven pours down and the water splashes around, just like a rhinoceros swaying in the water.

Reclining Buddha

Ahead, there is a newly carved Reclining Buddha in a niche. The reclining Buddha is carved in red sandstone. Behind Sakyamuni's body, there are statues of the fourteen gods. The reclining Buddha niche was also donated by He Jie.

waterfall

In front of the reclining Buddha, a waterfall falls from the cliff to the bottom of the valley. This is shisandie spring. The water curtain is about 5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The water potential varies in different seasons, because it often shows several colors in the sunlight, so it is called "purple cloud Buddha light". The 20 cm wide chain pattern on the stone wall is naturally made and mottled. It is said that it is a necklace left here by a fairy.

After the Xianyu cave, the back door of Tianbao village is just ahead.

Xianyu cave is a place with profound culture and beautiful scenery.

Address: Shunan Bamboo Sea Scenic Area, Changning County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province

Longitude: 105.02106763558

Latitude: 28.459927820967

Tour time: 1 hour

Traffic information: check the traffic information of Zhuhai in southern Sichuan

Ticket information: included in the ticket of Shunan Bamboo Sea scenic spot

Opening hours: 9:00-17:00