Old things in the south

Chapter 43 Autumn Visit to Lion's Head Mountain

When I arrived in Toufen, my hometown, Lion Head Mountain was within sight.My cousins ​​who have returned home have invited me to visit the mountain several times, but every time I have to hurry back to Taipei because of family affairs. I have made a wish to go to Lion's Head Mountain for three years.

This time, because Sunday is followed by the founding father’s birthday, it’s rare for two holidays to be together. When we were thinking about how to pass the time, it happened that Mr. and Mrs. Cai, our travel companions from Alishan this spring, invited us to visit Lion’s Head Mountain, and Mr. Zhu and his wife were also with us.The opportunity to fulfill the wish fell from the sky, so naturally he readily agreed.

At 35 o'clock in the morning, we set off in a light travel car. There is a flat and wide road from Taipei to the pass of Lion's Head Mountain.Especially the section from Taipei Bridge to Taoyuan is completely covered with asphalt, lined with neat trees, and the car is moving at a speed of [-] kilometers per hour, which is really like an arrow leaving a bow.Along the way, the trees are dark green, which is the feeling of midsummer, but the second-ripe rice is golden, which is the scene of late autumn.

After passing Zhunan and Toufen, it is time to proceed to the mountain road of Shitou Mountain. This section of the mountain road is also paved with asphalt. It is no wonder that Mr. Zhu Dinghai, who is traveling with him, sighed: "Taiwan's transportation is really convenient. I will not go back in the future. Already!"

We arrived at the foot of Lion's Head Mountain at [-] o'clock, and tourists' cars were already lined up in front of it. This place is in the middle of Taipei and Taichung. We estimate that there will be no fewer guests from Taichung, Changhua or even Chiayi than Taipei.Mr. Cai, who has travel experience, said: "Basic food, housing, and transportation, let's solve the problem of housing first!" He was the first to go, and we followed, ignoring the scenery and abandoning the wandering guests along the way. , out of breath, just hurrying.But I feel that on the mountain road shaded by trees, it is cold and dark, stepping on the moss-covered stone steps, one must be careful every step of the way.

After walking like this for about half an hour, I saw Ziyangmen—the first building up the mountain.After entering Ziyangmen, not far away is Quanhuatang.When the monks in Quanhuatang told us that their guest rooms and the Kaishan Temple above them were all booked, we had no choice but to leave without even taking a closer look at the temple.When we arrived at Shiyan Cave, the highest point of Lion’s Head Mountain, a monk greeted us in front of the temple and said that [-] guests had booked all the guest rooms tonight, and only then did we feel the seriousness of the matter.At this time, the husband suddenly pointed to the couplet on the door behind the monk, "Why don't you stay here when you are here?" and said to him: "Since you are saying, 'Why don't you stay here', why do you have nowhere to live?" Mr. Zhu also said: "This couplet should be changed to 'first come, first live'. We come first, so let's stay first!" During the negotiation, it happened that the abbot of Lingxia Cave "Yunyou came here". Give us a place to stay, and we went straight to Lingxia Cave with him.

Going down from Shiyan Cave is a downhill road. It was past twelve o’clock at this time. Although I was hungry, I didn’t care. I passed Haihui Temple to Lingxia Cave. It is considered to have solved the problem of living.

After lunch, I packed my travel bag, and then I started to pay attention to the temple where I lived.It turns out that most of the temples on Lion's Head Mountain were built out of natural rocks, and the temples were built in stone caves. There is a couplet in Lingxia Cave that says: "When the gods go, there are traces of stones, and the caves are empty, leaving nothing but clouds." Temples can't be called magnificent, and Lingxia Cave is especially simple.People who have been to Putuo Lingyin or Beiping Temple can't help but feel this way.However, there is a characteristic of Taiwanese temples, that is, nuns and monks live in the same temple, and the legal abbot of Lingxia Cave leads a group of nuns to practice.We were greeted by a lovely young nun who could speak Hakka, Hokkien, Mandarin and Japanese. We felt that she would be extraordinary in this world, and we didn’t know why she wanted to be a poor monk.I guessed at first that she might have been sent by a family member.Unexpectedly, when she was laying the quilt at night, when we questioned her experience of becoming a monk, she replied with a smile that she voluntarily became a monk and came here five years ago.At this moment, I compared our secular life to this holy nun wearing a gray sackcloth, and I could only admire her for her determination.

After lunch, we officially set out to visit the mountains. We decided to visit the back mountains first, and then went down the mountain tomorrow to visit the front mountains.

Going down from Lingxia Cave and walking through several stone steps, you will arrive at King Kong Temple.The temple is also built on the rocks. On the rocks on the top of the temple is a dense bamboo forest. The scenery is very good. However, because tourists often go to the Haihui Temple on the top of the mountain and turn back due to fatigue, the Buddha in the back mountain looks lonely.

Going down from King Kong Temple to Wanfo Temple and turning a few turns, the eyes suddenly open up, which makes people feel clear.It turns out that we walked all the way up from the foot of the mountain, mostly on dark mountain trails. When we look around here, we can see the undulating hills and mountains on the left, and the peaks on the right are in the misty clouds. On the trail, you can see the red, green and green tourists walking in file, and hear their laughter.I stand here and stare in a daze. The people in my company laughed at me for being unable to move forward. How could I know that I was staring at a motionless white cloud in the distant mountains!
Wanfo Temple is probably the cleanest temple in the whole mountain. The windows are clear and spotless. What's more rare is that the two newly built guest rooms are all empty.The teacher's wife brought tea, and I set up a fellow villager with her, only to know that a nun here is a distant relative of my family.The teacher was so happy, she led me to the Buddha statue, and after she taught me to chant Amitabha, she opened the small door under the altar, and scooped out a cup of cool spring water for me to drink, saying that it was "holy water" and that it was safe to drink. Hug the eldest son.It turned out that Wanfo Temple was also built on the rocks of the mountain, and there was a very small spring flowing out from the crevice of the stone, just under the Buddha statue.

After resting at Wanfo Temple, I could have gone down to the last Shuilian Cave, but it was already dusk at this time, and according to a tourist who was panting and sweating all the way: "Walking around is good, but I can't come back." It’s gone!” We made sacrifices and refused to go, but Mr. Cai’s other statement was: “Leave one place and not go, so as to arouse the idea of ​​coming back!”

After returning to Lingxia Cave, I ate vegetarian food and took a hot bath. I wanted to enjoy the moon outside the temple. The self-grinding lamps were about to go out at eight o'clock, so we all got into bed at seven o'clock.

The next morning, I went down the mountain along the same road. After a night's rest, I felt much more relaxed under my feet.Along the way, carefully enjoy the mountain scenery, listen to the gurgling of spring water, see the distant mountains with daisy, look down at the rice fields and a small stream flowing out of the mountains, winding down the foot of the mountain to nowhere.Walking down from Shiyan Cave, there is a towering cliff, which is the famous majesty of Lion Head Mountain.On the stone wall are engraved "Namo Amitabha Buddha" and "The Heart is Buddha", and there is also a poem engraved: "The mountains are green and the sky is blue, and the fishing boats are sent on the Yanbo River. He Shiquan." Tourists wrote their names, and it was even more crowded.

All the way to Kaishan Temple, which is the largest temple in the whole mountain. The pillars and walls inlaid with tiles are clean, but they remind people of bathrooms.But the poinsettia outside the temple is in full bloom, which is really eye-catching.From Kaishan Temple to Quanhua Hall, what I heard was the sound of bells and wooden fishes echoing the sound of monks chanting sutras in the morning class.From Quanhua Hall to the foot of the mountain, there is a quiet path in the bamboo forest, and the place more than 100 stone steps away from the mountain pass is the "lion head stone" that gave the mountain its name.The stone has to be looked down from the stone steps to see its side like a protruding lion's head, and the vines hang down on the stone to form its hairy beard.

Lion's Head Mountain is not as high as I imagined, and the temple buildings are not amazing enough.But the mountain trails are tortuous and the natural scenery is beautiful, which has its own taste, which must be experienced by mountain tourists themselves.

(End of this chapter)