How did Xu Xiake feel when he visited Wutai Mountain? Explain the secret of the legendary cool resort.

On the land of China, there are ancient miracles such as the manifestation of gods, buddhas, auspicious signs and supernatural phenomena everywhere in the landscape fairyland. In the northern hinterland of China, there is a magnificent mountain view. It has a rare appearance: five main peaks, standing in the clouds; The top of the mountain was flattened, like a pedestal. It is also the Dojo of Manjushri, one of the four great Buddhist masters, which has a deep origin with Buddhist culture. It is not only a victory on earth, but also a holy place for Buddhism.

It is the world-famous Wutai Mountain. This mountain is located in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, at the northwest edge of Taihang Mountain System and the transitional zone between Loess Plateau and North China Plain. From ancient times to the present, from the emperor to the people, countless monks and great virtues climbed this mountain to express their reverence and belief in Buddhism. At the same time, there are many temples and temples in the mountains. After thousands of years of development, it has become a Buddhist holy land where Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism complement each other.

Wutai Mountain has several characteristics, such as the highest altitude of more than 3 kilometers, known as the "roof of North China"; The five peaks, like the giant fingers in the sky, surround the Taihuai basin, forming an open horseshoe-shaped space, which is very similar to the Lingjiu Mountain in India. The meadow on the top of the mountain is lush, cattle and sheep roam, the valleys in the mountains are vertical and horizontal, and the sea of clouds is churning, which is called the pure land of Taoyuan by nature. The most mysterious place lies in its climate. Even in midsummer and July, the temperature of Wutai Mountain is similar to that of Daxinganling in Northeast China. Therefore, Wutai Mountain has been a popular summer resort since ancient times.

In fact, Wutai Mountain also has a special name-Liang Qing. In ancient times, all kinds of mountain records about Wutai Mountain were mostly named "Liang Qingshan", which showed a refreshing and pleasant feeling and has long been the symbol and symbol of Wutai Mountain. Today, there is still an archway engraved with "Cool Resort" on Wanghai Mountain in Dongtai. It is like a gate, leading people into the cool world of the Great Bodhisattva.

Why is Wutai Mountain famous for its coolness because of its high terrain and low temperature? Cheng Guan, a master of the Tang Dynasty, said in Hua Yan Jing Shu: "The water is shaded, but it still snows in summer, and there is no hot summer." A few strokes depict a indifferent artistic conception.

Xu Xiake, a geographer in the late Ming Dynasty, visited Wutai Mountain in the early autumn of August in the solar calendar and recorded what he saw and heard in the form of a diary. On the sixth day of Lunar New Year's Eve, Xu Xiake climbed the "Jinxiu Peak" in Nantai, and he met the cold weather that resembled the Great Wall. He wrote: "When the wind is angry, every drop of water freezes. The wind stops the sunrise, like a fire bead pouring into the green leaves. "

On the seventh day, Xu Xiake visited "Ye Dou Feng" in the North Platform and saw the wonders wrapped in silver on the cliff wall. "Four miles down from Taipei, hundreds of feet of ice hang on the cliff, which is called" eternal ice ". There is little early cold, snow and all kinds of things between Taiwan Province. It snowed on July 27, just as I left the capital. " He even recorded an anecdote about "Snow in July".

Today, Wutai Mountain is still "high cold". The average temperature in a year is only MINUS 4 C, and the hottest July and August in the western calendar are only close to10 C, not to mention the temperature in winter. It is said that tourists should turn on the heating when visiting Wutai Mountain in summer and stay at the top of the mountain at night. Geologists should also wear cotton-padded clothes to keep out the cold when visiting deep mountains. Such Wutai Mountain is not only cool, but also almost cold.

But the word "cool" has a special meaning in Buddhism. According to Buddhist scriptures, the troubles in the world are like hot poison, which consists of various desires and distractions. Practicing Buddhism can relieve worries and make people feel that they are in a cool world. Buddhism extends people's physical calmness to their psychological detached desires. This metaphor is really subtle and vivid. Therefore, indifference is opposite to worry, which reflects the happy, clean and detached mind and cultivation of practitioners. Liang Qing's name stands for Wutai Mountain.

As the holy land of Zen Buddhism, Wutai Mountain has many places of interest, and its cool mystery begins with a stone. There is a cool valley about 20km to the west from the foot of Nantai Mountain. At the end of the valley, there is a picturesque ancient temple, Liang Qing Temple. There is a natural boulder named "Cool Stone" behind the main hall of Mountain Temple, which is the treasure of Wutaishan Town. It has a flat top and a sunken bottom. It is about 5 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. Its overall shape is like a giant ganoderma lucidum.

There is a magical story about Manjushri. A long time ago, Wutai Mountain had a bad climate. It was hot in summer and cold in winter, and the yellow sand rolled all year round. Birds and animals could not survive here, and people nearby were even more miserable. Manjusri Bodhisattva was merciful and vowed to save lives, and went to the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea, hoping to revive Wutai Mountain with a gem.

So Manjusri Bodhisattva became an old monk, came to the Dragon Palace and borrowed a stone from the Dragon King to improve the climate of Wutai Mountain and benefit the world. The dragon king's face is reluctant. It turns out that this stone is called "Xielong Stone". Whenever the five sons of the Dragon King come back from clouds and rain, they are all sweating and very hot. Once they lie on the stone, they can quickly regain their spirits, so this is the most cherished wealth of the dragon king and the dragon son. The Dragon King couldn't refuse directly, but thinking that this stone weighed more than 10,000 Jin, the old monk might not be able to move it, he said, "This stubborn stone is not a treasure, but it is very heavy. Take it away if you have the ability. "

Who knows, Manjusri Bodhisattva is miraculous, chanting incantations, turning huge stones into small projectiles and slowly flying into the sleeve of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva drifted away, leaving only the stunned Dragon King, who complained bitterly in his heart. When Wulongzi returned to the palace, he learned that Jielongshi had been taken away by Manjusri Bodhisattva. He was furious and flew to Wutai Mountain, ready to take back the gem. Wu is young and full of energy. When he saw the Bodhisattva, he was arrogant and rude. The Bodhisattva used a little magic to seal up the peaks of Zhongtai and Beitai and put them inside. The dragon can't move, but struggles to wag its tail.

I saw the dragon's tail sweeping the mountain and the boulder rolling down, which became the legendary "dragon turning over the stone" today; Sweep the summit and immediately cut it into the shape of Ma Pingchuan platform. Finally, the five dragons were tamed by Manjusri Bodhisattva. The "Xielong Stone" was placed on Wutai Mountain forever, and the aura filled the mountains. Since then, Wutai Mountain has been cool and rainy. The green grass on the top of the mountain is rich and beautiful, becoming a natural pasture; The trees in the mountains are lush, full of flowers and plants, full of vitality. Wutai Mountain was officially named "Qingliang Mountain" and Xielongshi was renamed "Qingliang Mountain".

Manjusri Bodhisattva's kindness sets a cold stone, and its merits are boundless. Today's geologists have climbed Wutai Mountain in succession, trying to find out in a "scientific" way. After exploration, it is found that today's "cool stone" is mainly composed of quartzite and gneiss. After being exposed to the hot sun, it still feels cold and seems to have some cool properties. However, beyond that, there is nothing special about Qingliangshi. Can it really determine the climate of a mountain area?

With the deepening of the investigation, more strange things in Wutai Mountain gradually appeared in front of the world. The first is the mystery of Wutai Mountain's life experience. In mountainous areas, scattered in quiet valleys or embedded in steep cliffs, many rocks with strange patterns are exposed. Texture is like layers of pages, like heavy water waves, like relief, which vaguely reveals the information of ancient times. Through the exploration of scholars, this is a kind of biological fossil called stromatolite, and its pattern is the life trace of the oldest and most primitive algae in prehistoric times. These tiny creatures lived in the ocean about 3 billion years ago.

The life of Wutaishan rock mass is about 2.5 billion years. After various powerful and complicated geological processes, Wutai Mountain rises from the seabed, which is one of the earliest land cores on the earth and one of the highest mountains in the world composed of ancient strata. So in a long time, what natural wonders have Wutai Mountain nurtured? Are they related to the cool climate?

The most striking thing is the miracle of landform. Wutai Mountain embodies a typical periglacial landform in many places. The earliest description of the ancient periglacial phenomenon comes from Xu Xiake's Travels: "First, climb the south of Taiwan Province, climb the dragon and turn over the stones, and there are tens of thousands of rocks on the ground, starting from the peak." Geologists believe that dragon fossils, namely "stone sea", are mostly developed in the planation plane of the top of the mountain or the gentle part of the mountain. On the cliff of Wutai Mountain, where green waves roll, there are also vertically arranged gravels that flow down like waterfalls. This is another "stone river" phenomenon, which mostly develops in depressions or valleys in permafrost regions, showing a slow creeping state.

In addition to the spectacular gravel spectacle, there are more abrupt big bumps on the steep and straight hillside, just like convex drums. They are "frost heaving mounds", also known as ice mounds, belonging to frozen soil landforms. Pits surrounded by gravel can be seen everywhere on the meadow at the top of the platform, which is also one of the phenomena in the periglacial landform-"thawing lake"

These phenomena are mostly caused by frost heaving, hot melting, gravity, wind and other multiple effects, and most of them appear in high latitude and high altitude areas with an altitude of 4 to 5 kilometers. However, Wutai Mountain is located near 38 north latitude, and the highest elevation of the platform is only more than 3000 meters, but it has unique geological characteristics in the alpine region.

At the same time, Wutai Mountain is located in the fault-block mountain area, and the interior of the mountain is covered by a large number of cracks, in which rainwater and groundwater are stored and distributed, forming a mountain spring spewing out, and finally forming a dense water network in the mountainous area. The cool and sweet spring water flows quietly, which brings people a cold experience wherever they go. Coupled with the combination of warm and humid air flow from the ocean and mountain water vapor, abundant rainfall and auspicious natural landscapes, such as clouds and rosy clouds, have been formed. The so-called outstanding people, Wutai Mountain is really the best place to practice Buddhism.

However, these phenomena do add a lot of coolness to Wutai Mountain, but they cannot be the decisive factor of cool resorts. For hundreds of millions of years, nature seems to have created the cold climate of Wutai Mountain with an invisible mysterious force. As a famous Buddhist mountain, Wutai Mountain contains many mysteries that are difficult to explain scientifically, and its indifferent truth has surpassed our material space. Perhaps, the extraordinary power of mountains and rivers and the compassion and magic of Manjusri Bodhisattva are silently guarding this legendary mountain.