Indeed, there is a big monk buried under this pagoda. In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian, Li Xian of Zhongzong and Li Dan of Zong Rui all called him a teacher. This man is the master of Shen Xiu, the ancestor of the northern school of Zen.
Shen Xiu, a native of Henan Weishi, is a vulgar plum. When he was young, he was smart and studious, and he was familiar with classics and history, but he had no intention of entering the official career. He studied in Jiangbiao and read widely. In the eighth year of Tang Wude (AD 625), at the age of 50, he became a monk in the Tiangong Temple in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Later, he sought dharma in Dongshan Temple, Huangmei, qi zhou (now Wuzu Temple, Huangmei, Hubei) and studied under Master Hong Ren, the fifth ancestor of Zen Buddhism. He worked as a handyman there for six years, and he never gave up trying to figure out the essence of Zen day and night. He was very patient and valued. Hongren once sighed, "I spent a long time without a punch line. The method of Dongshan is all in the show! " . Hongren also regarded him as a "professor", asked him to take the first place, and planned to choose him as the successor of Zen mantle in the future. In the first year of Longshuo, Tang Gaozong (AD 66 1 year), Hong Ren made a prudent decision on inheriting Buddhism, and asked the monks in the temple to make a statement about their understanding of Zen for them to choose from. Shen Xiu advocated practicing "gradual enlightenment" to see the Buddha's heart. So he wrote: "I am a bodhi tree, and my heart is like a mirror platform." I always wipe hard to keep the dust off. " This poem was praised by many other disciples, and the title was left on the wall of Langfang, Dongshan Temple. But Huineng, who is in the rice room of the Zen temple, doesn't agree. He can't read, so he asked someone to write a poem about Shen Xiu's "gradual enlightenment": "Bodhi has no trees, the mirror is not a stage, and there is nothing. Where can it cause dust? " He believes that the heart is the root of all things, advocates "epiphany", that is, "regarding nature as Buddha", and absorbs the Confucian view that human nature is good, and thinks that as long as people discover their own nature, they can become Buddhas on their own. Hongren appreciates this relatively thorough emptiness, which is convenient for Huineng to teach the "King Kong Prajna Paramita Sutra" in the middle of the night and give him a robe, so that he can quickly leave here and return to his hometown in Lingnan. After living in the city for 16 years, he became a monk in Huozhuoji, Nanhai, and then came to Caoxi Baolin Temple in Shaozhou (now Shaoguan, Guangdong) to preach the "epiphany" method of "seeing nature and becoming a Buddha". Since then, Zen has been divided into two factions: Nanneng and Beixiu.
After Hong Ren's death, Shen Xiu came to dangyang yuquan temple, Jingzhou to preach Dharma in the second year of Yifeng (AD 677) and built his residence in Lengga Peak, 70 miles east of the temple. There are many believers, many believers gather, the sound is thousands of miles away, and the four seas are tilted, and the grand occasion is unprecedented. Wu Zetian heard about it, appreciated Shen Xiu's introduction and invited him to Beijing. At this time, he was over 90 years old and declined politely. Wu Zetian welcomed her many times and had to go to Luoyang, the eastern capital, during the Dazu period. Wu Zetian gave him a grand reception and gave him high courtesy. The privileged person crouched in the main hall, and Wu Zetian bowed down to the image, sprinkled nine times, and feasted in the hall. It can be said that the preacher does not face north, and the sage has no courtiers. Then Shen Xiu was chosen as the master of the two capitals, and all princes and scholars looked down on dust and bowed. Later, he was summoned to the Dojo in Chang 'an for many years. He respects the sun and grandchildren and is a teacher for three generations. In order to praise his achievements, Wu Zetian built Dumen Temple in his old mountain and Hongji in his hometown.
After Tang Zhongzong ascended the throne, he became more courteous. At this time, Shen Xiu was over 100 years old. He often missed Doumen and begged from the mountain again and again, but he didn't get it. In the second year of Shenlong (AD 706), he died in the Tiangong Temple in Luoyang. According to legend, 130 years old. Tang Zhongzong posthumous title "Datong Zen Master" was buried in Dangyang Gate of Jingzhou according to Shen Xiu's wishes. Under the advocacy and guidance of TaiChangQing, Shing Mun Lang guarded the funeral. Tang Zhongzong personally drove to Wuqiao, climbed up and stopped, looking back. The ministers were sent to Yishui, and along the way, they helped the road to mourn, and thousands of miles of flowers and clouds, until the door calmed down and rose from the tower. Yan Guogong, the prime minister of Zuo, said that he wrote a "Datong Zen Master Monument" for him, carved stones to commemorate his life story and placed it in Dumen Temple. Since then, this land has been discovered by people. Coupled with the beautiful natural scenery in this area, Dumen Temple soon became a place of interest. Many literati in Dangyang come here for sightseeing; Poets in the Tang Dynasty, such as Meng Haoran, Zhang Jiuling, Jia Dao, Song Wenzhi and Yuan Zhen, wrote poems. "There are three Zen places in Beizu, thousands of trees and pines in Xishan, and trees and bamboos near Menlinxi ... He will come again when he is born and will always meet again." This is a poem written by Yuan Zhen after visiting Dumen Temple.
Dumen Temple is located in Lengga Peak in Dangyang, Hubei Province. Shen embroidery, the northern Sect of Zen Buddhism, was founded in Yifeng (676 ~ 678). It is called Lan Ruo and Lan Ruo of the lonely peak of the Lengga Sutra with the phrase "the infinite door, the appearance of the universe follows the class" in the Lengga Sutra. In the second year of Shenlong (706), the name of the temple was "Datong Temple" and posthumous title was "Datong Zen Master". Tang Ruizong once invested 300,000 yuan as the expansion fund, which once became the fundamental Dojo of the Northern School system. After being abandoned, it was rebuilt and revived in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573 ~ 16 19). During the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty (1875 ~ 1908), monks were rebuilt and built in peace, divided into Dumen Temple and Datong Temple. Inside the temple, there is the Inscription of yuquan temple Datong Zen Master inscribed by Zhang in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the pagodas of monks such as,, and Wanfa Tiefeng.
Please see the link below for the photos of Dumen Temple: