The Study On Wutaishan Belief From The Third To The Ninth Century

Wutaishan(the Mount Wutai)is the first great mountain that renowned for fame of Bodhisattva’s Mandala of Buddhism in Chinese history.It is thus called Wutaishan Belief that the ideological system regarding this mountain as a sacred space.As it has a long history,rich connotation,widely spreading span and independent system,Wutaishan belief is unique in the history of religious development in China and even in the world with its distinctive Chinese characteristics.It has had a great impact on China’s ancient national politics,social customs,cultural communication,multi-ethnical integration,international exchanges and so on.In different historical periods,various social layers in Chinese society have different beliefs about Mount Wutai.It includes the connotation of belief in mountain of spirits,of immortals,of gods,of fame,and of Almighty Bodhisattva.From the third to the ninth century,Wutaishan Belief experienced a stage of development from scratch to prosperity,and finally formed a Buddhist-Mount belief system with Chinese characteristics with Manjushri belief in Mahayana Buddhism as the core and "cohabiting of Profane and Sacred" as the pattern.It has had a far-reaching international impact.From the view of elements of Believes,it shows all the features as below.In terms of ideological origin,Wutaishan Belief originated from combination of Chinese traditional concepts of mountain worship,five directions,miracle worship and Buddhism.As Sangha are the disseminators and practitioners of various beliefs and thoughts in the mountain,Mount Wutai has finally become a sacred space representing Buddhist beliefs with Chinese characteristics.In terms of the construction of the sacred space,in different times,Wutaishan Belief has different connotations and the continuous integration of real space and imagination space increases the mystery of the sacred space.The development of sacred space includes the transformation from natural space to sacred space,the transformation from man-made space to sacred space,the creation of imaginative sacred space and the replication of sacred space in different places.As far as the "hierophant" in the sacred space is concerned,the "master god" of Wutai Mountain has undergone dynamic changes in different periods.At first,the mount is dominated by miracles and spirits,and then the immortals,later the mountain gods and the dragon gods joined the ranks of the divines,until Manjusri Bodhisattva finally took the domaining position.Manjusri overwhelmingly achieved many religious functions,such as the characteristics of immortals,mountain gods,dragon kilns,and often appeared in space for expanding the connotation of the sacred space.From the perspective of the believers,the development of the Wutaishan Belief benefits from the promotion of different belief groups.The monarchs can be called conductor of the belief through their ways of pursuing of longevity,hinting of political metaphors,praising eminent monks and praying for the state.The monks who came faraway propagating their religious experience,and the visits of foreign monks have become the legends of in the eyes of "others".With the cooperation of the officials from the imperial courts,the local officials took their religion actions out of the need of local governance,and even the religious practice of ordinary officials in pursuit of well-being are all the driving forces to stimulate the prosperity of the Mountain.In views of the way of religious practices,the activities of practitioners manifested as pilgriming,giving offerings in geographically fixed sacred space.Although the practices are not unique to Mount Wutai,as the practical elements of the Mount,they reflect a certain particularity in the sacred space.Pilgriming is a practical way to create miracles and gain special religious experience in the sacred land under the self-confident background of Chinese Buddhist culture,and giving-offerings provides an economic basis and social drive for the development of the sacred space.To sum up,Wutaishan Belief is a dynamic system formed through Chinese tradition that constantly tolerates multiple beliefs,absorbs foreign cultures,shows the confidence of Buddhist culture with Chinese characteristics,and is the most successful case of the prosperity of Buddhist Mountain beliefs in China.