Research On Yong'an Temple In Dunhuang During The Tang And Song Dynasties

Yongan Monastery is a monk monastery in Dunhuang during the Tang and Song dynasties,which is referred to as "Yong" in the Dunhuang manuscripts.During the period from the Tibetan Empire to the Guiyijun,there were various banquet activities in Dunhuang monasteries,and the Sheyuan was the place of banquet in Yongan Monastery.Yongan Monastery’s property management system is mature.The monastery property was divided into different institutions such as Cangsi and Zhaotisi.The manager was Zhicang and Dushi,whose tenure was limited.The methods of accounting and supervising monastery property were count and spot check.The house dispute of Yongan Monastery monks recorded in S.9227 "the Indictment of Shaojin" reflect that monks live an individual life and houses are located in the east and west yards which belong to monks personally.The indictment includes the name and identity of the accuser,the reasons and claims for lawsuit,and the time of the lawsuit.It is a typical indictment of the late Tang dynasty and the Five Dynasties.At the same time,the format of this indictment reveals the nature of " the Jinshan state of western Han dynasty" and the fact of Zhang Chengfeng emperor.P.3223 "the Dispute Report between Yuanqing and Shaojian" shows that the trial procedure of food dispute includs filing a lawsuit,the government accepts the case,the officials investigate and collect evidence,and the judge decides the case.The main means of solving the case was to obtain the parties’ confessions through interrogation.At the same time,both the prosecution and the defense had to sign the case file after the statement,which was a vital part of the evidence system in the Tang Dynasty.As a famous monastery in Dunhuang,Yongan Monastery actively performed its obligations to the sangha.It was active in the activities organized by the Dusi,such as wrote,red and modified buddhist scriptures and various dharma activities.These religious practices greatly promoted the spread of Buddhism and made contributions to the development of Dunhuang Buddhism.In addition,social activities and monastery education connected Yongan Monastery with believers.Yongan Monastery provided places for the believers’ groups to hold various activities,and the monks actively participated in the activities held by the groups.The monastery education not only recruited monks and secular,but also teached Confucianism and Buddhism,which made it an important way to influence Dunhuang customs and educate people.