Morning Bell and Evening Drum

欢迎继续观看我们的节目！上一期我们了解了山门和天王殿, 本期请继续跟随我们的镜头，一同探寻千年禅宗祖庭的故事。

Welcome back to our video!Previously we got to know the Gate and the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings, today we’ll continue our exploration of this ancient temple.

在光孝寺天王殿的左侧，存有一处与中国禅宗历史息息相关的文物遗址——洗钵泉。洗钵泉据传为达摩祖师所凿。

On the left side of the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings lies a heritage closely related to the history of Chinese Chan Buddhism, the Bowl-washing Spring.The spring is a well dug by Bodhidharma.

菩提达摩是南天竺香至国国王第三子，也是中国禅宗初祖。据传，梁武帝普通元年（520），达摩祖师泛海来到广州，曾在光孝寺驻锡弘法。为了取清泉、洗钵盂，他便挖掘了这眼水井。

后来僧人们为纪念达摩祖师立了一块“达摩自天竺止于诃林”碑刻。在碑刻中，我们可以看到达摩祖师衣袖飘飘、一苇渡江的“超酷模样”。正因这段被证实的历史，光孝寺也被认作是中国禅宗的起点。

Later, monks at the temple erected a stele in commemoration of his presence, on which it is inscribed that “Master Bodhidharma came from India and stopped at Kelin”. In the stele, Bodhidharma was depicted as an incredibly cool figure. As we can see, he is crossing the river on a reed with sleeves fluttering in the wind.And thanks to this association, Guangxiao Temple is naturally considered to be the cradle of Chan Buddhism in China.

【地藏殿与钟楼】

The Kṣitigarbha Hall and the Bell Tower

人们常用“暮鼓晨钟”一词形容寺院的生活。只看字面似乎是晨撞钟暮击鼓，其实不然，不论早晚都有击鼓撞钟，区别是早晨先撞钟后击鼓，晚上先击鼓后撞钟，顺序不同。

Talking about Chan Buddhism, the phrase "morning bell and evening drum" is often used to describe the life in a monastery.Literally, it says “ringing the bell in the morning and beating the drum in the evening”, which is actually not so precise.In fact, the bell and the drum are played both in the morning and the evening.There is a difference, however, in the sequence of playing, the bell before the drum in the morning and reversed in the evening.

洪亮钟声可警醒群生，令三恶道众生闻声去苦得清凉；击鼓，意在令众生闻鼓声，起生善破恶之心。

The sound of the bell makes the sentient beings mindful and alleviates pain in unwholesome realms.And the beats of the drum bring forth a mind of generating the wholesome and breaking the unwholesome.

钟楼和鼓楼相对，钟鼓分别置于两楼的二层。遇到隆重法会时，则钟鼓齐鸣，颇具庄严气象。

光孝寺原有的那座钟楼始建于明天顺三年（1459），后废。我们眼前的这个钟楼是1990年经过考古发掘，在原钟楼的位置上复建的。

Here, the Bell Tower in front of us was rebuilt in 1990 at its original location, where the previously deserted one was built in 1459 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty.

这个钟楼的一楼是地藏殿，供奉的是地藏菩萨。我们都知道，地藏菩萨的得名，是因其“安忍不动，犹如大地；静虑深密，犹如秘藏”。他被认为是一位愿力深厚的菩萨的原因，是他曾发下一个誓愿“地狱未空，誓不成佛。众生度尽，方证菩提。”

The first floor of the tower is the Kṣitigarbha Hall, where Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva is enshrined. This Bodhisattva is also known by his Chinese name Dizang, meaning Earth Treasure, because he is "as static as the Earth and as silent and profound as treasure." He is famous for his great vow of not willing to achieve Buddhahood until all the sentient beings are liberated and the whole Hell is emptied.

正对钟楼的是鼓楼。光孝寺原有的鼓楼，其始建年代是宋朝，为当时光孝寺的住持空山和尚所建，后废。这个鼓楼也是在1990年经考古发掘在原位置上复建的。

Opposite to the Bell Tower is the Drum Tower.This new tower was built in 1990 at the place where the old one was excavated. The old tower was built by the abbot Kongshan in the Song Dynasty and later was deserted.

鼓楼一楼是伽（qié）蓝殿，供奉的是佛教的护法伽蓝菩萨。伽蓝菩萨，广义而言，泛指所有拥护佛法的诸天善神。「伽蓝」是寺院道场的通称。佛说有十八神保护伽蓝，统称「十八伽蓝神」， 多以伽蓝菩萨（关公）形象为代表。

On the first floor of the tower is the Saṃghārāma Hall, which enshrines a Saṃghārāma protector. Saṃghārāma protectors include all those gods and deities that support the Dharma.The term Saṃghārāma is a metonymy often referring to a Buddhist temple. According to the Buddha, there are eighteen Saṃghārāma protectors represented by Guangong, a deified military general in the Chinese folklore belief.

而光孝寺伽蓝殿现供奉的是真武大帝塑像。在宋代，寺院曾改为道观，这尊像就是当时遗留下来的出土文物。虽然在地下淹埋多年，但却作为十八伽蓝之一，默默地守护着这座千年道场。

Instead of the representative Guanggong, the Taoist Great God of Zhenwu is enshrined in the Saṃghārāma Hall of Guangxiao Temple. The statue of this Great God was unearthed as a relic of the Song Dynasty during which this temple was once converted to be Taoist. Beneath the earth for hundreds of years though, he kept his duty to protect the temple in silence as one of the eighteen.

祖师西来，送来佛心妙法；护法伽蓝，泽被岭南众生。希望广大佛子得闻钟声，远离苦恼，早证菩提。希望诸位菩萨护法能够加持全世界众生，使之勇于面对全球肆虐的疫情和经济的困境。

The master from India brought the mind of the Buddha and the profound Dharma; And Saṃghārāma protectors bless the sentient beings in Lingnan Region.With the blessing from them, we wish all Buddhist followers complete elimination of sufferings and quick attainment of Enlightenment.With their blessing, we sincerely hope people around the world are able to overcome this global crisis of severe pandemic and economic regression.