各位游客朋友们：
大家好!首先让我代表海航乐游旅行社欢迎大家来到美丽的江城—武汉观光游览。我是您此行的导游，我姓许，大家可以叫我小许或者许导就好了，在我右手边的了是我们的司机刘师傅，刘师傅啊有多年的驾驶经验，车技相当娴熟，大家可以放心乘坐。在接下来的时间里呢，将由我为大家提供导游讲解服务。如果大家有什么问题和要求，可以尽管提出，我会尽力为大家解决。同时，在这里预祝大家有个愉快、难忘的武汉之旅。
在这春意盎然的时节，能够陪同您游览以独特的规模和五百罗汉堂，而极富盛名的归元禅寺，一同领略佛教寺院的魅力，用佛教的话来说，那可真是“随喜”了。
说着说着，我们今天游览的目的地就在眼前了，请随我一同下车游览吧!
归元禅寺坐落于武汉市汉阳区翠微路西侧，是清顺治十五年也就是1658年，，由浙江的两位僧人白光、主峰来此创建的。取名“归元”出自《楞严经》“归元无二路,方便有多门”，是超出生灭还归于真寂本源的意思。现今的归元禅寺占地近5公顷，建筑面积达2万平方米。现存殿堂楼阁28栋，殿舍200余间，庄严雄伟、井然有序。在武汉呢，归元寺与宝通寺、溪莲寺、正觉寺合称为武汉的“四大丛林”。
大家可以看到，首先映入我们眼帘的是这座杏黄色的大门，佛教寺院的大门也叫作“三门”。 即佛经里的三解脱门，中间的是空门，左右分别是无相和无作门。这个寺院的三门八朝阳开，象征着广结良缘、普度众生，寓意吉祥。抬头呢，可以看到，三门上方正中镶着一块长方形的直匾，直书“归元禅寺”四个大。说到这儿，可能有的朋友会问了：“这寺名怎么不是横着写的呢?”确实，全国佛教古刹不少，可寺名直书的却不多见，因为直书寺名只有皇帝御赐匾额的寺庙才可以使用，可见归元禅寺这座民间寺庙在佛教丛林中的地位了之高。
走进寺内，不知道大家是否觉得这个寺庙的布局有点儿与众不同呢?
寺院作为佛、法、僧三宝的常住地，是讲究一定格局的。一般说来，我国明清寺院建筑的传统格局是：在中轴线上最前面的是三门，进三门左右为钟楼和鼓楼，迎面为天王殿，进而是大雄宝殿，其后是藏经楼，其他殿堂则分布于中轴两侧。然而，归元禅寺却不是这样中轴对称的格局，这是由它独特的建造历史而决定的。在清顺治十七年禅院就落成了，第二年修建大雄宝殿，又在康熙三年祖堂、韦驮殿和方丈室完工，五年后藏经阁等建筑也一一落成，道光三十年又继续增修了罗汉堂。从而形成了目前的东、西、南、北、中五个院落的独特布局，俨然形成了“袈裟”状。
了解完归元寺的独特布局后，就让我们继续向里面参观吧。
现在，大家所看见的这座雄伟的建筑就是大雄宝殿。大殿正中供奉着佛教最高神—释迦牟尼，您看他“偏袒右肩，结跏而坐”，显得是那么的庄严而又肃穆。两侧是他的弟子阿南和迦叶，整个塑像都是托沙雕塑而成。佛像背后是一组海岛观音像，只见海岛观音赤足站在鳌头上，左右侍立着龙女和童子，整个塑像向前倾覆。仰视上去，观音的衣袖好像在飘动一样，正在汹涌的波涛上迎面向我们浮来。这样的设计更增加了宗教艺术的感染力。
大雄宝殿的前面呢，就是韦驮殿。您看他，身穿铠甲，手持宝杵，多么威武挺立啊。传说，韦陀是“四天王三十二将”之首的护法神。用我们现在的话来说呢，他就是保安队队长。这尊韦驮像是用整块樟木雕刻而成，线条刀法都极具唐雕风格，是归元寺的艺术珍品，也是我国雕刻艺术品中的一件宝贵遗产。
请大家小心脚下，继续随我往前走，接下来我们就要前往罗汉堂了。
大家知道，现在全国寺庙中保存比较完好的罗汉堂已经为数不多了：东有苏州西园寺，南有昆明筇竹寺，西有成都宝元寺，北有北京碧云寺，中有武汉归元寺。但其中最负盛名、最具特色的就要数我们武汉的归元寺了。
归元禅寺的罗汉堂平面布局呈“田”形建筑格局，给庞大深邃的殿堂提供了良好的通风和采光条件。另外，“田”在汉里恰好又是佛教中正反两个“”的相叠加，这种布局暗示着一种善神降世的吉祥和神秘感。
我国有句俗话说“泥菩萨过江—自身难保”，而我们归元寺的罗汉就不能这样说了，因为啊，这里的罗汉既不是木雕也不是泥塑，而是采用的一种盛行于唐代的独特工艺—“脱胎漆塑”，它的制作过程十分复杂。首先要用黏土做成等身的人形胎膜;等到干了以后，用生漆将丝绸或夏布黏附在它的上面;再用生漆将膏灰、木粉混合调匀，涂刮塑造细部;阴干后再打磨抛光;然后在塑漆像后取一小孔，向里面注水将泥化成浆，从而脱出胎膜并冲洗干净;晾干后用木块封口;再刷上生漆，敷上用漆调匀的金粉或贴上金箔;然后上彩涂色;最后涂上桐油或亮漆以保持光泽。这样，一尊佛像才算完工了。
“脱胎漆塑”的制作方法，虽然造价很高，但所采用的工艺不仅省料，而且体质轻盈、坚固、不透水，很适合武汉地势低洼、冬燥夏湿的气候特点。两百年来罗汉堂几次遭受洪水侵袭，但洪水退后罗汉任旧完好无损。如此看来别说是让罗汉过江了，就是让他们飘扬过海也不成问题。
我们仔细看来，会发现，罗汉们的形象极其生动。动作上，有的在研读诗书、有的在驱邪除恶;表情上，有的天真憨厚、有的饱经沧桑、有的英勇神武，个个惟妙惟肖，而且五百尊中竟然没有一个雷同，这实在令人称奇。
这罗汉堂除了可供参观外，还可以用它预测一年内的祸福。每逢节假日，人们就会来到这里数罗汉。所谓的数罗汉就是，根据首先踏入殿堂的那只脚确定方向，然后随意选定一尊罗汉为起点，依照自己的年龄，顺序往下默数，数到现有的岁数为止，这最后一尊罗汉的身份、表情和动作就可以昭示数者的命运。因此，“数罗汉”也成为了大家参观罗汉堂的趣是一件。
好了，各位游客朋友们，今天的归元寺之旅就到此结束了。希望归元寺的佛教魅力能给您留下深刻的印象。非常感谢您对我工作的支持与配合，不足之处还请您批评指出。美丽的江城期待着与您再次相逢，最后祝大家旅途愉快，谢谢，再见!
“上有宝光，下有西园，北有碧云，中有归元。”归元禅寺位于武汉汉阳翠微峰下的翠微路西侧，与古琴台相邻。言“归元无二路，方便有多门。”归元寺寺名即来源于此。归元寺原址为明代的私人花园，到一六五八年，由园主布施给化缘和尚在此修造了三座小塔，塔中掩埋无主的尸骨。后来蜕薪邓财物修建寺庙，又经历代陆续重建，遂成为今日的格局。现归元寺建筑面积二万多平方米?
主体建筑分内外两院。外院主要由门楼、庭院、池塘组成;内院由北院藏经阁、中院大雄宝殿及南院罗汉堂三个主体建筑，以及天王殿、地藏王殿等组成。归元寺给人的一个突出印象是它的建筑风格与其他寺院不大一致。它不具有整齐对称的宏大格局，却略显杂乱。原来，初建寺院时，化缘的和尚无法在短期内凑聚足够的钱财做整体安排。有钱时就赶快买地抢修，否则等到钱筹集足够时，周围构想中的地方则已被别人抢先买了。和尚们不得已，只能够有一笔钱就修一处。山门朝东，建筑物却由南向北逐次侧进。与一般大丛林相比，归元寺“百尺茂林，千杆修竹，红分日刹，绿绕云房”，多彩多姿，秀丽宜人。
经过荷叶滴绿、莲花盛开的莲池，就是大雄宝殿，殿内释迦像两旁是海岛观音，以及二十四诸天等像，放置在一个倾斜的面上，工艺水平极高。尤为值得注意的是，释迦像前供桌的垂帘，它不是一般的纺织物，而是木刻而成的木质垂帘。垂帘古朴典雅造型独特，有较高的欣赏价值，是一件不可多得的艺术珍品。
向北而行可到藏经阁，其建筑壮丽，装饰典雅，是归元寺收藏文物的宝库。阁内藏有清一套和贝叶真经、牙雕或铜铸佛像，俱为珍品，此外尚有国外赠送的佛事文物若干。正厅陈列了一座缅甸玉雕释迦佛像，十分精美。
藏经阁向西，绕过大士阁，南行至南院的罗汉堂，进入内室，可以看见呈”田”形排列的五百罗汉。它们起伏坐卧，喜怒哀乐，各具姿色，各富特色，或盘腿端坐、或抱石问天、或研读佛经、或驱除邪魔，动作各不相同，有的勇武、有的温和、有的天真憨坦、有的饱经沧桑，表情个个有异，有的在怡然自得地掏耳朵，有的在百无聊赖地打着呵欠，使人忍俊不禁。罗汉制作的工艺水平很高，为十九世纪末清光绪年间黄陂县王氏父子费时九年制成。工艺上采用了漆布脱胎漆型的特殊方法:先用泥胎塑制模型，再用厚布、生漆逐层粘贴套塑，并使每座罗汉的头部、两肩、肋骨、腿骨等各自形成一个倾向，从而用艺术的线条形象勾勒出一个大的面，使动作、表情各异。这种工艺方法既利于固形，经久不变，又能够防腐，经久不坏，此法为中国独有。一九五四年武汉发大水，五百罗汉满堂飘浮，水退之后却完好无损，因此武汉民间又有了“五百罗汉洗过澡”的说法。
归元寺也是近代佛学复兴的发源地之一。一九二二年间春，太虚法师在归元寺讲经弘法，时听者甚众，激发太虚弘法志愿，与两湖听讲的名流商议，为更好地弘法利生，必须设立佛学院，广泛培养佛学人才，此是武昌佛学院得以兴办的缘起之一。
Guiyuan Temple
Chinese Buddhist temples are never single buildings. They always consist of a group buildings following a fundamental patter, which can, however, be modified. The main buildings and their symmetrically corresponding secondary buildings form individual groups and courtyards. The entire temple complex is spacious. The building inside the complex are usually single-storied and the main halls are sometimes decorated with a double roof. The towers, pavilions and halls can be multi-storied structures.
The Chinese temple complex has been subject to great structural changes throughout the centuries. But temple architects follow the basic principles of secular structures from the Tang Dynasty onwards. The complexes stand on a central axis, usually a north-south axis: east-west only as an exception. (Guiyuan Temple is just the very exception.) The main buildings are strung along this central axis, their broadest sides facing south or east.
The most important and most frequently presented building inside a Buddhist temple complex are the main entrance gate, the bell and drum towers, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Buddha and a pagoda.
Buddhism is said to be founded in India in the 6th century BC by Siddatha Gautama (BC565 –BC486), the son of a nobleman and member of the Kshatriya caste near the present borders of India and Nepal. Buddhism advocates that all the people are created equal and turns against the caste system of Brahmanism, so it was popular with the common people.
It was said that Buddhism was spread to China in 2 BC. At the beginning, it was only regarded as a kind of witch. About 200 AD, Chinese version of Buddhist s criptures began to appear, and thus, Buddhist doctrines began to emerge with traditional Chinese religious thought. From 2nd century to late 6th century, translation and research of Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics were becoming more and more popular and many temples were built, which reached its peak in Sui Dynasty (581AD-617AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-907). Some Buddhist sects with Chinese characteristics came into being. Buddhism exerts a great influence on Chinese philosophy, literature, art and folk customs.
What is presented before our eyes is a copper statue of a famous bodhisattva in Hynayana Buddhism. Bodhisattva is a tittle which is only next to Buddha. This statue is the image of Avalokitesvara, which has been popular with Chinese people or more than 1,000 years. She is called the Goddess of Mercy cordially by Chinese and is regarded as the symbol of kindness, mercy and benevolence. When we visit the Avalokitesvara Pavilion after a while, I will give a detailed introduction about her. This copper statue was sent to Guiyuan Temple by Chinese Taiwan Buddhists in September 1990. It shows that all Chinese, whether in the mainland or in Chinese Taiwan, are eager for the reunion of the country, even including religion believers.
The building we see now is the Buddha Hall where one certain Buddha and his two assistant bodhisattvases are worshiped. This Buddha is Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha means incomparable brightness. According to Buddhism, time and space is limitless and thus there are many many Buddhas in different spaces and times. But in a certain space or in a certain period of time, there is only one certain Buddha who is in charge of instructing all living creatures. Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha who presides over the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the west, which will come in the future. Buddhist s criptures describe the Land of Ultimate Bliss as a wonderland, in which no pain exists and the people enjoy their lives. In one word, it’s very attractive. Some people will think it must be very difficult to enter such a world. How can I go to such a paradise? Maybe I have to work hard and bear a lot of sufferings. In fact, it’s very easy to enter the world. He only need often murmur ‘May Buddha preserve us’ sincerely. It’s enough.
You see, the statue in the middle is the very Buddha. On his left is the Goddess of Mercy. On his right is the other bodhisattva who follows the Buddha. It is said that he can save all the living creatures from three kinds of terrible disasters.
Now, let’s step into the Buddhist s criptures Pavilion where the s criptures of Buddhism are kept. But I ‘m afraid what attracts our attention at the first sight must be this snow-white statue. It is a statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. This statue was carved out of a big piece of jade which is 2-meter-tall and weighs 3 tons. It was carved by Myanmar handicraftsmen and donated to the temple by the Rangoon Buddhists in 1935.
If we watch the statue, we may sense that the peaceful expression on the Buddha’s face has brought us to a quiet and harmonious state.
The last building we will visit is the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in the north yard. When we entered the yard just now we saw a statue of her. Now I’d like to introduce her carefully.
As a goddess, she swore that she would not become a Buddha until all the living creatures suffering from pains were saved. So she became a bodhisattva who is most popular among the people and attracts the most believers of all the gods and goddesses in Buddhism. It was said that one would be saved from trouble and disaster as long as he (she) chanted her name and if it was heard by her. Thus she is called Guanshiyin, which means ‘hearing or looking on the voices of the suffering’. Because of her kind heart and benevolence she got another title ‘the Goddess of Mercy’.
According to Buddhism, bodhisattvases have no distinction of sex, that is, they are neither male nor female, because they are immortals. But it’s very strange and interesting that most of bodhisattvases were engraved or carved in the images of various kinds of men in human society. Changes didn’t take place until an emperor’s mother thought it was inconvenient to worship a male bodhisattva in her bedroom. From then on, Guanshiyin, the bodhisattvas began to appear before her believers in the image of a beautiful and elegant lady.
We’ll pay a visit to a very serious, sacred place. Generally, the place is regarded as the most holy by Buddhists. It is the Grand Hall, where the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni is worshiped. It is always the center of a Buddhist temple in construction and in Buddhists’ mind.
The statue in the middle is Sakyamuni. According to Buddhism his mother gave birth to him in a garden. He belonged to Kshatreya Caste. He married his cousin when he was 16 or 17 years old. At the age of 29, he was confronted with the sights of an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. With eyes opened to aspects of life newly revealed to him, he broke from the material world and became an ascetic. Six years later, he gave up mystic concentration that at last brought him enlightenment under a bo tree. He then founded an order of mendicants and spent his next 45 years preaching his ideas until his death.
These two statue beside the Buddha are his two disciples. The one on the right was said to be Sakyamuni’s cousin and he had good memory so that he could remember all the Buddha told his disciples. The one on the left was said to be the lord of Brahmnism and he once was Sakyamuni’s tutor. But afterwards he was convinced by Buddhism after long-term debate between Buddhism and other religions and he accepted Sakyamuni as his tutor. Thus he became the eldest one of all Sakyamuni’s disciples.
Next, we’ll pay a visit to the Ahrat Hall in the south court.
The Ahrat Hall is an important structure in a Buddhist temple. But not all temples have an Ahrat Hall, especially, well-kept Ahrat Halls are very rare in China. This one is among them, and what’s more, it has its own unique characteristics.
Generally, an Ahrat Hall is a square building. The building is subdivided into four small square courts so that the hall can get enough sunlight. This kind of structure show some lucky implies in Chinese Buddhist culture.
Another characteristic about the hall lies in these sculptures themselves. They were neither made up of wood, nor stone, nor clay. A special way was taken in making them, which could prevents them from being burned, being soaked or being eaten by insects. All the sculptures were floating in water while Wuhan was flooded in 1954, but, surprisingly, they were sound and safe after the flood had receded. It was really a wonder.
Ahrats are the immortals in Buddhism. But when you have a look around the sculptures, you may find from the expressions on their faces that they are so familiar to you. That’s only because they were molded on the basis of the people in the reality, so they are human beings in our daily life rather than immortals.
Ahrats are the symbols of harmony, happiness, and good luck, so the Wuhan natives have got used to counting ahrats since ancient time to pray for peace. There are a few ways of counting ahrats. We can count from the first ahrat from left to right or from right to left, when we just enter the hall. We can also choose any ahrat as our starting point, and count in the same way, left to right or right to left. We should base counting on our own ages whatever we take. For example, I’m 25, so I should stop in front of the 25th ahrat from the starting ahrat. The sculpture in front of which I stop is my lucky ahrat. My lucky ahrat will accompany me to spend a peaceful and lucky year. Wouldn’t you like to have a try now? If you need, I can explain connotation of some ahrats.
That’s all for the explanation to Guiyuan Temple. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. You will have another 30 minutes to have a look around the temple. If you have any problems, do let me know. I would like to repeat our bus number, A3074. Please don’t forget. See you later.