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Adaptation: Research on Mt. Heng

The trip from the foot of Mount Heng to Zhurong Peak is thirty-six li. Whenarriving at the "Mid-Mountain Pavilion," you are halfway up to the top of MountHeng. There is a rhyming couplet inside the pavilion that says, "Follow the path,but you must persevere even at the half-way point. What your heart desires is

not far away, but you must accept the challenge if you wish to reach the top."

The South Heavenly Gate (Nan Tian Men) serves as a prelude to the summit.Looking up at the Gate, you will see another couplet that says, "This gate leads to

heaven, where you get close to the sky and stars. The path leads to the summit,where all other mountains are beneath you." This couplet gives you a mentalpicture of the majestic view from Mount Heng.

There is a story behind the name "Southern Mountain." According to legend,Zhurong was a civil official at the royal court of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di).Back then, mankind knew how to make fire by using a stick to "drill" a piece ofwood but did not know how to preserve the flame and use fire. Zhurong had an

affinity for fire and became an expert on it. The Yellow Emperor thus appointedZhurong as the principal governor of fire. Because Zhurong was also familiar with

the affairs of the southern regions, the Yellow Emperor also appointed him as theadministrative official in charge of affairs there. Zhurong lived, died, and was

buried on Mount Heng. The Five Sacred Mountains are oriented in five differentdirections. According to the Theory of the Five Elements, each element Metal,Wood, Water, Fire and Earth corresponds to one of the five different directions.The direction South corresponds to Fire. Therefore, the mountain where Zhurong,the fire governor, resided became the "Southern Mountain."

According to A Collection of Bizarre Stories (Shu Yi Ji), Southern Mountainwas transformed from the right arm of Pan Gu, the legendary Chinese god who

created the universe. According to The Book of Astronomy (Xing Jing),Southern Mountain corresponds to the Zhen star in a cluster of twenty-eight

stars. There is a tiny star next to this cluster of stars, known as the Chang Shastar. Because the Chang Sha star is believed to rule the life span of all men onearth, and Mount Heng is located in the Chang Sha region according to theancients, Mount Heng is naturally associated with longevity. Subsequently, "Mayyour life be as lofty as the Southern Mountain" became a popular greeting for aperson on his birthday. "Southern Mountain" of course refers to Mount Heng.

Throughout history, Southern Mountain has often been referred to as "the

Mountain of Incomparable Longevity" or "the Mountain that Governs Longevity."Many man-made structures at Southern Mountain are named for longevity, or

"Shou" in Chinese. To name a few examples, there are Wan Shou Palace (Palaceof Ten Thousand Years), Shou Nin Palace (Peaceful Longevity Palace), Shou JianBridge (Bridge of Longevity Ravine), Ren Shou Pavilion (Humanity and LongevityPavilion), Bai Shou Pergola (Pergola of A Hundred Years), Yan Shou Pergola(Extended Longevity Pergola) and Shou Fo Hall (Longevity and Buddha Hall).

Throughout the ages mankind has always had one dream to achieve longevity.The wish for longevity is deeply embedded in Chinese culture. Therefore, everyChinese person is generally familiar with theories on taking care of personal

health. Many types of fitness training programs targeted at reaching longevityand better health have been developed. Many famous traditional Chinese medical

doctors invented schools of Qigong or other exercises to achieve longevity, suchas "The Exercises that Imitate the Movements of Five Animals," invented by the

famous physician Hua Tuo.

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The subject of life and death has always been a popular topic in human society.And despite the fact that man has always fantasized about longevity, mankindhas never been able to escape death and the cycle of reincarnation or samsara.Countless men throughout history tirelessly tried to resolve the mystery of lifeand death to escape samsara. The First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty spared noexpense in trying to find a way to achieve longevity. Some of his efforts included

sending people to famous mountains and riverbanks for magical herbs andsending Taoists to Japan for magical Dan, a special pill forged by Taoists to reach

longevity. However, the First Emperor eventually died like everyone else despitehis expensive efforts. Only a select few have ever learned that one could only be

released from samsara through cultivation.

There were many Buddhists and Taoists on Mount Heng. In fact, Mount Heng is

revered as an important cultivation site for both Buddhists and Taoists, includingthose in Japan, other parts of Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. Peoplefrom all over the world have come to Mount Heng to pay tribute to the templesand palaces. Taoists cleared caves on Mount Heng for cultivation as early asduring the West Zhou Dynasty. Temples were first built on Mount Heng during the

Liang and Chen of the Six Dynasties (222 589 A.D.). Monk Hui Si built Fu YanTemple (Temple of Blessings Through Persevering in Cultivation) and Can Jin Hall(The Hall of Buddhist Scriptures Library), which still remains on Mount Heng

today. Hui Si's disciple, monk Zhi Yu, later went to Tian Tai Mountain andestablished the Tian Tai branch of Buddhism. During the Tang Dynasty when

Buddhism prevailed and flourished, there was a marked increase in the number ofcultivation spots and temples on Mount Heng. The most famous ones during thisperiod were "Ten Giant Forests of Cultivation" and "Eight Hundred CottageTemples."

There is a Chinese saying, "Monks are the most common residents on all reveredmountains." Why were there so many temples and monks on Mount Heng? Why

did they choose to cultivate on Mount Heng? One of the reasons might have beenthat Mount Heng symbolized longevity, and one of their goals in cultivation might

have been to reach longevity. But that might not have been the true reason whymonks throughout the ages favored Mount Heng. One can reach consummation

and release oneself from the cycle of samsara through cultivation [Editor's note:and this location may have been beneficial for their cultivation.]

In the cultivation arena, the ability of being able to "fly up into the sky in broaddaylight" is regarded as a sign that a person has freed himself from samsara.There was a story, for example, that described how the Lady Wei flew up into thesky in broad daylight on Mount Heng.

Ms. Wei Hua-Cun, also known as Wei Xian-An, was a famous Taoist cultivatorduring the Eastern and Western Jing Dynasties. Her cultivation story wasrecorded in both Mao Shan Zhi (Stories of Mao Mountain) and "The Lady Weiof Mount Heng." She was originally from Ren City in Shandong Province and was

the daughter of the Duke of Wen Kang, Mr. Wei Shu. Ms. Wei married Mr. LiuWen of Xiu Wu County, and had two sons, Liu Pu and Liu Xia. After her husband's

death, she went to Mount Heng and lived in seclusion so as to cultivate accordingto a secret branch of Taoism. Legend has it that the Lady Wei used to cultivate atthe Huang Ting Taoist Temple and the Rock of the Flying God outside the templeat Mount Heng. Visitors can still see both these places today. Because Lady Weicultivated Taoism on Southern Mountain, she was referred to as "Nan Zhen"("Truthfulness of the South") by the Taoist cultivation community. After sixteenyears of cultivation on Mount Heng, Lady Wei's skin looked like that of an infant

despite her real age of 84. That was the year she rode on a wheel to soar into thesky.

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It was believed that not only people but also trees could reach longevity on MountHeng. There is a ginkgo tree at Fu Yan Temple that was planted by Monk Hu Siduring the Six Dynasties (222 589 A.D.). It is now over 1,400 years old. Ittakes three adults with arms outstretched to encircle the tree. A white magnoliatree behind the Can Jin Hall is over 500 years old.

The Southern Mountain has become a synonym for longevity. As the poem aboutMount Heng in the Historical Records of Central Hunan Province goes, "Itgives everyone what he deserves according to his virtue." This line reveals a

principle of the universe. The universe treats everyone fairly, but one has to beable to be enlightened to its principles and laws.

All information from online source:

http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1595

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