The Famen Temple

这里就是我们今天的第三个景点——法门寺。那大家知道法门是什么意思吗？

“法门”为佛教用语，指修行者必入之门。法门寺在陕西省扶风县，距西安以西120千米。它是我国古代安置释迦牟尼佛骨舍利的著名寺院。游客们在这里可以看到复原重建的法门寺真身宝塔，它位于法门寺院正中，同1981年8月坍塌的明塔一样。塔高47米，8棱13层；塔身除最上层和最下层外，每层各有8个佛龛，共计88个；塔下有地宫，地宫中有佛舍利。宝塔和地宫是佛祖的“圣冢”。地宫的开放和舍利的观瞻乃佛教界盛事。另外，法门寺博物馆珍宝阁内展出的有：法门寺地宫中发现的唐代宫廷珍贵文物300多件。其中有石刻、佛经、漆木器、佛造像、丝织品、金银品（生活用具、茶具、供养器和法器）等。

法门寺始建于东汉，寺因塔而建。法门寺塔，又名“真身宝塔”，因葬有释迦牟尼的一节手指骨而得名。我国有19座佛祖舍利塔，法门寺塔就是其中之一。因此，法门寺塔和寺有“关中塔庙之祖”的称誉。

法门寺地宫总长21.2米，面积31.84平方米，是迄今国内发现的规模最大的寺塔地宫。法门寺发现的佛指骨是目前世界仅存的佛指骨真身舍利。地宫内出土的其他文物很多，也堪称国宝。这里共有四枚舍利。第一枚舍利藏在后室的八重宝函之中，长40.3毫米，上下俱通，竖置在金塔基银柱上；第二枚藏在中室汉白玉双檐灵帐之中，形状与第一枚相似；第三枚藏在后室密龛五重宝函的白玉棺之中，管状，长37毫米，白中泛黄；第四枚舍利藏在前室彩绘菩萨阿育王塔内，色泽、形状与第一、二枚相似。经中国佛教协会会长赵朴初和副会长周绍良先生鉴定，其中第三枚是灵骨，即佛祖的真身指骨，其余三枚为“影骨”，即唐朝皇帝为保护真骨而命人仿制的。但在佛教徒眼中，“影骨”也是圣骨，与真身舍利具有同等意义。

法门寺院内碑刻很多，皆属珍贵史料。其他如明成化八年（1472年）铸造的铁钟，重3 600千克，音盖数里，称“法门晓钟”，为扶风八景之一；隋文帝所送的卧虎石，泼水虎形即现，堪称一绝；《法门寺》戏中人宋巧娇告状的跪石，给无数游人留下遐思。

修复后的法门寺，以完全崭新的面貌出现在法门镇。巍峨的宝塔，保持了明代砖塔的古老特色，成为法门寺的标志和象征。雄伟的珍宝阁，是博物馆的主体建筑，外观造型极其别致，室内装潢典雅豪华，陈列着稀世罕见的国家珍品。法门寺寺院，仍然保持着宝塔在前、大殿在后的早期唐代寺庙格局。铜佛殿与大雄宝殿以回廊相连接。中央是47米高的真身宝塔，周围绿阴环绕。整个空间形成“围廊似环抱”、“塔势如涌云”的壮观气势。重建的大殿，金碧辉煌，殿塔相映，是整个寺院建筑的艺术匠心的生动体现。现在法门寺塔及塔院已按明代的记载规划重修。法门寺塔按照明塔原样重建，保留了地宫并增修了参观通道。塔院右侧按唐代建筑式样修建了法门寺珍宝馆，供游人参观。在宝塔路的两侧及崇正路，建立了旅游宾馆、餐馆、商店等旅游服务设施，为旅游者提供多种服务。

参观完这著名的寺院，接着我们要去全国著名的博物馆之一——咸阳博物馆。

This is the third scenic spot today—the Famen Temple.Do you know what“famen”means？

“Famen”is an expression used in Buddhism，referring to access by novices into the realm of Bud dhism.The Famen Temple is locat－ed in Fufeng Coun ty，Shaanxi Province，120 kilometers west of Xi'an.It is a famous temple in China.It was built in ancient times to house the fingerbones of Sakyamuni，the founder of Buddhism.Visitors to the temple can see a rebuilt stupa and a crypt for Sakyamuni's fin gerbones.Towering 47 meters high in the center of the temple's courtyard，the rebuilt stupa looks the same as the original one that collapsed in August 1981.It is a 13－storied octahedral structure.Ex cept for the uppermost and bottom stories，every story of the stupa has 8 Buddha's shrines，totaling 88 in all.Under the stupa there is a crypt with sarira（Buddhism relics）.The stupa and crypt is the“sa cred burial place”of Sakyamuni，the founder of Buddhism.The opening of the crypt to the public and the display of Buddha's sarira was a holy event of the Buddhist circle.Additionally，displayed in the museum of the Famen Temple are more than 300 precious relics of the Tang Dynasty disco－vered in the crypt of the stupa.These relics include pieces of stone stele，Buddhist sutra，lacquer and wooden ware，cast Buddha figurines，silk pieces and gold and silver articles（utensils for daily use，tea－sets，articles for the worshipping of Buddha and ritual in struments used in Buddhist masses）.

The Famen Temple was constructed in the Eastern Han Dynasty because of the pagoda there，the Famen Temple Pagoda，also known as the Real Spirit Pagoda is famous for the fact that it houses a finger bone of Sakyamuni.There are altogether 19 pagodas housing Sakya－muni's relics in China.The Famen Temple Pagoda is one of them.Thus the Famen Temple and its pagoda enjoy the reputation of being the“forefather”of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi.

The underground palace at the Famen Temple is 21.2 meters long and covers an area of 31.84 square meters.It is the largest palace among all the temples and stupas discovered so far in China.The finger bone discovered at Famen Temple is the only real finger bone of the Buddha that has been discov ered in the world.Many other relics were also un earthed from the underground palace，they are con sidered to be national treasures.There are four fin ger bones here.The first one is kept in an eight－lay ered chest in the back room.The finger bone，40.3 millimeters long and hollow all through，hangs vertically on a silver bar on a gold stupa base.The second，which is like the best in shape，is kept in a double－eave marble coffin in the central room of the palace.The third one is kept in a five－layered mar ble chest，which was found in a secret niche in the back room.This finger bone is tube－like，37 milli meters long and is slightly yellow.The fourth one is kept in a co－lored King Asoka stupa in the front room.Its color and shape are very much like that of the first and second finger bones.Zhao Puchu，Chairman of the All－China Buddhism Association and Zhou Shaoliang，Vice Chairman of the All－China Buddhism Association，determined that the third fin ger bone is the original，which means it is the only real finger bone of the Buddha.The other three were“shadow bones”，which are imitations that the Tang emperor had made in order to protect the real ones.But in the eyes of Buddhist believers，even the“sha－dow bones”were so sacred that they too en joyed the same significance and importance as the re al one.

There are many inscribed stone tablets in the temple.They contain valuable historical data.An iron bell cast in 1472（the 8th year of Chenghua's reign of the Ming Dynasty）weighs 3 600 kilograms. It can be heard several miles away when struck. The tolling of the Famen morning bell is one of Fufeng County's famous eight attractions.The reclining stone tiger which was presented by the Sui Emperor，Wendi，is really a superb piece.The stone reveals a tiger's image when it is splashed with water.The story，which is said to be the one in the traditional opera The Famen Temple where Song Qiaojiao kneels to bring a lawsuit，is often thoughtprovoking to the tourists.

The renovated Famen Temple now presents an utterly new feature in the Famen Town.The tower ing brick pagoda，keeping the original style of the Ming Dynasty，has become a sign，or a symbol of the Famen Temple.With important rare relics on display the treasure pavilion is the main building of the museum with its profile quaintly shaped and its interior elegantly furnished.The layout of the tem ple compound remains the same as before with its pagoda standing in front of the Mahavira Hall in the style of the early Tang Dynasty.With corridors to link up the Brass Buddha Hall and the Mahavira Hall，the pagoda containing the treasures，girdled in green，towers 47 meters high in the middle of the court yard.The whole spacious court pre－sents a magnifi cent atmosphere in which“the surrounding corridors seem to be a girdle while the thrusting tower looks like the piling up clouds.”The glistening Mahavira Hall，splendidly reconstructed to set off the tower ing pagoda，epitomizes in a livelier way the exqui site craftsmanship of temple architectures as a whole.Both the Famen Temple and the Famen Tem ple Pagoda have been rebuilt based on a model from the Ming Dynasty.The underground palace remains intact and a passage has been constructed for visi tors.On the right side of the Famen Temple，a mu seum housing the excavated treasures was built ac cording to the architectural style of the Tang Dynas ty.Decorated on both sides with green belts，the Pagoda Road and the Chongzheng Road are neatly lined with hotels，restaurants，shops and other services for tourists.

After visiting the famous temple，let's go to one of the famous museums in China，the Xianyang Museum.

快乐旅途

预料之中

Within Expectation

一天观光之后，我们走进一家看上去很不错的旅馆，我们没有太注意房间就直接上床睡觉了。几小时后，我们醒来发觉身上到处都是从摇摇欲坠的房顶上掉下来的尘土和泥灰。当我们到前台去投诉时，服务员也没有向我们道歉。他随即拿起电话，报告经理说：“终于发生了。”

After a day's sightseeing，we checked into a decent－looking hotel and went straight to bed without paying much attention to the room.A few hours later，we woke to find ourselves being co－vered with dust and plaster from the crumbling ceiling.When we went to the reception desk to complain，the clerk offered no apologies.Instead，he picked up the telephone，dialed the manager and declared，“It's happened！”