World Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage: Mt. Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha (9)

Four Wonders

Cloud seas

When it is clear and sunny, boundless, smooth, thick white clouds will rise from Mt. Emei. Buddhist called the sea of clouds the "Silver World." The cloud seas on the mountain are formed by low clouds which are lower than the mountains. Therefore, the mountain looks like many islands surrounding by fog floating in the sea of clouds and the entire Mt. Emei is just like a Buddhist fairyland. The white clouds are also like rolling white waves and the "islands" also look like floating boats, just like the "graciousness goddess of mercy saves the living creatures." Modern poet Zhao Puchu wrote a poem to describe the sea of clouds on Mt. Emei, "the sky wearing rosy clouds to witness the sunrise and the mountain looks like boats floating on the sea of clouds."

Sunrise

Mt. Emei is located on the western edge of the Sichuan Basin. People can overlook the "Tianfu Plain" and watch the sun come up on Mt. Emei. As the vision on the mountain is broad, it can cleanse people's minds to allow them to feel the love between man and nature. As the sun is coming up from the east, the sky is full of morning clouds and thousands of golden lights shoot to the earth. Mt. Emei looks as if it is gradually covered by a golden overcoat from head to toe, and shows all the beautiful postures. A poem written by Su Dongpo, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty says, "The valley is full of mist in autumn, the dawn makes all the species wake up."

Light of Buddha

The light of Buddha, also known as the "Emei Baoguang," is the light emitted between the brows of Samantabhadra by Buddhists. In fact, the light of Buddha is a natural phenomenon of light formed by the diffraction and diffuse reflection of sunshine irradiating on the surface of clouds. In the afternoons of the summer and early winter, a hollow rainbow aura with colors of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple will appear in the low clouds. A person will find that his or her shadow will appear in the rainbow aura if he or she is back toward the western sunshine and the shadow will move as the person moves. It is more curious that even if hundreds of people watch the rainbow aura at the same time and in the same place, the spectator will only see his or her own shadow. A poem from Tan Zhongyue says, "It is not clouds or fog in the sky, it has splendid colors and light; if you watch towards the top of the rock, you will see everyone in the light of the Buddha."

Sacred lamp

In dark nights, sometimes a gradually increasing light will appear under the Sheshen Rock drifting from place to place in the dark valley. Buddhists called it the "sacred lamp." The floating magical light points just like the "thousands of bright lamps toward the Samantabhadra." The poem "Sacred Lamp" reads, "Uncounted red points flying from the eastern mountain, they fly back and forth; the cold lights may fired for thousands years on the rocks; in the stillness of night, only the lamps hanging on the Fanwang Palace." Yin Shen, a poet in Ming Dynasty, also wrote in his poem "Sacred Lamp," "Looking forward the night, lamps come down from the upper bound; the lamps lighten all over the valley and the fire shadows almost fill the sky; the lamps come down like uncounted stars and the golden lights can be seen everywhere in the dark valley."