Shaolin Pagoda Forest 少林塔林

A graveyard for Buddhist dignitaries through the ages. The Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple is the largest of China’s pagoda complexes. Both the Shaolin Monastery and the Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the “Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.”

Pagoda Forest 塔林 at Shaolin Temple refers to the main cemetery for Buddhist monks at the Shaolin Temple under Mount Song. Consisting of 241 memorial pagodas built before Qing dynasty¹ beneath or in which the ashes of the deceased were placed, the cemetery covers about 21,000 m² (5.2 acres). The cemetery is forested. Its name reflects that fact, whether because the pagodas are like a forest, or are in a forest.

There are nearly 250 stone and brick pagodas ranging from the Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, spanning across 618 to 2012, period of over 1,400 years. On average, the pagodas are less than 15 meters (about 49 feet) high. The layer and the shape of a pagoda depend on many factors, such as one’s Buddhist status, attainment and prestige during his lifetime.

This cluster of Yuan dynasty pagodas dated back to 26th year of Kublai Khan 元世祖至元二十六年 (1289) and included 「印公长老之塔」、「矩公宗主之塔」、「宣授河南西路十州提领足庵长老塔」, etc. ²

These memorial “pagodas” are not real ones, which are inhabitable buildings of one or more stories with roofs bearing upturned eaves. Symbolically the memorial imitations are habitations of the dead, representing real towers. In English the upturned roofs are often termed “tiers.” The number of tiers in the memorial tower are compatible with the former status of the deceased.

They are in a variety of styles, but are mainly multi-eaved and pavilion-style. Their shapes are varied, including polygonal, cylindrical, vase, conical and monolithic, making the pagoda forest an exhibition of ancient pagodas, carvings and calligraphy of various dynasties.

The pagodas are dated by many methods. Each memorial bears an inscription—name and date—on stone or on an inscribed plaque. Each surviving inscription is thus a historical document. However, the plaques didn’t always survive on the memorial. They were torn off or broken open to give access to the chamber inside, presumably an act of robbery, since it vandalized the pagoda. Political destruction would have done more damage to the structure.

Based on the inscriptions on the pagoda, the ashes of 24th abbott of Shaolin Temple, Master Xiaoshan 小山上人, are interred in this Ming dynasty Tibetan lama-style pagoda built in 6th year of Ming Longqing period 明隆庆六年 (1572).³ He was the 24th abbott of Shaolin Temple and a direct descendant of the Chan Buddhism sect.

The surviving inscriptions are works of art. The calligraphy is in the style of the period, providing another means of period identification. A pagoda can be dated archaeologically by size, shape, material of the bricks and the content of the cement; architecturally by the ornamental features.

The first pagoda in the cemetery is that of Master Fawan⁵, which is dated to 689. Some foreign monks are attested in the inscriptions. One of them is in the east of the pagoda forest built in 1339 in Yuan Dynasty, carrying an epitaph written by a Japanese monk at the Shaolin Temple with beautiful language and handwriting. In the west part, there is also a pagoda built for an Indian monk in 1564 during Ming Dynasty.

They are still building new ones for prominent monks and abbots of Shaolin temple. Like Stupa of Master Xingzheng「惠参禅公之塔」(left) that was built in 1995 interred the ashes of the 29th Abbot of Shaolin Temple, Master Shi Xingzheng 释行正 (1914—1987). He was the master of the current abbot, Shi Yongxin, and protected the relics and murals from being destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. ⁶

This pagoda (built in 2012 according to the stele) has caught up with the modern comforts like an automobile. Makes one wonder about the monastery and Buddhism – 「四大皆空」？

Visited Mar 2024

Footnotes:

1. 6 in Tang, 1 in Five Kingdoms, 2 in Song, 8 in Jin, 44 in Yuan, 143 in Ming and 14 Qing, 23 unknowns according to Dengfeng municipality records. https://www.dengfeng.gov.cn/gtwh/5265344.jhtml ↩︎
2. 四、矩公宗主之塔
   矩公塔位于塔林中部，建于元世祖至元二十六年（1289年）三月，为四边形三级砖塔，高3.6米。塔身前刻有正书额文，身后刻有塔铭一方，简述矩公生平。矩公，名慧矩，阳翟（今河南禹州）人，出家少林寺礼裕公为师。矩公塔虽较小，但结构严谨，相当精致。塔为其徒智柔、智明等建并刻石。
   五、印公长老之塔
   印公塔位于塔林中部，建于元世祖至元二十六年（1289年）七月，为四边形三级砖塔。塔身前有石制塔门，上有石制塔额，刻“印公长老之塔”正书六字。塔身后有砖制塔铭，刻建塔弟子名字。印公，据其弟子法名知，其为70字辈僧，法名慧印。塔为其徒智玷、智瑄及徒孙子归所建。
   六、宣授河南西路十州提领足庵长老塔
   足庵塔位于塔林中部，建于元世祖至元二十六年(1289年)七月，为六边形七级密檐式砖塔，高9.2米。塔身前有石雕塔门，额刻《宣授河南西路十州提领足庵长老塔》；塔身后无塔铭。塔四级檐与五级檐前部有一神龛。足庵，法名净肃，为元初著名禅师，任少林寺住持。塔为其门人智宽、智和等所建并刻石。 https://www.dengfeng.gov.cn/gtwh/5265358.jhtml ↩︎
3. 「书公塔」位于塔林中南部，建于明隆庆六年（1572年）季春，为喇嘛式砖塔。塔基须弥座硕大，呈六边形，中间束腰处四周有砖雕图案。塔身为一瓶状体，前刻正书额文，后边有“钦依住持少林寺嗣祖曹洞正宗第二十四世、当代传法小山禅师塔铭并序”铭文，为明王朝宗室德庆王体易居士撰，应行居士成吉祥书，书体为小字行楷。其塔顶为七级相轮，上有宝盖和尖顶宝珠。塔主小山为明代著名禅师和钦命少林寺住持。小山塔造型优美、工艺精湛，为明代高超建筑工艺的代表作。https://www.dengfeng.gov.cn/gtwh/5265064.jhtml ↩︎
4. 「海宽禅师灵骨塔」为六角七级砖塔，高约十米，檐部有叠涩，六角有挑角望兽，须弥座束腰处饰十二格花草、动物等砖制图案，塔刹似为仰覆莲之类的石雕组成，装点精美。第五层和第六层之间砌壸门佛龛一个，现已没有佛像了。额石刻制“祖庭大少林禅寺钦命赐紫传曹洞正宗第二十八代彼岸宽禅师灵骨之塔”，这是少林寺最后一代方丈的墓塔。少林寺的方丈和尚自元代福裕开山以后都是钦命（宣授，钦依）的，至二十八代海宽时，因离职时没有和朝廷互通信息、实行交接，造成搁置中断，直至如今。https://baike.baidu.com/item/宽禅师灵骨塔/3754063 ↩︎
5. Pagoda of Master Fawan 法玩禅师塔 built 791, the oldest in the western cemetery of the Shaolin temple.
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6. 1986年10月，行正出任少林寺方丈，称二十九代。此年圆寂，年73岁，葬于塔林。https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1361298 ↩︎