During the Yuanhe period in Tang Xianzong, there was a temple named Faxi Temple in Zhengyang County, which was built on a mountain.
At that time, the Weihe River (the largest tributary of the Yellow River) was in Miaoxi 100, and floods often occurred.
Later, a monk in the temple often had the same dream at night. In his dream, a Longfei Bai came out of the Weihe River. He went down to the west pillar of the temple, walked around the pillar for a long time, listened to the monks chanting, and then flew back to the east.
When he wakes up, it will rain the next day.
(Network picture: White Dragon Painting)
The monk also felt very strange, so he found a well-read person and asked him why.
The bachelor said, "Since ancient times, the spirits of heaven and earth have loved the land of heaven and earth. Presumably, the temple is a Buddhist spiritual place, and Bailong wants to live here. Aren't there many dragons in Buddhist legends who like to be attached to temples? For example, Sakyamuni has eight dragons. Maybe that's what dreams mean. Why not make a earth dragon and put it under the temple column where the white dragon hovers to verify whether the dream works? "
Soon after, the monk hired several craftsmen from the foot of the mountain and spent half a month making an earth dragon.
He described the shape of the white dragon in great detail, and craftsmen tried their best to shape it.
After the dragon statue was shaped, it was placed next to the west pillar of the temple.
The white dragon is so lifelike, its feet are stepping on Xiangyun, its scales and manes are dancing and winding, which even the painter can't describe so vividly, as if it were about to fly away in the blink of an eye!
(network picture: woodcut dragon)
Four or five years later, a citizen who came to the temple for pilgrimage was resting outside the door. Suddenly, he saw a living creature floating out of the temple window, vaguely like a mass of gas, soaring into the sky and flying in the direction of Weishui.
When it got dark at night, it flew back. Look at the cloud carefully, it turns out to be a white dragon!
The man told the monks in the temple what he had seen.
Monks sometimes find it incredible, but they don't believe it.
Then one day, all the monks in the temple went to the village at the foot of the mountain to do fasting and chanting, and did not return to the temple until afternoon.
The first monk who entered the temple saw that the earth dragon under the pillar was gone!
The monks who came in from behind looked at each other and were deeply surprised. They all said, "Although this is a local dragon, I think it can also be psychic, but it can become a real dragon and come and go without a trace."
(Network picture: White Dragon)
In the evening, the monks saw a bunch of dark clouds floating rapidly from Weishui to the temple and suddenly to the top of the Buddhist temple.
Suddenly, a living creature winds down from the clouds and flies into the temple from the west window.
When many monks saw it, they were surprised and scared. They crept into the temple to look, only to see the earth dragon appear again, coiled around the temple pillar in the west!
When the bold monk touched it, there were water drops on the scales and manes of the earth dragon, and the whole body was wet.
Later, the monks were afraid that the white dragon would fly out again to scare the locals, so they tied it to a post with chains.
From then on, as long as there is drought and flood in the mountain, as long as you pray to this dragon, nothing will fail!
Adapted from local chronicles