During the reign of Emperor Yongle,
bells were cast in many places to hold services for the enhancement
of Buddhism and Taoism or give the correct time for better urban
management. Three bells cast during the reign of Yongle, each
weighing more than 20 tons, are preserved in Beijing. Two of them
were used to sound the night watches. The first one made of iron,
more than 20 tons in weight, is preserved at the Nine - Pavilion
Bell Garden of the Big Bell Temple. The second one made of bronze,
63 tons in weight, is suspended at the bell tower on the north-
south central axis passing through the entire city of Beijing. The
two bells bear no inscriptions but indicate the years of casting.
The Yongle Bell at the Big Bell Temple is about 46 tons in weight,
6.75 meters in height, 3.3 metres in rim diameter and 0.22 meter in
the thickness of the inclined plane of the rim. Astonishingly the
bell was cast entirely with Buddhist sutras and incantations in Han
and Sanskrit languages. This is an unequalled Buddhist bell.
Some historical records regard the
bell as the Huayan (Buddhavatamsaka- mahavaipulya) Bell. Just as
the name implies, the inscriptions on the bell should be the
Buddha-vatamsaka- mahavaipulya Sutra.
However, our recent verification
shows that the Buddhavatarnsaka- mahavaipulya Sutra is not
included in the more than one hundred Han and Sanskrit sutras and
incantations cast on the bell. The most prominent part of the
inscriptions is the Sutra of' the Names of Buddha, Bhagazmt,
Tathagata, Bodhisattva, Arya and Miracle -working Buddhists
compiled by order of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. Besides,
there are more than 100 Sanskrit sutras and incantations, totaling
more than 230,000 characters.
The Buddhist sutras contain a story
called "The Parable of a Burning House" which affords much food for
thought. It tells about a man of wealth whose house catches fire.
His sons are making merry at home, unaware of the fire. Catering to
his sons' likes, the man of wealth puts a sheep cart, a deer cart
and an ox cart (three vehicles) laden with valuables outside the
house. By so doing he tries to lure them out of the burning house.
The story comes from the Metaphorical Stories of the
Saddharmapundarika Sutra. It is designed to explain that human
beings bear the lot of birth, old age, sickness, death, worry and
misery, but they are simply unaware of this. Only Buddha (three
vehicles) can rescue all beings from the sea of fire (sea of
misery). "The Parable of a Burning House" vividly expounds this
theme. The "burning house" and the "three vehicles" have become
symbols of the Stories of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra.
The characteristics and use of the
Yongle Bell were apparent. In his Imperial Introduction of Heavenly
Reward and Retribution to the Melodies of Buddhism and the
Sutra of Names written on the 3rd day of the 11th month of the
18th year of the reign of Yongle (1420), Emperor Chengzu of the
Ming Dynasty noted that if the names of Tathagata and others were
persistently chanted, one could be exempted from capital punishment
or other disasters; if one extolled the name of a Buddha, the merit
would be immeasurable; if one extolled the names of a thousand and
one Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the merit would be immensely
immeasurable. As a feudal emperor, he believed in and advocated
Buddhism, enlightened the people by education in Buddhism, and
established the Ethnic- Languages Sutra Depot and the Hah-Language
Sutra Depot for Buddhist services. He reached great heights in
upholding religion and protecting the imperial power. He had a big
Buddhist bell cast and kept at the Han-Language Sutra Depot. Every
stroke made a character on the bell resound far and near. The birth
of the Yongle Bell as the greatest Buddhist bell was perfectly
logical.