Ermei Shan – Eyebrow Mountain, the highest sacred peak at 11,000 feet. It is the  Buddhist western mountain in Szechwan. Ermei is known for its huge varieties of rare plant and wildlife species at each level as you ascend from rainforest, to evergreens, to beyond the timberline.

The Buddhist incarnation of enlightenment ruling Ermei Shan is Pu-hsien, Universal Light, or Samanta Buddha in sanscrit. Sakyamuni’s [Buddha’s] mother received a visitation from a white elephant in a dream and conceived Guatama Buddha.

There is still a Taoist community on Ermei as most of these sacred sites were shared.

Buddha taught that the “illusion of the self” was the problem that humans had that prevented them from attaining enlightenment. Everything processed by the senses and the brain and judged by the “self” was maya, or illusion. The answer was meditational absorption, which eliminated the sense of self and opened up the mind to tap into higher intelligence.

Pu-hsien is usually depicted riding a white elephant holding a lotus flower with five pedals with a nimbus, or large jewel, on his forehead. There is a legend on Ermei Shan that he appeared as a light in the clouds. In modern times researchers have found that about 80 days per year a large rainbow figure of a man hovers above the clouds and is clearly visible from an observation point on Ermei Shan. This is thought by the faithful to be Pu-hsien manifesting his universal light.

The Sheng-shan Wan-nien Ssu , Monastery of the Holy Myriad Years Longevity, was the first monastery on the mountain, founded in A.D. 268.

During the Wan Li reign Miao-feng, famed monk and architect, built a beamless domed brick hall to house a large bronze of Pu-hsien Pusa riding a white elephant. It was oriented so that twice a year at solstice the sun’s rays strike the jewel in the God’s forehead through a tiny hole on the dome.

Famous Legends of Ermei Shan-White Ape Offering Fruit-We know this a s the name of a Pa Kua posture but many years ago a legend grew on Ermei Shan of a lost traveler being aided by a white monkey who gave him a piece of fruit and showed him the way out. Later this was made into a Buddhist parable in which the fruit was the fruit of enlightenment and the “white ape” stood for Buddha showing the lost “the way.” Today there are three tribes of gray or white monkeys on Ermei Shan, one group is very friendly and greets visitors, the second group raids tourist groups and steals food and soda pop, and the third group has nothing to do with humans if they can help it.

Taoist Temple on Ermei Shan-

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