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The Inscriptions and Features of the Yongle Bell

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, which is made of iron and weighs more than 20 tons, is preserved at the Nine-Pavilion Bell Garden of the Big Bell Temple. The second, made of bronze and 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 year of casting. The Yongle Bell at the Big Bell Temple weighs about 46 tons, is 6.75 meters high, 3.3 meters in diameter and 0.22 meters thick. Astonishingly, the bell was cast entirely with Buddhist sutras and incantations in Han and Sanskrit languages. It 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, recent verifications suggest the Buddhavatarnsaka- mahavaipulya Sutra is not included in the more than 100 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 the 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 at home unaware of the fire. Catering to his sons’ tastes, the wealthy man puts a sheep cart, a deer cart and an ox cart (three vehicles) laden with valuables outside the house. By doing so he tries to lure them out of the burning house. The story comes from the Metaphorical Stories of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra. It was designed to explain that human beings bear their lot of birth, old age, sickness, death, worry and misery, but that 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 on this theme. The “burning house” and the “three vehicles” have become symbols of the Stories of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra.

The characteristics and usage 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 third 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 Buddha, the merit would be immeasurable; if one extolled the names of 1,001 Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the merit would be immensely immeasurable. As a feudal emperor, Chengzu 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 imperial power. The emperor had a big Buddhist bell cast at the Han-Language Sutra Depot where every stroke resounded near and far. The birth of the Yongle Bell as the greatest Buddhist bell was perfectly logical.

（Source: chinaculture.org）