Cave of Tidal Sound

The Cave of Tidal Sound is situated in front of the Purple Bamboo Forest, on the seaside. It is not a real cave but a huge vertical gash in the cliff face. Day and night you can hear the thundering sound of the tide. During the reign of emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) its name was written on one side of the cave.

Pilgrims and monks once believed that Guanyin would appear here in visions in response to fervent prayers.Many people throughout the centuries have reported seeing Guanyin here, and some of them have apparently received dharma instruction from the apparition. One theory for the visions - put forth by a Westerner - is that at certain times of year, under certain barometric conditions, sunlight falls through a hole in the top of the cave and illuminates the spray and haze produced by the pounding surf below, making a bright veil through which Guanyin may choose to show herself - or, viewed differently, through which a pious pilgrim may imagine her presence.

According to one myth, a foreign monk in 848 AD set his fingers afire as he prayed on the cliff above the cave. He lightened his fingers like candles and let them burn down, as an offering. When all ten had been reduced to stubs, the bodhisattva appeared to preach the dharma to the monk, and gave him a precious seven-colored precious stone. After that, people got the idea of flinging themselves from the cliff into the cave to drown in the surf, committing themselves to Guanyin as they committed suicide. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), many believers threw themselves into the sea from the 'Bridge of Great Being' at the first appearance of a rainbow in the pinched, sunstruck spray to leap to better lives. Pilgrims became irrational, flinging themselves far down into the cave in pursuit of enlightenment and Nirvana. The suicides became so common that the local governor erected a stele, "Finger Burning stele", forbidding pious pilgrims from jumping into the cave or burning their fingers. If we walk by this stele, we can see six large Chinese characters that set out the governor's edict.

For information or reservation call or send an e-mail to Chen Zhongyu ((0580)6091227) in Putuoshan.

This page is made by Anthony Debyser. For comment on this page send an e-mail to adebyser@hotmail.com