難泯的老撾香通寺印記

瑯勃拉邦（Luang Prabang）是老撾最值得深度游的地方。作為世界文化遺產(chǎn)，瀾滄王朝的舊都，湄公河的明珠，可能是東南亞保存最完好的歷史古城了。它以優(yōu)美和諧的自然環(huán)境和與世無(wú)爭(zhēng)的民風(fēng)民俗，一直以來(lái)維護(hù)著老撾民族文化和歷史遺產(chǎn)中心的美譽(yù)。

瑯勃拉邦古城像一位慈祥的長(zhǎng)者，從容淡定。歲月勾勒出的是古城的凝練與厚重。那一抹動(dòng)情的夕陽(yáng)，輕輕地?fù)崮χ槻钜坏亟瘘S。登上372米高的普西山，山頂那座金塔在霞光中熠熠生輝。探尋傳說(shuō)中佛祖留下腳印，愿神靈帶給心靈些許慰藉。耳畔回蕩著100多年前法國(guó)人加內(nèi)的精彩登頂感言，舉目俯瞰，古城依山傍水，風(fēng)景秀麗，湄公河與南康河偎依古城，溫情擁抱。無(wú)盡的椰子樹、棕櫚樹、榕樹將星星點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的低矮房舍點(diǎn)染于萬(wàn)綠叢中。不知是綠蔭覆蓋了古城，還是古城選擇了綠陰。

古城很有名，伸手可以觸摸歷史，上千年的歲月沉淀了古城的厚重。

佛教興盛成就了今天瑯勃拉邦眾多的古寺、佛塔，到寺院去感受南傳佛教濃郁氛圍是一項(xiàng)不可少的體驗(yàn)。有的寺院古榕蔽天，有的寺院花木繁茂，有的寺院大佛塔聳立。寺廟裝飾的主色有的以紅為主，華貴雍容；有的以金色為主，燦爛輝煌。湄公河畔的香通寺，是不可不看的精美寺院。

香通寺是瑯勃拉邦也是全老撾最美麗的寺院之一。它濃縮了瑯勃拉邦古老的寺廟建筑風(fēng)格。寺廟是由塞塔提拉王興建于1560年，一直受王室保護(hù)，直到1975年。1887年遭到破壞，1928年在西薩旺馮王的干預(yù)下，得到了修復(fù)。寺院內(nèi)8根粗大的支柱上用黃金刻著圖案，把人們的目光引向后面金光閃閃的佛像和光輪覆蓋的屋頂。寺院外面的后墻上鑲嵌著栩栩如生的樹的圖案，背景是緊鄰這里的是一個(gè)小型建筑，一個(gè)紅色教堂，里面置有一個(gè)很獨(dú)特的佛像。佛身上體現(xiàn)著老撾的特點(diǎn)，如卷至腳踝的長(zhǎng)袍，手支撐著頭，姿勢(shì)優(yōu)美。這尊佛是塞塔提拉王于1569年下令鑄造的。香通寺也是老撾新年最重要的慶祝地點(diǎn)之一。

香通寺建成后，以精美的佛教壁畫和三層重疊屋頂而著名。這里保存著老撾最后一代國(guó)王西薩旺·馮的遺骨，還有歷代國(guó)王所使用的金碧輝煌的靈車。從前，香通寺就是舉行最高儀式的地方。它離普西山王宮不足１公里。寺廟、王宮，唇齒相依，國(guó)王的婚禮葬禮在寺廟里舉行，高僧的法事到王宮里去辦?？梢?6世紀(jì)以后，佛教與老撾`的王國(guó)統(tǒng)治已經(jīng)難分難解了，所以在人民心里，樹是佛、是神、是國(guó)王，自己只能頂禮膜拜。

進(jìn)到?jīng)鏊拇蟮罾?，找一個(gè)清涼無(wú)人的角落，周圍是金光燦燦的豪華裝飾，還有無(wú)數(shù)雙菩薩慈祥的眼睛在關(guān)注著你，祝福著你，保佑著你。不用在乎時(shí)光如梭，人生苦短，這里的一切都在用自己的滄桑善勸你忘掉身外煩惱，享受并珍惜與身邊所有不經(jīng)意瞬間。這短暫而深刻的感覺(jué)，才是惟一不會(huì)隨時(shí)光逝去的。

人們?cè)谒吕锞镁昧鬟B的原因除了被它的萬(wàn)千色彩所吸引，最重要的一個(gè)原因是為了好好看看那棵樹。樹不是真的樹，而是畫在香通寺大殿后墻上的一幅巨型壁雕，主要描寫的是釋迦佛祖的往生故事。故事在佛教建筑中很常見，雕刻的手法也不算獨(dú)特，樹的枝葉上卻鑲嵌著瑪瑙、琉璃，還有一些叫不上名字的寶石，一到晚上就會(huì)熠熠生輝，足見這棵樹在老撾人心目的位置了。老撾境內(nèi)有60多個(gè)部族（49個(gè)確認(rèn)的和十多個(gè)未確認(rèn)的），統(tǒng)稱為老龍族、老聽族、老松族3大族系。不管哪一個(gè)族系，對(duì)這棵樹的精神依戀都非常強(qiáng)。他們會(huì)慷慨地把微薄的收入全部捐獻(xiàn)出來(lái)，只為了在這棵樹上再增添一顆寶石。

香通寺主建筑側(cè)面看幾乎只有陡峭的屋頂，占了總面積4/5，然而轉(zhuǎn)到窄幅的正面，就會(huì)被精致的浮雕壁畫所吸引，靠墻立著數(shù)尊佛像，相貌猙獰，神態(tài)靈動(dòng)，栩栩如生。有廟自然離不開塔，寺廟供和尚修行居住，佛塔則供奉逝去高僧的舍利或象征?，槻詈苄。瑤撞铰烽g，總是可以見到湄公河的風(fēng)韻。一出香通寺的門，湄公河的嫵媚就在那綠樹縫隙間肆意蕩漾。這條發(fā)源于中國(guó)瀾滄江的河水，流到這里已不見她原本清澈容貌，瀾滄江放蕩不羈的野性來(lái)到這里也變得溫文爾雅，但是這么一條通航良好的河流怎么就不見船來(lái)船往的熱鬧呢？或許他們根本不需要外面世界繁雜侵?jǐn)_它原本的生活，看看這河邊林立的露天餐館，這里的人們正在享用大自然所賜予他們的一切。

Images of Wat Xiengthong in Laos

Luang Prabang is a tourist attraction in Laos well worth a visit. As a world cultural heritage site， the former capital of the Lan Xang (1300-1428)， and a pearl inlaid by the Mekong River， Luang Prabang is perhaps the best ancient city still in existence in Southeast Asia. The enchanting and harmonious natural environment and the peaceful folk customs here have always added glamour to Laos’ high reputation for national culture and historic heritage.

The ancient city of Luang Prabang is like an amiable old gentleman. The passage of many years has drawn a calm character for the city. The setting sunshine gently touches the golden vista of the city. Climbing up the 372-meter high Phou Si Mountain， one can see the golden tower glitter in the sun light. On the mountain， tourists like to explore the footprints left behind by the Buddha so as to seek spiritual solace. Looking into the distance， one can see the Mekong River and the Nam Khan River flowing by the city. Among the coconut， palm and fig trees are the low houses.

The flourishing of Buddhism justifies the existence of many ancient temples and Buddha pagodas in present-day Luang Prabang. So for every tourist it is a must to visit the temples to experience the Buddhist atmosphere. In different temples， there are figs， trees， flowers and towering Buddhist pagodas. Some of the temples are decorated with red and look very elegant. Some are decorated in gold and look very splendid. Among them， Wat Xiengthong by the Mekong River is the most elegant temple and worthy of a visit.

Wat Xiengthong is one of the most beautiful temples in both Luang Prabang and Laos. This temple was build by King Setthathirath in 1560 and had always been under the protection of the royal family until 1975. In 1887， Wat Xiengthong was destroyed. In 1928， thanks to the intervention of King Sisavangvong， the temple was renovated. On the eighty big columns in the temple， are inscribed golden patterns which direct people’s eyesight past them to the glittering Buddha statutes behind and the roof covered with golden wheels. Vivid pictures are also inlaid in the back wall out of the temple. The background of these pictures is a red shrine nearby the temple， in which there is a small Buddha statute. The Buddha statute displays the characteristics of Laos -- for instance， the robe reaching the toes and the head supported by the hands. This Buddha statue was cast in 1569 on the orders of King Setthathirath. Wat Xiengthong is also one of the important sites where the Laos people hold their new year celebrations.