“Journey to the West” and “The List of Gods”
Master, after hearing you tell the story of “The Legend of White Snake”, I think it makes perfect sense. The distortion and vilification of the old monk Fahai is an attack on Buddhism, and the sympathy and praise for Xu Xian and the White Snake’s love between humans and animals is actually a reversal of the Dharma era. We Buddhist disciples have the responsibility to correct what has been reversed through books and various media tools. I still have a few questions for my teacher:
“Journey to the West” is a historical masterpiece that has been loved by the public throughout the ages. It became even more popular after being adapted into a TV series. However, since I was a child when I watched this play, I felt that Tang Monk was too useless. How could Guanyin Bodhisattva ask Sun Wukong to worship him as his teacher? And he also taught Tang Monk a tightening spell to punish Sun Dasheng who specializes in punishing evil and promoting good? Tang Seng has no skills, what can he teach his disciples? How should this story be understood from a Buddhist perspective?
Old monk Miaofa replied: “I think a person who understands Buddhism should understand “Journey to the West” like this: What Tang Monk originally said was that if you practice your own Hinayana Buddhism, you cannot achieve supreme bodhi. So Guanshiyin Bodhisattva transformed into an old monk and gave guidance. Monk Tang went to the West to visit the Buddha and obtain the Mahayana scriptures. The road to the West to obtain the sutras was actually the path of spiritual practice that Monk Tang used to save himself and others. However, the road of spiritual practice is not smooth and is full of difficulties and obstacles.
“Tang Seng’s three followers actually embody the three bad habits of all living beings: greed, anger, and ignorance. Zhu Bajie represents people who are greedy, greedy for money, greed for sex, greed for fame, greed for profit, greed for eating, and greed for sleep… So he was named Bajie, which means that only by observing the precepts can greed be extinguished, and only by observing the precepts can one gain wisdom, so he was named Wuneng. Sun Wukong represents those who are capable and capable but have a big temper. Naming him Wukong means to tell These people must know the truth that everything is impermanent and all dharmas are empty. Sha Wujing refers to those “honest people” who are simple and honest by nature. Because they do not understand the Buddha’s teachings, they have committed the sin of killing and eating meat (he once ate meat in Liusha River (Human life), he was named Wujing because he wanted to practice pure conduct. If he wants to leave the three realms, he must be compassionate and not kill. As a master, Tang Seng has nothing in the four elements and is not attracted by wealth, fame and fortune. When life and death are at stake, he regards death as home and would rather One step to death in the West will lead to rebirth in the East. He recited the Tightening Curse when Wukong broke the precept of killing and refused to listen to the teachings, which meant using the precepts to restrain him and make him correct his evil ways.
“Tang Monk does not know how to fly in the clouds or mist, nor does he change. He only knows how to recite the Buddha’s name wholeheartedly, which shows that the purpose of practice is not to have supernatural powers. Look at Monkey Sun, who has great supernatural powers. When the monsters’ magical powers are greater than his own, isn’t he helpless? But evil is not suppressed. Yes, when Tang Monk, who is devoted to chanting Buddha’s name, is in danger, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva will definitely turn the danger into good luck and help Tang Monk to bring good fortune. Besides, those monsters that monkeys cannot deal with are mostly the attendants or mounts of some saints. Those who caused trouble should be understood as obstacles deliberately created by Bodhisattvas and immortals to help Tang Seng realize the holy fruit early. “Everything is a test, it depends on what you do.” When Tang Seng was at the critical moment of life and death, he never blamed Guanyin Bodhisattva for letting him go. He learned from it!
“Sun Wukong’s muscles are thousands of miles away, but they can’t get out of the palm of Tathagata Buddha. If the Buddha wanted to give the Mahayana scripture to Tang Monk, it wouldn’t be an easy task, or wouldn’t it be easier if Sun Wukong took it? So, this book “Journey to the West” tells us about the difficulties of practicing Buddhism. In every Buddhist group, there will be all kinds of people seeking Buddhism. The Buddhist group is a melting pot, all-inclusive. Buddhism is the most rigid and indestructible; Buddhism is the most gentle and has no disadvantages. As long as everyone has the right mindfulness to practice, we can achieve great things together. So after going through many difficulties and dangers, the four masters and disciples finally paid homage to the Buddha. However, when they went to the Sutra Pavilion to collect scriptures Another obstacle is encountered. This actually means that as long as one has not become a Buddha, there will be ignorance. It also means that only by giving up can one gain.
“On the way back, all the Buddhist scriptures fell into the water, and in the end only six words were left: “Namo Amitabha”. The Buddha also said in the “Diamond Sutra”, “If someone says that the Tathagata has said something, it is slander against the Buddha.” At the same time, he also said that in the later stage of the Dharma End, starting from the “Surangama Sutra”, all the texts in the sutras will gradually disappear, and finally There are only six words left: “Namo Amitabha”.
“Actually, my explanation is to correct mistakes with right and wrong, and it is a last resort. Because “Journey to the West” and “Feng Shen Bang” are originally the product of Buddhism and Taoism competing and attacking each other. The master of Zen Buddhism in modern China, the old monk Xuyun Zeng told the origin of these two books:
“Back then, Monk Baiyun of Baiyun Temple in Beijing taught the Tao Te Ching. Many Taoist priests came to listen and became monks. However, the Taoist priests of Changchun Temple were unwilling to do so. Later, there was a lawsuit. In order to resolve the conflict, the imperial court changed the name of Changchun Temple to Changchun Temple and Baiyun Temple to Baiyun Temple. The Taoist priests were not convinced and wrote a novel “Journey to the West” to criticize Buddhism. People who read “Journey to the West” need to understand this historical background to see its truth. The most powerful thing is that the novel describes Monk Tang returning to the Tongtian River for Buddhist scriptures. After all the Buddhist scriptures were soaked in water, all the text was lost, leaving only the six words “Namo Amitabha”. This is an insinuation that all the Buddhist scriptures translated by Master Xuanzang are fake. . It is a pity that the world mistakenly believed in “Journey to the West” and buried “Journey to the West” which truly recorded historical facts.
The novel “Feng Shen Bang” written in response to “Journey to the West” is about monks scolding Taoist priests. Looking at it from this point of view, we can see that Taoist priests are criticized everywhere. For example, Taoist priests who cultivate immortality are bound to suffer disaster and suffer the edge of a knife. Read these two novels. If you don’t understand the relationship between Buddhism and Taoism, you will mistake the false for the true. Therefore, when reading, you must understand right from wrong and distinguish right from wrong. 』” (please refer to “Old Monk Xuyun’s Convenient Teachings”)
The above is the explanation of “Journey to the West” by the old monk Miaofa. He also suggested that by familiarizing ourselves with the Shurangama Sutra, we can develop the eye for discerning Dharma, and by reading more works by eminent monks, we can open up our own wisdom.
