Wuji Country is the country where Tang Monk and his disciples passed through the 36th and 40th chapter in the original Journey to the West. The following is a detailed introduction to the article by the editor of China Story Network.
Tang Monk and his disciples arrived at Baolin Temple in Wuji State. Seeing the bright moon in the sky, they talked about Zen while watching the moon. What truth did the four masters and disciples express when talking about Zen? Whose realm is high and whose realm is low.
1? Talk about the experience
The pilgrimage team left Pingdingshan and traveled westward to Wuji State. Tang Monk saw that there was a high mountain in front of him, so he asked his disciples to watch out for monsters. Sun Wukong asked Tang Monk not to be paranoid, as long as he was calm and at ease, he would be safe and sound naturally.
Tang Monk asked Monkey King why he couldn’t reach Lingshan Mountain after four or five years of walking? Sun Wukong replied, “It’s early. We haven’t even got out of the gate yet.” Pig Bajie felt strange after listening to this, and asked where there was such a big door in the world? Sun Wukong replied, “We are still walking around the house.”
After listening to the query, Monk Sha asked, “How can there be such a big beam when there is such a big room?”? Then the Monkey King replied, “The sky is a roof tile, the sun and the moon are windows, the four mountains and five mountains are beams, and the heaven and earth are an open hall.” Zhu Bajie and others were a little discouraged and stopped talking. Sun Wukong then led the crowd on.
Tang Monk entered the deep mountain and found that the mountain was high and the road was dangerous. There were many wolves, insects, tigers and leopards in the forest, so he wrote a poem to express his origin, experience and yearning for his hometown. Then Monkey King comforted Tang Monk, and he just went forward with confidence, and his achievements would come naturally.
2? Tang Monk Baolin Temple was humiliated
Tang Monk found a temple in front of him and suggested that everyone stay there. Sun Wukong then jumped into the sky and observed carefully. He found that there was no monster in the temple in front of him, so he took everyone outside the Baolin Temple. Monkey King asked Tang Monk who went to stay. Tang Monk was worried that the three disciples would frighten the monks in the temple. He replied that he could just go in. Then Tang Monk entered the Baolin Temple. He did not find anyone on his way, but saw many Buddha statues. Tang Monk walked all the way to the back of the temple and just met a Taoist who swept the floor.
The Taoist priest reported to the abbot that someone had come. When the abbot saw that Tang Monk was dressed in ordinary clothes, he mistook him for a wandering monk, so he scolded the Taoist priest for his troubles and asked Tang Monk to squat on the front porch for one night. Hearing this, Tang Monk sighed that people were separated from their hometown. He was afraid that he would be laughed at by the three disciples. He followed the abbot to show his mind again. The abbot then scolded Tang Monk for taking the wrong road and staying at the inn four or five miles to the west.
Tang Monk also said to his father, “The monks in the world are one family. You are merciless if you don’t keep me.” The abbot continued to scold Tang Monk for his glib tongue, saying that he once took in a group of down and out wandering monks and gave them clothes and food; As a result, the wandering monks stayed in the temple for seven or eight years and stole the property of the temple. Hearing this, Tang Monk wept secretly and had to swallow his pride and leave Baolin Temple.
3? Sun Wukong stunned Baolin Temple
Sun Wukong and other three people saw Tang Monk angry and sad. They asked him about what happened to him? Tang Monk replied, “The monks in the temple haven’t beaten me or scolded me, but it’s inconvenient in the temple.” Hearing this, Monkey King did not believe it, so he entered the Baolin Temple and shouted in front of the Buddha statue. Seeing this, the Taoist hurriedly told the abbot. When the abbot saw Monkey King, he was too scared to go out.
Monkey King asked the abbot to prepare a thousand rooms for him to rest. The abbot only had three hundred rooms here, so he pushed aside the inconvenience and told Monkey King not to go out. The Monkey King then took out his golden stick and stood in the temple, asking the abbot and others to move out. The abbot replied that there was no place to go, so it was impossible to move. Sun Wukong asked a monk to come out of the temple and let himself play a dozen. The abbot and the Taoist priest were so frightened that they pushed each other aside and dared not go out.
In order to frighten the abbot, Sun Wukong broke a stone lion. The abbot and the Taoist priest were so scared that they had to answer easily. Sun Wukong asked how many monks were in the temple. The abbot replied that there were five hundred. The Monkey King then told the abbot to ask the five hundred monks to dress neatly and go out to meet the Tang Monk. The Taoist ran to strike the bell and called out five hundred monks. Then five hundred monks, under the surveillance of Sun Wukong, welcomed Tang Monk’s disciples into the Baolin Temple politely.
4? Four disciples talking about Zen
The abbot asked Tang Monk and his disciples to eat meat and vegetarianism. Tang Monk answered that he was vegetarian, while Zhu Bajie asked for four stone rice. Then the abbot arranged food and accommodation for Monk Tang’s disciples, and led the monks away. Tang Monk went out easily. Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing followed him. Seeing the bright moonlight, Tang Monk recited a poem to express the beauty of moonlight and homesickness. Hearing this, Monkey King explained the reason why the moon was gaining and losing. He also recited a poem to express that as long as he was firm in his will and devoted to pursuing Buddhism, he would naturally get the Sutra and return to his hometown. Tang Monk was very happy and praised Sun Wukong’s words.
Sha Wujing said: Although the elder martial brother was right, he didn’t say everything. So he also recited a poem to express that as long as the four masters and disciples work together, they will be successful. Tang Monk was even more happy when he heard this. After hearing this, Zhu Bajie also recited a poem to express that it was difficult to learn the sutra and he often suffered from hunger. Hearing this, Tang Monk asked people to go back to rest and review the scriptures they had learned. Sun Wukong and the three of them went back to sleep, while Tang Monk silently recited scriptures in the room.
5? On the Height of Zen
Tang Monk…… Has a long piece of ancient style. Shiyun: The bright soul is hanging in the sky, and the mountains and rivers are full of shadows. Qionglouyuyu is full of light, and the ice reading silver plate is cool. Wanli is now the same as Jiaojie, and the brightest night of the year. It looks like frost cake leaving the sea, but it looks like an ice wheel hanging in the blue sky. In the cold window of another restaurant, the lonely guest is bored, and the old man in the wild shop in the mountain village sleeps. At first, I was surprised by the autumn temples in the Han Garden, and then I came to the Qin Tower to promote the evening dowry. Yu Liang wrote a poem about the history of Jin Dynasty, and Yuan Hong couldn’t sleep. The surface of the light floating cup is cold and feeble, which clearly reflects the health and immortality in the court. Everywhere the windows sing snow, and every courtyard makes ice strings. Tonight, we will play quietly in the Mountain Temple. When will we return to our hometown? (Journey to the West, 36th Chapter)
When the traveler heard the words, he came near and said, “Master… If we can warm up our minds in September, it will be easy for us to see the Buddha and return to our hometown in that time. The poem said,” After the first string and before the second string, the medicine tastes ordinary and complete. If we can collect it and practice it in the furnace, the result of determination skill will be the western sky. ” (Journey to the West, 36th Chapter)
The monk smiled and said, “Although you are right, Elder Martial Brother, you only said that the front of the string belongs to Yang, the back of the string belongs to Yin, and the middle of the Yin is half Yang, so you can get the gold of water. What’s more, you can’t say: water and fire are mixed together, and each has its own destiny. It depends on the mother of earth. The three families have no competition, and the moon is in the sky in the Yangtze River.” (Journey to the West, 36th Chapter)
Bajie came up to the Elder and said, “Shifu, don’t listen to nonsense. You missed your sleep. This month, I was reunited soon after I was born. It seems that I was not perfect. I thought I had a big stomach when I ate, but I said I was drooling when I took a bowl. He was smart and practiced Laifu, and I was stupid and had a lot of luck. I said that you had learned scriptures for three times, and you shook your head to heaven.” (Journey to the West, 36th Chapter)
The four members of the sutra learning team are enjoying the moon and talking about Zen in the Baolin Temple. Their feelings and ambits are as follows:
First of all, Tang Monk expressed his homesickness through the round moon. Although he was determined to learn from the scriptures, he obtained the scriptures in order to repay the gratitude of Emperor Taizong to ensure the stability of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Tang Monk went west all the way, and his homesickness became more and more serious. He was eager to reach the western sky as soon as possible to get the scripture so that he could return to his hometown. Therefore, although Tang Monk is a monk and has read Buddhist classics well, he lacks the spiritual perception of “emptiness” and “purity”, so his realm is low.
Next, Sun Wukong explained the reason why the moon was round and short to Tang Monk first, and then expressed his understanding that “the Buddha should not be far away from Lingshan Mountain, and Lingshan Mountain is only in your heart”, and advised Tang Monk not to be impatient, as long as you go west, Lingshan Mountain is easy to reach, and hometown is easy to return; Pursue the Tao with all one’s heart, and your accomplishments will come naturally. Then you will be satisfied and go where you want to go. Tang Monk was very happy and praised Sun Wukong. It can be seen that Sun Wukong’s realm is slightly higher than Tang Monk’s.
Once again, Monk Sha first mediated for Monk Tang and Monkey King, and then expressed that only by working together can we obtain the scripture. It can be seen that Monk Sha has an inclusive attitude and advocates seeking common ground while reserving differences. Monk Tang is more happy and enlightened. It can be seen that the realm of Monk Sha is slightly higher than that of Monk Tang, and is similar to that of Monkey King.
In the end, Zhu Bajie expressed that he was hard to learn from the experience and was excluded, so he felt inferior. Although he complained that people treated him unfairly, he would adapt to the situation slowly. Therefore, although Zhu Bajie is a monk, he, like Tang Monk, is not as pure as Tang Monk. Disclaimer: The above content comes from the network, and the copyright belongs to the original author. If it infringes your original copyright, please inform us, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.