If the characters in "Journey to the West" have a favorite ranking, then the most liked is Sun Wukong, the second is Tang Monk, in fact, Tang Monk has many places where he is very contradictory, sometimes he is an authentic monk, quite self-disciplined, on the other hand, he is also a layman, greedy for life and afraid of death, and also likes to break his thoughts.
The most direct exposure of this two-sided nature of the Tang monk in the Journey to the West is in the body of the old turtle of the Tongtian River, the old turtle of the Tongtian River drove him to the Tang monk on the way to take the scriptures, and asked him to ask Rulai about his life span, but the Tang monk did not ask, so on the way back, when the old turtle of the Tongtian River drove them across the river again, he knew that they had forgotten, so he threw them into the water.
This matter simply seems to be that the Tang monks did not keep their promises, but if you look closely, you can see that the Tang monks may not have forgotten, but deliberately did not ask, or did not dare to ask, because the so-called Western holy places are not as sacred as imagined.
Gently promised by the turtle
Tang Monk Tongtian River was blocked, invited the bodhisattva to rescue, after the bodhisattva left, the Eight Precepts Sand Monk rescued Tang Monk, Tang Monk asked Chen Jiazhuang's people to find a way to get a boat, just when everyone was trying, an old turtle appeared, willingly riding Tang Monk waited to cross the river, Tang Monk and apprentice naturally rejoiced.
He was thinking of getting on the boat, but Sun Wukong wouldn't let him, because his fire-eyed golden eye had already recognized that this old turtle was a monster, how could he be so kind, and he didn't want to get the master into the water halfway through and cause trouble again. The old turtle of the Tongtian River also understood the ability and doubts of the Great Sage, so he told them that he had come to drive the Tang monks without reason, but really to repay the favor, and then said where the grace came from.
It turned out that the old turtle was the old master of the Tongtian River, but the carp essence had driven him out when he came nine years ago, but fortunately, later Sun Wukong drove away the carp essence, so he could return to the Tongtian River.
This seems to make sense, so Sun Wukong is also relieved, and the others also feel that the old turtle has no problem, so they sit on the turtle's back and go to the other side.
On the occasion of parting, the old turtle entrusted Tang Monk with one thing, that is, to ask about his birthday. Tang Monk was favored by others, and if there was a reason for refusal, thinking that this was also a matter of convenience, he naturally accepted it.
Go to Lingshan and be afraid and forgetful
It is said that after the Tang monks arrived at the Spirit Mountain, they encountered many unexpected things, first they took a bottomless boat and were reborn, and then they bathed in the lotus pond to purify themselves before they could see the Buddha.
Only to see that in the Great Lei Yin Temple, the Buddha Lord sat on a high platform, sat down with many disciples, and when he saw the Buddha Lord, he was first told that it was not the Tang Dynasty, which allowed them to eat and pass on the scriptures, but it was this sutra that was also taken once, which can be said to break the Tang monks' illusions about the Pure Land of the West. The most important thing is the paragraph that asks for personnel, even if it is reported to Rulai, it is still inevitable, and I really don't know how to be good.
Although the last four people have all achieved positive results, this and their imagination still went to 108,000 miles, the so-called Buddha's kingdom, is still just a disillusioned human world.
In this case, did the four Tang monks really forget to help the old turtle ask about shouyan things, maybe they really forgot, but they didn't forget, nor did they have the opportunity to ask, because a rulai didn't have much preferential treatment for his reincarnation of this golden cicada, and he didn't even have a personal word, let alone a secret conversation.
If he asked in front of the disciples like a court, Tang Monk would not have the courage, so, judging from the situation of Tang Monk when he arrived at Lingshan Mountain, Mo said that he would really forget, that is, he did not forget, and when his thoughts turned, he did not dare to ask the exit.
And from beginning to end, Guanyin has been standing next to Rulai, and this bodhisattva who has taken good care of tang monks and disciples all the way has no old meaning, not even a greeting, only a few words when Sun Wukong asked to pick the golden hoop.
What was Tang Monk really afraid of
Why guanyin bodhisattva did not speak, what did her silence mean, what was The Tang monk really worried about, why when the Tang monk saw Rulai, it seemed that he was not a Buddhist, but a complete sutra reader, and did not want to stay in the Buddha country for a long time and learn about the style of the Buddha country, but actively took the sutra back to China, so as to restore the Tang King.
You know, tang monks taking the scriptures this time can be said to be a double identity, one is to take the scriptures as a Buddhist, the other is a senior monk of the Tang Dynasty to take the scriptures, why did he go to the Lingshan Mountain, he didn't even have the idea of cultivating the right results, and he only wanted to take the scriptures and restore his life.
If you watch the TV series, you will see that in the previous episode of Lingshan, it was the difficulty of the Tongtian River, the encounter in the Tongtian River, and the opportunity of the Lingshan Mountain, perhaps it really made Tang Monk change his delusions about the Pure Land of the West, he knew that the Sutra might be true, but the Buddha Kingdom was not a Pure Land. In particular, the Guanyin Bodhisattva who was standing on the side gave him a lot of pressure.
He remembered the eighty difficulties he had experienced, how many were real demons, how many were just demons in the Celestial Realm and the Buddha's Realm, especially in the Tongtian River, for nine years, a pair of virgin boys and girls a year, all said that the carp raised by Guanyin stole away from the human world, but the suffering in the human world was real, not Guanyin three or two sentences can be eliminated, Guanyin saved him Tang Monk, but how to save those children who died in vain.
If you ask Chen Jiazhuang about the life extension of the old turtle in tongtianhe at this time, if it is necessary to interrogate him about the bottom details of the old turtle, then the matter of carp essence cannot be hidden, you know, Guanyin destroyed all the aquatic tribes in Tongtian Hanoi in the beginning, why? It's certainly not just about catching carp essence.
Tang Monk was originally a simple Buddhist, his husband took the sutra and wished, and then he was sent by the Tang King, but at this time, he was not in the original mood for the world of Buddhism, at least this world created by Mahayana Buddhism was not as beautiful as people imagined, and the most tragic scene of Shi Huling Ridge and the relationship reflected in it made Tang Monk even more frightened.
As he exclaimed countless times: How can this Western world still be like this. At this time, the only thing he prayed for was that the scriptures were still true, that as a discipline it was still useful, and that the Devout hearts of the Buddhists had faded away, and the Tang monks were left with only the mission of a messenger to take the scriptures.
epilogue
The most incredible thing is that in order to make up the eighty-one difficulties, Guanyin Bodhisattva let the Tang monks fall on the clouds in the Tongtian River, to bear the old turtle's criticism, and let the Tang monks fall into the water, which is actually to tell the Tang monks and the old turtles, what you do, I understand.
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