Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles:
When the Tang monks and disciples were about to step into the Spirit Mountain, they had encountered a prison disaster, but this prison disaster was completely a disaster of innocence, because all four masters and disciples had been wronged.
However, the strange thing is that Sun Wukong obviously has the ability to let the master escape this disaster, but he has no action; obviously he can catch the culprit and wash away the grievances, but he let the murderer go in advance; obviously there are ten thousand ways to escape from prison, but he let the jailer punch and kick the master, and also gave the brocade robe...
So, what are the little-known secrets behind these strange behaviors?
Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles: The most bizarre passage of Journey to the West, knowing that Tang Monk was wronged, why did Sun Wukong still persuade him to go to prison?
One
Tang Monk was unjustly imprisoned, and the reason for the whole thing was as follows:
In the fourteenth year of The Tang monks' journey, the four of them came to tongtai mansion in the Tianzhu Kingdom, just one step away from the Spirit Mountain.
In Tongtai Province, they met the great benevolent person Kou Yuanwai, and the doubts about the Kou Yuanwai were specifically mentioned in a previous issue, which was omitted here. Because Kou Yuanwai's wife wore needles, her heart and eyes were not good, and the two sons she gave birth to came from unknown sources, which made Kou Yuanwai feel uneasy.
It is precisely because Kou Yuanwai realized this that he insisted on fasting monks all these years in order to seek the blessings of the Buddha. But contrary to his wishes, the front foot clerk had just fasted enough for ten thousand monks, and the back foot family recruited thieves, and accidentally kicked into the crotch, and as a result, he did not come up in one breath and saw the king of Yama.
Wearing Needle Originally saw the appearance of the thief, but because she also wanted to fast tang monks for a few days before, she was rejected, plus Kou Yuan spent a lot of silver on the four Tang monks and apprentices. Thus holding a grudge in his heart, he insisted that this gang of robbers were the four Tang monks and apprentices, and asked his son to report to the officials:
"The Tang monk lit a fire, and the Eight Precepts called killing. The sand monk stole the gold and silver, and Sun Xing killed my father. ”
Coincidentally, that night, the Tang monks and disciples stayed in the defeated Huaguang Courtyard, and then caught up with the sudden change in the weather that night, and it rained heavily, and several people were forced to sleep all night, and they did not even have to sleep.
This delay, on the contrary, happened to meet a group of thieves, and after a fight, Sun Wukong left the stolen goods, but let the thieves go. Immediately after the pursuit of the officers and soldiers arrived, in the presence of human and physical evidence, the Tang monk had difficulty arguing, and had no choice but to submit to the law.
Then the question arises, Sun Wukong obviously has a hundred ways to escape responsibility, why did he persuade Tang Monk to go to prison instead?
Two
Does it mean that Sun Wukong does not advocate the rule of man, but believes in the rule of law, and believes that the history of the thorns in Tongtai Province can wash away their grievances?
In fact, the person least qualified to say this is Sun Wukong, after all, before being pressed under the Five Elements Mountain, he did not have any sense of the rule of law. Later, after serving a five-hundred-year sentence at the foot of the Five Elements Mountain, he thanked the Heavenly Court every day, thanked the Buddha, changed his heart, and made up his mind to transform into a person who is useful to society:
"I already know that I have repented, but I hope that great mercy will show you the way and I would like to practice."
Only then did the Tang monk Xi Tian take the scriptures, passing through the Two Realms Mountain (Five Elements Mountain), and saving Sun Wukong's afterword. In fact, from the heart, if there is a substitute, Tang Monk will not choose Sun Wukong, after all, even if this monkey has been suppressed for five hundred years, his heart is still very proud.
There was a joke about The Journey to the West before, about Sun Wukong who was annoying Tang Monk again, and as a result, Pig Eight Commandments persuaded him, saying: Brother Monkey, you have lived for more than a thousand years, how can you still be angry with a child of dozens of years old?
Yes, in Sun Wukong's eyes, Tang Monk is a cowardly and timid little monk, why should he instruct himself to do this and that?
Despite this complaint, Sun Wukong, who had been thinking under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, also understood that there are people outside the people, and there is a heaven outside the sky. So after being reprimanded by Tang Monk for killing six robbers, he wanted to go back to Huaguo Mountain, but he resisted and ran to the East Sea Dragon King for comfort.
The East Sea Dragon King is very knowledgeable, in fact, the truth instilled in Sun Wukong is that people have to bow their heads under the eaves, when you robbed me of the Sea God Needle, didn't I also know the current affairs as Junjie?
"Great Sage, if you don't protect the Tang monks, if you are not diligent, if you are not taught, you are a demon immortal in the end, and you will not be able to achieve the right results."
Three
This sentence of the East Sea Dragon King actually runs through the entire process of taking the scriptures, and has also become the creed of Sun Wukong single-mindedly protecting the Tang monks!
After returning home, Sun Wukong was tricked into wearing a tight hoop by Tang Monk, in fact, if it were not for Sun Wukong's intention to change, this hoop would not be so easy to wear on his head.
After all, when Tang Monk deceived Sun Wukong at that time, he said that it was beneficial to wear this hat:
"If this hat is worn, it will be chanted without teaching the scriptures; if this garment is worn, it will be performed without a ceremony."
This shows that Sun Wukong wants to read the sutras, wants to learn the Dharma, wants to learn the etiquette of the world, and does not want to be a monkey who is rash and does not understand human feelings.
But to say that Tang Monk deceived monkeys, it is not all, because after this Sun Wukong really tried to chant the scriptures, he really tried to behave more politely, at least he was loyal to Tang Monk.
However, with the addition of the Little White Dragon, the Eight Precepts of the Pig, and the Sand Monk, it triggered the expansion of Tang Monk's desire to control. Coupled with the fact that pig eight precepts are a little jealous of the position of the master brother, this is the story of the three dozen white bone essences in the back.
Sun Wukong left Tang Monk this time, not on his own initiative, but forced, even if he bowed to Tang Monk in four directions, southeast, northwest, and southeast, he could not save Master's determination. Although he was sad, he had no choice but to tell the monk one by one:
"Brother Xian, you are a good person, but as long as you pay attention to the eight precepts, you must be more careful on the way."
However, after returning to Huaguo Mountain, Sun Wukong turned over the whole process of being driven away, only to find that not only the Eight Precepts of the Pig, but also the Sand Monk was actually promoting this matter.
This led Sun Wukong to question the sand monk later:
"You shani! Master recites the "Tight Hoop Mantra", can you help me? ”
Four
In fact, up to this point, the entire process of transforming Sun Wukong by taking the scripture path is basically completed, but Tang Monk, facing being saved, also uses utilitarianism to induce Sun Wukong:
"Sage, I have lost you, I have lost you!" This go, early to the West, go back to the East, play the Tang King, your merits first. ”
As the saying goes, to tempt it with utilitarianism, to exhaust the benefits are scattered, Sun Wukong understands this, and can only laugh:
"Mo said Mo said! But if you don't read those words, you will feel the love and affection. ”
Utilitarian will not bother you, but please don't chant the mantra in the future, and I will be grateful to Dade.
However, on the road behind, although Tang Monk also relented, he still couldn't distinguish between the important and the heavy, and he still had half-belief in Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong didn't care, he knew that the red child was a monster, but he listened to the master's words, on his back; he knew that the old way in front of him was changed by the Silver Horn King, but listened to the master's words, on his back; he knew that the woman in the black pine forest was a monster, but he also listened to the master's words, on his back.
In fact, all kinds of results show that Sun Wukong is right and Tang Monk is wrong, but Sun Wukong only dares to secretly cry bitterly and scold Tang Monk for being old and confused:
"Poor, poor! You deserve to die, only for the sand monk, the eight precepts and the little dragon to transform the horse! ”
The third intensification of their contradictions was because Sun Wukong killed several robbers, causing Tang Monk to frantically chant the tightening mantra.
If we carefully count the yokai that Sun Wukong killed on the way to the scriptures, there are actually very few, why is he benevolent to the more powerful yokai, but not to some mortal bandits?
The reason is very simple, the mentality is different, the monsters will set up a plan before eating the meat of Tang monks, and the robbers' minds are all killing thoughts and desires, which are uncontrollable factors.
Five
Obviously, Tang Monk couldn't see this, in his eyes, as long as it was the appearance of a human, even if the monster changed, Sun Wukong couldn't kill it.
He thought that this was the compassion that he should have as a master, as a disciple of the Buddha, as a senior monk of the Tang Dynasty, as the reincarnation of the second disciple under the seat of the Buddha.
But in Sun Wukong's view, Tang Monk is still far from reaching this level, to give a few simple examples:
At the Tsuten River, in the face of the act of the Inspiration King eating virgin boys and girls, it was Sun Wukong who first proposed to lower the demon. However, after the demon was blocked, Tang Monk knew that the demon had not yet been eliminated, but he still insisted on going west and abandoning the people of Chen Jiazhuang, knowing that Tang Monk was also surnamed Chen.
This move, even the Eight Precepts of the Pig can not be seen, and later after the Tang Monk was captured by the Inspiration King's design, the Eight Precepts of the Pig also ridiculed the Tang Monk, saying that he was no longer surnamed Chen, changed his surname to Shen, and was called Shen to the end.
Similarly, in the daughter country, Tang Monk and Pig Eight Commandments both drank the water of the Zimu River and became pregnant with a small baby. Tang Monk's first reaction was to kill this child immediately, and because of this, he could not delay his important matter of learning the Scriptures from the Western Heavens:
"Mother-in-law, do you have a doctor here?" Teach my apprentice to buy an abortion pill to eat and lay the fetus. ”
The first reaction of the Eight Precepts of the Pig is to find a midwife and give birth to this child:
"Brother! You ask this mother-in-law, look at the stable woman with light hands there, and look for a few in advance..."
Including marrying the king of the daughter country, obviously he has this intention, but also deliberately seeking Sun Wukong's opinion, these acts are also seen by Sun Wukong.
This time, facing Tang Monk again and reciting the mantra without hesitation, it really annoyed Sun Wukong, and sometimes he spoke with his fists, which was much more reliable than simply preaching.
Six
However, after Sun Wukong beat Tang Monk severely through the fake Monkey King, although the tight hoop mantra was no longer recited, Tang Monk's Buddha heart still did not grow.
For example, in the bhikkhu country, the white deer spirit actually came to test the Tang monks on behalf of the Buddha of Rulai to see if he had a Buddha's heart or not, and whether he could become a Buddha. After all, the next stop in the bhikkhu kingdom was the Tianzhu kingdom, and the path to taking the sutra was coming to an end, but the Tang monks didn't seem to have changed.
You know, Tang Monk could have saved the lives of a thousand and one children with his own heart, but he was unwilling to do so. He even knelt down and begged Sun Wukong to save his life, and if he could save him, he would rather give Sun Wukong a disciple:
"If you can save my life, I would rather be a disciple with you."
This also made Sun Wukong feel disdainful of Tang Monk's behavior, which also led to the fact that he had a hundred ways to save Tang Monk's life, but he chose to paste Tang Monk's face with urine mud:
"Even though the fool nailed palladium and built some soil, he did not dare to go outside to get water, and then he took up his clothes and spilled it, and gave it to the walker."
Above the court, Sun Wukong deliberately let go of his own mental nature and achieved the improvement of his buddha-nature:
"Fame, jealousy, calculation, competitiveness, high hope, insult..."
Therefore, in the later stage, we will find that it is Sun Wukong who is really guiding the sutra, and in the process of discussing the Heart Sutra with the Tang monks again and again, his mentality has changed greatly, and he has become a monkey with a Buddha nature, and his cultivation is already far above the Tang monks. The Tang monks also slowly moved from the dominant person to the edge of learning the scriptures, becoming a being attached to Sun Wukong.
Seven
In some things, Sun Wukong can even say the past and present lives of Tang Monk, and can predict the future trend of the sutra.
For example, in the Zenlin Temple, Tang Monk was seriously ill, felt that his life was not long, and specially wrote a suicide note to Sun Wukong. In the face of the eight precepts of the pig and the confusion of the sand monk, Sun Wukong also deliberately explained the origin of this serious illness, mentioning:
"Teacher Father did not listen to the Buddha's teachings, took a nap, lost a drop, and took a grain of rice under his left foot.
In fact, at this time, including the Buddha or Sun Wukong, he was already reminding Tang Monk not to neglect the Dharma.
With this premise, it is easier to understand if we look at Tang Monk's prison disaster this time!
Because the officers and soldiers hunted down by tongtai province arrived, and all the people stole it, this made Tang Monk dumbfounded:
"The three Tibetans hear the words, like a sea cooking boat, the soul is flying and mourning."
In fact, the matter of wearing a needle to complain happened only after the Tang monks and disciples left, why in the face of the pursuit of officers and soldiers, Sun Wukong quietly told the sha monk:
"Master's calamity star has arrived again, and this must be the intention of the officers and soldiers to catch thieves."
Since he could foresee that the government would arrest the Tang monks, why did he let go of so many robbers, obviously taking the robbers to see the officials, he could wash away his grievances, why didn't he do this?
So that when he reached the top of the court, in the face of the accusations of the government, Tang Monk asked Sun Wukong for help, but Sun Wukong asked him to admit it:
"If there is stolen goods, it is true, and it is necessary to discern what is it!"
Yes, people have said that since you Tang Monk said that it was someone else who stole something, then you can intercept the stolen goods, why don't you catch the real culprit to defend yourself?
Eight
It can be seen from this that Sun Wukong deliberately let Tang Monk suffer from this prison disaster, and this disaster was recorded in the Eighty-One Difficulties.
"Master should have this night of imprisonment, lao Sun did not open his mouth to discern, did not make the mana, cover this ear."
In the court, tang monks did not move, and the assassin Shi Du moved to a big punishment, the so-called big punishment is to strangle the rope on the head, which is similar to Sun Wukong's tight hoop.
Of course, Sun Wukong couldn't strangle him like this, tang monk strangled him like this, and if he didn't get it right, he would die, and Sun Wukong naturally couldn't let him suffer this. But when he got to prison and was beaten by the jailer, this Sun Wukong couldn't help.
The tang monk, who was helplessly beaten, even contributed the golden robes, completely forgetting the momentum of the threat of tightening the hoop spell in order to let Sun Wukong find the robes.
"Poor people will be caught in, one by one pushed into the bed, buckled the belly, the enemy brain, climbed the chest, the forbidden children came to beat again." Sanzang's pain is hard to contain. ”
In fact, all this that Tang Monk endured was just about to end the sutra, and Sun Wukong concentrated his dissatisfaction over the years to vent once.
For example, being wronged!
Yes, when I was three dozen white bone essences, I was wronged, I explained so, do you Tang monks listen? In the same way, Thorn Shi only believes in what his own eyes see, how do you Tang Monk explain?
Such as bribing jailers!
If you refuse to throw away even the things outside your body, how can you prepare for the rebirth of the back and the loss of the flesh?
But in the final analysis, this grievance still has to be washed away, otherwise the way to take the scriptures behind it can't go, so how did Sun Wukong crack the whole case in two or three hours?
Nine
In fact, it is very simple to solve the case, to catch the gang of robbers back!
But this is not what Sun Wukong wants, after all, he killed the robber twice, was driven away by the Tang monk twice, and this time he did not find trouble with the robbers in any way, not to mention that this gang of robbers also had the meaning of trying to learn the scriptures, and it was not good that behind it was a certain Lingshan big man.
Therefore, at this time, Sun Wukong has a little bit of the meaning of the rule of law in it, for example, the first step is to solve the problem of "the people do not sue, the officials do not prosecute", that is, to solve the problem of wearing a needle to sue.
According to the thinking analysis of the needle, this group of monks not only ate so much silver in their own family, but also let the old people die, plus the loss of money, this is the disaster star, do not sue them?
It can be said that she hated Tang Monk to death, how could she easily withdraw the lawsuit?
Easy, threatening, it is best to pretend to be a ghost again, after all, when che Chi Guo was in the country, he had made such a play. Therefore, Sun Wukong ran back to the house of the Kou Yuanwai, turned into a small bug and lay on the coffin, deliberately made a sound, pretended to be the ghost of the Kou Yuanwai, and said that if he did not withdraw the lawsuit:
"Otherwise, teach me to stir up trouble at home for January, and I will close the door to the old and the young, chickens and dogs, and so on, and not one will be preserved!"
Although the plaintiff is gone, the government can still continue to be the plaintiff, and if the government does not agree to withdraw the lawsuit, then it must solve the problem of the history of the assassination.
So he slipped into the Assassin Historian again, who really wanted to be promoted, and the family painted a painting of the relatives of the ancestors who were more prominent and offered it on the wall. So Sun Wukong learned from his uncle's voice, reprimanded him, said that he had wronged a good person, and asked him to let go of Tang Monk quickly, otherwise he would drag him to hades for questioning.
Even so, he was not at ease, and he became the god of the night, so that all the people could see and launch a public opinion war to influence the judgment of the government, if not:
"Kick and kill the county magistrates of Hefu first, and then kill the residents of the four realms, and turn the city into ashes."
This is actually a rogue and wanton interference in the administration of justice!
Ten
Why did Tang Monk deserve this prison disaster?
In fact, it is not so complicated, because the Tang monk stayed in the house outside the Kou Yuan for too long, resulting in the neglect of the Buddha's heart. Moreover, all this is still under the premise of knowing that the eight precepts of the pig can eat, and deliberately stay for a few more days, so that the eight precepts of the pig can be eaten.
Moreover, this was not the first time that tang monks had been warned, and when they were in Jinping Province, they had already warned him once.
The monks of Jinping Province respected the Tang monks very much, calling him a high monk of the Heavenly Dynasty and complimenting him:
"The people who are good to me here, who read the sutras and chant the Buddha, all expect to cultivate to your Chinese land. Only to see the teacher's abundant clothes, it was indeed cultivated by the previous life..."
This made Tang Monk very useful, and after being happy, he stopped and did not leave, and he also had to visit the Lantern Lantern a few days later, and as a result, he encountered three rhinoceros spirit incidents.
Afterwards, when Sun Wukong ran to the Heavenly Court to rescue the soldiers, he personally told the four heavenly masters:
"Because my master is tolerant of Zen nature, he looks at the lights on the first night and encounters demons."
Because the master relaxed his Zen mind and neglected the Dharma, he was captured by the monster...
The book also deliberately emphasizes a sentence:
"Lazy and unrestrained, zen-disordered, disaster-prone and distracted."
In fact, tang monks did not learn their lesson, and after the rhinoceros essence was removed, they still enjoyed it again in Jinping Province:
"This pay, that family please, a little bit of nonsense... After living for a month, I still can't get up..."
It can be seen that Sun Wukong used this to vent his dissatisfaction, and also found a legitimate reason for Tang Monk to go to prison. Not only because we have been framed, but also because we have neglected the Buddha's mind during this time.
Later, maybe Sun Wukong still didn't understand the hatred, or maybe Tang Monk was really unqualified, couldn't become a Buddha, and simply pushed Tang Monk into the water and drowned alive in the next Ling Yundu...
Of course, because of the length of the reason, about the death of Tang Monk, we will deliberately open a special issue to talk about it later, welcome to pay attention!