Is there really a "Jigong" in history? If so, what about the person? Who is his master, and what is his way of doing?

Ji Gong, a figure that has been widely circulated in the folk since the Southern Song Dynasty, especially in the 1980s, through the dissemination of the TV series "Ji Gong", his image of helping the poor in the seeming madness, punishing evil and promoting good has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. When people relish the legendary story of Jigong, it is inevitable that such a question arises: Does Jigong really have its own people? If so, who was the master who taught him legendary skills? Today, this article is to answer these questions.

First of all, Jigong not only has his own people, but also comes from a famous and prestigious family.

Jigong is not surnamed "Ji", because of its legal name "Daoji", the world respects "Jigong", and his original surname is Li. In the eighteenth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1148 AD), Ji Gong was born in Yongning Village, Tiantai Mountain, which belonged to Taizhou, Zhejiang. His high ancestor Li Zunxun was an envoy of Emperor Taizong of Song and the Commandery of the Zhenguo Army. The Li family has believed in Buddhism for generations, but the people are not prosperous, Li Maochun, the father of Jigong, and his mother Wang Shi were nearly forty years old before they gave birth to his single seedling, the whole family regarded it as a treasure, and the abbot of Guoqing Temple named him Xiuyuan. When Xiu Yuan was one year old, his parents put up a hundred things for him to grasp in order to test his ambitions, but he only loved the Buddha beads.

Li Xiuyuan studied in his hometown when he was a teenager. Due to the influence of Tiantai Mountain's "Buddha's Daoyuan" and his parents, he imperceptibly and germinated the idea of Fang Wai. After Xiu Yuan became an adult, his parents died one after another, and he did become a monk at the Guoqing Temple, with the legal name "Daoji", and soon reached the southern end of the Sui and Tang Dynasty Grand Canal - Lin'an (now Hangzhou), and defected to the abbot of the Lingyin Temple, Hui Yuan Zen Master. After meeting and talking, Hui Yuan knew that he had extraordinary foundations, and decided that "genius" did not need to be taught, so instead of the general method of "preaching and teaching karma to solve puzzles", it was guided by his nature because of the situation. Under the guidance of Master Huiyuan Zen, Daoji was touched by a spiritual opportunity, suddenly realized, jumped madly, and was confirmed by Master Huiyuan Zen, with four verses:

Last night, when the moon was bright, someone knew how to nod the lamp.

Suddenly thinking about the events of the time, the Avenue Fang knew a flat.

Daoji realized his own face, infinite happiness, and his words and deeds were informal. Since then, in "Hangzhou", which has the reputation of heaven, people often see a monk who behaves strangely: he is diametrically opposed to the monk who likes to be pure and quiet, does not like to chant the scriptures, hates sitting meditation, wears ragged clothes, wanders around the city, and loves wine and meat, like madness, known as "Ji Qiang Monk"; The monks of the Lingyin Temple also felt that Daoji was not an abnormal person, so they jointly complained to the abbot, saying that Ji had violated the Zen gate precepts and should be beaten and expelled from the mountain gate. Abbot Hui Yuanli said, "The law was originally set up by ordinary people, so how can it be applied in general!" And commented on the joint petition: "The Buddha's door is vast, and there is no room for a monk!" No one dared to mention it since.

After the death of Master Huiyuan Zen, Daoji was not tolerated by the monks, and he defected to the local Jingci Temple, still "non-vulgar and non-monk, extraordinary non-immortal", fond of wine and meat, as if crazy, traveling in all directions, footprints all over Zhejiang, Anhui, Shu and other places. After a long time, people saw that Daoji was originally a high-ranking monk: his medical skills were wonderful, and he did not receive any money for treating people; He helped the needy and the poor; He upholds justice and seeks justice for the weak; He used the Zen language that is easy to pass on and remember to educate the people to have good thoughts and distinguish between right and wrong, such as:

Gamblers have no bottom – what? Brothers and sisters are all in the same breath – what to fight for?

Children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren - what to worry about? After death, the article can't be taken away - what?

When will the wrongs be repaid – what will be the knot? How can people have no luck when they are in a hurry?

Things are like a game of chess – what is it? It's hard to laugh – what's the pain?

Right and wrong are clear – what to argue? Get cheap and lose cheap – greed for what?

The common people benefited from him and called him "Living Buddha Jigong" and "Jigong Bodhisattva".

Regarding the legendary story of Jigong, there are detailed descriptions in the TV series, which are useless to repeat, and will not be repeated, but only add one point: Jigong is knowledgeable, good at poetry and good writing, and has written 10 volumes of "Quotations of The Peak of The Peak", and many poems, mainly included in the "Chronicle of Jingci Temple" and "Taishan Fanxiang". Just as the so-called "wen is like its person", his poems are simple and playful, with a strong atmosphere of life, to name a few.

One

Out of the shore peach blossom red Jinying, sandwich willow green silk light.

Look at the egret peeping at the fish, and break through the flat lake a little green.

Second

In his life, he only loves to sip yellow soup, and he has no money to buy it for several days.

Now fortunate to see Junjun Mo Hindrance, and ask for a few bowls to moisten the intestines.

Third

Nothing has ever been relevant, and a unique mash is really greedy.

If there are no three bowls of wine in the morning, how can you forbid the wind chill outside the door.

In the second year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1209), Jigong Yuanyuan died and lived for sixty-one years. Dying suicide note:

Sixty years of chaos, the east wall hit the west wall,

Now that I have returned, I am still full of water.

With his Daoist deeds and talents, Ji Gong was listed as the fiftieth ancestor of Zen Buddhism and the sixth ancestor of the Yang Qi sect.

As the saying goes: a famous teacher makes a high disciple. A high-ranking monk like Ji Gong, presumably his master is not an ordinary person, so who is he? Is it the TV series or the Huiyuan Zen master mentioned earlier? If so, where is he? What's the legend?

In fact, Ji Gong had more than one master, but the one who really enlightened him was the Huiyuan Zen Master. Huiyuan Zen master commonly known as Peng, a native of Jinliu Town, Meishan, Sichuan. A monk who was ordained at the age of thirteen and was a monk who had made special contributions to the history of Chinese Buddhism, cultural history, and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, he served as the abbot of Lingyin Temple in the sixth year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1170 AD). Song Xiaozong had great respect for Zen Master Huiyuan and discussed Buddhism with him nine times, giving him the title of "Zen Master of Fohai". Hui Yuan Zen master has a frank temperament and has similarities with Ji Gong, who once wrote such a poem:

Smoke waves, this life from the West Lake long. A small paddle of light wind swings out of Luhua Harbor. Sing triumphantly, and the silence of the night is loud. No one appreciated it, clapped their hands at home, and sang through a thousand mountains.

Once, Song Xiaozong asked Master Hui Yuan to accompany You Fei laifeng. Feilai Peak is on the hillside in front of lingyin temple, also known as ling vulture peak. Legend has it that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, an Indian monk Hui Li came to Hangzhou and was surprised to see this peak: "This is the small ridge of the Spirit Vulture Mountain of the Tianzhu Kingdom, I don't know why it flew here?" Hence the name: Flying Peak. When Song Xiaozong heard this allusion, he asked, "If you can fly, why don't you fly?" Hui Yuan replied casually, "It's better to move than to be still." Back in the temple, Song Xiaozong saw the statue of Guanyin Buddha holding a rosary bead and asked, "Who does guanyin who holds the beads and recites Guanyin?" Hui Yuan replied, "Still chanting Guanyin." Song Xiaozong asked why, and Hui Yuan said, "It is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself." Song Xiaozong listened and was very impressed with Hui Yuan's smooth and Zen-like answer.

On the first day of the first lunar month (15th lunar month) of Song Chunxi Yiwei (1175), Master Hui Yuan died at the age of seventy-four. The niches remain for ten days, and the color remains unchanged. On the 25th of the same month, he was buried in the Tower of Wufeng.

Collected in March 2019