#头条创作挑战赛#As a classic of ancient Chinese literature, "Journey to the West" contains rich life philosophy and wisdom, and its storyline and characters are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In this work, Guanyin Bodhisattva is an important character, and her words and deeds have a profound meaning. After the success of learning the scriptures, Guanyin Bodhisattva only failed to fulfill his promise to the sand monks, and this episode also attracted widespread attention and thinking.
Let's first take a look at Guanyin's commitment to the sand monks. In "Journey to the West", Guanyin Bodhisattva went to the Five Elements Mountain and met the Monkey King who was crushed under the mountain. At this time, Sun Wukong already had the intention of taking refuge in Buddhism, so Guanyin Bodhisattva promised him that as long as he was willing to follow a scripture learner to the Eastern Tang Dynasty, he could save him and let him achieve positive results. This promise was finally fulfilled, and Sun Wukong became a fighting Buddha.
For Zhu Bajie, Guanyin Bodhisattva made a promise that as long as he went to the Western Heavens, he could redeem his merits and escape the calamities suffered in the Heavenly Court. In the end, Zhu Bajie became the messenger of the Pure Altar, although the position is not high, but it is also a position with actual offerings, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of the promise of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
For Tang Seng, as the reincarnation of the golden cicada, he is himself a scripture learner, so it is natural to worship the Buddha and become a Buddha.
Finally, there is the sand monk, when he was a demon in the quicksand river, he once ate the first nine generations of the scriptures. And when Guanyin Bodhisattva enlightened him, he made such a promise to him: "Why don't you come to my door, take refuge in good fruits, be an apprentice with the person who learns the scriptures, and go to the west to worship the Buddha and ask for scriptures? At that time, you will be exempted from sin, and you will be reinstated, how will you feel in your heart?" This sentence not only promised Sha Seng to be exempted from all criminal responsibility, but also added an article, that is, the official was reinstated. Sha Seng's job is the general of the curtain next to the Jade Emperor, and he is a close confidant of the Jade Emperor. However, after the success of learning the scriptures, neither Nyolai nor Guanyin Bodhisattva mentioned reinstating the sand monk official, and even returned to the heavenly court, but became a mere arhat and stayed in the western heaven forever.
So, why did Guanyin Bodhisattva not fulfill his promise to the sand monks? In fact, the truth of the Buddha's words when he rewarded the sand monks has already been revealed. For example, he said: "Sha Wujing, you are a general of the rolling shutter, first because of the peach will break the glass cup, degrade your lower realm, fortunately return to my religion, protect the holy monks, climb the mountain and lead the horse, and increase the promotion of the great position, as a golden Arhat." ”
From this sentence, we can see that the Buddha believed that Sha Seng did have merit in protecting Tang Seng, so he named him a golden-bodied Arhat. However, this position is clearly a far cry from the official reinstatement that Sha Seng expected. For Sha Seng, this result is undoubtedly a bit disappointing.
So, why didn't the sand monk resist? In fact, there is another meaning in this sentence of the Buddha. For example, to say that Sha Seng "has merit in climbing mountains and leading horses", is actually accusing Sha Seng of not working hard in the process of learning scriptures. We know that in the original work, Sha Seng's job is mainly to lead the horse and protect Tang Seng, but this horse is actually transformed by a little white dragon, and there is no need for someone to lead it at all. And the work of protecting Tang Seng is mainly undertaken by Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, and Sha Seng rarely has the opportunity to make a move. Therefore, this sentence of the Buddha is actually implying that Sha Seng did not perform at the desired level.
Perhaps, Sha Seng also thought of standing up like Zhu Bajie and asking the Buddha for an explanation. But after pondering Rulai's words, he still chose to be silent. After all, the Buddha had made it clear that it was already a reward for him that the sand monk could get the position of a golden-bodied arhat. If he continues to pester, it is likely to cause Rulai's dissatisfaction, and he may even be punished more severely.
Speaking of which, many people may think that Sha Seng really didn't do his best along the way. But in fact, when Sha Seng was in the Heavenly Court, he was originally responsible for protecting the Jade Emperor's guards with knives, and his combat effectiveness was naturally not too bad. Even he himself once said: "I am respected in the Nantian Gate, and I am called in front of the Lingxiao Palace." It can be seen that he is also a figure with a head and a face in Heavenly Court, and his combat effectiveness is naturally not too bad. However, every time Tang Seng encountered danger, Sha Seng chose to stand by and watch, or he was arrested with Tang Seng and waited for Sun Wukong to come to his rescue. Even if he knew that the monsters on the path of learning the scriptures were all set in advance, it would be too rotten. And the reason why he did this was also because of his own selfishness.
At the beginning, Guanyin Bodhisattva promised him to be reinstated, and Sha Seng's first reaction was not to take refuge like Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, but to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva: "If the scripture taker does not pass through the quicksand river, won't it delay my future in vain?" It can be seen that the reason why Sha Seng agreed to join the scripture study team was to regard it as a transaction, in order to escort Tang Seng to learn the scriptures, in exchange for the opportunity to return to heaven. Since it was a transaction, of course Sha Seng was unwilling to make extra contributions. In his opinion, as long as he stays by Tang Seng's side, the task has been completed. As for the tiring work of subduing demons and eliminating demons, and carrying the burden of turning fate, I will leave it to the two senior brothers to do. Even when Tang Seng and Sun Wukong had a conflict, he never reconciled, and always maintained a wise posture of self-preservation.
However, Sha Seng's behavior not only made him lose the opportunity to be reinstated, but also left a bad impression in the heart of the Buddha. In the end, he could only get the title of a golden-bodied Arhat, and although this title also had a certain status and power, it was far from what he expected.
However, there is a deeper reason why Sha Seng is willing to accept the position of Golden Arhat. Because there are many hidden benefits behind this title.
In the original book, Manjushri once told a story to Sun Wukong. At that time, the king of Wuji was a good monk, and the Buddha sent Manjushri Bodhisattva to cross him to the west, and he was a golden-bodied Arhat. It can be seen that this golden-bodied Arhat position was originally prepared by the West Heaven for the king of Wuji Country. But because the king of the black chicken was mortal with the naked eye, he couldn't recognize Manjushri Bodhisattva, who had become a mortal, but tied him up, threw him into the river, and threw him for three days and three nights, so the matter of sealing the golden-bodied Arhat was no longer over. The key is that this black chicken king is not an ordinary person, in the entire Journey to the West system, there are more people who are kind and charitable, and in the distance, there is Li Shimin, who vigorously promotes Buddhism, and at the foot of Lingshan Mountain, there are 10,000 monks. There is a theory that in his previous life, the king of the black chicken was a three-legged golden crow in the heavenly realm, and he had the essence of the sun in his body, which is why the king would make the country of the black chicken thousands of miles red. But no matter whether this statement is based or not, at least it can prove that the title of Golden Body Arhat was not given for nothing, and now it falls on the head of Sha Seng, and it is not a bad treatment for him.
At the same time, the Buddha also mentioned a detail when he read out the title, that is, Sha Wujing "added to the great position and achieved positive results". and he were also promoted to the top of the ranks, as well as Tang Seng and Sun Wukong. It can be seen that this is the treatment that only a Buddha has. In contrast, Zhu Bajie and Little White Dragon are only positive fruit levels. Therefore, although the Arhat of the sand monk is not as good as the Bodhisattva of Zhu Bajie, with the blessing of the great job and the positive fruit, it is not far behind.
Moreover, although the sand monk is the title of an Arhat, he is not an ordinary Arhat, but an eight-treasure golden-bodied Arhat. The so-called Eight Treasures refer to the eight Dharma realms, which have the boundless meaning of the Eight Treasures. In the world of Journey to the West, there are not many gods and Buddhas with golden bodies, and it took many years of practice to cultivate the six golden bodies on the top of the snowy mountain. It is precisely because of the protection of the golden body that he can escape from the peacock's belly. Sun Wukong has a golden body because he ate the elixir of Taishang Laojun, coupled with the forging of the gossip furnace, which is not easy to come by. And Sha Seng obtained a golden body to keep peace just because of a title, which is simply a pie in the sky.
Therefore, even if he was named an Arhat on the surface, Sha Seng did not dare to have any complaints. He lay all the way to Lingshan, and now it's too late to steal the fun. #品西游记人物#