The Origin of Master the Monkey King in The Journey to the West

Friends who have seen Journey to the West are very interested in a mysterious figure-Bodhi, the master of the Monkey King. Because this man created a master like the Monkey King in just a few years, and then mysteriously disappeared, and there was no trace in the book. Who he really is has always been a mystery. There are different opinions on the identity of the founder of Bodhi on the Internet. Let me give you my opinion.

First, the theory that "Bodhi is a quasi-mention, and entry is Tathagata" is not credible.

There is a popular version of "Bodhi as the standard, Tathagata as the guide". I respect other people's views, and it is certainly a good thing for a hundred schools of thought to contend. However, when I posted in the past, many respondents held high the so-called "truth" and "standard answer" that "Bodhi is a must", directly denying my point of view and not even reading my post. I don't think this is fair. Each has its own version. Don't deny a new theory with your own "answer", which is unfair to the new theory. In fact, there are several obvious loopholes in this view. Let me refute it first, and then demonstrate it. Let's talk about the shortcomings of the theory of Bodhi as a quasi-reference:

1. This view holds that he is dissatisfied with dictatorship and angrily lives in seclusion in Fangcun Mountain, which is obviously YY. The two books don't have any foreshadowing and clues, so they should be insufficient!

2. This view can't explain why five people, such as Burning Lamp and Manjusri, abandoned the Tao and entered the Buddha, let alone why Burning Lamp, as a younger generation, became an ancient Buddha above the Tathagata.

Novelists must create characters according to their own wishes. The mysterious identity of Bodhi is given by Lao Wu, which means that Lao Wu knows the true identity of Bodhi, and only Lao Wu has the final say. Just because of the secrets or foreshadowing of the novel, it is difficult to say clearly how many such secrets there are in the Red Chamber.

But as we all know, if we want to verify that the characters in A's novels are the characters in B's novels, we must write them before A's novels, otherwise it is nonsense. If the deity was enshrined in a book before the Journey to the West, it is understandable that Lao Wu deliberately linked him with the Taoist Zhunti when shaping Bodhi. But the fact is, Journey to the West was written before the gods were sealed!

Think about it. When Lao Wu wrote Bodhi, he didn't know that there was a quasi-mention in the world. How can he connect the two? It can be seen that the bodhi identity in Lao Wu's heart can never be mentioned, because he has no idea who it is. The novels written later can refer to the novels written earlier to create characters, and vice versa. For example, I have written a novel now, in which the description of someone uses the poem of Bodhi in The Journey to the West. If my novel is popular, you can say, "The identity of Bodhi in Journey to the West is so-and-so in Ruixiang's novel, as evidenced by poetry." If so, it would be a mess, because it is impossible for Lao Wu to think of my words when he writes Bodhi. So from the time in the book, Bodhi can't be mentioned, because Bodhi was decided by Lao Wu, and Lao Xu can't change it.

4. There are dozens of poems written by people and scenery copied from Westward Journey. I carefully read the poem quoted by Tathagata, which made me laugh and cry. The first sentence of the poem written by Tathagata on Journey to the West is "jujube and pear blossom are fragrant and barefoot". At that time, Tathagata won Wukong, and there was an anti-heaven meeting in heaven. Many immortals give fruit to Tathagata, barefoot Tathagata gives two dates to Tathagata, and there is poetry. Obviously, the first line was written by a barefoot immortal, not a Tathagata. However, Lao Xu actually changed the seven lotus stands in the poem into twelve lotus stands, thinking that he could get away with it, and even wrote the sentence "Barefoot Big Fairy" directly, which is really ridiculous.

It can be seen that the poems in "This Zun" are obviously copied directly from The Journey to the West, and some of them don't even change, which leads to big jokes. It can be seen that Lao Xu didn't mean to associate Zhunti with Bodhi, and to associate abstinence with Tathagata, but simply copied poems directly. What's more, he is not qualified to give Bodhi an identity. After all, this is a character created by others.

Other landscape poems, such as Huoyun Cave, Kunlun Mountain and Beihai, obviously copied Wudang Mountain and Fangcun Mountain in the westward journey. Writing poems, such as quasi-gods, Kong Xuan copied The Journey to the West's Jinding Daxian and Tang Priest. If you have to copy Bodhi and then Tathagata, is Kong Xuan the Tang Priest?

To sum up, the theoretical credibility of "Bodhi as the guide, Tathagata as the guide" is not high.

Second, the bodhi founder should be the embodiment of the master.

Some friends will ask, will the founder of Bodhi be a real secular master? I personally don't think so. He should be a master of illusion for the following reasons:

1. Bodhi is so strong that no one in the sky knows it, and there is no such thing as a mythical figure.

2. Bodhi is proficient in hundreds of schools and understands Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. How can people with such skills not be known?

3. the Monkey King's roots are hard to find. If Bodhi was a real secular master, he could not have predicted that monkeys would come to him. But he still teaches his disciples and preaches in Fangcun Mountain. Judging from his ability to teach Wukong, his ability should be very high, but he has taught so many students that they are worthless. Even if they can't reach the realm of Wukong, they should be famous. Why are they not known? What is Bodhi busy with? The appearance of Wukong embodies his value. What if Wukong doesn't appear? Is he so capable of running a school on earth to cultivate garbage? It can be seen that Bodhi doesn't exist, but someone just made it up. He predicted where Wukong would go, so he turned into bodhi there, and the garbage of his disciples didn't matter. Maybe he created it all, and it's all temporary.

Bodhi won't let Wukong tell his teacher's story. It is precisely because there is no such person as Bodhi in the world. If Wukong says that his master is a celestial bodhi, there is no such person when the celestial fairy checks. After investigation, we can definitely find out who incarnated Bodhi to teach Wukong's skills, so he will ask Wukong not to tell his teacher's story.

5. Bodhi teaches the mental flow in the door, such as asking the gods to divine, collecting yin and nourishing yang, etc., all in the door. Wukong was originally seeking immortals to visit Taoism, so Bodhi and his disciples should be Taoists. But isn't it strange that Lao Wu wrote Bodhi's poems in a Buddhist way? If he is a real person, Tao is Tao, and he is a monk, why not? It can be seen that it must be false.

To sum up, Bodhi is not a real master, but a fairy Buddha, which overturns the saying that "Bodhi is a quasi-mention". Who is Bodhi? Let me give you my opinion.

Third, the identity conjecture of Bodhi's founder.

As I explained above, to analyze the identity of Bodhi's founder, we can only find the answer in Journey to the West, and it is unscientific to find the answer in the worship of gods. However, it is not contradictory that the original characters with the same name in the two books can learn from Shen Feng and The Journey to the West. To be clear, I only study from the perspective of pure fictional myths, and I don't involve any historical, Taoist and Buddhist classics, so as not to cause trouble. Please pay attention to my friends.

On the journey to the west, the Tathagata once said that Xiniuhezhou was the supreme true body, and it happened that Bodhi was in Xiniuhezhou. Tathagata has great power. He once claimed that he could know things and things in the world. How can Bodhi escape the eyes of Tathagata? There are only two possibilities. First, Bodhi only stayed in Xizhou Niu, just to teach the Monkey King. Secondly, Bodhi's mana is equivalent to or even more than Tathagata's.

Let's look at the introduction of Bodhi when it appeared.

"I feel that Jin Xian is not dirty, and the western magic method is Bodhi;

If you don't die or live three or three lines, you will be full of goodwill.

Emptiness changes with it, just like nature;

The same fate as heaven, solemnity, exorcist, and bright heart have been robbed. "

This poem was written by Lao Wu. Obviously, it is about a Buddhist figure, but Wukong is asking for an immortal to visit Tao. Later, Wukong mentioned many times that he abandoned the Tao and followed the Buddha. It can be judged that both Bodhi and his disciples were dressed as Taoists at that time. Although Professor Bodhi had Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, most of them used Taoism. The poem also has a high evaluation of "the ancestor of the Western Heaven" and "sharing the same fate with Heaven". Who is a Tao and a Buddha, living with heaven and being the ancestor of the West? The answer is Lao Tzu, the old gentleman on the throne. My friend will be surprised to see this. Listen to me slowly. Everyone knows that Laozi is the ancestor of Taoism. How can he be the ancestor of the west?

Fourth, from Laozi to Hu.

Although there are many people who deny this objection online, they all refute it from history or Buddhist classics. I'll just talk about books, only two novels. According to the original text, Lao Tzu had three poems when he appeared in the Romance of the Gods.

"Huang Xuanxi worshipped the master. In troubled times, I did whatever I wanted;

I have the five elements, and the avenue is crossing into the sage group.

Clean Xi built a golden pagoda, and wandering Xi once walked out of Kansai;

Cover the heavens and the earth with your hands, and there are five mountains in your belly. "

"At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, I always judged naturally as before;

Purple gas came to Wan Li from the east, and irrigation began five thousand years ago. "

"Han Guan first went out of Kunlun and unified Hua Yi as the door;

My body is the same as heaven and earth, and the nature of Xu Mishan still exists. "

It is clearly written here that "joining the sages" shows that Lao Tzu has taught and talked a lot. He also said "I have left Kansai" and "the beginning of Hangu Pass", which shows that Lao Tzu has left Hangu Pass. It is also said that "unifying China people and foreigners" shows that Lao Tzu did go to Hu Change in the west. You should know that "Five Mountains" and "Kunlun" refer to China and Taoism, and "Sumeru" refers to Okoyi and Buddhism.

Look at the Journey to the West again. When Laojun and Guanyin watched Erlang fighting Wukong, Laojun once introduced Jin Gangzhuo to Guanyin, saying, "This weapon is made of matte steel, and I will return it to Dan, so that it can cultivate into an aura, be good at change, be invulnerable to fire and water, and cover everything; A' King Kong Zhuo', also called' King Kong set'. It is a great loss for him to pass the message and turn Hu into a Buddha. " Please pay attention to the importance of this sentence! The old gentleman was talking to a Buddhist monk like Guanyin Bodhisattva. Since he said "turning Hu into Buddha", Guanyin has no objection, which shows that this is indeed a fact. The old gentleman in Taishang is indeed the ancestor of the West, and he himself is the ancestor of Taoism. This is the saying that the old gentleman in Taishang is the ancestor of Bodhi.

Fifth, the relationship between Laozi and Western religions.

As we all know, in the Romance of the Gods, when the Immortal Array and the Immortal Array were killed, two western religious leaders took over the Taoist and Zhunti Taoist. What is the identity of these two people and what is the western religion? Judging from the description of this religion in later stories and books, it is undoubtedly a Buddhism in the westward journey.

As can be seen from the above, Lao Tzu once went to the West to turn Hu into a Buddha. It can be seen that Lao Tzu had changed his mind before sealing the gods. Since western religion is later Buddhism, it can be seen that the people I reformed are the western believers who received the quotation. This also explains why in the Yuan Dynasty, Tian Tong had many followers, while Lao Zi's followers were only exorcists in the capital of Du Xuan. He said, "Crossing into a group of sages". It can be seen that the western religion is actually the religion initiated by Laozi. But I didn't know Laozi in the apotheosis, so it can be seen that when I enlightened western religions, Laozi was also incarnated like teaching the Monkey King. A very important clue is that the names of official positions in the list of gods are written, and only Lao Zi, Yuan Shi and Tian Tong know them. The second generation of disciples, such as Burning Lamp, Zhao Gongming and others, did not know the names in the list of gods, and saved people in the list of gods many times, saying that there were no names in the list of gods. As western leaders, how can they know the secret of the list of gods? I think this should be said by the old gentleman in secret, because he founded western religions!

Sixth, the mentoring relationship between Laojun and the Monkey King.

Since we think that Bodhi's ancestor is the old gentleman, let's take a look at the mentoring relationship between the old gentleman and Wukong.

1, Journey to the West, the original text once said, "There was an ancestor who solved the name of Nu Wa, refined the stone to make up the sky and saved the world of Yan Fu." It can be seen that only the old gentleman knows the identity of Wukong Lingshi, and he can predict that he will come to ask for an immortal visit, thus establishing a mentoring relationship with Wukong. For example, how do others know?

2. When Wukong was looking for weapons in the East China Sea, Longpo said to the Dragon King, "Your Majesty, it is no small matter to guard this holy place. In our audition, the precious iron at the bottom of Tianhe River is shining and full of energy these days. Dare you show up and meet this saint? " As we all know, the magic weapon is formed by the immortal injecting certain thinking and magic. Its aura is injected and influenced by the manufacturer. Dinghai Shenzhen saw Wukong's abnormal situation should be sent by its manufacturer, so who is the boss of Dinghai Shenzhen? The stick of Journey to the West was forged by the old gentleman himself in the furnace. Wang Yu asked the gods to count treasures, and the four seas and eight waters were used as a test. "It can be seen that the treasure of Dinghai is refined by Laojun, so there should be Laojun's aura and thinking. In other words, Laojun can control and manipulate it. From Longpo's words, we know that Dinghai Shenzhen began to change, as if it had a fate with Wukong. Isn't that what the old gentleman is manipulating behind the scenes? It can be seen that the stick was given to Wukong by the old gentleman.

When Wukong made a scene in the Heavenly Palace, he seemed invincible. In fact, from the following story, we know that many high-ranking people in the sky, such as Yuan Zun and Zhenwu Emperor, did not fulfill their responsibilities at that time, and many ordinary heavenly generals did not fulfill their responsibilities, such as Kuimu Wolf. This is very strange. Later, Wukong couldn't beat Qingniu to check people in heaven, and the Jade Emperor wanted to send generals to help him. Wukong once said that if those people don't even fight themselves, how can they beat the green cow? At that time, Xu Jingyang said to Shi Tian, "This time is different." It can be seen that the god in heaven deliberately released water at that time. As for the reason, it is still possible that they already know the identity of Master Wukong.

Wukong later tied with Erlang God Yang Jian. When Guanyin told Laojun that her bottle might kill Wukong, she was stopped by Laojun, and Laojun "saved" Wukong's life with his bracelet. At that time, the old man's reasons were also very funny. He was worried that the bottle of Guanyin Bodhisattva was porcelain and might break. Is this possible?

5. Later, the old gentleman took the initiative to burn Wukong. After the monkey was caught, it was tied with a rope, so that the hook knife pierced the pipa bone and could not be changed. In this way, monkeys can't cast spells to save themselves. When the old gentleman tried to train monkeys, he put the instrument pipa through his bones. Why did he remove it? It's safer to refine people and hooks together. I don't know if the pipa of the immortal criminal is hooked and slaughtered at will, if he goes, it may cause trouble and let him escape. Why did the old gentleman go at this time? The only explanation is not to let him die and let him save himself. Then you can see that Lao Jun doesn't want to kill him as an alchemist. In fact, he was secretly teaching him the art of copper head and iron back. Just imagine, if the old man wanted to kill him on purpose, why bother? This can be learned from Wukong's later words, "When he made a scene in the Heavenly Palace, he was kept in eight furnaces for forging. Fortunately, he stayed in that place and didn't burn out, but the wind stirred the smoke and made him look like a golden eye. " Every time he claims to be exercised by the old gentleman, he is grateful. It can be seen that Wukong understands that Lao Jun has no intention of killing him. Even if Wukong didn't know that the old man was his master Bodhi, he knew that the old man was helping him. Imagine that the fire in Hon Hai 'er could kill Wukong, not to mention the old gentleman. You don't think that Daozu is inferior to a little boy. Besides, there are many ways to kill him. Just put away his gourd and plug the lid, and Wukong will die.

6. Look at the following article again. When the old gentleman appeared, the original description was "Wukong panicked and bowed his head." Imagine a man who once killed you. Would you do that? Angry and dismissive, how can you be so humble, not to mention Wukong, who has always been arrogant. It can be seen that Wukong understands that Lao Jun is doing it for his own good. Trapped for 500 years, the Monkey King has understood human feelings. He stayed away from the Tang Priest, not only because he saved his life, but also because he was chosen by the Tathagata. Of course, he should be respected. His respect for Tathagata is because Tathagata is too powerful. Wukong has the name of self-knowledge and is convinced. It's no use doing it for yourself, of course. As for Guanyin, Guanyin is more powerful than Wukong. Wukong also knows that Guanyin can recite the spell, and Wukong is also afraid of this. Besides, Lao Jun, the book does not describe how powerful he is, nor does it obviously mention that he subdued Wukong, and even the stove was broken by Wukong. If Wukong is really unreasonable, I think the old gentleman is just so, defeated by himself. Why should you be respectful to him?

7. Look at the following article. When he arrived in the infinite country, Wukong asked the old gentleman for Dan to save a mortal. If Lao Jun is not the ancestor of the West, the master of Wukong, or a person who has nothing to do with himself and works for Buddhism, then why did Lao Jun, the ancestor of Taoism, give him the precious Jiuzhuan Shen Huandan? Wukong once said that he would go elsewhere for medicine. The old gentleman grabbed him and gave him one. Because he was afraid that he would steal it, he might as well give him one as a personal favor. Imagine how Wukong could steal the gourd if the old gentleman really didn't give it to him and took it away by himself. One day in the sky, one year on the ground, grinding him for a few hours, Laojun is not in a hurry, Wukong will be in a hurry, and Laojun really needs to give medicine. This shows the old man's love for the Monkey King.

Seven, the relationship between Lao Zi and several mysterious figures

Now that I have proved that Lao Zi turned Hu into a Buddha and was the Monkey King's master, I will reveal the identities of some mysterious figures. The western religion in the worship of gods is the religion founded by Laozi, that is, Buddhism in the westward journey. According to the "Infinite Life Sutra", Amitabha, the so-called leader of the Western Heaven, can lead Buddhist practitioners to the west, so it is also called "attracting Buddha" to lead all sentient beings who are willing to become Buddhists and get results from meditation. When Lao Xu wrote about God, he wrote about western religions, and the leader was a Taoist. People who believe in the theory of "Bodhi as the standard, Tathagata as the guide" have considered such a question. If Tathagata is an introduction, why is it always called an introduction Taoist? It should be called Tathagata Taoist Temple, or something like that. Even if there is no such name as Tathagata, it should not be called Jieyin Taoist, which will obviously cause misunderstanding among readers and researchers, but it will not be like this. Since his name is Jie Yin Taoist, it must have something to do with Jie Yin Buddha.

It should be more orderly and convincing that the western hierarch receives the Taoist priest and the western Elysium hierarch receives the Buddha (namely Amitabha Buddha). Buddhism is divided into three realms, and Amitabha is regarded as the guide in the western paradise. Oriental pure glass world, respected by pharmacist Buddha. Look at this deity, Zhunti has a certain relationship with the East. In addition, his position as the second leader of western religions is highly respected in the eastern Buddhist circles, which is also reasonable. However, due to its name Zhunti, there is a high-ranking Zhunti Bodhisattva in Buddhist scriptures, and it is very likely that Zhunti Taoist is Zhunti Bodhisattva, so we will not delve into it for the time being. Sakyamuni is revered as the Tathagata in Journey to the West. Who is Tathagata?

Anyone who has read the gods knows that they were invited to take part in the battle of the gods in order to accept those who were destined to go to the West. This book clearly shows that they have accepted many people, such as Kong Xuan. But there is one person, they didn't take away, that is, the Taoist priest has many treasures. Before I was allowed to mention the future, Lao Tzu had sent Duobao to Du Xuan. They didn't know about Duobao until they received the quotation, and the book didn't say anything about taking Duobao away. It can be seen that Daochang Duobao did not follow and lead the westward journey. However, after Duobao was written in the book, it was released as a Buddha. It can be seen that it was arranged by the old gentleman. In the original book, Guangcheng wrote a poem when he was at war with Duobao, saying, "One is Guangcheng's immortal style, and the other is Duobao's worship of Sakyamuni in the west." The word "worship" is interpreted as "being an official", for example, officials worship generals. So we can guess that Daoduobao is the later Sakyamuni, that is, Tathagata. Moreover, there is a saying that Duobao is like a Buddha, indicating that Duobao was selected by the old gentleman and arranged in the central Buddhist community as the statue of managing the world. But it's top secret. Kong Xuan doesn't know. When he saw that Duo Bao, a newcomer with lower qualifications, and two old school leaders were respected in the world, he was upset and wanted to stand out for the master. So, what the Tathagata in The Journey to the West called the Buddhist swallowing incident was staged. When the Tathagata came out of the peacock's stomach, he wanted to kill it. The Buddhas pleaded for mercy, and considering that he is a man who must mention his predecessors, he relied on his master to shoot birds, so he gave a face and sealed the peacock, King Daming and Bodhisattva, and everyone was happy. And settled people's hearts and earned enough popularity. So no one objected later.

Now that the fact that the old gentleman turned Hu into a Buddha and founded a western religion has been proved that many treasures came as soon as possible, it can explain why all the people in the gods, such as Burning Lamp Gate, Manjusri Gate, Pu Xian Gate, Cihangmen Gate and Xuanzang Gate, converted to Buddhism. And this also explains why the burning lamp is an ancient Buddha, because it is half a generation later than Laozi and half a generation later than Gao Manjusri. Therefore, after Duobao ascended the throne, burning lanterns will naturally become an ancient Buddha. It seems that Manjusri and others have also been influenced and arranged by Laozi.

Eight, why did Laojun let the Monkey King learn from the scriptures?

Lao Tzu enlightened, founded western religions, retired to society, ruled by doing nothing, and stayed in the world. Later, he found a stone, which was Wukong. In The Journey to the West, it was mentioned that "the old man solved Nu Wa and refined the stone to make up the sky", and because Wukong was the remaining lingshi of the goddess of mending the sky, the old man knew the origin of Wukong, which was transformed from the aura of heaven and earth. The old man was happy, so he went to the mortal world to teach Wukong a lesson and gave him the golden cudgel he gave Dayu. Although Wukong has a high skill, he has not achieved anything, just scattered immortals. Although he later became the Great Sage of the Monkey, he had a big fight in the Heavenly Palace, and it was inconvenient in heaven from now on. Therefore, the old gentleman asked him to participate in Zen Buddhism.

Speaking of this matter, we have to mention an important person who cooperated with the old gentleman to arrange this matter, that is, the Taoist priest who burned the lamp among the gods, and later became a Buddha, the ancient Buddha who burned the lamp on the westward journey. This man mentioned it only twice in his westward journey, once at the beginning of the book and once at the end of the book. When Wukong strayed into the Palace of Wonderland in the Wind, it was clearly written in the book that Laojun was outside to discuss important matters with the ancient Buddha. We can guess that Burning Lamp told Lao Jun that the Tathagata would pass on the scriptures in Middle Earth, and those who succeeded in learning them would achieve positive results, so Lao Jun recommended his beloved little disciple the Monkey King to Burning Lamp. The second mention of burning lanterns is at the end of the book, that is, sending someone to help Wukong find the scriptures without words.

There are two obvious evidences. First, there are many Buddhists and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism, but the books are all about Guanyin, Manjusri, Pu Xian and others. Obviously, these are all arranged by the old gentleman on purpose. They are all his nephews and acquaintances. Secondly, on the way to learn from the scriptures, Wukong killed innocent people many times, and his age and qualifications were still young. How can he be called Buddha? This is obviously the arrangement of the old man.

To sum up, we can draw a conclusion that the founder of Buddhism and its predecessor, Western religion, is the Taishang Laojun, that is, the master Bodhi of the Monkey King, and it is also the arrangement of Taishang Laojun for the Monkey King to learn from the scriptures, which should be the best result that Wukong can get after committing treason in the Heavenly Palace.

This article is the latest edition, and I want to discuss it with my friends. Finally, I only textual research from two novels, not involving history and Buddhist classics. Don't contradict me with this. Whether you support or oppose my research results, I am very happy to have friendly exchanges and discussions with you, so that a hundred schools of thought can contend and make progress together!