Did the immortals in The Romance of Gods transform their families into Buddhists? Is it therapy?

Let's take a look at the Romance of Gods and Buddhism and Taoism in The Journey to the West.

The Romance of the Gods was written by Xu during the Wanli period of Ming Dynasty. Xu,no. Zhongshan Yishou, Tianfu (now Nanjing) people.

Xu left no record in history. We speculate that Xu should be a scholar without fame, otherwise he would not have left no record.

The logic in the Romance of Gods is a collection of Taoism and Confucianism, and it is pure Chinese style, so I won't say much.

Interestingly, Journey to the West, in our eyes, this book belittles Taoism and promotes Buddhism. In the eyes of Buddhists, The Journey to the West has nothing to do with Buddhism.

Wu Cheng'en, who was several decades earlier than Xu, was from Huai 'an, and the two were fellow villagers in Jiangsu.

Wu Cheng'en is much better than the younger generation. He is the high foot of Ge Mu, the magistrate of Huai 'an. He made it up at the age of 44? Gong Sheng, 18? . I have been an official all my life, traveled to many places, tasted hardships, and have a deep understanding of the people, officialdom and even the court.

In the era when Wu Cheng'en lived, Taoism flourished, and even Emperor Jiajing tried to make an alchemy.

Wu Cheng'en didn't get along well in officialdom, and even had to write articles to sell money to support himself. He linked political darkness with Taoism, so Journey to the West belittled Taoism and wrote that Buddhist figures were all kinds of experts.

In the Journey to the West, Taoist immortals have ability or moral problems from top to bottom. The Taoist leader Jade Emperor only knows pleasure. The Monkey King made a scene and had to turn to Tathagata for help.

Besides the Jade Emperor, other Taoist immortals also have problems. When the Monkey King made a scene in the Heavenly Palace, everyone? Can't beat it? The Monkey King; On the way to learn the scriptures, the Monkey King was killed by many immortals, and even the mount of the immortals could kill the Monkey King. Obviously, this is Wu Cheng'en's satire on the self-interest of Taoist immortals.

In the book, Wu Cheng'en puts Buddhism in a very high position and can overwhelm Taoism everywhere. Not only is the Tathagata compassionate and powerful, but even Xuanzang, who was born and raised in China, was reincarnated to China by an Indian who believed in Buddhism.

However, when the 84th edition of The Journey to the West was filmed, director Yang Jie found Mr. Zhao Puchu, a famous Buddhist, and asked him to write an inscription for The Journey to the West.

Zhao Puchu rejected Yang Jie's request because he thought that The Journey to the West had distorted Buddhism. You got it? Zhao Puchu did not agree with The Journey to the West's description of Buddhism.

No wonder Buddhism pays attention to the four emptiness. The characters in The Journey to the West are all ambitious. Where are they? Everything is empty? Meaning of.

Even, the Taoist color of Journey to the West far exceeds Buddhism. Fundamentally speaking, The Journey to the West, like The Romance of Gods, is logically a combination of Confucianism and Taoism.

In the Journey to the West, the Monkey King practiced the Taoist theory of Inner alchemy, and he could not escape the system of becoming a monk.

Is the purpose of Tang Priest's mentoring to learn from the scriptures? Immortality? Positive results. The monster who wants to eat Tang monk's meat is also for immortality.

Buddhism has the concept of reincarnation. Since life is reincarnation, there is no death. If there is no death, there is no need for eternal life. Therefore, the logic of Journey to the West is still Taoism.

Then the question comes, why do Wu Cheng'en and Xu only write Taoism in essence? Things? ? And in Wu Cheng'en in Journey to the West, the immortals turned into bodhisattvas?

This should be based on the history of Buddhism and Taoism. Fight? Speaking of.

Compared with many religions in the world, Taoism is actually the least religious.

The purpose of religious belief is to get rid of thoughts, and the most difficult thing for people to get rid of is death. Therefore, all religions have their own theoretical systems about death.

Created by Buddhism? Life cycle theory? Take it out? Eighteen layers of hell? And then what? Elysium? The concept of. Religion, which originated in the Middle East, tells people that life still exists after death, but only enters heaven and hell.

It seems that religion is to comfort those who dare not die head-on.

Unlike other ethnic groups, the ancestors of China people dared to face death and spoke loudly? My life is up to me. God? Gorgeous rhetoric. People in China think that when people die, they are dead, and everything will go up in smoke after death. This understanding led to the atheism of Confucianism and Taoism. It has had a great influence on politics, humanities and science and technology in China.

Confucianism says,? Son not language Machamp disorderly god? . Taoist practice is about practicing this life.

The purpose of Taoist practice is to prolong life and improve the quality of life. Taoism constantly pursues medical perfection in practice. People often say? Ten doctors and nine doctors? The root cause is here. China people's pursuit of longevity not only produced medicine, but also produced many great achievements in the process of pursuing longevity. Tofu and black powder are produced in this way. )

Buddhism came to China, acclimatized, and there was no market in China. Especially the upper class who master culture, think that Buddhist theory is a joke. However, Buddhism has gained a firm foothold in China.

1, the influence of Buddhism on intellectuals in China

Intellectuals in China, on the basis of accepting China culture, find it difficult to accept Buddhist theory. Although Buddhism has absorbed many things from China's traditional culture and Taoism, it cannot be changed? Samsara theory? This foundation is always incompatible with China culture.

Because of this, Buddhism has always been in a weak position during the period when China's traditional culture flourished.

2. The influence of Buddhism on rulers.

Buddhism's view that the four universes are empty and reincarnated can effectively weaken the resistance of the bottom people. So Buddhism is beneficial to the rulers.

Emperors born in the Han nationality have a strong traditional culture and often do not recognize Buddhism. Even if you know Buddhism? Benefits? And support Buddhism, but deep down I still prefer Taoism.

The rulers born outside the Han nationality are not or rarely influenced by traditional culture. They often put Buddhism in a very high position to consolidate their rule.

Therefore, the emperors of Sui Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, who were not deeply sinicized, all took Buddhism as their state religion.

During the Han, Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties, Emperor Wudi paid more attention to Taoism than Buddhism.

3. The influence of Buddhism on the bottom people.

Buddhism can't get intellectuals, and there is no market in the upper class, but it can do a lot in the lower class.

People at the bottom can't afford to eat, live in a house or marry a daughter-in-law. Many other difficulties can't be solved, and it's easy to feel disappointed or even desperate. If you want to change the status quo, you have no ability, and you don't have enough means to resist, so you have to go to Buddhism to find spiritual comfort and hope for the afterlife.

Finally, look at the situation of Buddhism and Taoism in the Ming Dynasty, and explain the romance of immortals, and the identity changes of bodhisattvas and immortals on the journey to the west.

The Ming Dynasty was a political power established by the Han nationality, and Taoism was superior to Buddhism.

The Ming Dynasty not only tried its best to restore the etiquette culture destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty, but also religiously, the whole upper class resumed Taoism, ignoring the supremacy of Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty. Officials and scholars were deeply influenced by Taoism, and the emperor even took the lead? Alchemist? .

Under the influence of this environment, Xu wrote? Pure Chinese style? Romance of the gods

Wu Cheng'en has more social experience and contact with people than Xu. Folk Buddhism? Influence, plus Wu Cheng'en's dissatisfaction with an alchemist emperor Jiajing. Wu Cheng'en trampled on the self-righteous Taoism in The Journey to the West and turned Taoist immortals into Buddhist bodhisattvas.

However, Wu Cheng'en didn't think of this, because he has been deeply influenced by China traditional culture or Taoism. His description of Buddhism is completely inconsistent with Buddhist theory.