"Black Myth: Wukong": Only by understanding why Sun Wukong's master was demoted can we figure out why Huang Mei wanted to cause chaos in the world!
paulpeng
I.
Huangmei is the Yellow-browed Boy in "Journey to the West", also known as the Yellow-browed Demon, the Yellow-browed Old Buddha, or the Yellow-browed King. He is a disciple under Maitreya Buddha and is famous for his yellow eyebrows.
Taking advantage of Maitreya Buddha's absence, he stole the Human Sack, the mallet for striking the chime stone, and the Golden Cymbals. Then he secretly descended to the mortal world, became a spirit by pretending to be a Buddha in the Little Leiyin Temple, and even boasted that he would replace Tang Sanzang and his disciples and go to fetch the true scriptures by himself:
"If you can defeat me, I will spare you and your disciples and let you achieve the right fruit. If you can't, I will kill you all, and then I will go to see Tathagata to fetch the scriptures and achieve the right fruit in the Central Plains."
It can be said that the disaster at the Little Leiyin Temple was the time when Sun Wukong, or even Zhu Bajie, had to ask for help the most. Even Sun Wukong was driven to despair several times and wept bitterly - looking up to the sky, he suddenly burst into sad lamentations.
Finally, Maitreya Buddha couldn't bear to watch anymore. He took the initiative to greet Sun Wukong and joined forces to design a plan to subdue the Yellow-browed King.
In "Black Myth: Wukong", this Yellow-browed King once again stole Maitreya Buddha's treasures and descended to the mortal world. This time, he no longer thought about fetching the scriptures by himself. Instead, he believed that he himself was the true scripture. For this reason, he ridiculed Jin Chanzi in front of the Chosen One, saying that Jin Chanzi had taken in several useless disciples and wondered why they were still fetching those damn scriptures:
"I say, all those who go to fetch the scriptures are useless. Why believe in that damn Tathagata? I might as well do it myself!"
Thus, there came the most classic scene in the game where Huangmei questioned the Chosen One:
"Since you have seen the future, why don't you bow down?"
Although Huangmei mocked Jin Chanzi's disciples, saying that some were dead and some had fled and were all useless, he was also consciously or unconsciously comparing himself with Jin Chanzi. For example, the several disciples he took in - "Bukong" (Not Empty), "Buneng" (Not Able), "Bujing" (Not Pure), "Bubai" (Not White)!
II.
Then, what was the purpose of the Yellow-browed King's descent to the mortal world this time? Did he really want to replace Tathagata Buddha and become the Future Buddha?
To explain clearly the whole sequence of events, we have to start from before Jin Chanzi was demoted and descended to the mortal world. What exactly happened between the two of them?
Based on the conversations between Huangmei and the Chosen One, between Maitreya Buddha and Zhu Bajie and the Chosen One in "Black Myth: Wukong", as well as the animation that appeared at the end of this chapter after Huangmei fell into the water. Coupled with my (Yang Jiaofeng's anti-counterfeiting mark) understanding of the original work of "Journey to the West" and basic common sense of life, the whole story is actually like this:
Jin Chanzi and Huangmei probably became Buddhist disciples around the same time. In terms of time, Huangmei was the senior brother. Jin Chanzi studied under Tathagata Buddha and was his second disciple. Huangmei studied under Maitreya Buddha. After all, there was no second disciple of Maitreya Buddha shown in the book or the game, so for the time being, we can consider Huangmei as Maitreya Buddha's eldest disciple.
Although in terms of status, Jin Chanzi seemed to be a bit higher since he was the disciple of the current Buddha, Huangmei was not bad either, as he was the disciple of the Future Buddha. Therefore, although the two often argued endlessly and had different views, in terms of their close relationship, they were not sworn enemies but good friends!
Remember this premise that Huangmei and Jin Chanzi were not in an antagonistic state but were friends who could empathize with each other and were familiar with and understood each other!
Huangmei was arrogant and conceited, and his obsession was to compete and determine a winner and a loser. He was the kind of person who would rather die than admit defeat. When Huangmei fought against the Chosen One, he mentioned the differences between him and Jin Chanzi, which was the issue of whether all people were born equal or unequal.
III.
Jin Chanzi couldn't bear the practices on Mount Ling. While there was auspicious light and mist on the mountain, the people at the foot of the mountain were suffering from disasters and hardships:
"He said, all living beings have the root of wisdom. Why are only you and I in a superior position while others are only worthy of kowtowing and burning incense?"
Huangmei, on the other hand, straightforwardly stated his own view, that is, these people were inferior to you and me, so they were only worthy of kowtowing and burning incense, while we could enjoy their worship.
Of course, their differences were not just this. A bigger difference lay in the debate over whether human nature was originally good or evil. Jin Chanzi believed that human nature was originally good, while Huangmei believed that human nature was originally evil. Since neither could persuade the other, Huangmei decided to descend to the mortal world in person and use his own experiences to prove his point and defeat Jin Chanzi.
Thus, there was the animation at the end of this chapter where Huangmei turned into an old turtle and descended to a coastal fishing village:
The Yellow-browed King turned into an old soft-shelled turtle and landed in a poor fishing village. He was caught by fishermen with fishing nets and brought ashore. After the Yellow-browed King woke up, the first thing he did was secretly cut open the pustules on his belly, and pearls began to flow out. This also implied that wealth was like the pustules on the body. The more one had, the deeper the degree of corruption would be.
Fortunately, the local fishermen reported it to the authorities. The officials carried him to a temple. We could see that at first, the temple enshrined the normal Buddha, but later it was replaced by the Yellow-browed King.
The Yellow-browed King showed his ability to produce pearls and was thus worshiped by the villagers. Then the authorities noticed it and moved him to a special temple for standardized management so that he could receive more worship.
Thus, the Yellow-browed King used his fingernails to cure the sick villagers who came for help, used his nasal mucus for beauty and skin care, gave out pearls, and from time to time cast spells to make fish fall from the sky.
IV.
At first, everything was normal. The villagers offered tributes, and the authorities gave corresponding pearls to the villagers according to the value of the tributes.
Unfortunately, one day things got out of control. During everyone's worship, suddenly a person jumped out and slashed open the belly of the old turtle with a knife. Although the old turtle knocked him down with one punch, once the door of desire was opened, there was no turning back. Even though the officials present tried to maintain order, it was already of no avail. The others rushed forward, dismembered the old turtle, and divided the treasures.
In the end, even the monks with the strongest concentration couldn't hold on anymore. Although they were still chanting scriptures, they were already sweating profusely. Their minds began to imagine the dances of beautiful women, and their hands were secretly picking up the pearls that had fallen on the ground.
Finally, the small fishing village was completely in an uproar. Everyone celebrated all night long. Even the monks hugged women, and all order was completely lost.
After one night, the bonfire disappeared, the people disappeared, all desires vanished, and no humans survived in the small fishing village, which was completely in decline.
And the Yellow-browed King sat by the sea, dragging his mutilated limbs, quietly waiting for Jin Chanzi's arrival:
"This time, I've won again, Jin Chanzi!"
However, Jin Chanzi advised Huangmei to let go, not to reverse cause and effect, and not to be too obsessed with winning or losing:
"Confusing people's hearts, reversing cause and effect. Senior brother is so obsessed with winning and losing. It's ridiculous and sad!"
As a result, Huangmei replied:
"If I can't win, what's the point of proving cause and effect and people's hearts?"
From this, we can know that what they bet on was the issue of whether human nature was originally good or evil, and in the end, it was indeed Huangmei who won.
Then, how should we understand Jin Chanzi's words? And why didn't Huangmei agree?
V.
In fact, the problem was that Huangmei was preconceived. He first established the concept that human nature was originally evil and then continuously created conditions to achieve this result in order to achieve the effect he wanted.
This was also what Jin Chanzi meant by reversing cause and effect. It's like a glass bottle. Once you认定 it will break, then it will definitely break. Yes, a glass bottle would never break if you didn't touch it originally, but if you deliberately smash it hard, how could it not break?
In fact, after Huangmei turned into an old turtle and came to the small fishing village, human nature had been showing its good side all along, but this was not what he wanted, so he had never been willing to admit it:
For example, in a poor fishing village suffering from famine, someone caught a big fish but didn't think of keeping it for himself but shared it with the whole village. This was the first act of kindness; the old turtle deliberately cut open the pustules and pearls flowed out, and the people present were not bewitched by this scene and still chose to protect the old turtle. This was the second act of kindness; the people received the old turtle's kindness and their lives got better. They didn't forget the old turtle, provided him with food, built a temple, and worshiped him. This was the third act of kindness; even when the officials got involved, they didn't regard the old turtle as public property and swallow it up but still took it out to share with the villagers. This was the fourth act of kindness...
Finally, it was still the old turtle who deliberately pushed a greedy person, making him walk towards the old turtle with a knife. Even so, the officials still tried to maintain order, and the monks were still chanting scriptures, hoping that people would be kind and not make big mistakes.
And you, Huangmei, deliberately landed in a poor fishing village where the villagers were struggling to survive. You also deliberately used pearls to tempt everyone. Even if someone wanted to stab you, you were fully capable of resisting but chose to lie on the ground and pretend to be dead.
Isn't this reversing cause and effect?
VI.
However, what was the relationship between the bet between Huangmei and Jin Chanzi and his secretly descending to the mortal world to set up the Little Leiyin Temple and pretend to be Tathagata Buddha?
Remember the sentence I (Yang Jiaofeng) said earlier. Although Huangmei and Jin Chanzi had different views on people's hearts, it didn't prevent them from having a deep affection and being true fellow disciples and good friends.
When the Chosen One fought against Huangmei, Huangmei recalled all kinds of past events between him and Jin Chanzi, and among them, he mentioned:
"Later, he (Jin Chanzi) made a big mistake and was reincarnated again!"
Through the original work of "Journey to the West", we know that Jin Chanzi's reincarnation this time was different from Huangmei's descent to the mortal world and turning into an old turtle. The latter took the initiative, descended to the mortal world to prove a conclusion, and didn't enter the cycle of reincarnation. While Jin Chanzi was reincarnated passively, was reincarnated ten times.
Huangmei confused people's hearts, reversed cause and effect, and didn't hesitate to harm a small fishing village for the sake of his so-called victory or defeat. Later, he even stole several magic weapons of Maitreya Buddha, secretly descended to the mortal world to hinder the scripture fetching, but in the end, he didn't receive any proper punishment.
On the contrary, what mistake did Jin Chanzi make that he had to bear such a heavy punishment?
According to the statement in the original work of "Journey to the West", everyone knows that Tang Sanzang was the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, and there's nothing much to analyze. But why he was demoted, reincarnated, and reborn was thought-provoking. In the Chanlin Temple, Tang Sanzang fell seriously ill. Zhu Bajie was worried that he would die, and Sun Wukong said:
"You don't know. Master was the second disciple of our Buddha Tathagata, originally called Elder Jin Chan. It was only because he slighted the Buddhist teachings that he deserved this great disaster."
VII.
According to Sun Wukong's statement, Tang Sanzang's serious illness in the Chanlin Temple was because he had previously slighted the Buddhist teachings, and now the retribution had come, so he deserved this great disaster.
But was that really the truth?
In the section of the True and False Monkey Kings, Sha Wujing went to Huaguo Mountain to look for the luggage of the scripture-fetching team and said to the false Sun Wukong:
"Just because he didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, he was demoted from Mount Ling, reincarnated in the East, and was taught to achieve the right fruit in the West and resume the cultivation of the Great Way."
Here, it wasn't just slighting the Buddhist teachings but simply not being willing to listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, and finally he was demoted from Mount Ling and reincarnated. Later, Sun Wukong even detailed the process of Jin Chanzi not listening to the preaching of scriptures and added some plot descriptions:
"Master didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, dozed off, fell down, and dropped a grain of rice from his left foot and came down to the mortal world..."
Because Jin Chanzi didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures and even dozed off in the temple, and as a result, dropped a grain of rice, which made the Buddha feel so distressed that he demoted him to the mortal world.
Later, even Tathagata Buddha himself came out and explained the reason why Tang Sanzang's previous life was demoted. The general meaning was similar to what Sun Wukong said earlier, that is, not listening to the preaching of scriptures and slighting Buddhism. Finally, the Buddha couldn't bear it anymore and demoted him to the mortal world:
"Because you didn't listen to the preaching of scriptures and slighted my great teachings, I demoted your true spirit and reincarnated you in the East."
Then, the question arose. Jin Chanzi was such a steady person and had a deep understanding of the essence of Buddhist scriptures. Why would he do such a stupid thing?
Also, Jin Chanzi just didn't listen carefully. Was his crime even heavier than that of the Golden-winged Roc who ate up all the people in a country, so much so that his cultivation was cut off and he had to start all over again?
VIII.
We learned from the mouth of the Yellow-browed King that Jin Chanzi was demoted back then because he had made a big mistake, and this mistake was so serious that Tathagata Buddha wouldn't forgive him.
And to explain clearly what big mistake he had made, we have to figure out what exactly happened at the Ullambana Assembly five hundred years ago.
In fact, many things happened on Mount Ling five hundred years ago. For example, the Golden-winged Roc suddenly left Mount Ling and went to the Lion Camel Kingdom and ate up all the people in the country. The Lion Spirit also suddenly went mad and led a group of demons to attack the Southern Heavenly Gate, so much so that Heavenly King Li didn't dare to fight back. Also, Patriarch Bodhi mysteriously disappeared from the Spiritual Terrace Heart-monitoring Mountain, and the Bird's Nest Chan Master suddenly appeared near the Fuling Mountain, and not long after that, Bodhisattva Pilan also retired to the mountains.
More importantly, that year, Tathagata Buddha was ordered to go to the Heavenly Court to suppress Sun Wukong. Before he left, he said:
"All of you stay here and sit firmly in the Dharma Hall. Don't disrupt the meditation positions. Wait for me to subdue the demons and go to the rescue."
Obviously, the Buddha asked the bodhisattvas to set up the Dharma array and not act rashly, which proved that Mount Ling was not stable at that time.
And through the original work of "Journey to the West", we also know that before this, the Buddha among the Five Quarters and Five Elders was not Tathagata Buddha but the Ancient Buddha Dieng. Because it was the Ancient Buddha Dieng who attended the Peach Banquet. Otherwise, Sun Wukong, who was acquainted with all the Five Quarters and Five Elders, wouldn't have questioned Tathagata Buddha when he first met him:
"Which kind-hearted person are you? How dare you stop the fight and ask me?"
This precisely shows that at this time, Tathagata Buddha had just taken the position as the leader of Mount Ling and issued a series of orders after taking office, indicating that the service purpose of Mount Ling had fundamentally changed.
And this change was exactly the point that Jin Chanzi and Huangmei had argued about back then - whether all living beings were equal and the issue of whether human nature was originally good or evil!
IX.
Unfortunately, Jin Chanzi's views were contrary to those of the Tathagata Buddha. And he wasn't a person who was eager to compete and had to distinguish a winner or a loser, so he adopted a hands-off approach and looked down on everything.
The whole process was roughly like this. The Tathagata Buddha's preaching of scriptures deviated more and more from the original doctrines. For example, when he was preaching scriptures, he suddenly brought out the Three Baskets of True Scriptures. At that time, all the bodhisattvas felt incredible:
"Does the Tathagata have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures?"
The more Jin Chanzi listened to these scriptures, the more he felt something was wrong. Maybe he had argued a few words at the beginning. This was what the Tathagata Buddha called "slighting my great teaching". Later, when Jin Chanzi saw that he couldn't persuade the Buddha, he simply adopted non-violent non-cooperation. "I won't listen. Is that okay?"
So, while the Tathagata Buddha was preaching scriptures above, he was sleeping below. From time to time, he probably even mumbled a few words in his sleep, like "What nonsense Buddhist scriptures! What nonsense theories!"
In this way, the Tathagata Buddha was bound to be furious. Well, since you don't believe it, then I'll erase your memory and send you to be reincarnated. Come back when you recognize my scriptures.
Then, what's the difference between the scriptures of the Tathagata Buddha and the previous scriptures?
There is!
That is evil!
In fact, before the Tathagata Buddha achieved the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, his nature wasn't kind. That's what Huang Mei mentioned as "human nature is evil". When subduing the Roc Bird, he had said to Sun Wukong:
"When the Peacock was born, it was the most evil. It could eat people and suck them in with one breath within forty-five miles. When I was on the snow-capped mountain and had achieved the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, I was already sucked into its stomach by it. I wanted to come out through its anus, but I was afraid of defiling my true body. So I cut open its back and rode to Mount Ling. I wanted to take its life..."
X.
The Tathagata Buddha didn't think that human nature was originally good. Otherwise, he wouldn't have artificially defined the peacock. This bird was an evil bird as soon as it was born and liked to eat people.
However, this didn't prevent him from respecting this peacock, which had swallowed him, as the Peacock Great Ming King Bodhisattva.
In this way, a problem would arise. That is, in the past, those who believed in Buddhism, if they wanted to achieve the right fruit, they just needed to do good deeds and be good people. Then, when the opportunity came, they could become buddhas. However, after the Tathagata Buddha took office, the rules changed. After all, in his eyes, everyone was evil. In that case, how could he judge which evil person could become a buddha?
By giving money!
So, we would find that in "Journey to the West", Buddhism was always associated with money. Even when the Bodhisattva Guanyin went to the Eastern Land to look for the scripture-fetching person, she clearly marked the prices of the cassock and the Buddhist staff for sale. The Tathagata Buddha's other two disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa, also wouldn't pass on the scriptures without receiving gifts.
Even the Tathagata Buddha himself said explicitly:
"In the past, when the bhikkhu saints went down the mountain, they recited these scriptures once for the Elder Zhao's family in Sravasti. They ensured the safety of the living in his family and the liberation of the dead. They only got three dou and three sheng of golden grains of rice in return. I even said that they sold them too cheaply and taught that future generations would have no money to use."
Unfortunately, this Buddha only accepted gold but didn't do anything. Sravasti believed in Buddhism so much that it paved the road with gold bricks to invite the Buddha to preach scriptures, but in the end, it declined and was annexed by Tianzhu Kingdom.
On the contrary, those evil people, such as the king of Jisai Kingdom, the king of Miefa Kingdom, and the king of Chechi Kingdom, because there was still profit to be gained from them, even though they had killed many monks, they were not investigated. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying that no matter whether you are an evil person or not, as long as you put down the butcher's knife, you can immediately become a buddha.
XI.
However, in propaganda, the Tathagata Buddha still talked about persuading people to be good. For example, when preaching scriptures, he said:
"I now have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures, which can persuade people to be good."
As soon as these words came out, all the bodhisattvas present were dumbfounded. "What? You also have scriptures that persuade people to be good?"
"Does the Tathagata have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures?"
In fact, the purpose of his saying so was still to covet the wealth of the Tang Dynasty and wanted to get it. In fact, the monks in Tianzhu Kingdom recited scriptures every day, hoping that one day they could be reincarnated in the Eastern Land of the Tang Dynasty:
"Those kind-hearted people here, who read scriptures and chant the Buddha's name, all hope to be reincarnated in your China."
Unfortunately, even after being reincarnated ten times, Jin Chanzi still didn't agree with the Tathagata Buddha's theory. He still believed that if monks took other people's money, it would be very difficult for them to achieve the right fruit. That is to say, they didn't deserve to become buddhas at all:
"We are itinerant monks. We beg for food when we come across villages and ask for alms when we find places. How dare we accept gold, silver and property... As a monk, if I accept the slightest bribe, it will be difficult to cultivate for thousands of kalpas!"
This brings us back to the topic. Huang Mei had a good relationship with Jin Chanzi. Even though their views were not in agreement, they could still live in peace by seeking common ground while reserving differences.
This time, however, the Tathagata Buddha showed his evil side and directly sent Jin Chanzi to the mortal world. In fact, in terms of concepts, Huang Mei was more like the Tathagata Buddha, but there was also a difference. The difference was that Huang Mei wasn't as hypocritical as the Buddha.
Since human nature is evil and needs to indulge desires, why did the Tathagata Buddha create a set of fake scriptures to persuade people to be good?
Well, I, Huang Mei, might as well build a Little Leiyin Temple and act according to my own set of theories. It's better than you, Tang Sanzang, taking a few useless disciples and going through countless hardships to fetch these incomplete scriptures:
"To tell the truth, these scripture-fetching people are all useless. Why believe in that bullshit Tathagata Buddha? I might as well do it myself!"
I've accidentally talked too much again. Fortunately, we've made clear the reason why Jin Chanzi was demoted. In the next issue, we will talk about what Huang Mei did in the Little Leiyin Temple. What on earth did he want to do?
And his four disciples, "Bu Kong", "Bu Neng", "Bu Jing", "Bu Bai", how many little-known secrets are hidden behind them?
Huangmei is the Yellow-browed Boy in "Journey to the West", also known as the Yellow-browed Demon, the Yellow-browed Old Buddha, or the Yellow-browed King. He is a disciple under Maitreya Buddha and is famous for his yellow eyebrows.
Taking advantage of Maitreya Buddha's absence, he stole the Human Sack, the mallet for striking the chime stone, and the Golden Cymbals. Then he secretly descended to the mortal world, became a spirit by pretending to be a Buddha in the Little Leiyin Temple, and even boasted that he would replace Tang Sanzang and his disciples and go to fetch the true scriptures by himself:
"If you can defeat me, I will spare you and your disciples and let you achieve the right fruit. If you can't, I will kill you all, and then I will go to see Tathagata to fetch the scriptures and achieve the right fruit in the Central Plains."
It can be said that the disaster at the Little Leiyin Temple was the time when Sun Wukong, or even Zhu Bajie, had to ask for help the most. Even Sun Wukong was driven to despair several times and wept bitterly - looking up to the sky, he suddenly burst into sad lamentations.
Finally, Maitreya Buddha couldn't bear to watch anymore. He took the initiative to greet Sun Wukong and joined forces to design a plan to subdue the Yellow-browed King.
In "Black Myth: Wukong", this Yellow-browed King once again stole Maitreya Buddha's treasures and descended to the mortal world. This time, he no longer thought about fetching the scriptures by himself. Instead, he believed that he himself was the true scripture. For this reason, he ridiculed Jin Chanzi in front of the Chosen One, saying that Jin Chanzi had taken in several useless disciples and wondered why they were still fetching those damn scriptures:
"I say, all those who go to fetch the scriptures are useless. Why believe in that damn Tathagata? I might as well do it myself!"
Thus, there came the most classic scene in the game where Huangmei questioned the Chosen One:
"Since you have seen the future, why don't you bow down?"
Although Huangmei mocked Jin Chanzi's disciples, saying that some were dead and some had fled and were all useless, he was also consciously or unconsciously comparing himself with Jin Chanzi. For example, the several disciples he took in - "Bukong" (Not Empty), "Buneng" (Not Able), "Bujing" (Not Pure), "Bubai" (Not White)!
II.
Then, what was the purpose of the Yellow-browed King's descent to the mortal world this time? Did he really want to replace Tathagata Buddha and become the Future Buddha?
To explain clearly the whole sequence of events, we have to start from before Jin Chanzi was demoted and descended to the mortal world. What exactly happened between the two of them?
Based on the conversations between Huangmei and the Chosen One, between Maitreya Buddha and Zhu Bajie and the Chosen One in "Black Myth: Wukong", as well as the animation that appeared at the end of this chapter after Huangmei fell into the water. Coupled with my (Yang Jiaofeng's anti-counterfeiting mark) understanding of the original work of "Journey to the West" and basic common sense of life, the whole story is actually like this:
Jin Chanzi and Huangmei probably became Buddhist disciples around the same time. In terms of time, Huangmei was the senior brother. Jin Chanzi studied under Tathagata Buddha and was his second disciple. Huangmei studied under Maitreya Buddha. After all, there was no second disciple of Maitreya Buddha shown in the book or the game, so for the time being, we can consider Huangmei as Maitreya Buddha's eldest disciple.
Although in terms of status, Jin Chanzi seemed to be a bit higher since he was the disciple of the current Buddha, Huangmei was not bad either, as he was the disciple of the Future Buddha. Therefore, although the two often argued endlessly and had different views, in terms of their close relationship, they were not sworn enemies but good friends!
Remember this premise that Huangmei and Jin Chanzi were not in an antagonistic state but were friends who could empathize with each other and were familiar with and understood each other!
Huangmei was arrogant and conceited, and his obsession was to compete and determine a winner and a loser. He was the kind of person who would rather die than admit defeat. When Huangmei fought against the Chosen One, he mentioned the differences between him and Jin Chanzi, which was the issue of whether all people were born equal or unequal.
III.
Jin Chanzi couldn't bear the practices on Mount Ling. While there was auspicious light and mist on the mountain, the people at the foot of the mountain were suffering from disasters and hardships:
"He said, all living beings have the root of wisdom. Why are only you and I in a superior position while others are only worthy of kowtowing and burning incense?"
Huangmei, on the other hand, straightforwardly stated his own view, that is, these people were inferior to you and me, so they were only worthy of kowtowing and burning incense, while we could enjoy their worship.
Of course, their differences were not just this. A bigger difference lay in the debate over whether human nature was originally good or evil. Jin Chanzi believed that human nature was originally good, while Huangmei believed that human nature was originally evil. Since neither could persuade the other, Huangmei decided to descend to the mortal world in person and use his own experiences to prove his point and defeat Jin Chanzi.
Thus, there was the animation at the end of this chapter where Huangmei turned into an old turtle and descended to a coastal fishing village:
The Yellow-browed King turned into an old soft-shelled turtle and landed in a poor fishing village. He was caught by fishermen with fishing nets and brought ashore. After the Yellow-browed King woke up, the first thing he did was secretly cut open the pustules on his belly, and pearls began to flow out. This also implied that wealth was like the pustules on the body. The more one had, the deeper the degree of corruption would be.
Fortunately, the local fishermen reported it to the authorities. The officials carried him to a temple. We could see that at first, the temple enshrined the normal Buddha, but later it was replaced by the Yellow-browed King.
The Yellow-browed King showed his ability to produce pearls and was thus worshiped by the villagers. Then the authorities noticed it and moved him to a special temple for standardized management so that he could receive more worship.
Thus, the Yellow-browed King used his fingernails to cure the sick villagers who came for help, used his nasal mucus for beauty and skin care, gave out pearls, and from time to time cast spells to make fish fall from the sky.
IV.
At first, everything was normal. The villagers offered tributes, and the authorities gave corresponding pearls to the villagers according to the value of the tributes.
Unfortunately, one day things got out of control. During everyone's worship, suddenly a person jumped out and slashed open the belly of the old turtle with a knife. Although the old turtle knocked him down with one punch, once the door of desire was opened, there was no turning back. Even though the officials present tried to maintain order, it was already of no avail. The others rushed forward, dismembered the old turtle, and divided the treasures.
In the end, even the monks with the strongest concentration couldn't hold on anymore. Although they were still chanting scriptures, they were already sweating profusely. Their minds began to imagine the dances of beautiful women, and their hands were secretly picking up the pearls that had fallen on the ground.
Finally, the small fishing village was completely in an uproar. Everyone celebrated all night long. Even the monks hugged women, and all order was completely lost.
After one night, the bonfire disappeared, the people disappeared, all desires vanished, and no humans survived in the small fishing village, which was completely in decline.
And the Yellow-browed King sat by the sea, dragging his mutilated limbs, quietly waiting for Jin Chanzi's arrival:
"This time, I've won again, Jin Chanzi!"
However, Jin Chanzi advised Huangmei to let go, not to reverse cause and effect, and not to be too obsessed with winning or losing:
"Confusing people's hearts, reversing cause and effect. Senior brother is so obsessed with winning and losing. It's ridiculous and sad!"
As a result, Huangmei replied:
"If I can't win, what's the point of proving cause and effect and people's hearts?"
From this, we can know that what they bet on was the issue of whether human nature was originally good or evil, and in the end, it was indeed Huangmei who won.
Then, how should we understand Jin Chanzi's words? And why didn't Huangmei agree?
V.
In fact, the problem was that Huangmei was preconceived. He first established the concept that human nature was originally evil and then continuously created conditions to achieve this result in order to achieve the effect he wanted.
This was also what Jin Chanzi meant by reversing cause and effect. It's like a glass bottle. Once you认定 it will break, then it will definitely break. Yes, a glass bottle would never break if you didn't touch it originally, but if you deliberately smash it hard, how could it not break?
In fact, after Huangmei turned into an old turtle and came to the small fishing village, human nature had been showing its good side all along, but this was not what he wanted, so he had never been willing to admit it:
For example, in a poor fishing village suffering from famine, someone caught a big fish but didn't think of keeping it for himself but shared it with the whole village. This was the first act of kindness; the old turtle deliberately cut open the pustules and pearls flowed out, and the people present were not bewitched by this scene and still chose to protect the old turtle. This was the second act of kindness; the people received the old turtle's kindness and their lives got better. They didn't forget the old turtle, provided him with food, built a temple, and worshiped him. This was the third act of kindness; even when the officials got involved, they didn't regard the old turtle as public property and swallow it up but still took it out to share with the villagers. This was the fourth act of kindness...
Finally, it was still the old turtle who deliberately pushed a greedy person, making him walk towards the old turtle with a knife. Even so, the officials still tried to maintain order, and the monks were still chanting scriptures, hoping that people would be kind and not make big mistakes.
And you, Huangmei, deliberately landed in a poor fishing village where the villagers were struggling to survive. You also deliberately used pearls to tempt everyone. Even if someone wanted to stab you, you were fully capable of resisting but chose to lie on the ground and pretend to be dead.
Isn't this reversing cause and effect?
VI.
However, what was the relationship between the bet between Huangmei and Jin Chanzi and his secretly descending to the mortal world to set up the Little Leiyin Temple and pretend to be Tathagata Buddha?
Remember the sentence I (Yang Jiaofeng) said earlier. Although Huangmei and Jin Chanzi had different views on people's hearts, it didn't prevent them from having a deep affection and being true fellow disciples and good friends.
When the Chosen One fought against Huangmei, Huangmei recalled all kinds of past events between him and Jin Chanzi, and among them, he mentioned:
"Later, he (Jin Chanzi) made a big mistake and was reincarnated again!"
Through the original work of "Journey to the West", we know that Jin Chanzi's reincarnation this time was different from Huangmei's descent to the mortal world and turning into an old turtle. The latter took the initiative, descended to the mortal world to prove a conclusion, and didn't enter the cycle of reincarnation. While Jin Chanzi was reincarnated passively, was reincarnated ten times.
Huangmei confused people's hearts, reversed cause and effect, and didn't hesitate to harm a small fishing village for the sake of his so-called victory or defeat. Later, he even stole several magic weapons of Maitreya Buddha, secretly descended to the mortal world to hinder the scripture fetching, but in the end, he didn't receive any proper punishment.
On the contrary, what mistake did Jin Chanzi make that he had to bear such a heavy punishment?
According to the statement in the original work of "Journey to the West", everyone knows that Tang Sanzang was the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, and there's nothing much to analyze. But why he was demoted, reincarnated, and reborn was thought-provoking. In the Chanlin Temple, Tang Sanzang fell seriously ill. Zhu Bajie was worried that he would die, and Sun Wukong said:
"You don't know. Master was the second disciple of our Buddha Tathagata, originally called Elder Jin Chan. It was only because he slighted the Buddhist teachings that he deserved this great disaster."
VII.
According to Sun Wukong's statement, Tang Sanzang's serious illness in the Chanlin Temple was because he had previously slighted the Buddhist teachings, and now the retribution had come, so he deserved this great disaster.
But was that really the truth?
In the section of the True and False Monkey Kings, Sha Wujing went to Huaguo Mountain to look for the luggage of the scripture-fetching team and said to the false Sun Wukong:
"Just because he didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, he was demoted from Mount Ling, reincarnated in the East, and was taught to achieve the right fruit in the West and resume the cultivation of the Great Way."
Here, it wasn't just slighting the Buddhist teachings but simply not being willing to listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, and finally he was demoted from Mount Ling and reincarnated. Later, Sun Wukong even detailed the process of Jin Chanzi not listening to the preaching of scriptures and added some plot descriptions:
"Master didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures, dozed off, fell down, and dropped a grain of rice from his left foot and came down to the mortal world..."
Because Jin Chanzi didn't listen to the Buddha's preaching of scriptures and even dozed off in the temple, and as a result, dropped a grain of rice, which made the Buddha feel so distressed that he demoted him to the mortal world.
Later, even Tathagata Buddha himself came out and explained the reason why Tang Sanzang's previous life was demoted. The general meaning was similar to what Sun Wukong said earlier, that is, not listening to the preaching of scriptures and slighting Buddhism. Finally, the Buddha couldn't bear it anymore and demoted him to the mortal world:
"Because you didn't listen to the preaching of scriptures and slighted my great teachings, I demoted your true spirit and reincarnated you in the East."
Then, the question arose. Jin Chanzi was such a steady person and had a deep understanding of the essence of Buddhist scriptures. Why would he do such a stupid thing?
Also, Jin Chanzi just didn't listen carefully. Was his crime even heavier than that of the Golden-winged Roc who ate up all the people in a country, so much so that his cultivation was cut off and he had to start all over again?
VIII.
We learned from the mouth of the Yellow-browed King that Jin Chanzi was demoted back then because he had made a big mistake, and this mistake was so serious that Tathagata Buddha wouldn't forgive him.
And to explain clearly what big mistake he had made, we have to figure out what exactly happened at the Ullambana Assembly five hundred years ago.
In fact, many things happened on Mount Ling five hundred years ago. For example, the Golden-winged Roc suddenly left Mount Ling and went to the Lion Camel Kingdom and ate up all the people in the country. The Lion Spirit also suddenly went mad and led a group of demons to attack the Southern Heavenly Gate, so much so that Heavenly King Li didn't dare to fight back. Also, Patriarch Bodhi mysteriously disappeared from the Spiritual Terrace Heart-monitoring Mountain, and the Bird's Nest Chan Master suddenly appeared near the Fuling Mountain, and not long after that, Bodhisattva Pilan also retired to the mountains.
More importantly, that year, Tathagata Buddha was ordered to go to the Heavenly Court to suppress Sun Wukong. Before he left, he said:
"All of you stay here and sit firmly in the Dharma Hall. Don't disrupt the meditation positions. Wait for me to subdue the demons and go to the rescue."
Obviously, the Buddha asked the bodhisattvas to set up the Dharma array and not act rashly, which proved that Mount Ling was not stable at that time.
And through the original work of "Journey to the West", we also know that before this, the Buddha among the Five Quarters and Five Elders was not Tathagata Buddha but the Ancient Buddha Dieng. Because it was the Ancient Buddha Dieng who attended the Peach Banquet. Otherwise, Sun Wukong, who was acquainted with all the Five Quarters and Five Elders, wouldn't have questioned Tathagata Buddha when he first met him:
"Which kind-hearted person are you? How dare you stop the fight and ask me?"
This precisely shows that at this time, Tathagata Buddha had just taken the position as the leader of Mount Ling and issued a series of orders after taking office, indicating that the service purpose of Mount Ling had fundamentally changed.
And this change was exactly the point that Jin Chanzi and Huangmei had argued about back then - whether all living beings were equal and the issue of whether human nature was originally good or evil!
IX.
Unfortunately, Jin Chanzi's views were contrary to those of the Tathagata Buddha. And he wasn't a person who was eager to compete and had to distinguish a winner or a loser, so he adopted a hands-off approach and looked down on everything.
The whole process was roughly like this. The Tathagata Buddha's preaching of scriptures deviated more and more from the original doctrines. For example, when he was preaching scriptures, he suddenly brought out the Three Baskets of True Scriptures. At that time, all the bodhisattvas felt incredible:
"Does the Tathagata have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures?"
The more Jin Chanzi listened to these scriptures, the more he felt something was wrong. Maybe he had argued a few words at the beginning. This was what the Tathagata Buddha called "slighting my great teaching". Later, when Jin Chanzi saw that he couldn't persuade the Buddha, he simply adopted non-violent non-cooperation. "I won't listen. Is that okay?"
So, while the Tathagata Buddha was preaching scriptures above, he was sleeping below. From time to time, he probably even mumbled a few words in his sleep, like "What nonsense Buddhist scriptures! What nonsense theories!"
In this way, the Tathagata Buddha was bound to be furious. Well, since you don't believe it, then I'll erase your memory and send you to be reincarnated. Come back when you recognize my scriptures.
Then, what's the difference between the scriptures of the Tathagata Buddha and the previous scriptures?
There is!
That is evil!
In fact, before the Tathagata Buddha achieved the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, his nature wasn't kind. That's what Huang Mei mentioned as "human nature is evil". When subduing the Roc Bird, he had said to Sun Wukong:
"When the Peacock was born, it was the most evil. It could eat people and suck them in with one breath within forty-five miles. When I was on the snow-capped mountain and had achieved the Sixteen-foot Golden Body, I was already sucked into its stomach by it. I wanted to come out through its anus, but I was afraid of defiling my true body. So I cut open its back and rode to Mount Ling. I wanted to take its life..."
X.
The Tathagata Buddha didn't think that human nature was originally good. Otherwise, he wouldn't have artificially defined the peacock. This bird was an evil bird as soon as it was born and liked to eat people.
However, this didn't prevent him from respecting this peacock, which had swallowed him, as the Peacock Great Ming King Bodhisattva.
In this way, a problem would arise. That is, in the past, those who believed in Buddhism, if they wanted to achieve the right fruit, they just needed to do good deeds and be good people. Then, when the opportunity came, they could become buddhas. However, after the Tathagata Buddha took office, the rules changed. After all, in his eyes, everyone was evil. In that case, how could he judge which evil person could become a buddha?
By giving money!
So, we would find that in "Journey to the West", Buddhism was always associated with money. Even when the Bodhisattva Guanyin went to the Eastern Land to look for the scripture-fetching person, she clearly marked the prices of the cassock and the Buddhist staff for sale. The Tathagata Buddha's other two disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa, also wouldn't pass on the scriptures without receiving gifts.
Even the Tathagata Buddha himself said explicitly:
"In the past, when the bhikkhu saints went down the mountain, they recited these scriptures once for the Elder Zhao's family in Sravasti. They ensured the safety of the living in his family and the liberation of the dead. They only got three dou and three sheng of golden grains of rice in return. I even said that they sold them too cheaply and taught that future generations would have no money to use."
Unfortunately, this Buddha only accepted gold but didn't do anything. Sravasti believed in Buddhism so much that it paved the road with gold bricks to invite the Buddha to preach scriptures, but in the end, it declined and was annexed by Tianzhu Kingdom.
On the contrary, those evil people, such as the king of Jisai Kingdom, the king of Miefa Kingdom, and the king of Chechi Kingdom, because there was still profit to be gained from them, even though they had killed many monks, they were not investigated. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying that no matter whether you are an evil person or not, as long as you put down the butcher's knife, you can immediately become a buddha.
XI.
However, in propaganda, the Tathagata Buddha still talked about persuading people to be good. For example, when preaching scriptures, he said:
"I now have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures, which can persuade people to be good."
As soon as these words came out, all the bodhisattvas present were dumbfounded. "What? You also have scriptures that persuade people to be good?"
"Does the Tathagata have the Three Baskets of True Scriptures?"
In fact, the purpose of his saying so was still to covet the wealth of the Tang Dynasty and wanted to get it. In fact, the monks in Tianzhu Kingdom recited scriptures every day, hoping that one day they could be reincarnated in the Eastern Land of the Tang Dynasty:
"Those kind-hearted people here, who read scriptures and chant the Buddha's name, all hope to be reincarnated in your China."
Unfortunately, even after being reincarnated ten times, Jin Chanzi still didn't agree with the Tathagata Buddha's theory. He still believed that if monks took other people's money, it would be very difficult for them to achieve the right fruit. That is to say, they didn't deserve to become buddhas at all:
"We are itinerant monks. We beg for food when we come across villages and ask for alms when we find places. How dare we accept gold, silver and property... As a monk, if I accept the slightest bribe, it will be difficult to cultivate for thousands of kalpas!"
This brings us back to the topic. Huang Mei had a good relationship with Jin Chanzi. Even though their views were not in agreement, they could still live in peace by seeking common ground while reserving differences.
This time, however, the Tathagata Buddha showed his evil side and directly sent Jin Chanzi to the mortal world. In fact, in terms of concepts, Huang Mei was more like the Tathagata Buddha, but there was also a difference. The difference was that Huang Mei wasn't as hypocritical as the Buddha.
Since human nature is evil and needs to indulge desires, why did the Tathagata Buddha create a set of fake scriptures to persuade people to be good?
Well, I, Huang Mei, might as well build a Little Leiyin Temple and act according to my own set of theories. It's better than you, Tang Sanzang, taking a few useless disciples and going through countless hardships to fetch these incomplete scriptures:
"To tell the truth, these scripture-fetching people are all useless. Why believe in that bullshit Tathagata Buddha? I might as well do it myself!"
I've accidentally talked too much again. Fortunately, we've made clear the reason why Jin Chanzi was demoted. In the next issue, we will talk about what Huang Mei did in the Little Leiyin Temple. What on earth did he want to do?
And his four disciples, "Bu Kong", "Bu Neng", "Bu Jing", "Bu Bai", how many little-known secrets are hidden behind them?
