In the history of China, it was two great feats of cultural exchange with the world, that is, learning from the West and teaching precepts to Jian Zhen in the East. After 81 difficulties, Xuanzang finally achieved great success. However, Jian Zhen is also in trouble. It traveled to the east six times and lost its sight, so it had to spread the light to Japan. The former is well-known through Wu Cheng'en's novel The Journey to the West and its various artistic forms, while the latter is little known.
Speaking of Jian Zhen, I often think of going to the East six times, but I ignore the hard and inspirational study tours before going to the East; When it comes to Du Dong, I often think of suffering, but I ignore the trip after failure. These study tours are the "ballast stones" for Jian Zhen to finally sail. So, as a generation of monks, how did Jian Zhen grow up?
(1) Studying in No.2 Middle School in Beijing (707-7 14)
Jian Zhen (688-763) was born in Jiangyang, Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu), and his common name was Chunyu. He was born in the Tang Dynasty for four years, thirteen years earlier than Li Bai, at the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the Yongjiang River in Yangzhou was surrounded by the sea, and many large ships came to berth, so the shipbuilding industry developed. Thousands of dragon boats were built for Yang Di to go to Yangzhou, which became the most important water transportation hub in Sui and Tang Dynasties. Most people who came to learn China's advanced culture and sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty chose to go ashore from Yangzhou, then go north from the Canal to Xijing Chang 'an or Luoyang, Tokyo. At that time, Yangzhou was the third largest city in China after Chang 'an and Luoyang in economic strength and social prosperity. Jian Zhen lives in such a big city, and Yangzhou is the starting point of his westward and eastward travels. The opening of the canal created conditions for Jian Zhen to sail north and west through the canal. The development of shipbuilding industry has created conditions for Jian Zhen to try to cross eastward.
Buddhism prevailed in Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty, with Chinese and foreign monks gathering and dozens of Buddhist temples. Jian Zhen's belief in Buddhism is completely influenced by the family atmosphere. His father is a devout Buddhist, and he often takes Jian Zhen to the Buddhist temple to pray. When Jian Zhen was young, he was gifted and deeply influenced by religious feelings. At the age of fourteen, he was moved by the solemn and kind shape of the Buddha statue. When he knelt before the Buddha, he knelt down and wanted to become a monk. Seeing his sincerity and perseverance, his father asked him to worship Zen master Zhiman of Dayun Temple as his teacher, and the father and son climbed the mountain together. From then on, Jian Zhen became his dharma name and the temple became his new home. After several years of morning bell and dusk drum, yellow light and green axis, little novice monk kept improving his study and won the love of Zen master Zhiman.
The Legalist School appeared in the early Tang Dynasty, taking precepts as the principle of establishing the school, and attaching importance to consolidating and developing the heartfelt function of "stopping evil and promoting good". It is as famous as Tiantai, Fa, Hua Yan, Mi and Zen. Jian Zhen was bent on becoming a "lawyer", and two famous lawyers played a key role in his growth.
One is a guide to studying in Jian Zhen, and the other is a lawyer on the shore.
Lawyer Dao An is a disciple of the monk Wen Gang. At that time, when he was a court teacher in Chang 'an, he was already famous all over the country, and he was called "the king of abstinence" in more than 400 states. In 705, after the restoration of Li Xian in Tang Zhongzong, he was recruited to give lectures in Jianghuai. Every time I pass the Dayun Temple in Yangzhou, Jian Zhen, who is diligent and studious, leaves a deep impression on Daoan. In 705, Jian Zhen came to Dasu Mountain in Gwangju (now Guangshan, Henan), where he worshipped Daoan as a teacher, studied law, and accepted Daoan's bodhisattva precepts. Then Jian Zhen is eighteen this year. Jian Zhen studied it for a long time, and the more questions he asked, the more he realized that "what you get on paper is superficial". At the beginning of the first year of Jinglong (707), Jian Zhen traveled to Luoyang and Chang 'an, the most prosperous places of Buddhism, to learn knowledge and visit famous temples. That yearbook is indeed twenty years old.
On the way to study in Jian Zhen, I visited the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, and the Longmen Grottoes along the Luoshui River, where I visited the tomb of Guan Yu, the God of Mission Hills. Jian Zhen was amazed at all kinds of Buddha statues and inscriptions written and carved by famous artists and craftsmen. During his study in Chang 'an, Jian Zhen visited the jungle and visited monks, and successively learned from Yijing Temple Yiwei, Ximing Temple Yuan Zhi, Tokyo Memorial Temple Jin Jiu, Huice and Xijing Kannonji Daliang. With the unique enthusiasm of young people, he traveled to Buddhism, absorbed Buddhist scriptures, and studied classics such as Four Teachers' Notes and Four Teachers' Notes. He did not stick to the sects, but integrated the strengths of various sects, and soon formed his own independent concept of discipline. In Chang'an Temple, he personally read and copied a large number of classics translated by Xuanzang and others, and became a rising star of Legalists after Wen Gang, Dao An and Heng Jing.
Lawyer Dao An was also a famous architectural expert at that time. While in Yangzhou, he personally taught Jian Zhen's painting and architectural art, and personally guided him on the construction sites of Guangling longxing temple and Kaiyuan Temple. Entrusted by Tang Zhongzong, Jianfu Temple and Little Wild Goose Pagoda were built in Chang 'an. After Jian Zhen arrived in Chang 'an, Jian Zhen also took it as an assistant. From design, construction to decoration, a series of practical knowledge opened Jian Zhen's eyes. This laid a solid foundation for building more than 80 temples and countless Buddha statues back and forth in Yangzhou, and also laid a solid foundation for building such a magnificent building as Tang Temple in Japan in the future.
The other is a lawyer from Jian Zhen, namely Dejie and Heng Jing.
In the second year of Jinglong (708), 75-year-old lawyer Heng Jing saw Jian Zhen's wisdom and diligence, and finally accepted him as a closed disciple, and held a very grand ceremony of conferring three divisions and seven certificates in the actual Mingsha Temple in Chang 'an. Wen Gang, Heng Jing, and Dao An served as ordained tutors themselves. Jian Zhen was really lucky, because it was already the highest level in the country. Jian Zhen, whose feet are bound, is twenty-one years old this year.
Lawyer Heng Jing is proficient in Sanzang, and he is also quite accomplished in medicine. He trained Jian Zhen as an heir, kept him with him, observed his strengths, guided him according to the situation, and let him play his role: when he found that he liked reading and copying books, he tried to arrange time to create many conditions for him to read and copy books; Found that he likes architecture, sculpture, painting, calligraphy, and also gave him a full visit and study; It was found that he paid attention to medicine, and Hengjing gave him special support and provided him with convenient conditions. With the help of the good relationship between Jingwei and the imperial court, Jian Zhen often went to Hongwenge in the palace to study Pharmacopoeia medical skills, and was able to go in and out of the Imperial Cure Department, where he asked medical questions, especially a rare opportunity to completely record the clear draft of Sun Simiao's Thousand Golden Formulas, which inspired him greatly and had the greatest influence on practicing medicine in Jianghuai and spreading Japan in the future. With compassion, Buddhism not only advocates curing the heart disease of the world, but also pays attention to curing the physical diseases of the world, and even lists "medical prescription" as one of the basic knowledge and skills that Buddhists must master. Jian Zhen soon became a leader in studying medicine among monks.
It is important for Buddhism to learn from sects. At that time, Legalists were gradually divided into Nanshan School, Xiangbu School and Dongta School. Jian Zhen met a famous teacher and benefited a lot. He learned from each other's strong points, mainly Nanshan School, which was widely absorbed and became a direct biography of Nanshan School. At the same time, it was a masterpiece of three sects, which opened his eyes and made his career progress. In a few years, he arrived in Sanzang. The harvest of Jian Zhen's study tour is not only reflected in how much Buddhist knowledge he has increased, but also involves architecture, sculpture, painting, medicine and many other aspects. He has grown into a famous monk who is proficient in French and Italian, good at learning and knowledgeable.
(2) He was awarded the Master of the Ring before Du Dong (7 14-742).
In the first year of Kaiyuan (7 13), Jian Zhen returned to Yangzhou and was stationed in Xi daming temple Law School to teach law. I was twenty-six years old.
Because of his "building Buddha and helping others", his reputation is growing day by day. In the nearly 30 years before his eastward trip to Japan, Jian Zhen mainly engaged in four categories of Buddhism: preaching, preaching, educating disciples and medicine.
He preached the law, emphasized that all evil should be avoided and all good should be done, and gave theoretical guidance to monks before becoming a monk. Before and after, he preached the Four Points and Yi Shu for 40 times, the Notes to the Law for 70 times, the Light and Heavy Instrument and the Book of Quitting Ink 10 times, which set a record for the law school to preach the classics for the first time, and no one came back later.
He came to the altar to preach the precepts and traveled among the main temples in the Jianghuai area. In ten years, he preached the commandments to more than 40 thousand people. The scale and specifications of the ceremony were the first time in China at that time. He became a famous monk in the Jianghuai area who was "outstanding and returned to his heart" and was respected as a preceptor.
He trained his disciples by heart, and relying on the daming temple Law School he founded, he trained a large number of monks who passed on the laws and precepts of China. Among them, 35 disciples were "outstanding and exemplary", became the backbone of Buddhism and Legalism, and started the cause of Sangha education in China.
He made medicines for medical treatment, and Yangzhou was once a distribution center for Chinese and western medicines. Through decades of experience in dealing with drug dealers, as well as the practice of hosting Dayun Temple Sadness Hospital and setting up a medicine nursery, Jian Zhen summed up a set of unique skills in identifying and collecting precious drugs. Even if he was blind later, he could still identify the authenticity of the medicine by tasting, smelling, touching and biting his teeth, and even cured the incurable diseases of the Japanese Queen of Light. He made a large number of pills, powder and pills, sent medicines to the poor and sick, and personally prepared medicines for the sick, becoming a generation of monks, and was called "the Buddha of healing" by the people in Jianghuai.
After Dao An and Dao An's disciple Yi Wei, Jian Zhen became the patriarch widely expected by the whole country and became a world-famous legal authority. In the 21st year of Kaiyuan (733), after Yi Wei's death, Jian Zhen was the "founder" of Buddhism in this area. When he preached the precepts, he set up a new altar for the temple he visited, which produced a group of Buddhist disciples who became monks in this temple to continue the method of preaching the precepts in this temple. As a result, temples all over the country scrambled to invite Jian Zhen to give lectures, and a battle for Jian Zhen at home and abroad inevitably started.
(2) Master of Crossing the Sea in Dongdu (742-753)
Japanese Buddhism was introduced from China during the Southern Dynasties. Although there is Buddhism, there is no legal person. If we strictly abide by the rituals in the "Three Divisions and Seven Certificates" in the Tang Dynasty, even the number of three divisions can't match. Although the ruling and opposition parties admire Buddhism, they generally adopt the way of "self-oath and voluntary" to become monks, which leads to disorder and uncontrollable, and Buddhism needs to be rectified urgently; On the other hand, in order to escape the tax service, most people cut their hair into monks and nuns, and the external relationship between politics and religion needs to be straightened out. Therefore, it is a great event related to Japan's prosperity to welcome the master who preached the precepts from the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges were very frequent, and Japan often sent envoys, scholars and international students to Datang to learn from them. Among the ninth group of diplomatic envoys in Tang Dynasty, Rong Chui and two young monks came to Tang Dynasty to marry and canonize eminent monks, and those who were honored as canonized masters were the ideal targets for Japanese marriage. Fortunately, Rong Chui and Pu Zhao's fellow monk in Chang 'an ankokuji are Jian Zhen's disciples. In 742 AD, under the guidance of Daoxing, he made a special trip to Yangzhou to see Jian Zhen. They stated the current situation of Buddhism in Japan: "If I want a secluded room all night, what can I see?" Invite Master Jian Zhen to "stop enjoying this side and become Haidong's mentor." Jian Zhen, 54, was moved by the heartfelt words of two Japanese monks. Therefore, when Jian Zhen arrived in Japan, Emperor Chunren issued a decree that all monks should go to Zhao Ti Temple in the Tang Dynasty to learn precepts from the great monk Jian Zhen. "People appointed by Jian Zhen are recognized by the state as monks and nuns", otherwise, they can't get the official permission to be exempted from taxes and labor. It can be seen that Jian Zhen and his party brought "timely rain" to Japan.
Now China can even build an aircraft carrier and board the South Pole. However, due to the limitation of shipbuilding technology in Tang dynasty, it is not enough to provide personal safety at sea, and fragile life may encounter all kinds of impermanence at any time in the vast sea. Therefore, when Jian Zhen asked his disciples who would like to go with him, everyone was silent. Disciple Xiang Yan said, "The other country is too far away to survive. The sea is boundless and omnipotent. " Xiang Yan's words are not exaggerated, and this is exactly the case:
In 744, Jian Zhen crossed the east for the second time, and a team of more than 65,438,000 people set out again. As a result, the ship was smashed at Langgoupu in the Yangtze River estuary before going out to sea. As soon as the ship was repaired, it went out to sea, was blown by strong winds, drifted to the island, and endured for five days and five nights before being rescued.
In 748 AD, Jian Zhen made his fifth voyage to the Western Ocean, starting from Yangzhou. When the wind changes, fresh water runs out, people chew raw rice for a living, and even meet robbers. Drifting 16 days to Hainan Island and rescued.
In 753, although the sixth trip to the East was very successful, it was also full of dangers. Four ships are traveling with each other. Jian Zhen's second ship and Kibi No Asomi Makibi's second ship arrived successfully against the huge waves. The fourth ship hit the rocks and arrived safely, while Chao Heng's first ship drifted to the Vietnamese coast with the wind after hitting the rocks. After landing, I met pirates. There were more than 170 people on board, and only a dozen people, including him and Ambassador Fujiwara Qinghe, survived and returned to Chang 'an two years later. Li Bai, a good friend, thought that he had been killed, so he wrote a poem "Cry for Chao Heng": The Japanese and Korean ministers resigned from the imperial capital and set sail around the kettle. Like a bright moon, the sea does not return, and the mood of missing you is like a faint cloud hanging over Yuntai Mountain.
It is precisely because of the danger of the sea that many believers worry about and prevent the safety of Jian Zhen. More importantly, during Jian Zhen's period, the domestic eminent monks and great virtues gradually withered, and Jian Zhen was the only legalist master in the south who could be worthy of the name. However, the "one-sided master" will go to Japan and take away a group of disciples, which will inevitably bring great losses to the spread of Nanshan Legalism in Jianghuai and even Jiangnan. This is also the repeated defeat and war of the Three Cardinals and the Five Permanent Members. In addition, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, it is illegal to cross the sea without permission, and the government will definitely come forward to investigate and deal with it. Therefore, Jian Zhen always borrows money from the government in the name of spreading Buddhism in the southeast or providing support.
In 742, Jian Zhen first sailed eastward, but the plan ran aground, because someone inside the monk group secretly told the government that the sailboat was confiscated by the government. In 744, Jian was really prepared to cross eastward for the third time from Asoka Temple in Zhejiang. In order to keep Jian Zhen, local monks accused the government of confusing Jian Zhen with smuggling to Japan, which put the plan on hold again. In the winter of the same year, Jian Zhen diverted to Du Dong, Fuzhou for the fourth time due to the inconvenience of going to sea in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. However, because Lingyou, the eldest disciple who stayed in Yangzhou, led the Yangzhou monks to jointly write to the court, the officers and men finally stopped Jian Zhen and his party on the way back to Yangzhou. Yangzhou people rushed to tell each other, saying, "If you rush to fill the road, you will meet Jiangzhou, and it will be a brief encounter." This shows the great resistance of Jian Zhen's eastward crossing.
In 753 AD, the Japanese sent special envoy Tang to Yangzhou, pleading to go east together again. In view of Jian Zhen's constant departure before, Huainan and Jiangdong were deeply troubled and wary. In fact, Jian Zhen was under surveillance. He didn't want Jian Zhen to secretly take a boat to Suzhou Huangsipu, so that he could board the ship of the special envoy of the Tang Dynasty waiting there. At this time, it was learned that the Yangzhou government sent troops to search Jian Zhen, and there was another disagreement within the Japanese mission in Tang, because the court never allowed Jian Zhen to go abroad, fearing that he would be investigated by the laws of the Tang Dynasty, causing unnecessary trouble. After that, Jian Zhen was able to go out to sea with the help of the internal staff of the mission, hiding on another ship, and successfully arrived at his wife's home in Japan on February 20th, 65438.
Before and after Jian Zhen's eastward crossing, it took twelve years, six times, five times of failure, three times of sailing, and after several desperate times, he still yearned for the East. 36 people died at sea and were injured, 100 people withdrew from the ranks of Du Dong. At the age of 55, Jian Zhen decided to go to the East, but he didn't arrive in Japan until he was 66, even though he was over 60 years old and almost blind. He teaches precepts and others to help the world. The Japanese respectfully called him "the master of crossing the sea".
Unfortunately, Jian Zhen is not the Eight Immortals, and there is no magic weapon to cross the sea. Only "it is a gift, why cherish life?" The bodhisattva spirit of "I will go to the ear if everyone doesn't go" only coincides with the fate of "I won't go to Japan". Some people think it is a misunderstanding that Jian Zhen has been obsessed with crossing Japan all his life. As a profound monk, Du Dong is just a personal practitioner of "all laws follow destiny". "The mountains and rivers are exotic, the sun and the moon shine together, the buddhas send each other, and * * * is bound." In Jian Zhen's mind, Japan is a country with a prosperous destiny of Buddhism.
If you persevere, then Jian Zhen's eastward crossing is far from an annual crossing or a monthly crossing, but it will not take 12 years at all. Nowadays, people pay more attention to the frustration of Jian Zhen's last trip to the East, but ignore what he did after the frustration. In fact, it was because of many setbacks that Jian Zhen was able to travel half of China, covering Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Qiong, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi except Jiangsu. He preached dharma and preached scriptures, issued commandments, built temples and pagodas, helped the poor and treated diseases, and used both dharma and things, which made him famous as a model for later generations. This is the result of not insisting. Without the success of Dongdu, it seems that life is consumed, but the essence is constantly increasing the value of life. Isn't it a success to teach the dharma by life?
(3) After the eastward crossing (753-763), the exorcist passed the lantern.
Jian Zhen lived in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, and Japan entered the famous Nara era in history, and the cultural exchange between China and Japan reached a climax. In 754, Jian Zhen arrived in Osaka and the Japanese government held a grand welcoming ceremony. The Emperor of Japan conferred the title of "exorcist and lantern bearer" on him, invited him to sit in Dongda Temple, entrusted him with the important task of teaching precepts and spreading dharma, and put him in charge of Buddhist affairs throughout Japan. The master set up Buddhist altars and Tang Buddhist temples to train monks, corrected the mistakes of Japanese Buddhist scriptures at that time and promoted the development of Japanese Buddhism. Jian Zhen was awarded the titles of "Big Monk Capital" and "Big Monk" by the Japanese Emperor, and was honored as the "ancestor of legalism" in Japan by believers.
Jian Zhen, who is proficient in medical skills and materia medica, brought Chinese medicine technology to Japan. He taught and educated people and treated diseases enthusiastically, and was honored as the "medical ancestor", Shennong, Japan. Until11960s, Jian Zhen's portrait was printed on Japanese medicine packaging paper and bags.
Jian Zhen lived in Japan for ten years, and tirelessly spread the science and culture of Buddhism, linguistics, literature, architecture, sculpture, medicine, calligraphy and printing in the Tang Dynasty, which promoted the development of Japanese culture and was praised as the "father of culture" by the Japanese people. In 763, Jian Zhen, who was old and frail, tried to preach Buddhism, sat cross-legged, faced the Tang Dynasty peacefully, and closed his eyes and died. Three days after his death, his body temperature was extremely high, and he was called the true bodhisattva.
Before that, there was Xu Fudong, who was called the "father of the country" in the Qin Dynasty, and then there was Jian Zhen, who was called the "father of culture" in the Tang Dynasty. Jian Zhen's achievements in many aspects are enough to represent the cultural roof of the Tian Ping era, so the Japanese call it "Tian Pingyi". 1980, the statue of Jian Zhen returned to China for exhibition tour, which caused a sensation. In 2007, in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, the TV series Jian Zhen Du Dong was grandly launched. Jian Zhen is of great cultural and practical significance to both China and Japan.
comment
"Plant a millet in spring and harvest 10,000 seeds in autumn." Jian Zhen can have profound knowledge, many achievements, quickly grow into a generation of monks, and make some meritorious deeds. Undoubtedly, studying in Beijing laid the most solid foundation for him. After studying abroad, Jian Zhen's influence gradually expanded, which can be proved in three stages: first, his influence spread to Jianghuai and he became a master of abstinence from learning; Second, the process of crossing Liudong has affected the expansion of the whole country; Third, spread light and Buddhism in Du Dong, and promote cultural exchanges between China and Japan, which will go down in history forever.
The study tour in Jian Zhen at least gives us the following inspirations: First, in the choice of places, political, economic and cultural centers are the main directions, and various resources in these places are both concentrated and representative, creating good external conditions for study tour; Secondly, in the choice of teachers, by visiting famous teachers all the time, we can avoid detours, learn from each other's strengths and integrate knowledge, which will directly affect many achievements in the future; Third, in their own efforts, opportunities will always be biased towards hard-working people, who will persevere and grow and develop for a long time. No matter how many difficulties they encounter, they can follow the mentality of fate, and don't forget that your initiative will work hard.
If the study tour is compared to a ferry, the location indicates the course, and the famous teacher carries the strength forward and tries to transform the power. To reach the other side of success, all three are indispensable. In Buddhism, "paramita" means "to the other side", from this side of life and death to the other side of nirvana; "Prajnaparamita" is to observe with wisdom, live and die excessively, and reach the other side. Jian Zhen traveled west to learn from the scriptures, traveled east with a lantern, looked up to the Millennium, and performed a realistic version of Prajna Paramita.
Memorial site (omitted)
Yangzhou daming temple Jian Zhen Memorial Hall
Jian Zhen Memorial Pavilion in tiantong temple, Ningbo
Jian Zhen Memorial Site in Sanya, Hainan
Nantong Jian Zhen Du Dong Memorial Tower for the Victims
Zhangjiagang Du Dong court
Jian Zhen Memorial Hall in Akimokpo, Japan
Todaiji Temple in Japan
Tangzhaoti Temple in Nara, Japan