First of all, let's make it clear that Buddhism had taken root in Japan before Jian Zhen went to Japan. At that time, Japan was in Nara equilibrium period, and the government followed the example of the Tang Dynasty to implement the tenancy system. However, takenism has hurt the Japanese people. Thousands of ordinary people choose to "live in a monastery" in order to avoid heavy exploitation and military service. The reason is simple: they don't have to pay taxes when they become monks. At that time, Japanese monks were very unruly. As long as they want to become monks, they can "swear by themselves". This has led to a mixed bag of Japanese monks, and the reputation of Buddhism has been affected. What should we do?
It is against this background that Gao Zun of Yuanxing Temple in Japan put forward the proposal of hiring eminent monks in the Tang Dynasty in order to regularize Japanese Buddhism, which was supported by Prince Scheeren, who held real power. Of course, the purpose of Prince Scheeren is to reduce the losses of taxpayers. In 732 AD, in the fourth year of Tian Ping, Japan, that is, in the 20th year of the Tang Dynasty, when the Japanese government was preparing to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty, John Lone, a young monk, recommended to the government Rong Rui and Pu Zhao who had the ambition of "studying the Tang Dynasty across the sea". The government agreed that they sent Ambassador Tang to Japan many times and invited famous monks to give lectures in Japan.
In the 21st year of Kaiyuan (733), Japan sent monks and envoys with the Tang Dynasty to study in China.
. Rong Rui and Pu Zhao, Japanese monks, were entrusted by the Japanese Buddhist community and government to invite Jian Zhen to give lectures in Japan, in order to give precepts to Japanese believers. At that time, all the monks in daming temple were "silent and unresponsive", only Jian Zhen said "it's for legal affairs, so why not". So I decided to cross east.
Six-time eastward crossing map
first time
In the winter of 742, Jian Zhen and his disciples (265,438+0), together with four Japanese monks, went to Donghe Jiji Temple near Yangzhou to build a ship and prepare for the eastward crossing.
At that time, Japanese monks were holding official letters that Prime Minister Li got from his brother Li, so local official Cang Cuo also gave assistance. Unexpectedly, one of Jian Zhen's disciples, Dao Xing, joked with a younger brother, Ruhai, saying, "Everyone is highly respected and the industry is obsolete. If you learn as little as the sea, you can stop. " If you believe it, you will break into a furious rage and falsely accuse Jian Zhen and his party of colluding with pirates to build ships and prepare to attack Yangzhou. When pirates were rampant, an interview in Huainan alarmed Ben Qian Jing and sent someone to detain all the monks. Although they were released soon, they ordered the Japanese monks to return to China immediately, and their first trip to the East was aborted.
second time
In the month of 65438+744 10, after careful preparation, Jian Zhen and other 17 monks (including the hidden Rong Rui and Pu Zhao), together with 85 hired "artisans such as carving, casting, writing, embroidering, writing and carving monuments", set out again with more than 100 people. As a result, before she went to sea, she was shipwrecked at Langgoupu in the Yangtze River estuary. No sooner had the ship been repaired than it went out to sea and was blown to an island in Zhoushan Islands by strong winds. Five days later, everyone was rescued and moved to Asoka Temple in Mingzhou (now Ningbo, Zhejiang) to settle down. After the spring, temples in Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), Hangzhou, Huzhou and Xuanzhou (now Xuancheng, Anhui) invited Jian Zhen to give lectures, and the second trip to the East ended.
the third time
After the lecture tour, Jian Zhen returned to Ashoka Monastery and prepared to go to the East again. After learning this, the monks in Yuezhou accused Japanese monks of hiding in China in order to keep Jian Zhen, with the purpose of "luring" Jian Zhen to Japan. So the government put Rong Rui in prison and sent him to Hangzhou. Rong Rui pretended to be ill on the road, before he could escape. The third trip to the East is over.
the fourth time
Because it is inconvenient for Jiangsu and Zhejiang to go to sea for generations, Jian Zhen decided to buy a boat from Fuzhou and set out from Ashoka Temple with more than 30 people. I was stopped when I first arrived in Wenzhou. It turned out that Ling You, a disciple of Jian Zhen who stayed in daming temple, was worried about the master's safety and begged the Yangzhou government to stop him. Huainan reporter sent someone to stop Jian Zhen and his party from returning to Yangzhou. I can't cross the east for the fourth time.
the fifth time
In 748, Rong Rui and Pu Zhao came to daming temple again and begged Jian Zhen to go to the East. Jian Zhen immediately led 14 monks and 35 craftsmen and sailors, and set off from Chongfu Temple on June 28th of the lunar calendar, heading east again. In order to wait for the downwind, Jian Zhen and his party stayed in Zhoushan Islands for several months after leaving the Yangtze River, and could not go to sea until June 165438+ 10. In the East China Sea of China, the ship encountered a strong north wind. It drifted continuously 14 before it saw land, and it took 16 before it landed. It was found that it had drifted to Zhou Zhen (now Sanya) and settled in Dayun Temple. Jian Zhen stayed in Hainan for one year, bringing a lot of Central Plains culture and medical knowledge to the local area. Up to now, there are still Jian Zhen relics in Sanya, such as "Sunbathing Slope" and "Large and Small Cave Dwellings".
After that, Jian Zhen returned to the north, passed through Wan 'an Mansion (now Wanning, Hainan), Yazhou (now Haikou, Hainan), Leizhou and Wuzhou, arrived in Shi 'an County (now Guilin, Guangxi), lived in Jian Zhen and Shi 'an Kaiyuan Temple for another year, and was welcomed to give lectures in Guangzhou. When passing through Duanzhou (now Zhaoqing, Guangdong), Rong Rui died of illness in longxing temple. In Guangzhou, Jian Zhen wanted to go to Tianzhu and was comforted. After the summer, Jian Zhen continued to leave. When he passed through Shaozhou, he resigned as usual. When he left, Jian Zhen swore that he would not go to Japan. This is not what I want. "At this time, Jian Zhen's blindness was due to the acclimatization and travel fatigue, and he was mistaken for a quack. After the Tomb of Dayu, Xiang Yan, the great disciple of Jian Zhen, sat down in Jizhou (now Ji 'an, Jiangxi), and Jian Zhen was very sad. Then Jian Zhen passed Lushan Mountain, Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) and Jiangning County, Runzhou (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) and returned to Yangzhou. The fifth eastward crossing is over.
Sixth times
Jian Zhen is famous because he has traveled half of China.
In 753, Japanese envoys, such as Fujiwara Qinghe, Kibi No Asomi Makibi and Chao Heng, came to Yangzhou and once again begged Jian Zhen to join their eastward journey. At that time, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty believed in Taoism and wanted to send Taoist priests to Japan. Japan refused, so Jian Zhen was not allowed to go to sea. I secretly took a boat to Huangsipu, Suzhou (in Luyuanyuan, Tangqiao Town, Zhangjiagang City, Du Dong), and then transferred to the ship that sent the Tang envoys. There were 24 people accompanying him, including monks and nuns 17. 165438+1October16th, the fleet went to sea. At this time, Zhao Pu also arrived in Yuyao. 165438+1October 2 1 day, Jian Zhen's ship separated from Chao Heng's ship, and on February 6, 65438, the remaining two ships and one ship hit the rocks. The sixth eastward crossing finally succeeded.
Jian Zhen not only brought Buddhism to Japan, but also brought a lot of information about medicine, spices, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy and painting. He presided over important Buddhist ceremonies, systematically taught Buddhist scriptures and became a master of Japanese Buddhism. He instructed Japanese doctors to identify drugs, spread the architectural technology and sculpture art of the Tang Dynasty, and designed and presided over the construction of the Tang Zhaoti Temple. This temple, based on the Buddhist architecture of the Tang Dynasty, is a pearl in the world and has been preserved to this day. After Jian Zhen's death, his disciples made a statue for him. It is still enshrined in the temple and is designated as a "national treasure".