the legendary story of xuanzang's disciple, the three-che monk kuiji

there was a famous "monkey sanche" during the tang dynasty. who was he? why did people give him such a name? it turned out to be like this:

in the past, master xuanzang was on his way to the western regions to seek scriptures. he passed by a deep mountain forest and saw a thatched hut surrounded by purple air, which was suspected to be strangers. when i went in, i saw an old monk entering into meditation, with wild grass growing on his head and body. master xuanzang reached out and touched his chest. it was still slightly warm, so he used the bell to make him calm. the old monk opened his eyes and asked in a daze: who are you? master xuanzang said: little monk xuanzang, how long have you been in meditation here? the old monk narrowed his eyes and thought about it and said: it was when he built a hut here in a certain year, and he was waiting for the red buddha. [sakyamuni ]come and save him. master xuanzang calculated that it had been more than a thousand years, so he said to him: sakyamuni buddha has become nirvana. the old monk replied: then wait for the buddha [maitreya bodhisattva ]when i was born, i went with him to spread the dharma. xuanzang thought for a while and said: it will take 4.67 billion years for maitreya buddha to be born, and i am afraid you will miss the opportunity again. let’s do this, why not be reincarnated now. when i return from india to obtain the scriptures, we will spread the dharma and benefit sentient beings and benefit the people. what? the old monk nodded and said: it’s good. now, according to master xuanzang's instructions, he went to the palace to be reincarnated as the crown prince, waiting for master xuanzang's return.

nineteen years later, master xuanzang went through a lot of hardships, traveled 50,000 miles, and returned from the western regions to obtain scriptures. he did not forget his previous appointment and went to the emperor to find the reincarnated old monk. the emperor at that time was emperor taizong of tang. he was surprised and said to xuanzang: i don’t have a nineteen-year-old crown prince! later, after investigation, the old monk reincarnated and joined the wrong place and joined the home of the minister yuchi gong of the current dynasty. so he sent an edict to spread the young man, and asked him to follow xuanzang's hair to cut off his hair. at that time, the old monk was reincarnated as a mystery for the past life, so how could he remember his work in his previous life! he was already used to a life of luxury and decisiveness to cut his hair. the emperor was furious: if you don’t cut your hair, you will be sentenced to death! the young man had no choice but to agree, but he had to propose the premise that he had to accompany three carriages: one carriage of gold and silver ingots, one carriage of wine, and one carriage of handsome men. master xuanzang was rare in his heart and nodded in acquiescent.

so, a lively and interesting show appeared: a handsome young man riding a tall horse, followed by three big carriages, treasures and wine, and handsome men were so spectacular! the people watching on the streets were crowded with people, and the "beautiful reputation" of "three cars monk" spread throughout the streets and alleys, leaving behind a joke in history!

at that time, the convoy arrived at the altar and was ordained.temple，a loud bell came, and suddenly woke up the sleeping memories of the old monk alaya's consciousness. after all, he was hard-working and practicing for many lifetimes, but his heart was still unshakable, and the spiritual sword of the morning bell and dusk drum was tense. he immediately turned over and fell down, regretting his sufferings. from then on, he devoted himself to buddhism and practiced hard, becoming a college student under master xuanzang, with the name of kuiji, and later became a generation of monks.

because of his basic deep-study and hard-working practice, master kuiji achieved great success and attained the bodhisattva's level. once, he went to zhongnan mountain to visit lawyer taoxuan, a famous monk of the vinaya sect. lawyer daoxuan was so excited that he would support him because he was very strict in keeping the precepts and had great merits. every day at noon, he would come down to deliver food. but strangely, the day when kuiji came, he always waited until the next day, but he did not see the heavenly beings coming. daoxuan was puzzled and had to go hungry with kuiji.

at night, lawyer daoxuan meditated all night and did not get over. master kuiji fell asleep, and his sleep was not good, and he snored and snored like thunder. the next day, lawyer daoxuan said that he said: "it is a good rule to cut people's hair. you should lie down auspiciously without meditating. you snore and turn over, stretch your arms and legs, and you will be quarrel all night long.

unexpectedly, kuiji said: you are not idle? i haven’t had a good sleep all night! the lice on your waist bites you and you want to pinch it to death. later, thinking that you can’t kill animals, you throw it to the ground. my hand was too heavy and it broke one of its legs, so it screamed "ouch, ouch" all night, which made me so loud!

lawyer daoxuan was dumbfounded when he heard this. i thought to myself: he could see my movements and thinking clearly in his sleep. what kind of skill and state is this! i couldn't help but feel embarrassed and remain silent. after master kuiji left, the gods came to deliver food again at noon. daoxuan asked: why didn’t you come yesterday at noon? it made me and my guests hungry. the heavenly beings shouted and said unjustly: i came at noon yesterday, but all the auspicious clouds on the top of the mountain are shrouded in the sky, and the vajra guardians are filled with great bodhisattvas. where can we enter the little heavenly beings in the desire realm? daoxuan was stunned again, and only then did he realize that master kuiji's merits and achievements are extraordinary.

in the past, master bodhidharma came to the east and entered meditation on mount song. he heard that the ants fighting under the steps were like thunder. this is a zen allusion that thousands of people admired. why did you think that zen buddhism was later developed in china, with five flowers blooming, and five large numbers of zen buddhism emerged in many ways. the "three cars monk" of the past also came from behind and achieved success, adding a wonderful and melodious remark to the history of chinese buddhism.