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May 21, 2017

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Home » Sunday » Now and Then

Legend of a Mad Buddhist Monk

Source: Shanghai Daily | 00:00 UTC+8 May 21, 2017 | Print Edition

KNOWN as a mad Buddhist monk, Ji Gong has been a household name and folk hero in China for more than 800 years. With a crumpled hat on his head, a dirty, tattered robe on his back, and carrying a worn-out palm leaf fan and a gourd half-filled with wine, the mad monk’s image is so familiar to the public.

But despite his unappealing appearance, the mad monk is deeply loved by ordinary people for his unorthodox style of Buddhism, eccentric behavior, great sense of humor, witty tricks for fighting injustice, and his warm heart toward the poor and sick.

Thanks to his popularity, the mad monk has been an inspiration for many folktales as well as stage plays, TV series, movies, paintings, poems, singing and dancing.

Many temples have also been built all around the country for statues of Ji Gong. Taiwan alone has several hundred Ji Gong temples.

All legends of the mad monk are based on a historical figure by the name Li Xiuyuan (1148-1209), who was born into an official’s family with a long Buddhist tradition in Tiantai County in Zhejiang Province. Not much has been recorded about Li’s childhood and early teen years.

But when he was 18, his parents died and he went to the Lingyin Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Hangzhou and became a monk.

Hangzhou was then the capital of China’s Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and now it’s the capital of Zhejiang Province, bordering on Shanghai in the south.

In Lingyin Temple, Li was given his Buddhist name Daoji and mentored by Hui Yuan, a senior abbot. But the young monk didn’t like the temple’s daily routine of sutra chanting and mediation. Instead, against the strict rules of Buddhism, he ate meat and drank alcohol, even in public. And he was often seen wandering in streets in dirty, ragged cassock and half drunk.

Therefore, he was despised and frequently scolded by other monks and regarded as a freak.

According to legends, Daoji’s mentor knew that the young monk was actually the incarnation of Dragon-Taming Arhat, one of the 500 Arhats of Buddhism. So, in face of other monks’ criticism, the old abbot simply replied: “The door of Buddhism is so widely open, why can’t this crazy monk be forgiven and let in?”

And the young monk had his own reply to criticism about his violation of Buddhist vegetarian abstinence: “Meat and wine just pass through my guts, the Buddha will always remain in my heart.”

Even today, this popular phrase is frequently quoted by people as an excuse to take a quick puff or sneak a sip of alcohol after they have declared quitting.

But after his mentor passed away, Daoji was immediately expelled from Lingyin. Hhe turned to Jingci Temple in the same city and became an amanuensis monk there.

His old habits, however, hadn’t changed a bit. He still spent most of his time roaming in streets or mingling with commoners in dingy wine shops or watering holes, where he loved to crack jokes and got wasted.

Despite his idiosyncrasies, local folk loved him because he had great sympathy for the poor and underprivileged and was good at medicine and treating complicated diseases and saving people’s lives. Also, he was witty and commanded some magic power. So, they all called him Ji Gong the Living Buddha.

There were so many legendary stories about him, and some are still very popular today.

One story is about how Ji Gong helped to rebuild Jingci Temple, where he served as a secretary.

One day, the main hall of the temple was burnt down in a fire. The abbot wanted to rebuild the hall right away, but couldn’t find large logs. The most suitable ones could only be found in remote mountains in the southwestern part of the country and it would take at least months to purchase and ship them to the temple.

So, the abbot came to Ji Gong and asked if he could help in any way. Still half drunk, the monk said he would have all the timber ready by the next day noon.

Next morning, Ji Gong asked several fellow monks to come to a well in the temple yard with him. Then, he began to mumble some abracadabra and waved his worn-out palm leaf fan over the well. A moment later, the well started to vomit up big logs one after another.

When a monk shouted out “Enough,” Ji Gong immediately waved his fan to stop the well from ejecting logs, but the last log was already halfway out. As a result, it stuck in the well half submerged for many, many years.

Another story tells how Ji Gong used his magic power and unusual wisdom to save people from an imminent danger.

One day, when Ji Gong was wandering near Lingyin Temple, where he was ordained as Buddhist monk, he suddenly felt a heartbeat skip. Employing his clairvoyant power, he saw a mountain peak flying his way from a very remote place and would very likely crash down on a nearby village.

He immediately ran to the village to alert the folks there and urged them to flee. But no one believed him. Some even laughed and said the crazy monk must have lost his mind again.

Then, Ji Gong saw a wedding ceremony going on there, he dashed forward, snatched the bride, carried her on his shoulders and ran out of the village.

All people there, including the groom, began to chase the crazy monk to a farm field a distance away from the village.

Just then, the mountain peak crashed down and flattened all houses in the village.

Today, the huge boulder is still sitting near the temple in Hangzhou and is called the “Flying Peak.”

In reality, Ji Gong was a learned, eminent monk. He was widely respected as the Fiftieth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, who left behind 10 volumes of “Juan Peak Quotations” and many poems.

In his writings, Ji Gong teaches people not to judge things by their external appearance and says that great virtue doesn’t exist in the material world or rituals, but in one’s heart.

Now, the legend of Ji Gong has been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritages in China.

Now and Then


 

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