An interpretation of a classic cannot be separated from the era of its creation. "Journey to the West" was written in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, an era when Xinxue was popular all over the world. "History of the Ming Dynasty" has this record: "At that time, scholars all over the world, if they were not Wang Shouren, they would be Zhan Ruoshui." This means that "Journey to the West" "will be influenced by the science of mind. The most obvious thing is that its protagonist Sun Wukong is a "mental ape".
Chapter 56 of "Journey to the West" mentioned that "it is already the time of Zhu Ming again." "Zhu Ming" is another name for summer, and it also refers to the Ming Dynasty when the emperor's surname was Zhu. That is to say, "Journey to the West" is actually a metaphor for the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Jiajing, who "advocated Taoism", ignored government affairs for many years and was obsessed with taking elixirs. Many monsters and monsters in "Journey to the West" appear in the form of Taoist priests.
There is such a poem at the beginning of "Journey to the West": "Chaos is not divided into heaven and earth, and no one can see the vastness. Since Pangu broke through the Hongmeng, it has opened up the distinction between the clear and the turbid. It has covered all living beings with their benevolence and invention. All things are connected to good. If you want to know the origin of creation, you must read "Journey to the West". "This poem teaches people to do good and avoid evil. It probably means that God has the virtue of good things and nurtures all things in the world, and human beings should also pursue it. To be benevolent and righteous, to do good and to avoid evil, to pursue understanding and help all things to transform and cultivate, so as to make people stand upright, you must read "Journey to the West".
The second chapter of "Journey to the West" tells that Wukong hopes to learn some more advanced courses. Patriarch Bodhi lists a variety of courses for Wukong covering the three religions and nine streams. However, Wukong remembers the method of immortality and keeps saying, " If you don’t learn, you won’t learn.” When Wang Shouren was young, he was addicted to the Taoist art of cultivating immortals. After Wukong returned from his studies, he met his first opponent: the Demon King. The devil incarnate is a metaphor for the desire to eat, drink and have fun in human nature. This is undoubtedly a basic issue that must be faced in cultivating the mind.
The sixth chapter of "Journey to the West" talks about: "This one has a high heart and bullies the enemy Monkey King, and the other one has the face to overwhelm the real Liangdong. When the two meet at first, everyone is interested in gambling. They have never known each other. The light and the deep, today we know the light and the heavy." After the battle, Erlang Shen and Wukong changed, and the two became equal in size. "Follow the sky and resemble the earth" is one of the seventy-two transformations. This spell literally means "imitating heaven and imitating the vastness of the earth". The effect is to make the body bigger. According to the understanding of traditional Chinese philosophy, the movement of heaven and earth is driven by "Tao". Therefore, people should imitate the moral nature of heaven and earth, so as to use human nature to help the development of all things. In the history of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, there was a historic moment when Zhan Ruoshui and Wang Shouren had a definite friendship. After their first meeting, Zhan Ruoshui commented on Wang Shouren and said, "Ruoshui looked around and never saw this person." Wang Shouren commented on Zhan Ruoshui and said, "Shouren has been an official for thirty years and never saw this person." The kings of Zhan established their own schools and openly discussed their studies, which caused the phenomenon that students in the world would learn from Zhan instead of the king. The scale of the battle between Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong is similar to the impact caused by Wang Zhan's two families giving lectures at the same time.
Erlang Shen has an eye on his forehead that can see through disguises, so Wukong cannot deceive him no matter how he changes. From this point of view, Erlangshen was better than Wukong at that time. Later, Wukong developed his piercing eyes. It can be said that the two have their own merits. When Wang Shouren first met Zhan Ruoshui, Zhan Ruoshui had already put forward the academic purpose of "recognizing the principles of nature everywhere". Wang Shouren realized Taoism in Longchang and founded the theory, which made scholars at that time divided into Wang Zhan's school. The eye of heaven, as Zhan Ruoshui said, is like a mirror of the righteous heart, which can reveal all biases and falsehoods. Fierce eyes and golden eyes are like Wang Shouren's conscience, which knows good and evil, and can distinguish between good and evil, true and false. Erlang Shen was recommended by Avalokitesvara. In the Ming Dynasty, both the theories of Chen Xianzhang and Zhan Ruoshui were attacked as "Zen" by Confucian scholars of the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucian school.
Chapter 7 of "Journey to the West" tells that Wukong trained in the Bagua furnace for seventy-seven and forty-nine days. Not only did he not die, he also developed a pair of piercing eyes. The Bagua furnace symbolizes the world, and Wukong’s exercise in the Bagua furnace is a metaphor for people’s training in matters. Wang Shouren was demoted to Longchangyi in Guizhou as a postmaster. In a depressed and quiet environment, he suddenly had an epiphany and realized the principle of "the way of a saint, my nature is self-sufficient". Later, Wang Shouren came to the purpose of "developing conscience" through thousands of deaths and hardships.
Buddha told Wukong that the Jade Emperor achieved the position of Jade Emperor after experiencing many disasters. But Wukong said: "Although he is slender, he should not occupy this position for a long time. The emperor takes turns and will come to my house next year." The consciousness expressed by Wukong's words is very advanced. Being an official or even an emperor must have a term of office. Confucianism believes that talented and virtuous people are qualified to govern the country, and should not be based on their origin. Although it is impossible to realize in a feudal society, it is indeed a great political ideal.
Chapter 14 of "Journey to the West" mentions that the local legend of Five Elements Mountain is that "when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, the sky descended on this mountain, and a divine monkey pressed down under it." "The time when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty" was in 9 AD, which was the time when Buddhism was introduced to China! Judging from the Confucian theory of telepathy between heaven and man, if there is trouble in heaven (such as Wukong causing trouble in heaven), the human world will also be affected. Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty is undoubtedly the best to meet these two conditions.
Xuanzhuang came out of seclusion 630 years after Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty. So why does "Journey to the West" say that Wukong caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace 500 years ago? This is because "five hundred years" is not an actual number of years, but takes the meaning of "Five hundred years will surely bring about the rise of a king" in "Mencius". The so-called "a king will surely rise in five hundred years" means that after the Taoist tradition has declined for a period of time, a "king" will definitely take up the responsibility of the Taoist tradition.
Let’s go back and talk about Xuanzang’s life experience.
In "Journey to the West" rather than history, Xuanzang's father's surname was Chen Guangrui. After he became the top scholar in high school, he married Yin Wenjiao, the daughter of Prime Minister Yin Kaishan. After the marriage, Chen Guangrui was appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. However, boatman Liu Hong, coveting Yin Wenjiao's beauty, colluded with another boatman Li Biao, killed Chen Guangrui and pushed him into the river. When Yin Wenjiao saw that her husband had been killed, she wanted to commit suicide by throwing herself into the river, but Liu Hong stopped her. Because Yin Wenjiao was pregnant, she followed Liu Hong as an expedient. Liu Hong pretended to be Chen Guangrui and became the governor of Jiangzhou.
On the day Xuanzang was born, Liu Hong happened to be out on business. Yin Wenjiao was worried that her son would be killed, so she took her son to the riverside, placed him on a wooden board on the river, pushed him into the river, and wrote a letter in blood. The baby followed the river flow to the foot of Jinshan Temple and was rescued by the elders of the temple. The elder named the baby Jiangliu and entrusted someone to raise him. When Jiang Liu was eighteen years old, the elders asked him to shave off his hair and practice Buddhism, and helped him take the Dharma name Xuanzang.
One day, the monks were meditating together. A fair-weather monk couldn't argue with Xuanzang, so he got angry and cursed: "You are a beast of business, you don't know your name, you don't know your parents, what are you doing here?" Ghost?" Xuanzang was so sad that he went back to the temple and knelt in front of his master, crying: "How can one live without parents in this world?"
Confucian scholars often scold Buddhism for having "no father and no king". , that is, accusing Buddhism of deviating from ethics, Chinese Buddhism also made a compromise and admitted that one can practice without becoming a monk, so there were "lay Buddhists". The ethical nature of human beings is indelible, otherwise they would be worse than animals. Xuanzang was scolded by a drunkard monk, which is based on the anecdote about Wang Shouren ordering the eminent monk to return to secular life.
In his early years, Wang Shouren was interested in the teachings of Buddhism and Laoism, and often visited temples to chat with monks and Taoists. Once, he was visiting an eminent monk in a temple. After a while, everyone became silent. Wang Shouren suddenly asked: "Do you have a family?" The eminent monk's eyes flickered and he answered: "Yes." Wang Shouren asked again: "Who else is at home?" The eminent monk replied: "My mother is still here." "Do you miss her?" The eminent monk was silent for a long time, and Wang Shouren waited patiently for his answer.
"How could you not want to!" The eminent monk sighed, slowly lowered his head, and realized that he was a monk. Wang Shouren stood up and said seriously: "There is nothing to be ashamed of when you miss your mother. This is human nature!" The eminent monk said nothing and left. The next day, the eminent monk returned home to visit his mother.
When Xuanzang learned about his life experience, he cried and said: "If you can't avenge your parents, why should you be a human being?" He decided to go to his mother first and then come back to repay his teacher's kindness. The master of Xuanzhuang did not stop him and allowed him to become an ordinary alms monk. Xuanzang was different from the eminent monks "initiated" by Wang Shouren. After he recognized his mother and had his great revenge, he still decided to meditate and continued to practice in Jinshan Temple.
Wukong once told Xuanzang about his ability: "If it is big, it will be measured in the universe; if it is small, it will be captured on a hair! It changes without reason and is unpredictable." These two sentences actually describe the heart, big or small. , hidden, revealed, and changed, are all outside the heart. Just as Zhan Ruoshui said: "The heart is the one that encompasses everything outside the world and penetrates all the things in the world."
The heart is Kindness is very miraculous, but it is also easy to get lost. Mencius called the lost kindness "peace of mind" and pointed out that the way of learning is nothing more than "seeking peace of mind". "Journey to the West" uses a story as a metaphor for "seeking peace of mind".
It is said that Master Xuanzang and his disciples encountered six thieves who were blocking the road and robbing them, and Wukong killed them all. The master blamed his apprentice, thinking that the thieves did not deserve to die, so he just had to fight them off. Killing six people could not be justified. Wukong has no compassion and cannot be a monk.
Wukong couldn't stand Xuanzang's nagging, so he said: "You said that I can't be a monk or go to the West, so there's no need to nag like this. I'll just go back." Although Xuanzang blamed him Wukong, but he thought that he would be in more trouble after his apprentice left, so he didn't want his apprentice to leave, but Wukong flew away before Xuanzang could express his stance. Xuanzang is "looking for him but nowhere to be found", which means that Xuanzang encounters "reassurance" (the heart ape flies away), and hopes to "seek peace of mind" (the heart ape returns).
At this time, Guanyin Bodhisattva transformed into an old woman and gave Xuanzang a gold-embedded hat with a hidden tight hoop, a cotton trousers (a cross-collared long coat worn by ancient men), and Xuanzang was taught the "Mind-Calming Mantra" (another name for the "Tightening Mantra"). The "Centering Mantra" in the "Calming Mantra" is relative to "Reassured", which means to calm down when the mind is about to relax; recite "Calming the Mind" "Mantra" refers to actions that seek peace of mind.
It is said that after Wukong left Xuanzang, he went to the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea. The Dragon King of the East China Sea advised him to return to Xuanzang and said: "If you don't protect Tang Monk, don't work hard, and don't accept teachings, you are just a demon immortal. You can't rest." "Achieve Zhengguo." This actually means that from the perspective of Xinxue, although everyone can say that "the heart is the principle", if a person does not undergo practical training and does not work hard, he will not be able to understand the principles of heaven and become a saint.
The Great Sage is worthy of being a Great Sage, and said: "Don't talk too much, Lao Sun can just go back and protect him." On the way back, Wukong "accidentally met" Guanyin Bodhisattva, and explained to the Bodhisattva why he left. The Bodhisattva said: "Go early and don't miss your thoughts."
Wang Shouren interpreted "Ge Wu" as "the head of righteous thoughts" and believed that it is necessary to correct everything. The so-called "don't miss your thoughts" is This means. The original heart will never leave us, it is always with us, but it seems to be lost when it is deceived. As long as we regain our consciousness and have the thought of reassurance, the heart will naturally take it back.
Wukong liked the gold-embedded flower hat and cotton trousers very much. Xuanzang said: "I wore it when I was a child. If you wear this hat, you can chant sutras without being taught; if you wear this clothes, "You don't need to perform rituals, you can do it." Wang Shouren believes that as long as you have a good conscience, you will naturally understand the Six Classics and understand everything, without having to study the classics or study external things. After Xin Yuan put on the gold flower hat, Xuanzang practiced the mantra again and again. Xin Yuan expressed that he had been taught and declared that the master's "please rest assured" was a success.
In "Journey to the West", Wukong often asks gods and goddesses to help subdue goblins. This is a metaphor that although the human heart contains the laws of nature, it will be deceived and must "learn, inquire, think, and discern." The kung fu of "learning, asking, thinking, discerning, and doing" allows the mind to break through the blindness. The gods of all walks of life are metaphors for the kung fu of "learning, asking, thinking, discerning, and doing."
Chapter 21 of "Journey to the West" mentions that Wukong "was attacked by the monster and sprayed a yellow wind on his face, blowing his two flaming golden eyes tightly shut and unable to open them, so it was difficult to use them." The iron rod was used, and the battle was defeated." "Samadhi Divine Wind" made Wukong's eyes sore and shed tears. Fortunately, a certain Bodhisattva cured his eye disease with "Sanhua Jiuzi Ointment".
The flaming eyes and golden eyes symbolize people's conscience. The divine wind of Samadhi makes Sun Wukong's eyes unable to open, sore and shed tears, which means that the conscience is blinded and cannot be revealed. The "samadhi" in "samadhi kamikaze" means hiding and being unclear, and "samadhi" means being repeatedly deceived. The immortal who helped Sun Wukong cure his eyes introduced the power of Samadhi Divine Wind and said: "That wind can blow darkness from the heaven and earth, and is good at blowing away the sorrow of ghosts and gods." No one knows about the heaven, earth, ghosts and gods, so they can only be darkness or sorrow. This saying originated from Wang Shouren A passage from the book: "If the sky doesn't have my spirit, who will look up to it? If the earth doesn't have my spirit, who will bow down to it? If the ghosts and gods don't have my spirit, who will judge their good or bad luck?"
Once, when Wang Shouren was traveling with someone, his friend pointed to the flowering tree in the rock and asked: "There is nothing in the world outside of my heart. How can such a flowering tree bloom and fall by itself in the deep mountains, how does it matter to my heart?" King Wang Shouren replied: "When you didn't look at this flower, this flower and your heart went silent together. When you looked at this flower, the color of this flower became clear for a moment. Then you knew that this flower was not outside your heart."
Wang Shouren is not saying that without the human heart, flowers would not exist, but he is telling us that the meaning of the existence of flowers and even this world is to be recognized by people, combined with the human heart, and become part of "people". The "Three Flowers" in "Three Flowers and Nine Sons Paste" are derived from this story. The so-called "Three Flowers" refer to flowers that exist naturally, flowers that are at peace with the heart, and flowers that are in people's hearts. The so-called "Nine Sons" refer to all things that draw inferences about the meaning of the "Three Flowers" and where the "Three" business lies. In this way, conscience will naturally develop.
Wukong was guided by the gods and went to Lingji Bodhisattva to help subdue the yellow wind monster. Lingji Bodhisattva has two treasures: "Fixing Wind Pill" and "Flying Dragon Treasure Staff". The former can restrain the divine wind of Samadhi, and the latter can catch monsters. The so-called "fixing the wind" refers to keeping the mind stable in the temptation of the outside world, so that the wind of temptation from the outside world will naturally not blow against oneself; the dragon is the symbol of mind, and the so-called "flying dragon" means to keep the mind sincere and respectful.
Chapter 24 of "Journey to the West" tells that Xuanzang came to Wanshou Mountain, and the Taoist boy from Wuzhuang Temple in the mountain warmly welcomed Xuanzang inside. Because there is a ginseng fruit tree in Wuzhuang Temple, it leads to a series of stories such as Monkey King stealing the fruit and pushing the tree, the master and his disciples were caught, and Guanyin saving the tree. Wukong once went to see three immortals: Fu, Lu, and Shou. The longevity star asked the Great Sage a noteworthy question: "I heard that the Great Sage abandoned the Tao and followed Buddhism. Why do you have time to come here?"
"Abandonment" "Tao follows interpretation" is Wang Shouren's experience. It is said that Zhan Ruoshui once summarized Wang Shouren's "five addictions" before he devoted himself to Confucianism: first he was addicted to the habit of serving as a knight; secondly he was addicted to the habit of riding and shooting; thirdly he was addicted to the habit of rhetoric; fourthly he was addicted to the habit of gods; fifthly he was addicted to the habit of Buddhism habit. "The habit of immortals" refers to being obsessed with Taoism and cultivating immortals. Before Wang Shouren returned to his roots and returned to Confucianism, he went through the process of "abandoning Taoism" and then "following Buddhism."
The ginseng fruit tree is called the spiritual root of heaven and earth in "Journey to the West", which is a metaphor for Chen Xianzhang's philosophy of mind in the Ming Dynasty. Zhan Ruoshui's first name was Lu, with the word Ganquan, which is the origin of the name "Ganlu Shui". The nectar water revived the ginseng and fruit trees, which symbolizes Zhan Ruoshui's development of Chen Xianzhang's psychology. The name "Wuzhuang Temple" is, firstly, slightly changed from "Five Immortals Temple" - Zhan Ruoshui lived in the "Five Immortals Temple" in Guangzhou for twelve years when he was young; secondly, the word "zhuang" comes from It is composed of two parts: "Guang" and "Tu", which means "Guangdong area", indicating that modern psychology first emerged in Guangdong.
Chapter 39 of "Journey to the West" tells that there is a goblin who takes the form of Xuanzang, and even Wukong's golden eyes and fiery eyes cannot recognize him. This metaphor means that although conscience can know good and evil, evil can sometimes be disguised so that it is difficult for conscience to recognize, so people still need to improve their wisdom and increase their knowledge. Bajie actually came up with an effective way: let the real Xuanzang and the fake Xuanzang recite the "Tightening Curse" at the same time. The one who can't recite the curse is the fake Xuanzang. Later, when fighting Red Boy, Bajie also massaged Wukong to help him recover from his coma. This shows that although people's desires can blind their true nature, they cannot live without desires. To maintain integrity and integrity is in line with the laws of nature - Zhan Ruoshui has a very dialectical discussion of this.
The goblin pretending to be the king is the castrated blue lion, the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva, which is a metaphor for the situation in the Ming Dynasty when eunuchs had exclusive power and issued orders on behalf of the emperor. Liu Jin, who persecuted Wang Shouren, is a typical example. Manjushri Bodhisattva represents intelligence and wisdom. Only with intelligence and wisdom can people distinguish between true and false.
Chapter 56 of "Journey to the West" tells that Wukong killed several bandits, and the master drove Wukong away again.
With Wukong's ability, it is easy to drive away a few bandits, but it is difficult to change his violent character. This story is related to Wang Shouren. Wang Shouren once went to various places to quell rebellions and eliminated many bandit gangs. He had a famous saying: "It is easy to break thieves in the mountains, but it is difficult to break thieves in the heart."
Chapter 63 of "Journey to the West" tells that nine The head bug is very difficult to deal with, and it would be shameful to go back empty-handed. Just as he was about to find help, Wukong saw Erlang Shen leading the six Meishan brothers passing by. Wang Shouren called Zhan Ruoshui "brother" and "brother". When Wukong asked Bajie to ask Erlang Shen to help him in the battle, he also called Erlang Shen "Brother Xiansheng". ?
It was already night at this time, and Wukong was not in a hurry to go fight monsters with Erlang Shen. Instead, he and Erlang Shen sat in front of the stars and moonlight, toasting to reminisce about the past. Wang Shouren and Zhan Ruoshui once met briefly and spent the whole night reminiscing about old times and discussing sacred knowledge.
The Nine-Headed Insect was injured by Erlang Shen and escaped. Bajie wanted to chase him. Wukong said: "Don't chase the poor enemy. He will definitely die more and live less." Erlang Shen said: "If you don't chase him, that's fine. , but leaving this kind of people in the world will definitely cause harm to future generations."
Insects mean laziness, and nine-headed worms are the most serious form of laziness. Wukong and Erlang Shen join forces to fight against the nine-headed worm, which means that King Zhan advocates the unity of knowledge and action, the advancement of knowledge and action, and emphasizes hard work. Relatively speaking, Zhan Ruoshui emphasized "learning, thinking, and practice" more than Wang Shouren. "Journey to the West" uses Erlang Shen's "gold bow and silver bullet" to deal with the nine-headed insect as a metaphor. Zhan Ruoshui believes that just talking about conscience without knowledge, reflection and action will inevitably lead to empty talk and Zen. Erlang Shen's words "will surely cause harm to future generations" refer to the shortcomings of Wang Xue.
The old demon of Shituodong was originally the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. It swallowed Wukong and caused him great pain. Wukong said in the old devil's belly: "Old Sun Bao Tang Monk passed by Guangli to study for Buddhist scriptures and brought a folding pot with him." Guangli refers to Guangzhou. The question is, will Xuanzang pass through Guangzhou when he leaves Yumen Pass from Liangzhou on his journey to the west? Won't. However, the name "Wuzhuang Temple" is also slightly changed from "Five Immortals Temple". The Five Immortals Temple is in Guangzhou, so Xin Yuan said "pass by Guangli".
The last few chapters of "Journey to the West" mentioned that the Tathagata gave Wukong "fighting the holy Buddha", "fighting" means "exerting force outwards", and "holy Buddha" means "strengthening force inward", It means "the inner sage and the outer king"; it also says that all Buddhas, gods, etc. "return to their respective places", which means the harmonious state of human society and even the world and all things in the world where each has its own place and performs its duties - the Confucian ideal of great harmony.