After Tang Yan and his disciples finally arrived in Lingshan, they finally got back the scriptures. However, on the way back to the Tang Dynasty with the scriptures, Tang Yan's disciples secretly protected Tang Yan's five brothers and sisters, four-valued Gongcao, six Ding and six Jia, and the protector Galand handed the letters to Guanyin. Everyone showed Guanyin all kinds of disasters that Tang Yan experienced along the way. Guanyin saw that Tang Yan had experienced a total of 80 difficulties, so she quickly asked her brother and sister to set out to chase donkey kong and let Tang Yan experience it again. Eight donkey kong was immediately ordered to chase the Tang Priest. At that time, the Tang Priest had just approached the Tongtian River. Eight donkey kong brushed a gust of wind and threw the Tang Priest and his disciples along with the scriptures by the river. Here, I happened to meet a thousand-year-old turtle waiting for the return of the Tang Priest. Everyone rode on the turtle's back and prepared to cross the Tongtian River. However, when the tortoise carried them into the river, he asked Tang Priest if he would ask Tathagata when it would turn into a positive result, but Tang Priest forgot to ask him. There is nothing to answer. The old turtle got angry and immediately dived into the river, hanging the Tang Priest and his disciples into the river with the scriptures, which were soaked to the skin. When the Tang priest finally fished the scriptures ashore, during the drying process, because the scriptures stuck to the stone, one page was torn during the collection process. From then on, the scriptures were incomplete, and Tang Priest regretted it. The Monkey King deeply understood the scripture and said that it was an act of God: "Not here! Not here! The world is not complete. This scripture is complete. It was broken today, but it is an incomplete secret. What can human power do? " The Tang Priest experienced the eighty-one difficulty, and the wind blew again in donkey kong. He sent Tang Priest and his disciples eastward into Chang 'an, which was warmly welcomed by Emperor Taizong and Li Shimin, and the great cause of Tang Priest's learning from the scriptures was finally completed.
After reading this passage from Journey to the West, Ding Ding wondered why Guanyin had to make Tang Yan go through 81 difficulties to complete his Buddhist scriptures. Tathagata was not so blameless at that time. Looking at Guanyin's explanation that Tang Priest had to go through 81 difficulties at that time, plus the last difficulty that Tang Priest and his disciples experienced, it seems that we can understand the five meanings of Guanyin here:
The Tang Priest and his disciples are basking in the scriptures, which proves that the key to practice is practice and action, not form.
First, Buddhism pays attention to "returning to the basics in 1999". To become a Buddha, you have to go through all kinds of disasters. Nine is the largest number, and eighty is hard to describe. Only 81 difficulties can be achieved, which means that you have experienced all kinds of disasters, otherwise, you can't become a Buddha. This also tells people with lofty ideals all over the world that if they want to succeed, they must stick to the end and be full of perseverance and tenacity. This is actually like Mencius said: If you want to become a great Sri Lankan, you must first suffer from his mind, his bones and muscles, starve his body, empty his body, and do things in disorder, so you can't bear it. Therefore, although there is only one difference between the eighty-one difficulty and the eighty-one difficulty, there are also worlds apart. After 81 difficulties, you can really see the rainbow.
Second, let the Tang Priest remember that honesty is the foundation of establishing Buddha. Why did Guanyin let Tang Priest and his disciples fall on the Tongtian River? It is very difficult for an old turtle to cross the river on his back. On the one hand, Guanyin was moved by the sincerity of the old turtle's practice, so that the old turtle would not wait in vain. On the other hand, monks don't talk nonsense, but they should be honest. At that time, since your Tang priest agreed to the old turtle's request, you should do it for it. Now you must be punished because you are absorbed in studying the classics and forget the old turtle's request. Therefore, Guanyin wants Tang Priest to experience another difficulty, that is, to educate Tang Priest to remember that honesty is the foundation of establishing Buddha, otherwise any negligence may make you capsize.
The focus of Guanyin is on the Monkey King.
The third is to preach that Buddhism must be grounded. The last difficulty of Tang Priest's ethics is why he chose Tongtianhe instead of fighting the devil again. One is to warn the Tang Priest to be honest, and the other is to be grounded, because at this time, the Tang Priest and his disciples already have divine power, and it is generally not a problem to cross a small Tongtian River. However, if there is an unexpected situation, such as the loss of divine power, it is like that cars, trains or planes are out of gas and can't move. What you can do at this time, of course, needs the help of others, but if a tongtian river blocks the Tang master and apprentice, it is intended to warn the Tang master and apprentice that the Buddha must be grounded in order to truly benefit the people. In this way, Buddhism and yourself can get the support of the people. When you encounter difficulties, only the people can pay for you and let you tide over the difficulties.
Fourth, the key to practice lies in the heart, in action, not in form. In fact, the reason why Tang Priest learned so many hardships in the Western Heaven is to let Tang Priest feel the feelings brought by all kinds of hardships with his heart. Therefore, learning from the scriptures is only a form, a means, not an end, which is also the reason why the Tathagata gave Tang Priest only a few scriptures. When the Tang Priest was sunbathing, he ruined another page. The Monkey King revealed its roots. In fact, he told the Tang Priest that the key to practice lies in the heart, in action, and in how to make people in the world really do good, not in the form of words in the scriptures.
After the 9981 disaster, both Tang Priest and the Monkey King became Buddhas.
Fifth, it is intended to alert the Monkey King and promote the Monkey King to become a Buddha. Although Buddhist scriptures are based on the Tang Priest, the Monkey King is undoubtedly another focus of Guanyin, which was cultivated by her heart. That year, the Monkey King killed the devil incarnate in the Shuizang Cave when he fell demon in Huaguoshan, became brothers with the Seven Demons, got to know the owner of the 72 Cave and took in the One-horned Ghost King, a total of 8 1 each. Now, it is inevitable to go through 8 1 difficulties to worship the Tang Priest for Buddhist scriptures. Careful readers find that although Tang Priest experienced eighty-one difficulties, the Monkey King actually experienced eighty-one difficulties, and the last seventy-three difficulties are the same as Tang Priest, only the first eight difficulties are different. The first seven difficulties in the Monkey King are one in finding Huaguoshan, two in learning from the master in Wan Li, three in getting the golden hoop in the Dragon Palace, four in the Temple of Hades, five in heaven, six in heaven, and one in Erlang, which is too high. This is also the fundamental reason why the Monkey King can stand out from the competition with Pig Bajie, Friar Sand and Baimalong, and become the Tang Priest alongside Buddha. So, let Tang Yan experience another difficulty, and let Tang Yan and his apprentice suffer at the same time. That is to let the Monkey King achieve the perfection of merit at the same time. Therefore, Guanyin is also selfish under high-sounding reasons, which may be the implication that Guanyin must complete the eighty-one difficulty for Tang Priest.