Chapter 23 The fourth section Tooth wood - poplar branch

Yangzhi is the free translation of Sanskrit Danta-kastha. Danta means teeth, and kastha means wood chips, so it is also translated as "tooth wood".The transliteration is "Dang Duo Jia Se Qi".It is a wood chip that people in the ancient South Asian subcontinent used to brush their teeth and scrape their tongues.When in use, the user often takes the branches and gnaws them into the desired shape. Volume 53 of "Four Parts" contains: When the bhikkhus had bad breath, the Buddha said: "You should chew poplar branches. If you don't chew poplar branches, there are five things wrong: 'bad breath, no taste, gain heat and yin, don't attract food, and blind eyes.' There are five things if you don't chew poplar branches. Yes, there are five benefits of chewing poplar branches: '1. No bad breath, 2. Dispelling taste, 3. Dispelling heat and yin, 4. Attracting food, and 5. Eyesight.' Chewing poplar branches has five benefits." World Honored One After listening to chewing poplar branches, the other chewing long poplar branches, the Buddha said: "No! Listen to the extremely elder and clap your hand." The one who chewed the strange poplar branches, the Buddha said: "No!" The one who chewed miscellaneous leaves, the Buddha said He said, "No!" He chewed the skin, and the Buddha said, "No!" Sometimes a bhikkhu chewed a short poplar branch, and when he saw the Buddha respecting him, he swallowed it, thinking that it was a disease.All the monks praised the Buddha, and the Buddha said: "No! Those who are extremely short have four fingers." He chewed poplar branches in places where many people walked--if it was in the greenhouse, if it was in the cafeteria, or if it was in the scripture hall.When the bhikkhus saw that they were evil, they went to the Buddha, and the Buddha said, "No! There are three things that should be done on the screen: urinating and defecating, and chewing poplar branches. If these three things should be done on the screen." The Buddha said: "Listen to it as a tongue scraper." He used treasures to make it, and the Buddha said: "No! Listen to it with bones, teeth, horns, copper, iron, paraffin, lead, tin, shera, grass, bamboo, Reed, wood."

Add a few words: "Sheluo" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word Salaka, and its free translation is "Chip".It is a long strip chip for planning, made of bamboo, wood, and metal. According to the "Pini Daily Use and Essentials" compiled by the interpretations of the Qing Dynasty, there are four types of poplar that can be used for combing teeth, that is, poplar, poplar, poplar, and boxwood.However, Yijing’s "Nanhai Jigui Neifa Zhuan" Volume 1, Article 8 "Chewing Tooth Wood" in the Tang Dynasty described the situation of the monks in the ancient South Asian subcontinent using tooth wood very vividly, and refuted it. Said that tooth wood is not willow: "How can you not know tooth wood, called 'poplar branch'? The willow trees in the western countries are all rare, and the translator Zha Si's name! The Buddha tooth wood tree is not willow. "He also recorded in the "Biography of Huilun" on the volume of another famous book "Biography of Great Monks Seeking Dharma in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty": "(Nalanta Temple) There is a Buddha's tooth tree in the west of the root hall, not poplar. "Moreover, according to the record in Volume 26 of "Five Parts Law":

The Buddha said: "There are five kinds of trees that do not listen to chewing: lacquer tree, poisonous tree, sheyi tree, ruby ​​tree, and bodhi tree. The rest are all listening to chewing." Add a few words: There are two theories about the "Buddha Tooth Tree": one is that Sakyamuni Buddha used the wood chips of this tree to wipe his teeth; The wood plugging there grew into the tree.The latter said that the "Shazhi Great Country" in "Faxian Biography" records: "Out of the south gate of Shazhi City, on the east side of the road, the Buddha himself chewed poplar branches here, and in the thorn soil, it grew seven feet without increasing. Unabated. Brahmins of heretics are jealous, or chop or pull, and abandon it. The place continues to live as before." The same record is also recorded in Volume 5 of "Da Tang Western Regions", saying that "the Tathagata taught this teaching in the past six years. There is a strange tree on the side of the saying, six or seven feet high, from generation to generation in spring and autumn, without increasing or decreasing. It is the Tathagata who tried to clean his teeth in the past, discarded its left branches, and because of the roots, it has flourished to this day. Cutting down, looking for life as before.” In any case, Xuanzang knew Chinese willows, and he did not say that this tree was a willow tree.Fa Xian said it was a poplar branch, which is consistent with the Sanskrit translation of tooth wood in this story during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.For example, in Volume 51 of "Four Parts Law", this is the translation method: "Sometimes Tanyue made offerings to the sun and gave poplar branches to the Buddha. The World Honored One accepted it, chewed it, and discarded it behind his back, and he became a big tree. The roots, branches and leaves are supported. Lush."

So, why is tooth wood translated as poplar branch?It seems that because there are many willows in China, and the wood is loose and easy to chew, the early translators also used a method similar to "geyi" in the teaching aspect, and took things cheaply, and translated it into Yangzhi.This has influenced Chinese Buddhist statues, especially Avalokitesvara.It is said that the ancient South Asian subcontinent invited guests, and first sent tooth wood and clean bottled perfume, which means "respectful health" and "please come".Therefore, in Buddhist ceremonies, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are urged to come down, and this method is also used to make offerings first.In particular, invite Avalokitesvara, as in Avalokitesvara's repentance method, he said: "I have pure water from poplar branches, and I hope to accept it with great compassion and pity." Over time, Avalokitesvara holds a Chinese long-necked vase-shaped clean bottle and inserts Chinese willow branches (green branches) The image of the green leaf) is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. So far, the Guanyin statue is dominated by holding a willow bottle, which has almost replaced the "Sacred Guanyin" that should be the classic standard statue, and has become a new standard statue.

The story of Guanyin sprinkling poplar water to save the ginseng fruit tree is well known.There are also people who sprinkle this kind of water to save people. According to the records of early Chinese monks, there is a story about Buddha Tucheng who sprinkled water with poplar branches and chanted mantras to save Shile's son.Later, the image of "Willow Branch Avalokitesvara" introduced to China by Esoteric Buddhism is characterized by holding poplar branches in its hands, and its work of saving sentient beings focuses on curing diseases.In a large number of records of Avalokitesvara's miracles and notes and novels that have been circulated for more than a thousand years and have been added and updated from time to time, there are many stories about Avalokitesvara sprinkling poplar water, cooling the patient's body, and erecting a serious illness.