Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Jianzhen Monk——The Tang Dynasty Monk Traveling to the East to Pass the Sutras

Cultural exchanges are always coming and going.In the Tang Dynasty, there were both Japanese envoys from the Tang Dynasty, foreign students such as Abe Nakamaro, and learned monks who came to the west, and Chinese envoys who hired Japanese envoys and eminent monks such as Jianzhen to travel eastward.Abe Nakamaro and Monk Jianzhen went through twists and turns to learn Chinese culture and spread Chinese culture, and finally buried their bones in a foreign country. Their moving deeds complement each other, and they will always be revered and missed by the people of China and Japan. Jianzhen (688-763 A.D.), whose common surname was Chunyu, was born in Jiangyang County, Yangzhou. At the age of 14, he became a monk at Dayun Temple in Yangzhou.Because of his diligent study and practice, and the guidance and teachings of famous monks, he became a Buddhist disciple when he was young, and went to Luoyang, Chang'an and other places for further studies.Jianzhen began to teach precepts (rules of Buddhism to restrain believers) at Daming Temple in Yangzhou from the age of 26.According to records, as a precept master in the south, he has held more than 130 precept lectures successively, and more than 40,000 monks have heard his lectures and taught precepts by him.He also organized monks to carefully copy more than 33,000 volumes of scriptures, participated in the design and construction of more than 80 monasteries, and often helped the sick and the poor, and gave aid widely.Monk Jianzhen is knowledgeable, highly respected, and enjoys a high reputation in China and even Japan.

Although Japan also advocated Buddhism at that time, the Buddhist precepts were not prosperous and the discipline was not correct.Therefore, Longzun, the abbot of Yuanxing Temple in Japan, invited the eminent monks of the Tang Dynasty to teach the precepts to the imperial court.The Japanese imperial court also hoped to strictly control the registration of monks through the establishment of a precept system, so it ordered the Tang Dynasty mission to implement this. In 733, Rongrui (ruirui) and Puzhao, two Japanese monks who came to China with the tenth mission of the Tang Dynasty, had this mission.They hired Daoxuan, a monk from Fuguang Temple in Luoyang, and Bodhi, an Indian monk, to go to Japan, but they could only teach scriptures and not give precepts, so they had to invite another eminent Chinese monk to preach precepts and promote the Dharma. In 742, Rongrui and Puzhao went to Daming Temple in Yangzhou to invite monk Jianzhen, who was well-known all over the south of the Yangtze River, and his disciple Dongdu.Two Japanese monks said: "After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, although it has begun to take shape, there are no eminent monks who can teach the Dharma. In the past, a Prince Shotoku said that Buddhism would flourish in Japan two hundred years later. Now it is the time to implement this. It’s time to say something, I hope the great monk can go east to spread the Dharma.” ("Tang Dahe Shangdong Expedition Biography") Jianzhen replied: "In the past, I heard that after the death of Zen Master Nanyue Huien, he was reincarnated as a Japanese prince. Save sentient beings. I also heard that the Japanese Nagaya King respected Buddhism and made thousands of cassocks to distribute to Chinese monks, and embroidered four sentences on the cassocks: "The mountains and rivers are different, the wind and the moon are in the same sky, and I send them to all Buddhas to form a relationship together." .' It seems that Japan is indeed a country that has a predestined relationship with Buddhism!" So Jianzhen asked all the disciples who would like to go to Japan to teach the Dharma?The disciples were afraid of the danger of crossing the sea, so they were silent for a while, and no one agreed.Although the monk Jianzhen was over half a hundred years old, he had made up his mind to go east to Japan, so he resolutely said loudly: "For the sake of spreading the Dharma, why should I spare my life! Even if you don't go, I will still go east." The spirit of devotion finally touched the disciples, and 21 people including Xiangyan and Daohang expressed their willingness to go to Japan with Master.Then they secretly built ships and prepared food, Buddhist scriptures, medicines and other items. In 743, when Jianzhen and his entourage were preparing to set off, the plan to travel to the east was aborted because of monk Ruhai's false accusation to the government.

At the end of 743, they bought boats and ships again and set sail from Yangzhou.Unexpectedly, shortly after the voyage, there was a strong wind, the ship hit a rock and was broken, and the second eastward journey failed again.But Jianzhen was not discouraged, and repaired the broken ship in the local area a month later and set off again. In the spring of 744, when he sailed near Zhoushan, the ship was smashed by a storm again, so he had to abandon the ship and go ashore. After three days of hunger and thirst, he was rescued. The third voyage was frustrated again.The local monks did not want Jianzhen to take the risk again, and even asked the magistrate to arrest the Japanese monk Rongrui.However, this did not shake Jianzhen's determination to go east. After Rong Rui was released, he sent his disciples to Fuzhou to buy ships and prepare food. In 745, Jianzhen and his party were forcibly sent back to Yangzhou by local officials on their way to Fuzhou.The fourth eastward journey ended in obstruction.

Although Jianzhen failed four times to cross the east and suffered all kinds of setbacks, he still remained determined. In 748, they boarded a ship from Yangzhou again and set sail, first went south along the canal, and sailed to Hangzhou Bay.Unfortunately, as soon as they left the Zhoushan Islands and entered the East China Sea, they encountered a northeasterly wind and blew them to the southwest. After 14 days of turbulent sailing, the fresh water in the boat was exhausted, and it was difficult to prepare for it. Instead of reaching Japan, they drifted to Hainan. Zhenzhou (now Ya County) is the southernmost point of the island.Zhenzhou local officials sent troops to welcome Jianzhen into the Dayun Temple in the city and lived there for a year.Later, he passed through Wan'an Prefecture (now Wanning), Yazhou (now Qiongshan), and crossed the Qiongzhou Strait; he also stayed in Guizhou (now Guilin) ​​and Nanhai County (now Guangzhou).On the way, Rongrui, a Japanese scholarly monk, unfortunately died of illness in Duanzhou (now Gaoyao, Guangdong) due to years of hard work.Jianzhen was deeply saddened. Because of all the hardships and the long-term exposure to the heat in the south, he became sick from worry and fatigue, his eyes became inflamed, and he eventually lost his sight.In Jiangxi, Xiangyan, his loyal disciple who always followed him, also died of illness, which was another heavy blow to the 63-year-old man.Jianzhen and his party returned to Yangzhou via Jiujiang and Nanjing, ending nearly three years of arduous and tortuous journey.

Jianzhen suffered five defeats, but Dongdu's strong will was not shaken. In October 753, on the eve of the 11th return of Japan's mission to the Tang Dynasty, the ambassador Fujiwara Kiyokawa, deputy envoy Kibi Mabi, Otomo Komaro and Abe Nakamaro who had been serving the Tang Dynasty for many years came to Yangzhou to pay homage to Jianzhen.Ambassador Fujiwara said: "We have known for a long time that the great monk traveled eastward to Japan five times to preach, and we really admire it. It is a great honor to see the face of the great monk today. If the great monk still has this wish, the disciples wait for a group of four ships , food and luggage are available, and it is very convenient to travel east." Although Jianzhen was 66 years old and blind, he did not flinch, and readily agreed to take the Tang envoy ship to cross.Four days later, they took a boat from Yangzhou to Suzhou and joined the rest of the envoys sent to Tang Dynasty.A total of 23 disciples, craftsmen and others accompanied him this time.The items brought back include eight Buddha statues such as Tathagata and Avalokitesvara, seven kinds of Buddhist tools such as relics and bodhisattvas, 84 Buddhist scriptures including Huayan Sutra and more than 300 volumes, and three types of copybooks such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi's authentic running script.Before leaving, he disembarked once for fear of being discovered by the government, and did not board the second ship of the deputy ambassador, Koumaro, until just before sailing. On November 6, 753, the four ships sent to Tang Dynasty officially set sail.As a result, the No. 1 ship on which Abe Nakamaro and Ambassador Fujiwara were boarded was blown away by the wind, while the No. 2 ship on which Jianzhen was boarded drifted to Okinawa five days later, and finally arrived in Japan on December 20 after nearly a month. Akizuyaura (now Kagoshima Prefecture), Ado County, Satsuma, Kyushu.After 12 years of hard torment and narrow escape, Jianzhen finally set foot on the land of Japan.

On February 4, 754, Jianzhen and his party arrived at Nara City, the capital of Japan, and were welcomed into Todaiji Temple. In March, Ji Bei Zhenbei read the emperor's imperial edict to Jian Zhen as an imperial envoy: "I am very pleased that the great monk has traveled far away to come to our country. From now on, the great monk will be responsible for giving precepts and teachings. "Soon the emperor conferred on him the position of master of lamp transmission, and entrusted him to set up an altar to confer precepts. At the beginning of April, an altar of precepts was set up in the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji Temple, presided over by Jianzhen Deng altar, who conferred precepts successively for Emperor Shomu, Empress Dowager, Prince and more than 400 monks.Later, Jiedanyuan was specially established in Todaiji Temple. In 756, Emperor Xiaoqian appointed Jianzhen as the capital of monks to manage the affairs of monks and Buddhists in Japan.Two years later, Jianzhen resigned at the age of 71, and was honored as "Daheshang", "respectful support". In 759, Jianzhen and his disciples painstakingly designed and built Tangzhaoti Temple. After that, they taught the precepts in the temple and became the ancestor of the Japanese Vinaya School. In 763, Yearbook Zhen passed away at Tangzhaodai Temple (the Buddhist name for the death of monks and nuns) at the age of 76. In 777, the Tang envoy was sent for the 15th time to bring the news of Jianzhen's death. The monks in various temples in Yangzhou observed mourning for three days and set up a large feast in Longxing Temple to mourn.

Toshodai Temple in Nara, designed by Jianzhen himself, has been listed as a national treasure in Japan. It is the essence of architectural art and sculpture art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty in China transplanted to Japan.The Golden Hall in Toshodai Temple is considered to be the largest and most beautiful building in the Nara period, representing the highest artistic achievement at that time.Jianzhen also made great contributions to Japanese medicine and pharmacology.He is proficient in medicine in China. After he came to Japan, he treated the emperor and empress dowager. He also used his sense of smell and taste to help identify Chinese herbal medicines. He was honored as the ancestor of Japanese medicine circles. The authenticity is still printed on the bag.The printed Chinese Buddhist scriptures and calligraphy inscriptions brought by Jianzhen also had a great influence on Japanese printing and calligraphy art.The dry lacquer of Jianzhen monk in Tangzhaoti Temple is shaped by his disciples before his death.The eyes are closed and affectionate, the forehead is wide, the cheeks are smiling, and the lips are tight. It shows the strong will and serious and kind character of Jianzhen. It is a masterpiece of sculpture art in the world and is also recognized by the Japanese government. Designated as a "National Treasure", it is only open for three days every year on the anniversary of Jianzhen's death. The real image of the 1980 yearbook was escorted back to Daming Temple in Yangzhou for a week-long tour, and more than 100,000 people from all over China went to pay their respects.The famous modern Japanese painter Kaii Higashiyama painted huge murals "Sound of Waves" and "Mountain Cloud" in Toshodaiji Temple to commemorate Jianzhen.The famous writer Yasushi Inoue wrote the story of Jianzhen into a novel and adapted it into a drama.

For thousands of years, Monk Jianzhen has been living in the hearts of the Chinese and Japanese people, just as Mr. Guo Moruo praised in his poem: