There is a saying in the three realms about why Jin Chanzi was reincarnated as the Tang Priest. When Tang Priest was a disciple of the Tathagata Buddha in the West, he despised Buddhism and angered the Buddha. So he was banished to the mortal world and sent to the Eastern Datang for reincarnation.
Where did this legend come from? There is no doubt that the saying that "the golden toad was demoted" definitely came from Buddhism, and the first producer of news was the Buddha in the West.
Then the question comes: Is it true that Tang Priest was exiled to the East because he despised Buddhism? The truth embarrassed the Tathagata!
First of all, both Buddhist Tathagata and Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South China Sea agree that Tang Priest was born because he slept in Lingshan class and was disobedient.
Why was Tang Priest demoted? Is it really because you despise Buddhism? As a good man who practiced for the tenth time, how could Tang Priest look down on Buddhism? Since the Tang Priest despises Buddhism, how can he be called a holy monk?
If the Tang priest is a man who can despise Buddhism, how can he be chosen as a second disciple by the Buddhist Tathagata? How could he be chosen as a monk by Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South China Sea? How could the Buddha leave his instructions to him?
Therefore, the statement that Tang Priest despised Buddhism and was demoted is simply untenable. Even if this statement comes from Tathagata and Guanyin, it is false news with ulterior motives.
If the Tang Priest was banished to the mortal world because of his mistakes, and was born again, would he be a good man for the tenth time, even though he made mistakes ten times and was banished to the mortal world ten times?
So Jin Chan was not demoted at all. He just died of natural causes and reincarnated naturally! Moreover, the Tang Priest practiced ten times before and after, and experienced ten cycles.
Seeing this, many people must be confused. Why did Gyangze say that Tang Priest died of natural causes? Will Tathagata's disciples live and die like mortals?
Of course it will! If people who believe in Buddhism in Lingshan are immortals, then why are there past buddhas, present buddhas and future buddhas? Isn't the nirvana of Buddhism death?
In the westward journey world, all the gods and buddhas will die. If you want to live, you have to eat flat peaches, Dan medicine, ginseng fruit and so on. If you can't eat the Buddha, you have to re-enter the six divisions of the wheel of karma.
Even Jiang Zi once said that people who believe in Buddhism are called Yin gods by The Journey to the West, that is, ghost immortals. The so-called nirvana becomes Buddha, that is, they become Yin gods (ghost immortals). Far away, you only look at the boss of the underworld, isn't it the Buddha who hides the king?
The reason why Tang Priest was chosen as a Buddhist monk is obvious. It is precisely because he is a good man in the tenth century, with high practice, born in the belly of the daughter of the prime minister of Dongtu, and his family background is good, which is conducive to the smooth progress of Buddhist scriptures.
You know, Ciyun Temple in Jinping Prefecture, two thousand miles away from the capital of Tianzhu, heard that Tang Priest was from Chang 'an, and immediately bowed down and said, "The kind people here, looking at the scriptures and chanting Buddha, all hope to cultivate themselves in your land of China."
Within Buddhism, Lingshan is close to the ground, and all monks still hope to be born in the East in the Tang Dynasty, but they are unwilling to become Buddhists like their ancestors. Is it demoted for Tathagata to be reincarnated in the belly of Chang 'an Prime Minister's daughter? Does Jin Chan despise Buddhism? Tang Priest was exiled to the East? Is the truth enough to embarrass the Tathagata?