Why are most monks and Taoists in Water Margin negative images?

In fact, I don't quite agree with the negative image, but I don't quite agree with the attack on Confucianism in the late Northern Song Dynasty. To tell the truth, it's hard to find a time in the history of China that attacked Confucianism. It is only said that Qin Shihuang was a warlock who burned books and buried Confucianism, which caused dissatisfaction all over the world. And to be honest, there is no saying in history that the Northern Song Dynasty attacked Confucianism. In fact, if you think about it, you will know that the southern dynasties believed in Buddhism, which led to chaos in the country and then began to destroy Buddhism. Even in the Southern Dynasties, believing in Buddhism did not mean to suppress Confucianism. It's just that more people believe in Buddhism than natural Confucianism. Besides, how long did it take from the Southern Dynasties to the Song Dynasty? This is a lesson from the past. How long did it take? Just killing the Buddha is a joke.

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Ok, cut to the chase, of course I understand what you said, like the dialogue between Lu and the monks in the temple, including eating dog meat and drinking up the mountain, and then beating up the monks. In fact, after careful calculation, there are not many plots about monks in the whole Water Margin, and most of them appear in the part of Lu. As for beating monks by Lu, it is really out of helplessness to disobey the precepts. Think about it. Why did Lu become a monk? It was not because of his passion (don't talk nonsense about beautiful women in the water margin TV series) that he shaved his hair. I don't know if you have seen a detail. Lu said he didn't want to shave. Actually, every time I read this sentence, I feel very sad. What is a beard? This is a sign of my heroic identity. Fate is beyond your control. Now the monk has it. Shave off their hair and then shave off their beards. It's up to others to decide whether to scrape or not. How can I not be sad? With this mentality, how can he keep the commandments?

However, despite this, despite Lu Da's disobedience and unruly behavior, the abbot was still very kind to him, so good that he indulged. Why? In fact, the author doesn't want to say that the abbot is weak, but just wants to tell everyone that the abbot has a good eye for real people. The best example, in fact, can be seen as soon as you enter the temple, from the dharma name "Zhishen". Do you know the abbot's law number? "True". Buddhist names represent generations. As soon as he entered the temple, the abbot didn't know who was coming, and was immediately promoted to the same qualifications as himself. Isn't this a privilege? The discipline in the temple is so strict that it is really difficult for ordinary people to abide by it. Monks can only sleep sideways. Lu Zhishen broke the precepts many times, but the abbot forgave him again and again. In the end, there was no way to send him to Suoguo Temple, but he wrote to explain the situation himself and did all kinds of outrageous things, and the abbot did not drive him away. Isn't this a privilege? If this doesn't explain everything, there is a special detail mentioned later. The most well-known detail, Lu He actually visited the abbot to know the truth, and then left a prophecy of "catching in summer, listening to the tide with wax, seeing the letter silently". Actually, it has been explained very well. The author didn't mean to belittle monks. On the contrary, he was right about those enlightened people. However, because of his personality, Lu disobeyed the precepts and beat monks.

Finally, I have to say that in the Water Margin, those who see through have a good ending, while those who don't have a bad ending. Lin Chong's last attempt may be a kind of luck. After all, Song Wu is around to take care of them, and 30 thousand yuan is enough for them to spend the rest of their lives. Yan Qing saw through it, and finally chose to leave his master, so Yan Qing died, and Chai Jin saw through it, so he didn't need money to be an official, so he finally farmed at home, so he finally supported the elderly at home. However, among these people, he is the most thorough, and he saw through everything at the last minute. "Today, I know I am me" has said it all. This is the person who gets the most perfect home among all the people in the water margin, right?

This answer is taken from Zhihu.

Author: Lin Shuangtian

Link:/question/33508053/answer/56699897

Source: Zhihu.