Why did Tang Priest and his disciples finally "forget" to ask the old turtle in Tongtianhe about his life span?

Tang Priest really didn't help the old turtle in Tongtianhe ask about his life span. Judging from the original novel Journey to the West, Tang Priest seems to be too busy to remember it. However, Wu Cheng'en, the author, arranged such a love affair at the end of such an imperial masterpiece. He didn't simply want to shape Tang Priest's "negligence" character, but behind it was actually a "big chess".

How did Tang Priest know the old turtle in Tongtianhe? In The Journey to the West's forty-seventh episode, "The Holy Monk blocks the water in the sky at night, and Jin Mu is merciful to save the child", when the Tang Priest and his disciples pass through the Tongtian River, they are blocked by the wide river, so they choose to stay in Chenjiazhuang by the river. In Chenjiazhuang, I met a monster named Linggan Wang, who lived in Tongtian River. On weekdays, he bullied others and ate several virgins from time to time, which made the villagers miserable.

The Monkey King's road is very bumpy, so we must draw our swords to help. It's a pity that this psychic king is also difficult, and he hasn't been repaired after playing several times. Finally, the Monkey King had to turn to Guanyin Bodhisattva to subdue the monster. It turns out that the king of inspiration is a carp raised by Guanyin. After practicing the essence, he secretly ran to Tongtianhe, and the river was king.

Once upon a time, there lived an old turtle under the Tongtian River. It has been practicing at the bottom of the river for thousands of years. As a result, after the arrival of Linggan Wang, he not only injured the old turtle's children, but also occupied the old turtle's mansion at the bottom of the river. Now that Linggan Wang has been accepted, the old turtle can finally go home at the bottom of the river, very happy. With gratitude, the old turtle volunteered and decided to cross the river with four people on his back.

When Tang Priest heard that someone was willing to help, he thanked him again and again. But unexpectedly, although the old turtle helped, he made another request. It learned that four disciples were going to worship Buddha, so it wanted Tang Priest to ask himself when he could become a human being. This old turtle has been practicing at the bottom of the river for more than 1300 years. He can speak human words and has a long life, but he just won't grow up. The old tortoise is a little worried. How long will it take to take shape?

You have to ask the Tathagata Buddha to know that the old turtle has a weak voice. How could he come all the way here to ask this question? Even if he does go to the west, the Tathagata Buddha may not be willing to see him. He thought, isn't Tang Priest going? Ask the Tang Priest casually.

Tang Priest met an old turtle in Tongtian River in the 47th session, and didn't get the Buddhist scriptures until the 98th session. I don't know how many years passed, even killed dozens of monsters, and had a love affair with his daughter, the king. Tang's monk is not a fairy, even if he forgets the old turtle's entrustment, it is understandable.

The Tang Priest retrieved the scriptures and returned along the road, where he saw the old turtle again. The old turtle was still very enthusiastic and took the initiative to carry Tang Priest across the river. When swimming to the middle of the river, the old turtle finally couldn't help asking the result. However, what about Tang Priest?

"Bathing in Yuzhen Temple in the Western Heaven, Lingyun was reborn and set foot on Lingshan. He devotes himself to Buddha worship and Zen meditation, regardless of anything. So he never asked the old man's birthday, but he dared not cheat, was vague, hesitated for a long time, and never agreed. "

According to the novel, Tang Priest has been busy with various processes and activities since he arrived in the Western Heaven. In addition, he is simple-minded and only wants to learn from the scriptures, so he really forgot to ask about the life span of the Tathagata. The old turtle knew what was going on when he saw the Tang Priest's silence. In a rage, he turned over, and the four of them were left in Tongtian River.

Tang Priest is really wronged, and this old turtle in Tongtianhe is too unkind. Your mansion has been occupied, and the Monkey King beat the King of Love away and helped you get it back. Now, it's outrageous to throw people into the river without asking about your life expectancy.

On the surface, this is a "tragedy" caused by negligence. The old turtle is mean and the Tang priest is innocent. However, the big boss behind this incident is actually Guanyin.

In the novel, Tang Priest was escorted back to China by Eight donkey kong when he learned Buddhist scriptures. Tang Priest was sent away, and the immortals came to see Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin Bodhisattva asked, "What did the four Tang Sanzang do along the way?" The immortals replied that Tang Yan was sincere and suffered a lot along the way, and then gave a book recording Tang Yan's suffering to Guanyin Bodhisattva.

A careful textual research on Guanyin reveals that Tang Priest and his disciples came to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha for Buddhist scriptures, and they just experienced eighty difficulties along the way. Guanyin immediately gave an order to Jedi beside him: "Among Buddhists, ninety-nine years old has returned to the truth, and the holy monk has suffered eighty hardships, and there is still one difficulty left, so he can't complete this number." The brothers and sisters were ordered to quickly go after the Eight donkey kong in Tengyun Cave, demanding that it be difficult again, so that the Tongtian River fell into the water.

Nine to nine is really a concept in ancient philosophy. Nine is the largest number, representing finiteness and richness. There is a saying in Tao Te Ching that one life, two lives, three lives and three lives, so the beginning of everything is one.

When things reach the limit, they will return to the original point, cycle after cycle, cycle after cycle, and one is the true meaning. So Guanyin will say that 99 is true, and 8 1 can hardly be regarded as complete merit.

Just because the eighty-one difficulty was not enough, Guanyin quickly made up a difficulty to make up the number. On the other hand, the old turtle has also been used. Without him, she would have to make up for eighty-one difficulties from other places.

The Tang Priest didn't help the old turtle beg for longevity, and achieved a great achievement of eighty-one difficulties. This is the first intention of Guanyin.

In addition, we know that the old turtle has been practicing for 1300 years, and he is anxious to know how long it will take to become a human.

The difficulty of Guanyin design is actually a test for the old turtle. Practice depends not only on how many years it has been used, but also on the merits and demerits of practice. This old turtle is eager for quick success and instant benefit. He can throw Tang Priest and his disciples into the river for a little thing. It can be seen that his cultivation is far from enough, and the fate of the Buddha has not yet arrived. I'm afraid his performance has also been seen by Guanyin, remember.

At this point, we have roughly understood the plot of Wu Cheng'en's arrangement that "Tang Priest won't help the old turtle in Tongtianhe ask about his life span". Finally, I would like to add a digression. There is a saying in fortune-telling that "life is getting thinner and thinner", which sounds a bit mysterious. There is no law or destiny in numerology, so it is difficult for mortals to draw conclusions.

However, if the Tang Priest remembers the old turtle's entrustment in the Western Heaven and asks the Tathagata Buddha, will the Buddha tell the Tang Priest the life span of the old turtle?

Even if the Buddha happens to know the life span of the old turtle, he is willing to tell the Tang Priest that it must be a good thing for the old turtle to know.

Tang priest is generous and upright, and he is a monk who is bent on seeking dharma. The old tortoise turned to him for help. As a Tang priest, he will never refuse, let alone hurt the old turtle.

Come to think of it carefully, he forgot to ask the life span because of negligence, which may be the best choice for the old turtle.