Who is the strongest of the four Buddhas on the Westward Journey? Where is the Tathagata row? Who is the Tathagata really afraid of?

When Wu Cheng'en changed the definition of The Journey to the West, he made large-scale changes to the religious deities such as Taoism and Buddhism in his novels. In reality, the leader of Buddhism is Sakyamuni. In the Journey to the West, the real name of the Buddhist leader is still Sakyamuni, but the dharma name is changed to Tathagata.

Tathagata? It is one of the top ten magical powers possessed by any Buddha, not synonymous with any Buddha. In real Buddhism, if you call Buddha Tathagata, it will be considered disrespectful to Buddha.

However, no matter how Buddhists correct and appeal, people still believe that Buddha is Tathagata, and Tathagata is Buddha.

Of course, a closer look at The Journey to the West reveals that it is not just the Tathagata who is called Buddha. Besides Tathagata, there are three people in Journey to the West, also called Tathagata.

The first one is the ancient Buddha burning lamps.

When the old Buddha made a scene in the Monkey King, he made a silhouette appearance. Because of the arrival of the ancient Buddha's burning lamp, the old gentleman led his disciples to the palace to listen to his lectures. As a result, there was no one in the palace, and the Monkey King was able to blend in and steal the five gourd pills, becoming a indestructible body.

The original book is a hundred years old, and the Buddhas recite the list, and the ancient Buddha is the first of all Buddhas.

Under the burning Buddha is the pharmacist Wang Guangfo. Under the pharmacist Buddha is Sakyamuni Buddha.

Why is the ranking of the ancient Buddha in Lingshan as high as Laifo? It turns out that in real Buddhism, there is a saying of Buddha III. In the past world, the Buddha who lit lanterns was revered; In this world, Sakyamuni is revered; In the future world, Maitreya is revered.

In The Journey to the West and The Romance of Gods, Burning Lantern is interpreted as the leader of the last generation of Buddhism.

When the Tang Priest and his disciples arrived at Lingshan and passed the Lingyun crossing, another Buddha appeared, claiming to lead the Buddha. In the original work, it is specially stated that it is a gem Buddha, ranking seventh among all buddhas and above Maitreya Buddha.

Thanks to the help of Buddha, Tang Priest was able to cross Lingyun, shed mortal fetuses and gain eternal life.

The fourth Buddha in Journey to the West is Maitreya. In realistic Buddhism, Maitreya's cultivation is still a bodhisattva, and it will not become a Buddha until the afterlife. Journey to the West has greatly changed the image of Maitreya. On the one hand, he keeps a chubby appearance and always smiles; On the other hand, he portrayed Maitreya as a tyrannical and fierce figure who devoted himself to fighting against the Tathagata.

In The Journey to the West, Maitreya Buddha is called the Buddha from the East, which means it is opposite to the Buddha from the West. Maitreya Buddha is called the first statue in Elysium. He occupies a very high position in Buddhism and is the default Buddhist teacher. In the story of Huang Mei-guai in Xiaoxitian, it is precisely because of Maitreya's support that Huang Mei-guai became unscrupulous, changed the appearance of the Buddha, swindled, blackmailed and insulted Buddha.

You know, in the fairy world described in Journey to the West, what you gods and buddhas can't tolerate most is that others become themselves.

In the story of Liu Er's macaque, several monkeys were demonized as Tang Priest and his disciples to learn from the scriptures. As honest as a sand monk, he flew into a rage at the sight of a fake sand monk. When he saw the demon, he always ran away, but he rushed into the demon group and shot the fake Friar Sand to death.

In Hong Haier's story, Hong Haier became the Guanyin Bodhisattva and captured Pig Bajie. The compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva changed her face and immediately stormed down the mountain to capture Hong Haier alive. Hong Haier was obviously bound by the lack of a golden hoop, but Guanyin Bodhisattva insisted that Hong Haier kneel down step by step and walk to Putuo Mountain.

The main reason why Guanyin Bodhisattva has become so vicious is that Hong Haier has become her appearance.

As can be seen from the above, although the Tathagata is the ancestor of Lingshan Buddhism, there is no unity among the buddhas. The ancient Buddha burning lanterns is the elder of Lingshan. However, this old Buddhist is never too old. After the Tang Priest and his disciples got the scriptures without words, it was this Buddha who sent his big disciple Bai Xiong to uncover the scriptures, which made the Monkey King discover the scriptures without words, and the Monkey King was furious, thus making trouble in Lingshan.

Although the ancient Buddha said that it was all for the Tang Priest, in fact, uncovering the scriptures will inevitably intensify the contradiction between Tang Priest and Tathagata. The Monkey King will naturally thank the Buddha for reminding him if he can get the scripture.

If the contradiction between burning Buddha and Tathagata is still hidden deep, then the struggle between Maitreya and Tathagata has become public.

Of course, the Tathagata Buddha conquered most demons along the way by learning from the Tang Priest and his disciples, and most western countries diverted from the Buddha, so the Tathagata Buddha's rule in the west was more stable. With the eastward spread of the Three Tibetan Scriptures, Mahayana Buddhism of Tathagata is bound to spread widely in Nanshan Prefecture. The influence of Tathagata is bound to be further enhanced.

Therefore, whether the previous generation of ancient buddhas lit lanterns, introduced buddhas, or the arrival of oriental Maitreya, they could not surpass the Tathagata in the end.

The whole journey to the west really scared the Tathagata Buddha, not Lingshan Buddhism, but heaven.

Whether it's the supreme old gentleman, Yuan Shizu, Lingbao Taoist, or the Jade Emperor, the Lord of the Three Realms. Everyone is a Buddha who stops the Tathagata in the mountains.

Like the Jade Emperor depicted in the 86 TV series, hiding under the table and yelling? Invite Tathagata to the Western Heaven? Absurd scenes did not appear in the original Journey to the West.