Ji Gong – The Crazy Monk of China
Ji Gong, the Chinese mahasiddha
(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor David)
The 11th Century Chinese monk Daoji is commonly known by the name Ji Gong. He was a Chan Buddhist monk of the Southern Song Dynasty in ancient China. He was born with the name of Li Xiuyuan. Daoji was also known by the name Hu Yin which meant ‘Recluse from the Lake’ and Elder Fang Yuan, ‘Squared Circle’.
The image of Ji Gong is romanticised as a dishevelled monk wearing a monk’s hat emblazoned with the Chinese character ‘Buddha’ while carrying a worn-out reed fan in one hand and a wine gourd in the other. After his passing, Ji Gong became somewhat of a folk hero and minor deity in Chinese Taoist folk religion and later became the Buddhist figure that he is known as today. He is frequently mentioned in Chinese folktales, koans (Chan Buddhist parables) and is sometimes invoked by temple mediums to assist in people’s affairs.
Mahasiddhas are great yogis who engaged in tantric practices and attained great realisations
Ji Gong is said to have possessed supernatural powers that arose due to his spiritual attainments. He would often aid the poor with his abilities and stand up to injustices inflicted upon the downtrodden. However, he was also known for his wild and eccentric behavior, especially for his love of alcohol and meat which were considered sacrilegious amongst the Buddhist clergy of his time. This is consistent with the tantric tradition of Buddhism.
Although tantra never really gained mainstream acceptance in China, many aspects of Ji Gong’s life seem to be consistent with that of a great tantric adept – a mahasiddha. The tradition of mahasiddhas arose in India during the later period of Buddhism when great practitioners led the life of wandering yogins who engaged in tantric sadhanas at charnel grounds and achieved great realisations. These itinerant yogins are frequently characterised by their often-controversial behaviour of drinking alcohol, eating meat and so forth.
As far as Ji Gong is concerned, there is no evidence to suggest that he ever received tantric transmissions or ever practiced tantric sadhanas. Nonetheless, his behaviour has all the hallmarks of a mahasiddha. This is probably due to the fact that his mahasiddha-like behaviour was because he operated from the ultimate truth. This is in contrast with the rest of us, who operate from the standpoint of conventional truth.
Conventional truth focuses mainly on the ordinary matters of daily lives, which are centred on our ego and attachment. In Buddhism, there are many conventional truths and they differ according to our background, upbringing and experience. People hang on to these truths but, in reality, they have no real concrete basis as they are impermanent and are based on values we project on them. On the other hand, the ultimate truth is singular and based upon the nature of reality, which is that all things are free of inherent existence. In Buddhism, this is the highest wisdom and the ultimate truth.
One can achieve this view of the ultimate truth through the tantric path or through other methods such as the beautiful Zen/Chan tradition of Buddhism. Hence, those of us with the conventional view would perceive a great practitioner’s behaviour as controversial or crazy, since we perceive his actions based on our conventional perception and our limited view. The mahasiddha example and explanation is used not so much as to suggest Ji Gong was a tantric practitioner but to shed light on the meaning of his controversial actions.
The Life of Ji Gong
Ji Gong’s real name was Li Xiuyuan and he was born to a retired military strategist, Li Maochun. Before he was born, a Feng Shui master told his parents that they did not have the fortune to have children. Distraught from this revelation, the parents embarked on a pilgrimage to various temples.
A mural painting at Lingyin temple that illustrates the ordination of Daoji (Ji Gong)
While the parents-to-be were praying and making offerings at a temple which had a prayer hall to 500 Arhats, a statue of the Arhat Taming Dragon fell off the altar on its own accord. The mother was later found to be pregnant and she recalled the incident of the falling statue to mean that her unborn child was, in reality, the incarnation of the Arhat Taming Dragon.
A lively statue of the Arhat Taming Dragon
In his youth, Ji Gong led a comfortable life until the untimely demise of his parents when he was 18. From then on, Li was sent to Hangzhou and was ordained as a monk at Lingyin Temple. He studied at the feet of the great Vinaya master Huiyuan and was given the monastic name of Daoji. Unlike many of his peers in the monastery, Daoji did not always adhere to the traditional monastic code of conduct. Somehow, he developed a penchant for eating meat and drinking wine while his robes were often dirty and tattered due to his constant travelling. He was also often seen stumbling as he walked because he was highly intoxicated.
It was due to his unrestrained behaviour that he created uproar in the temple. Some of the monks called for him to be expelled. His teacher somehow knew who he was and defended him by saying, “The Gate of Buddhism is so vast! Why is this crazy monk not forgiven?” Therefore, the monks were frustrated and resorted to calling him ‘Crazy Monk’. After his teacher passed away, he was forced to move to Jingci Temple.
Daoji however, had a good heart and was always on the lookout to assist and extend a helping hand to ordinary folks. There are many accounts of him healing the sick and fighting against injustice inflicted on the downtrodden. Unfortunately, such behaviour was at odds with what was expected of a monk. The monks at his temple were bewildered and frustrated with his behaviour and the elders finally decided to expel Daoji from the monastery. From then on, Daoji wandered from place to place and always strove to help those he met.
Ji Gong entered Jingci Monastery after the passing of his teacher, the Abbot Huiyuan
It is said that while engaging in his meditations, Daoji attained supernatural powers due to his practice. Eventually, people began to recognise the fact that his eccentric, benevolent nature was because he was actually an incarnation of a bodhisattva, or even an emanation of an arhat. Eventually, he became widely recognised by many people to be the incarnation of the Arhat Taming Dragon, one of the 18 Arhats, a Chinese equivalent of the 16 Arhats. Daoji passed away at Jingci Monastery in the year 1207. It was said that he left this verse before he passed away:
Sixty years’ life in disorder
From east to west, I fight always
Today, I review and return
All is same as those before
His remains were interred in Running Tiger Spring Area and a special monastery named Jigong Tayuan was founded in honour of the memory people had of this great master.
The Incredible Tales of Ji Gong
The following are a few stories told of Ji Gong that are immortalised in books, songs, poetry, plays and artwork. Each unique story reveals an aspect of Ji Gong’s eccentric manner in which he delivers the teachings and benefits people. Hence, it is no surprise how intertwined Ji Gong is with traditional Chinese culture.
The Buddha Statue
Ji Gong always sought to teach people not to jump to conclusions based on external appearances. On one occasion, Ji Gong and his students were trying to stay warm during a particularly wintery night.
The cold was so bad that Ji Gong had to dismantle the wooden altar they used for worship and start a fire out of it. One of his students was horrified and cried out, “What are you doing? That’s our sacred altar!” Then Ji Gong took the statue of the Buddha and chopped it into two pieces. The student exclaimed, “You are cutting the Buddha! Don’t do that!” Ji Gong answered, “This statue is not the Buddha himself. This is just a piece of wood.”
In doing so, he wanted to teach his students how to let go of attachment and that what really matters is our true intent at heart. Wood decays over time but compassion is timeless and it touches people at the deepest level. It was not important to Ji Gong whether or not a person appeared to have great virtue because appearances meant nothing to him. He was only interested in the qualities of one’s heart.
Summoning Logs from a Well
Ji Gong in Xiyuan Temple, Suzhou, China
While he was living at Jingci Temple, Ji Gong was appointed as the scribe monk of the temple. On one occasion, a fire broke out and destroyed the main prayer hall of the temple. It was then that the abbot turned to him to procure large quantities of wood for restoration works.
Instead of searching for suppliers, Ji Gong slept for three days because he was intoxicated. Upon waking, he shouted at the monks, “The wood is here, take it from the well!” Large logs were miraculously transported into the well of the temple continuously until there were enough logs for rebuilding the prayer hall. These days, there is a Shenmu Well in Jingci Temple that is purportedly the very same well.
Stopping a Landslide
This story highlights Ji Gong’s creative manner in which he saves people from imminent danger. On one occasion, Ji Gong was walking towards Lingyin Temple when he suddenly felt a jolt right in his heart. Immediately he knew something was amiss so he used his clairvoyance to investigate. He realised that a landslide was about to come crashing down the side of a mountain onto the nearby village.
Alarmed at what he saw, Ji Gong began shouting to the townspeople and screaming for them to run for their lives. But the people just laughed and dismissed him as “the crazy old monk” who was drunk as usual and screamed for no apparent reason. Ji Gong realised he was not taken seriously and so he looked around and spotted a wedding procession passing through the village. This gave him an idea. He barged into the procession and snatched the bride, threw her over his shoulders and ran down the road out of town.
This caught everybody by surprise and the worried groom and wedding guests screamed for everyone to chase after the kidnapper. Soon, the entire village was chasing after them. As soon as the maddening crowd ran past the village gates, a loud crash was heard behind them. Everything behind them came down in a huge crash. Huge rocks came crashing down the side of the mountain, shattering rooftops and flattening buildings in an instant.
Ji Gong turned around and he noticed that back in the village, a little girl had been left behind and a gigantic boulder was thundering towards her. He immediately lifted his palm at the boulder and it fell aside. Today this hill is known as Hangzhou’s “Flying Peak” and it has since become a tourist attraction. In fact, visitors today can see the imprint of a hand sunk into the base of the rock bearing testament to Ji Gong’s psychic abilities.
Saving a Suicidal Old Man
On another occasion, Ji Gong came across an old man who was on the verge of hanging himself from a tree. The man tied a noose to a branch and was just about to place his head through it when suddenly he saw Ji Gong who was dressed in rags come by. Ji Gong was muttering to himself, “Die! Die! Everything is over after I am dead. Dying is better than living. I will hang myself now.” Ji Gong had a noose in hand and was just about to hang himself just next to the old man at the very same tree.
This puzzled the old man and he asked Ji Gong why a monk would want to commit suicide. Ji Gong explained that he was commissioned to raise money for the monastery’s renovation plans. He had begged for three years and accumulated a sizeable amount but on his way back to the monastery, he stopped by a bar, got drunk and was robbed of all the money. He was embarrassed and dare not return to the monastery so he decided to end his life here. The old man easily believed his story and said, “Don’t worry, I happen to have some money left, which is of no use to me now.”
He gave Ji Gong five pieces of silver, which was all the money he had. Ji Gong took the silver and said, “Your silver does not shine as much as what I used to have but I will take them.” So he took the money and walked away with a big smile. Giving away his money did not change a thing for the old man so he continued his plans to hang himself. But Ji Gong returned not long after and the old man initially thought that the monk had returned to thank him for the money.
But Ji Gong said, “I see you’ve got some nice clothes there. Why don’t you give that to me so you can nakedly leave this world just as you nakedly came?” The old man was stunned with the monk’s audacity and he looked up to the sky and sighed. He said, “Why is it so hard to die as it is to live? How can I end my misery?”
Ji Gong said, “Look, after your death, the wild dogs will come to tear you up and your nice clothes would be wasted. But if you give it to me now, I will make good use of it.” Ji Gong went on to tease and play with the desperate man until the latter became amused and started to laugh along with Ji Gong. The old man soon found this eccentric monk quite friendly and extremely entertaining. He started to open his heart and told Ji Gong his tragic story about how he lost his daughter. Soon, he had a change of heart and no longer wanted to commit suicide. Ji Gong eventually helped him to look for his daughter, and the story had a happy ending.
Ji Gong – The Crazy Monk of China
For more interesting information:
- 84 Mahasiddhas
- Holy Relic Sites of China – Very interesting!
- Fo Guang Shan monastery
- The Beishan Grottoes
- TANTRA teachings by Tsem Rinpoche
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I’m a Hindu but I do pray to Chinese deities and Buddha as well. Today my Chinese fried present me a picture of Ji Gong. So from today onwards I’ll pray to Him as well. Thank you my friend Ah Peng for introduce me to Ji Gong, the Chinese mahasiddha. May everyone get His blessings and abundance of happiness 🙏😇🙏
Thanks you for the incredible tales of Ji Gong, I truly enjoyed knowing the actual monk in picture. Ji Gong symbolised hope and kindness of dharma to the poor and underprivileged, the spirit of Ji Gong will continue to survive through time because nothing could destroy that.
I had fascinated watching a number of movies that had related Ji Gong kindness, compassion and his skillful actions that had such a large influence in the world and that until today.
https://bit.ly/3lx8qyX
Thank you for this story, very impressed with Ji Gong, who appears to transcends forms of buddhism, and cut right to the heart of things. My favourite story was of taking apart the altar so he and his students could stay warm, and not freeze to death.
Thank you Pastor David for sharing this article of Ji Gong. After reading this article only I realize the attainments that Ji Gong has and is a great mahasiddha. What other people think of him as a crazy monk does not stop him from helping people in his own special ways.
With folded palms,
Vivian
Ji Gong is one of my favourite heroes during my childhood. It was then that i collected most imprints about Buddhism at my an early age by watching his series. Ji Gong taught be to be compassion and be always there to help someone. I feel the stories are nice to educate children from their young age to be exposed to Dharma, Compassion and Tantra. Ji Gong have a huge influence on small kids. Thank you Pastor David for sharing.
Thank you Pastor David for sharing Ji Gong story. I read about Ji Gong stories when I was a kid, and watched his drama series. I like Ji Gong a lot. Especially his super natural power to help people and animal. However after reading this article, it let me know more about Ji Gong, like, there is no evidence to prove that is received tantric transmission, but his behaviour showed that he is a mahasiddha. This reminded me of crazy wisdom, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche that Pastor Han Nee told me. He did all sorts of worldly behaviour, but in the end, he brought Tibetan Buddhism to the west during that degenerated age in that era.
I like the part “The Buddha Statue” in this article, it greatly reminded me everything we see from out side is only a form, a form that appear to people, what really matters is our true intent at heart. The true qualities is what that really matters in the end. Just like Rinpoche told us, we can keep learning Dharma, but applying it is the real transformation.
Thank you again Pastor David for the article. With folded hands _/\_
The more I read on the story of Mahsiddhas, the more I can feel the compassion of the Buddha to save and liberate us. Buddha will be emanated in any form just to help us free from samsara world.
To save the sentient being, Ji Gong with his wisdom to spread the Dharma in unconventional way. He was known for helping those that in need and sometimes even saving their lives. I like to read his story since I was small child, like to see him using his wisdom to help and save people. At one time I wish I have his wisdom. When I grown up I forgotten all this.
Just like the story of stopping a Landslide that normal people will not think of snatched the bride and ran down the rod out of town to save peoples life, because to us this is a crazy way to do it. However this is actually the best way at that moment. This is the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha.
However sad to say that some peoples don’t pay attention of his kindness and wisdom but only focus on a Buddhist monk who eat meat and drink alcohol and use this as an excuse to eat meat and drink alcohol also.
Also, Ji Gong remind me the first time I read the story Chögyam Trungpa, I also asked why he behave like that, he openly smoked, drank, and had intimate relations with students . But this is how Chögyam Trungpa bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the west with his “ Crazy Wisdom”. And his reincarnation has been recognised. I like what he said this
“Becoming “awake” involves seeing our confusion more clearly.”
Thank you Pastor David for the wonderful post.
Amazing story….. Amazing how the realised beings break our wrong perceptions. It reminds me of the story of The Divine Madman. They appear crazy to us because we have been always self-centered and perceived through that same lens. Amaing _()_
Thank you lah
The crazy old monk stories seem to be very popular as i saw in the comments below. His life is amazing, starting from his birth to parents who were told not to have a child. How compassionate and wise Ji Gong was becomes obvious by reading the stories.
It is not what we see on the outside that makes the difference. Our motive and selfless action is much more important. This was true at Ji Gong’s time and it is still the same today.
Thank you Pastor David for sharing about the Crazy and Wise Monk of China.
A true Boddhisatva will often return to samsara in different form to benefit people. In this case I believe Ji Gong manifest in such form to help many people with his crazy wisdom. We can’t really judge someone with our naked eye but we can see their action resulted in the ultimate result. This type of great wisdom being will have odd or rather crazy in our term in performing their action to help people. I know it sound weird but I believe they know what they are doing and I feel his behaviour in such is to get close to people or helping people in a subtle way.
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David for sharing this story with us. I have come across his story when I was young , I remember one very significants is he always drunk and he act very out of norm, is kind of funny to watch and I like it especially he will help whoever in danger or being treated unfairly he is like hero . In those day when I watch it is more for entertainment but if think back this what some of the highly attain master will act out of conventional way because our normal mind will perceive as wrong and is not like that so after knowing the Dharma that we know this is because our wrong perception toward the thing we think must be like this and cannot be different so is our wrong perception there is nothing wrong with acting different from the norm the most important is correct motivation.
I came across about Ji Gong’s story since I was very young age at about 7 or 8. Ji Gong is very well known with his dirty robes, eating meat and drinking wine. However, many people believed that Ji Gong has supernatural powers and with his kindness and compassion, he would stand up and help the poor or the misfortune group.
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David sharing this interesting article and let me have further thoughts about Ji Gong’s often-controversial behaviour of drinking alcohol, eating meat and so forth which is because of he operated out from the conventional truth in order to achieve the ultimate truth.
Thank you Pastor David for writing this blog article of one of the many Chinese folktales told as we were growing up. There were even a hit Hong Kong series which tells of how Ji Gong help others.
He is no doubt a mahasiddha who like you said were more keen and operated on the ultimate truth! And I guess that was what captivated and attracted me and my sister to watch the series even though it was in Chinese and we did not understand it (thank goodness there were subtitles). You could say that he was the first Buddhist monk I ever came across (on TV) and really liked his unconventional style. In the hit series it tells of how he helps and always stand up for the destitute and those who were weaker.
So yes I very much believed that he was an Bodhisattva. I guess I’ve always like anything “unconventional” and his tales and stories were. And like you said he was not interested in how others perceived him, instead about developing and being compassionate. In a funny little way Ji Gong kinda reminds me of our Rinpoche’s unconventional skillful methods in teaching us Dharma and introducing Dharma to many of us, minus the dirty clothes. Thanks to your article now will come to know a little bit more about his background and how he became a monk.
The legend of Ji Gong is always fascinating and very popular in every generations. The stories and tales of Ji Gong has been made into numerous movies, i think because Ji Gong has successfully show his compassion, kindness and miraculous power in helping and saving life, especially among the poor and needy, Ji Gong is like the western version of Robin Hood but with dharma knowledge and attainment. I like the story of Ji Gong very much. Ji Gong symbolised hope and kindness of dharma to the poor and underprivileged, the spirit of Ji Gong will continue to survive thru time cos nothing can destroyed that.
Thank you Pastor David for the interesting article.
I like the story of Ji Gong since young. His unconventional of helping people was very much impressive. After i read story about Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I thought both of them are very much the same. They have the crazy wisdom and both give dharma to people which break the point of view at that time.
Ji Gong was born to a rich family and he is a very learned scholar. He was force to get married with a girl which he ran away at the nite of his wedding and became a monk. Monk life was never easy for Ji Gong, he was “bullied” all the time by the senior of the monastery, and even live life like a beggar. Even tho, he live in hard life, poor and homeless most of the time, but, he was always seem happy and have wisdom to help many people who needed him. He always gave some dharma to the person after he helps them.
Ji Gong was quite proficient in the medicine and saved many people from death. He was known to give the pill that save life from rubbing his body’s “dust” .
His story is very inspiring and he is known to be the reincarnation of the Arhat. I really like his story very much.
Thank you Pastor David for this story. Nice one
This is a very interesting article on Ji Gong. I only knew about Ji Gong when I watched the HK drama series. Thought it was just a creation for the drama and never thought that this person really exist. I love that drama series.
Ji Gong unconventional method in practising dharma may be portrayed to be crazy but I think it is because we always set a fixed expectation in everything and when it does not match to our expectation, then he is not accepted. What Ji Gong has done is to actually break out mindset to accept differences.
Thank you Pastor David for sharing.
Thank you Pastor David for this interesting article on Ji Gong.
Since young I love to watch the series of Ji Gong & stories of Ji Gong as I find that he always helping others and always teaches the bad guy a lesson. To me, he is a hero. 🙂
Although he looks sloppy & appears to be crazy and always do things out of the norm, he is very kind and extended his helps always especially towards unfairness treatment.
He also very wise and always says things that to prompt us to check out on our ego & attachment and always have a joyous smile!
Ji Gong is one of my favourite movies & after reading this article, I can’t help but to google for his song again. 😛
Here you are to share with all of you the Ji Gong song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1TK0Dj93o8
Thanks again Pastor David! This really brings back all my great memories.
I have read Ji Gong comic books when i was very young,(in primary school),at that time i only thought that crazy drunken monk, one hand held the wine gourd and the other holding a worn out reed fan liked to show off his magic powers like the folktales. He can heal people miraculously, fighting against injustice and abilities to help the poor.All the stories were very entertaining and heartwarming in the end, without knowing that he is a mahasiddha, the re-incarnation of the ArhatTaming Dragon.
I remembered quite some times back my ex-colleague told me his daughter of less than 2 years old sometimes has no apparent reasons can cry all night and almost every night, he went to consult the medium who took trance in Ji Gong and he brought
some guinnese stout as offering there and after the trance, he then brought back some blessed water for his daughter to drink and it worked. In another case,my friend has chronic hands and wrists problems that doctor’s treatment is no longer effective she went to the medium who is a Taiwanese lady in her 50s stays near her house who take trance in Ji Gong every Saturday night for 2, 3 Saturdays, during the trance the medium massaged her hands and wrists with some cream , then her problems solved. As i can see the Ji Gong trance is still popular in some parts in our country. Thank you Pastor David for sharing this interesting article.
This is very interesting story about Ji Gong(济公).As I remembered,some people address Ji Gong Huo Fo(济公活佛）meant he is incarnation.After I read Pastor David’s article, now I know Ji Gong is incarnation of Arhat Taming Dragon.
When I was younger age, I remembered that many people offered beer to Ji Gong to thanks Ji Gong helped them to overcome some difficulty or hardship in their live. Ji Gong always use his worn-out fan to touch people’s sickness part as blessing purpose.
Ji Gong teach people less attachment to anythings in samsara while cultivate inner quality like compassion which will timeless benefit others. I did like the skillful means of Ji Gong to save people life.
Thanks Pastor David for sharing Ji Gong’s story.
Jason
Thank you, Pastor David, for this article of Ji Gong, the Crazy Monk of China. I really liked reading the following:
““You are cutting the Buddha! Don’t do that!” Ji Gong answered, “This statue is not the Buddha himself. This is just a piece of wood.”
In doing so, he wanted to teach his students how to let go of attachment and that what really matters is our true intent at heart. ”
I learnt from the above is that what we perceive are of no inherent value except for our perception and attachments to physical material things. However, sad to admit at my level, to be able to really be disrespectful to a Buddha statue is beyond me and that is all because I do not have the attainments to have such wisdom nor confidence to do so.
Wonderful learning of emptiness and impermanence and that practise of the true meaning of Buddhism to have Bodhichitta and attainments is very clear.
Thank you P David for this interesting article on Ji Gong. There must be a generation gap, for I had never heard about Ji Gong when I was growing up and even later.Nonetheless, his “crazy” or “controversial” behaviour and his total disregard for his physical appearance are not exactly shocking. They are very much in keeping with the unconventional behavior of the Indian Mahasiddhas that we read about in the blogpost “The 84 Mahasiddhas”. Mahasiddha Virupa, for instance, drank alcohol and ate meat(pigeons’ meat!)and had “women” visiting him in the monastery until the late hours of the morning!
They are highly realised beings. More than that Ji Gong, like the other Mahasiddhas, is a Bodhisattva.His seeming disregard and flouting of conventions and conventional norms, does not detract from his kindness and sincere altruistic wish to help all beings. He was truly creative and skillful in his ways of aiding others- the way he got a whole village of people to leave their village before the massive landslide came down on them which would have killed them all, the way he thwarted an old man’s attempt to commit suicide.
Like yogins of old, he was not daunted by any seeming punishment imposed on him nor any hardship he encountered.He lived truly like a free spirit,not bound by conventional ideas of what a home should be or where to rest his weary head.
Thank you once more for this story. A beautiful way to remind us that it is the heart that counts and deeds that matter.
I watched quite some of Ji Gong’s movies and tv drama when I was young. He is a popular and famous figure in the Chinese culture. After watching those shows, what I can recall about Ji Gong is he is a monk with controversial behaviours – drink alcohol and eating meat. One of the damous phrase which always mentioned “wine and meat go into my stomach, while Buddha remains in my heart”..however many misundertood that vows are actually not that important..
With Pastor David’s write up Ji Gong’s controversial behaviours and shed light on the meaning of his controversial actions, by explaining them from the perspective of ultimate truth and conventional truth. The story about making Buddha statue and altar as firewood and the wisdom words of Ji Gong is very good to explain the concepts. Thank you.
Wah Ying,
No, wows and commitments are VERY important for our spiritual practice for those of us who are trying to achieve attainments. Without vows, we cannot achieve attainments. However, for someone who had already achieved attainments, vows are not that important because that person had already achieved great attainments and the role of vows had been fulfilled. Most attained masters continue to hold their vows and commitments to be an example and to be able to pass it down to others. For Ji Gong, he showed a mahasiddha behaviour to get closer to ppl he interacted with but that does not mean we can do the same and get the same result because we don’t have his attainments.
Ji Gong was indeed an exceptionally, extraordinary and fearless Bodhisattva. A diety in a Chinese Taoist Folklore religion, he showed unwavering courage and great care to work for the general cause and benefits of all poor and desolate people. Always like to aid especially the poor, meek, old and the deserted. With whatever abilities and supernatural powers that he possessed, he stood up for the down-trodden and the devasted. Recognised by many people, he was said to be the incarnation of the Chinese Taoist Arhat, named Taming Dragon, one of the 18 arhats, a Chinese equivalent of the 16 arhats. Well known for his wild and eccentric behaviour, particular for his love for alcohol and meat, he was often seen stumbling as he walked, due to his intoxication! It was said that he passed away at Jingei Monastery in the year 1207, but, still vividly remembered and dearly loved by many till today. Om Mani Padme Hung.
Most of the Chinese in Malaysia are familiar with Ji Gong but may not know much about him. The many stories about Ji Gong is really interesting.
What I found interesting was the correlation between Ji Gong and the Mahasiddhas of India. So, maybe tantra did make it’s way to China without it being fully recognized or known widely.
Like most Malaysian born Chinese, I had my fair share of witnessing trances of Ji Gong and some vague stories about him. So, I found this article very interesting and intriguing.
Thank you, Pastor David for a very interesting article.
I did discuss the subject of Tantra in China in the article. Tantra was transmitted in China but it did not take off and died out. The manner in which Ji Gong operated from is not that he is a tantric practitioner as there is no evidence that points in that direction. Rather it was Ji Gong’s own attainments and realization arising from his formal meditation practice. Attainments does not require tantric pratice to arise and can arise through Sutric prctices as well. However, it is a lot easier through the path of tantra.
Thank you Pastor David Lai for this interesting article. Since young i always like to hear stories of Ji Gong, even watch TV show about him and would like to go to Ji Gong temples .That time i would not understand much but do as my parents told .But now after reading these article i begin to understand better. Ji Gong is said to have possessed supernatural powers that he would often help the poor or anyone who needed help with his abilities. In Taoist religion,Ji Gong is well known as today.I have seen a Taoist medium in trance as Ji Gong. I have heard many interesting accounts of him helping those who need his help. Ji Gong has a good, kind heart and appearance should not be judge after all.Never judge a person by appearance…there is a quote what is important is inside..
Thanks again …i do really enjoyed reading Ji Gong biography.and a reminder for us .. our mindset and motivation to benefit people when practicing Dharma.
Ji Gong really shows us how the Bodhisattva works unconventionally to help us. From the moment he took birth, he helps his parents fulfil their wishes and went on to help others, trying to open their seed of Bodhicitta nature and to transform their ignorance. As So Kin Hoe had aptly described, Ji Gong lived his live as a teaching to others.
I had loved to watch the Ji Kong series on television as a young kid and loved how he used his abilities to help others in times of need. He was unconventional and one could never expect what he would do next. To cure the sick, he would rub his armpits to form a dirt ball and ask the sick to eat. Of course, they will be repelled at first but having no choice, they ate and recovered. I guess this has parallel to our dharma path. We seek our Guru for cure to our worldly sickness and yet when we are given the practices, we become lazy until we realise there is no other way out of ignorance, then we practice and hopefully gain the mind transformation out of our misery.
I once went for a trance session where Ji Kong would drink all sorts of alcholic drinks as the people offered and loved to challenge him to drink. No matter how much he drank under trance, after “Ji Kong” leaves, the medium is never drunk. Under trance, Ji Kong is very jovial and also rub his armpits for “medicine pill” to give to the sick. Quite fascinating to watch.
Thank you Pastor David for this interesting article of our legendary Ji Kong who breaks the idea of conventional Arhats.
Dear Pastor David,
Thank you for the interesting and well-written article. I read about the story of Ji Gong when I was a child as a TV series so reading this story has brought up so many sweet memories of my dad and I watching TV together.
Even as a child, I noticed that behind the drunkeness and dirty appearance, Ji Gong was very kind-hearted and that is the reason my dad and I were glued to the TV. I guess he wants me to understand that outer appearance may not be the most important.
The story helps us to understand that we should not have projection of what a Mahasiddha should or should not be. In fact in all aspects of life, if we control our projection, we will be a much happier person.
Valentina
Nice article Pastor David Lai and how about Bodhidharma(Dak mo)he originated from India who establish a Shaolin in China? Daoji is a compassionate buddha is like emmergency in needed.
Kenn Lai,
There’s already an article about Bodhidharma on Rinpoche’s blog. You can it here – https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/external-article/bodhidharma
T.q P.David Lai for comment.
Thank you Pastor David Lai for sharing the biography and stories of Ji Gong. The stories of Ji Gong have reminded me that we should not yearn to look good, feel comfortable, dress well or live in abundance when we practise Dharma and most importantly is our sincerity and purity of our mind and motivation to benefit people around us without hoping for any return.
The physical appearance of Ji Gong has taught us about emptiness as everything will fade away at the time of our death. Ji Gong’s wild and eccentric behaviour indirectly reflect on how limited our minds work that we should not judge anyone based on the outer appearance without deeper understanding on the inner level, before drawing to a conclusion.
May the stories of Ji Gong able to reach and help many people, who are in need of short Dharma teachings that can open up their minds to a higher level of understanding in the truth.
NIce comment So Kin Hoe deeper understanding about Dharma towards any buddha is the word.
Hi Kin Hoe,
That’s very good but how I would see Ji Gong is that he is a Buddhist master who place no importance on appearances and on ordinary attachment. He rather be of benefit to others than to look good, feel comfortable, dress well or live in abundance. Why would he do that? He thinks like that because he had realize that all these things do not really make us happy and the little short term satisfaction and pleasure we get is false and does not last. He realize that these short term pleasures and happiness is really empty of inherent existence.
He had realized this and that is why he operate from the ultimate truth and that is why he disregard ordinary social norms about meat and wine and how he interact with people. Hence, I don’t think he is asking people to give up dressing well, being comfortable, living in abundance and so forth. I think he is telling us that the promise that these things will bring you happiness is false. Hence, we focus more of our effort and time in Dharma and we juggle both in.
Thank you Pastor David Lai for sharing your further explanation about Ji Gong. I agree with you and what I would like to share is we should not increase our desire and attachments when we practice Dharma. Thanks
The stories of Ji Gong have always been my favorite since childhood. The stories are highly entertaining. Ji Gong exhibited unorthodox behavior in his time but well loved by many people after his passing because of his many deeds that brought justice and castigations to the ones who deserved them. Besides his supernatural abilities, Ji Gong was famous for his wisdom. Pastor David has kindly explained here that Ji Gong’s wisdom is the attainment in understanding the ultimate truth. And I really appreciate that now we have the many tales of Ji Gong to give us familiar examples to what is ultimate truth versus conventional truth, a topic that is relatively profound but important to understand fully. Thank you Pastor David for this article. It also gives me a chance to take a stroll down memory lane, and a reason to try locate my Mandarin version of The Legend of Ji Gong.
Some years back I had the opportunity to watch a medium take trance of Ji Gong. At that time I had no idea who Ji Gong was except that he is a beggar monk who helped people. I tried to research him but there wasn’t much about him in cyberspace at that time.
During the trance, I noticed that he carried a torn fan, wore torn shoes and a rather large wooden mala. He was very friendly and was very jovial. His advice to me and the other people present at the trance was very logical and now that I think of it, is very Dharmic. One of the things I remember is that he mentioned to always help those beggars in the streets, to think of him whenever I encounter a beggar and to give the beggar some food and drinks. He added this… “who knows that beggar might be me.” At that time, this didn’t make much sense to me. But years later, after learning some Dharma, I think he was trying to tell me that Mahasiddhas and Buddhas can manifest amongst the most ordinary to actually help us in our practice.
Thank you for your detailed and interesting article, I now know more about Ji Gong. Great write-up!
That was a neat recount. Thank you. I have never met a Ji Gong medium but I heard that there are many and for some reason, he is a very popular deity to take trance of in the Chinese Buddhist/Taoist tradition. I like what he said about making offerings to beggars. Neat…
Thank you Pastor David for the delightful stories of Ji Gong. Though I do not feel a specific affinity with this divine being I loved seeing the hong kong / taiwan series about him and his using his magical powers to help others. I would agree he is like a Mahasiddha. One story I remember clearly was him first barbecuing a pigeon and then chomping on it and looking like he really enjoyed his meat.. when another lay passerby chided him for being a monk and yet taking a life and enjoying meat..to which Ji Gong opened his mouth and miraculously a live pigeon flew out and he answered back ..who said i was eating meat..or something along the lines..:) Anyway to me he is definitely no ordinary being and I have also read about him bringing a person into hell to record the journey and teachings and interviews from the 18 courts and from there the book ‘Journey to the Underworld’was written for the benefit of mankind to practice dharma and not fall into the hell realms
Gary,
That’s a very neat story about Ji Gong. Kinda reminds me of the Mahasiddha Tilopa. He eats fish and had done something similar of reanimating dead fish he had eaten. He gave a teaching verse or two as he did that. By the way, Tilopa was Naropa’s Guru. Interesting similarity.
Thats an interesting point. Probably the divine beings loves using similar techniques to impart dharma at that time..same technique but used cross the globe by different divine beings but for one purpose 🙂
This is a very good story write up Pastor David. It’s simply meaningful,funny and entertaining. I have watched the story of Ji Gong on TVB drama on DVD many years ago,but i think the dvd version is quite different.Thank you Pastor David for this wonderful story to lift up my day! Keep it up! 🙂
Thank You Pastor David.
As a child I watched with fascination many movie that featured Ji Gong. He was always portrayed as fun loving “beggar” who ate meat; particularly he loved dog meat, and drank alcohol. He has super natural power and also helps the down trodden people who were victims of the rich and powerful.
I always regarded Him to be a Buddha and not a deity because He showed wisdom that is beyond normal intelligence. Later, I read that he is a manifestation of Guan Yin, the Buddha of Compassion.
Well, the world is not we it seem to be. The ultimate truth is to be strived for.
You are welcomed Pastor KH. Ji Gong is one of these Chinese figures that every Chinese would know of, kinda like a cultural icon. For some reason, I was not really into him much when I was younger. I think I only read a little of his stories at illustrated comic books published by Asiapac a long time ago. In this comic and also of many other sources, they Ji Gong was the Arhat Taming Dragon that took rebirth and actually, this is really the first time, I have ever heard of Ji Gong as the emanation of Guan Yin. Nonetheless, I am not saying you are wrong, I am just acknowledging what you have read.