A Chinese Mahasiddha?

[Ensapa]

We have a lot of mahasiddhas here at the Vajrayana camp, but China has one or two as well. A famous one whose actions actually echo those of Tilopa is Ji Gong. It is said that he was a regular monk before and due to a certain incident, he snapped and started using miracles to save people or teach them a lesson. He is famous for drinking alcohol and eating dog meat. In monasteries, he often gives monks who are too rigid or too arrogant a huge wake up call with his antics and supernatural powers. Just thought of sharing here as we can see that Mahasiddhas can exist in China too.

Heros of History: JiGong ? China's Buddhist Monk of the People
 Here is some history on JiGong:

JI GONG 'Mad Monk"
JiGong had many names.  He was born under the name Li Xiuyuan.  He was also called DaiJi ? because people in the Taoist Religion also revered him.  His Buddhist name was JiGong ? - or full name "Living Buddha JiGong."  That was quite a title to give someone who was kicked out of the temple because he refused to follow the rules.

In today's modern world, he is also known as "The Mad Monk" and also the "Robin Hood" of China.
He was born to a former military advisor, Li Maochun.  His parents were not allowed to have children, therefore they sent him to live in a temple.   Upon reaching the Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats, the statue of Mahakasyapa was knocked off its lotus throne.  This was considered a sign that the arhat had descended to earth - in the form of little Li Maochun.

After his parents' death, he went to Hangzhou and became a monk at the famous Ling Yin Temple near Hangzhou. Li Gong's eccentric behavior broke the rules of the vinaya (traditional code for monks).  However, he always had a smile and a kind heart and never failed to help ordinary people.
Unlike a traditional Buddhist monk, he ate meat and drank wine. He believed that what is in your heart and soul is more important than following strict rules. Therefore he marched to his own drummer, regardless of the scoldings and punishments he received. The leaders of the monastery finally tired of his behavior and kicked him out. From then on, JiGong roamed the streets and helped people whenever he could.
While meditating and studying the Buddha's teaching, JiGong acquired magical powers. Because of his compassionate nature, many people started thinking of him as an incarnate of a bodhisattva, or as a reincarnate of an arhat. He was soon recognized as the incarnate of the Taming Dragon Arhat  ?.
When JiGong died at the Jing Ci monastery on the 14th day of 5th Lunar month (17 June 1207), Syncretic Taoism began to revere Daoji as a god from heaven and later adopted him as a deity. Not long after that, even Buddhism began to respect him, and added him into the list of arhats.
His statues and pictures often depic JiGong with a mischievous smile, a bottle of wine in one hand, and a magic fan in the other hand.

[fruven]

Ji Gong broke traditional preconceived idea of how monks should behave. It focus on how he helped the lay people in unusual ways. He was smelly and never bath. One of his famous method of prescribing medicine was rubbing the dirt from his skin into tiny ball and given to people as cure. His story was very inspiring. 

This is the english comic rendition published. http://www.asiapacbooks.com/product.asp?pid=418

[Ensapa]

Ji Gong reminds me a lot of Tilopa and Drukpa Kunley, which is why I kind of wanted to talk about him here. Everyone thinks that mahasiddhas only exist in Tibet and India, but here is one that is in China. Ji Gong was famous for punishing corrupt officials and also monks who were too theological and stiff in their Dharma practice to the point that they lost the whole meaning of Dharma practice. Basically, he's a wake up call of sorts for the people of his time.

[buddhalovely]

t is said that Ji Gong became a monk at Linyin Temple at the age of 18, but he never abided by the rules and principles, and he liked drinking and eating dog meat, subsequently, he turned to the Jingci Temple as an amanuensis monk. On one occasion, the fire destroyed the main hall of Jingci Temple, the abbot turned to him for the big wood for restoring that hall, after he slept for three days because of overdrinking, he shouted at :"the wood is here, take it from well, the wood really effused from the well of temple continually until the woods were enough for rebuilding the hall. Nowadays, there is a Shenmu Well in Jingci Temple. One day, Ji Gong predicted there would be a hill flying to the front of Linyin Temple, for the sake of saving the villagers ,he took the measure of looting bride to take the villages away from their houses and eventually avoided happening of disaster. This is the story illustrating the origin of Peak Flying-From-Afar.

[Big Uncle]

We all read about Mahasiddhas but what really is a mahasiddha. I found a rather interesting and compelling definition on Wikipedia:-

Mahasiddha (maha meaning "great" and siddha meaning "adept") is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection." They are a certain type of yogin/yogini recognized in Vajrayana Buddhism. Mahasiddhas were tantric practitioners, or tantrikas who had sufficient empowerments and teachings to act as a guru or tantric master. A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sadhana, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers. Their historical influence throughout the Indic and Himalayan region was vast and they reached mythic proportions which is codified in their songs of realization and hagiographies, or namthar, many of which have been preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. The Mahasiddhas are the founders of Vajrayana traditions and lineages, such as Dzogchen and Mahamudra.

Robert Thurman explains the symbiotic relationship between Tantric Buddhist communities and the Buddhist universities such as Nalanda which flourished at the same time:

The Tantric communities of India in the latter half of the first Common Era millennium (and perhaps even earlier) were something like “Institutes of Advanced Studies” in relation to the great Buddhist monastic “Universities.” They were research centers for highly cultivated, successfully graduated experts in various branches of Inner Science (adhyatmavidya), some of whom were still monastics and could move back and forth from university (vidyalaya) to “site” (patha), and many of whom had resigned vows of poverty, celibacy, and so forth, and were living in the classical Indian saiñnyãsin or sãdhu style. I call them the "psychonauts" of the tradition, in parallel with our “astronauts,” the materialist scientist-adventurers whom we admire for their courageous explorations of the “outer space” which we consider the matrix of material reality. Inverse astronauts, the psychonauts voyaged deep into “inner space,” encountering and conquering angels and demons in the depths of their subconscious minds.

[Ensapa]

I think this is a different master with a similar name, but doesnt this story sound familiar?

At this point some stories come to mind. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty, there was a Dhyana Master named Zhi Gong who ate two pigeons every day. The cook assumed that the birds must be delicious, and one day tasted a wing on the sly. Then he brought the remainder of the dish to Dhyana Master Zhi Gong. After he finished eating, Dhyana Master Zhi Gong called for the cook.

“Why did you eat some of my pigeons?”

“I didn’t take any pigeon,” answered the cook.

“Oh? Then what about this?” said Dhyana Master Zhi Gong. He opened his mouth and two live pigeons emerged. One of the birds flew off, but the other had a wing missing.

“If you didn’t, where’s the wing of this bird?” asked Dhyana Master Zhi Gong.

Although in both cases the men ate pigeons, Dhyana Master Zhi Gong swallowed the chopped up and cooked pigeon, then spit it out alive; the cook, on the other hand, could not do it. Dhyana Master Zhi Gong’s state was one of “eating and yet not eating.”

[Tenzin K]

The legend of Ji Gong (a legendary monk who helped people with a magic fan) is a folk tale evolved from the story of Dao Ji, a hierarch of the Chan sect in the Southern Song Dynasty. Dao Ji was named by people as "Ji Lunatic" owning to his lunatic-like acts. Also, he was awarded by the earthlings the title of "Ji Gong" living Buddha for his pleasure in defending people against injustice, rewarding virtue and punishing vice, as well as his almsgiving to the poor.

The legend of Ji Gong takes root in a real historical figure, featuring regional originality and supernatural plots. Meanwhile, it is characterized by extensive involvement of all aspects of life as well as rich and diversified contents. It is an embodiment of common people's joy, anger, grief and happiness.

[Ensapa]

Here's another story about this great mahasiddha whose actions echoes those of the Indian mahasiddhas:

At Ling Ying Monastery at West Lake, Hangzhou, there lived Dhyana Master Ji Gong, another famous monk who always ate dog meat and drank wine. He was invariably inebriated, and everyone said, “There goes another tippling monk.” In his drunkenness, however, Ji Gong taught and transformed living beings.

Once a Buddha image was not yet gilded with gold, so he told the abbot, “I will gild this Buddha image. No one else needs to do it.” The abbot of his temple agreed and then waited. After some time the image was still not finished, so the abbot questioned Dhyana Master Ji Gong about the matter. The Dhyana Master agreed to do the work that very evening. When night came, however, he merely kept on with his drinking.

When everyone was asleep though, he went to the image and began to spew forth pure gold, with which he covered the images. The abbot heard Dhyana Master Ji Gong spitting and abruptly ordered, “How could you spit at the Buddha image?” Dhyana Master Ji Gong immediately quit and left.

The next morning the abbot inspected the image. He found that it was covered with gold except for a small spot on the crown of the head. Although a master goldsmith completed the work, his ordinary gold could not match that supplied by Dhyana Master Ji Gong. The states of arhats are inconceivable.

[RedLantern]

Ji Gong,a legendary Buddhist master in Southern Song Dynasty(1127-1279) born with the name Li Xiuyuan.He is commonly known as Ji Gong or Master Daoji, his name after he  becomes a monk.His other nickname "Crazy Ji or "Mad Ji means mad and crazy because he was a rollicking,upstart,boisterious,happily irreverent drunk.
Born and grew up in Tiantai mountain.He went to the famous Ling Yin temple and lived a monastic life.He sang songs with children in the Hangzhou wine shops and dressed as a beggar and always holds a fan as well as a gourd containing wine.
Ji Gong was said to be a reincarnation of an arhat with magic powers.

[Barzin]

Ji Gong is huge and well known among the Chinese.  Many worship him and since young I remember even seeing a China's production of television series about Ji Gong and I vaguely still remember the theme song!  haha.  However, after getting in touch with Tibetan Buddhism only made me realise there is Mahasiddha form.  I used to think why would Ji Gong manifested in this way to create more obstacles for himself.  Now it all made sense.  But in a small town, I have also seen people taking trance of Ji Gong but he provides nothing but just material things and lottery numbers...  He is well known for that.  So i wonder isn't contradict if we see him as a form of Buddha but all he does in letting people indulge in material gains?  Anyway, we also can not confirm whether it is him taking trance or not...  But what I want to say is these are the stories that i have heard.

[ratanasutra]

Ji Gong passed away on the 14th day of the 5th Lunar month. Right after his death, Taoist immediately adopted him as their deity, and it is said the he continuously manifest his compassionate and magical powers to every one who keeps his image and go to him.

His image is usually pictured as a monk in rugged clothing, holding a bottle of wine and a ‘magical’ fan. He is always shown with a smiling face, because he has a very happy nature. Although, he is usually pictured wearing a hat with the word Fo, which means ‘Buddha’, Buddhist never really considered him as Buddha or a Bodhisattva. However, seeing how much he is revered in Taoism, Buddhist did include him in their Koans, some sub-sects even considers him as an Arhat.

Having an image of Ji Kong at home, and wearing his image as a pendant is a sure way to continuously tap into his blessings of wealth.

[Ensapa]

The important thing about learning about someone like Ji Gong is that we have to be aware that there are mahasiddhas in other traditions and cultures and that we should not judge them in a negative way, and also that mahasiddhas do have somewhat of a pattern where they manifest and that when they do manifest, it is to benefit people around them and even living beings at times.

[dsiluvu]

I like such stories about "crazy" of funny "mahasiddhas"... I remembered when I was young watching many stories of magical mahasiddhas like Ji Gong Thanks for this reminder that a Bodhisattva can be anyone... especially those we least expect and sometimes do not conform to our narrow projected views of how a Bodhisattva should be. However, I find this statement not to be take too literally, not because I am a vegetarian but because too many will use this to trick themselves and others so they can have an excuse to continue indulge in eating meat...

Unlike a traditional Buddhist monk, he ate meat and drank wine. He believed that what is in your heart and soul is more important than following strict rules.

[dsiluvu]

Interestingly he also became vegetarian lol ....

JiGong is a very popular deity worshipped by Taoist in the Taoist temple. He was the reincarnation of one of the 18 Arhats and he dressed like a beggar.
 
This is a short story of the legend during the Song Dynasty.
 
He was born to a comfortable family and as a baby, the abbot Xingkong named him Xiuyuan after seeing from vision that he was the reincarnation of the Arhat Xiang Long. He was an outstanding student and knew all the classics but his parents passed away when he was sixteen. As a result he had to live with his uncle and after three years of mourning he left and traveled around the country. By the time he arrived at Hangzhou, he had spent all his money and he decided to be a monk at Lingyin temple. The abbot was Yuankong and after accepting him as his disciple he named him Taoji.
 
He walked thousands of miles without a penny and a roof under his head preaching the truth. A man of boundless virtues and performed many miracles to help the unfortunate and punished the wicked and the unscrupulous as well as using his power to destroy evil spirits and monsters.
 
In the temple of Tao of Heaven, he was appointed by Lao Mu to be the Heavenly Teacher in order to save the three worlds. He said this is the first time he was appointed to save the three worlds and initially he was not sure how to do so.
 
The sixty-fourth Patriarch, Dignitary Master Chang Tienzen of Jining, Shantung Province was the rebirth of JiGong. He was born on the 19th day of the 7th lunar month in the 13th year of the reign of Guangshu (1889) during the Ching Dynasty. He received the seat of Generational Master in the 19th year of the Republic (1930). He returned to Heaven in Mid Autumn Festival ( 15th day of the 8th lunar month ) in the 36th year of the Republic (1947). The devotees of Tao of Heaven addressed him as ‘Tien Ran Ku Fo,’ a title bestowed by Lao Mu upon his return to Heaven. The word ‘Fo’ means Buddha so he is also addressed as the Living Buddha in the Tao of Heaven.
 
His final test from the 63rd Patriarch before he was chosen to be the 64th Patriarch was a final meal of vegetarian foods amongst many main disciples of the 63rd Patriarch Lutzu Chung Yi. Lutzu said that Heaven allowed them to start eating meat; they shall all then start taking meat after a long period of vegetarianism. Let’s celebrate and have a meal of meat and meat was cooked and then Lutzu took the meat. All the main disciples seeing Lutzu ate, they followed him but Chang Tienzen pretended to have stomach ache and went to the toilet. He took a long time to ease himself and by the time he returned everybody had finished. He gave reason that he had no appetite because of his stomach problem. He passed the test and was given the Heavenly Decree to carry on the salvation of mankind. His left hand had a red mark of the sun and his right hand had the mark of the moon and when he was born the Yellow River went clear signifying a birth of a sage.



http://www.white-sun.com/jigong.htm

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[dsiluvu]

Not exactly Chinese... He was actually an Indian prince but He spread Buddhism very strong in China and was the 2nd of the lineage masters that started the Shaolin Temple after his master  the Indian monk Ba Tuo... this is all how it began for Da Mo or more popularly know as Bodhidharma...

In 527 AD, 32 years after Ba Tuo's founding of the Shaolin temple, Bodhidharma crossed through Guangdong province into China. In China, he was known as Da Mo. Da Mo arrived in China practicing Da Sheng (Mahayana) Buddhism. When Da Mo arrived, he was greeted by a large crowd of people who had heard of the famous Buddhist master and wished to hear him speak. Rather than speak, Da Mo sat down and began meditating. He meditated for many hours. Upon completing his meditation, Da Mo rose and walked away, saying nothing.

His actions had a profound effect upon his audience. Some people laughed, some cried, some were angry and some nodded their heads in understanding. Regardless of the emotion, everyone in the crowd had a reaction.

This incident made Da Mo even more famous, so famous that Emperor Wu heard of him. Emperor Wu, who ruled over the southern kingdom of China, invited Da Mo to come to his palace. When Da Mo arrived, Emperor Wu talked with Da Mo about Buddhism. The emperor had erected many statues and temples devoted to Buddhism. He had given much wealth to Buddhist temples. In talking of his accomplishments, Emperor Wu asked Da Mo if his actions were good. Da Mo replied that they were not. This response surprised Emperor Wu, but they continued talking and eventually Emperor Wu asked Da Mo if there was Buddha in this world. Da Mo replied that there was not.



Da Mo's replies were a reflection of Emperor Wu. By asking if his actions were good, Emperor Wu was searching for compliments and affirmation from Da Mo. Da Mo denied that Emperor Wu's actions were good because it is the duty of the emperor to care for his people. Rather than seeking compliments, Emperor Wu should have been content to help his people through Buddha. Similarly, if one asks if there is Buddha in the world, then one has already answered the question: Buddha is a matter of faith, you either believe in your heart or you do not. In questioning the existence of Buddha, Emperor Wu had demonstrated a lack of faith.

Da Mo's answers enraged Emperor Wu and he ordered Da Mo to leave his palace and never return. Da Mo simply smiled, turned and left.

Da Mo continued his journey, heading north, when he reached the city of Nanjing. In the city of Nanjing, there was a famous place called the Flower Rain Pavillion where many people gathered to speak and relax. There was a large crowd of people gathered in the Flower Rain Pavillion around a Buddhist monk, who was lecturing. This Buddhist monk was named Shen Guang.

Shen Guang had at one time been a famous general. He had killed many people in battle but one day realized that the people he had been killing had family and friends and that one day someone might come and kill him. This changed him and he decided to train as a Buddhist monk. Eventually, Shen Guang became a great speaker on Buddhism. As Da Mo neared the crowd, he listened to Shen Guang's speech. Sometimes Shen Guang would speak and Da Mo would nod his head, as if in agreement. Sometimes Shen Guang would speak and Da Mo would shake his head, as if in disagreement. As this continued, Shen Guang became very angry at the strange foreign monk who dared to disagree with him in front of this crowd. In anger, Shen Guang took the Buddhist beads from around his neck and flicked them at Da Mo. The beads struck Da Mo in his face, knocking out two of his front teeth. Da Mo immediately began bleeding. Shen Guang expected a confrontation; instead, Da Mo smiled, turned and walked away.

This reaction astounded Shen Guang, who began following after Da Mo.

Da Mo continued north until he reached the Yangzi river. Seated by the river there was an old woman with a large bundle of reeds next to her. Da Mo walked up to the old woman and asked her if he might have a reed. She replied that he might. Da Mo took a single reed, placed it upon the surface of the Yangzi river and stepped onto the reed. He was carried across the Yangzi river by the force of his chi. Seeing this, Shen Guang ran up to where the old woman sat and grabbed a handful of reeds without asking. He threw the reeds onto the Yangzi river and stepped onto them. The reeds sank beneath him and Shen Guang began drowning. The old woman saw his plight and took pity on Shen Guang, pulling him from the river. As Shen Guang lay on the ground coughing up river water, the old woman admonished him. She said that by not asking for her reeds before taking them, he had shown her disrespect and that by disrespecting her, Shen Guang had disrespected himself. The old woman also told Shen Guang that he had been searching for a master and that Da Mo, the man he was following, was that master. As she said this, the reeds which had sunk beneath Shen Guang rose again to the surface of the river and Shen Guang found himself on the reeds being carried across the Yangzi river. He reached the other side and continued following after Da Mo.

There are many people who believe that the old woman by the river was a Boddhisatva who was helping Shen Guang to end the cycle of his samsara.

At this point, Da Mo was nearing the location of the Shaolin Temple. The Shaolin monks had heard of his approach and were gathered to meet him. When Da Mo arrived, the Shaolin monks greeted him and invited him to come stay at the temple. Da Mo did not reply but he went to a cave on a mountain behind the Shaolin Temple, sat down, and began meditating. In front of the Shaolin Temple, there are five mountains: Bell Mountain, Drum Mountain, Sword Mountain, Stamp Mountain and Flag Mountain. These mountains are named after the objects which their shape resembles. Behind the Shaolin Temple there are five "Breast Mountains" which are shaped like breasts. The cave in which Da Mo chose to meditate was on one of the Breast Mountains.

Da Mo sat facing a wall in the cave and meditated for nine years. During these nine years, Shen Guang stayed outside Da Mo's cave and acted as a bodyguard for Da Mo, ensuring that no harm came to Da Mo. Periodically Shen Guang would ask Da Mo to teach him, but Da Mo never responded to Shen Guang's requests. During these nine years the Shaolin monks would also periodically invite Da Mo to come down to the Temple, where he would be much more comfortable, but Da Mo never responded. After some time, Da Mo's concentration became so intense that his image was engraved into the stone of the wall before him.

Towards the end of the nine years, the Shaolin monks decided that they must do something more for Da Mo and so they made a special room for him. They called this room the Da Mo Ting. When this room was completed at the end of the nine years, the Shaolin monks invited Da Mo to come stay in the room. Da Mo did not respond but he stood up, walked down to the room, sat down, and immediately began meditating. Shen Guang followed Da Mo to the Shaolin temple and stood guard outside Da Mo's room. Da Mo meditated in his room for another four years. Shen Guang would occasionally ask Da Mo to teach him, but Da Mo never responded.

At the end of the four-year period Shen Guang had been following Da Mo for thirteen years, but Da Mo had never said anything to Shen Guang. It was winter when the four-year period was ending and Shen Guang was standing in the snow outside the window to Da Mo's room. He was cold and became very angry. He picked up a large block of snow and ice and hurled it into Da Mo's room. The snow and ice made a loud noise as it broke inside Da Mo's room. This noise awoke Da Mo from his meditation and he looked at Shen Guang. In anger and frustration Shen Guang demanded to know when Da Mo would teach him.

Da Mo responded that he would teach Shen Guang when red snow fell from the sky.
Hearing this, something inside Shen Guang's heart changed and he took the sword he carried from his belt and cut off his left arm. He held the severed arm above his head and whirled it around. The blood from the arm froze in the cold air and fell like red snow. Seeing this, Da Mo agreed to teach Shen Guang.

Da Mo took a monk's spade and went with Shen Guang to the Drum Mountain in front of Shaolin Temple. The Drum Mountain is so called because it is very flat on top. Da Mo's unspoken message to Shen Guang was that Shen Guang should flatten his heart, just like the surface of the Drum Mountain. On this Drum Mountain Da Mo dug a well. The water of this well was bitter. Da Mo then left Shen Guang on the Drum Mountain. For an entire year, Shen Guang used the bitter water of the well to take care of all of his needs. He used it to cook, to clean, to bathe, to do everything. At the end of the first year, Shen Guang went down to Da Mo and again asked Da Mo to teach him. Da Mo returned with Shen Guang to the Drum Mountain and dug a second well. The water of this well was spicy. For an entire year, Shen Guang used the spicy water for all of his needs. At the end of the second year, Shen Guang went back down to Da Mo and asked again to be taught. Da Mo dug a third well on the Drum Mountain. The water of this third well was sour. For the third year, Shen Guang used the sour water for all of his needs. At the end of the third year, Shen Guang returned to Da Mo and agains asked to be taught. Da Mo returned to the Drum Mountain and dug a fourth and final well. The water of this well was sweet. At this point, Shen Guang realized that the four wells represented his life. Like the wells, his life would sometimes be bitter, sometimes sour, sometimes spicy and sometimes sweet. Each of these phases in his life was equally beautiful and necessary, just as each of the four seasons of the year is beautiful and necessary in its own way. Without really saying many words to Shen Guang, Da Mo had taught Shen Guang the most important of lessons in a mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart fashion. This mind-to- mind, heart-to-heart communication is called "action language" and is the foundation of the Chan Buddhism which Da Mo began at the Shaolin Temple.

After his realization, Shen Guang was given the name Hui Ke and he became abbot of the Shaolin temple after Da Mo.
http://www.usashaolintemple.org/chanbuddhism-history/