中国古代最受民间喜爱的颇具色彩的英雄之一，就是济公和尚。他的逸事和“恶作剧”总是令大家捧腹。

济公的原型是道济和尚，历史上却有其人。道济和尚原名为李修缘，出生于宋朝（公元1130年）的浙江天台。他18岁在杭州的灵隐寺出家，法号为道济，在寺庙里做了一个每天干著很辛苦杂务小和尚。

道济每天早上在厨房里刷锅洗碗。众所周知，佛教的僧人都是严格吃素的，绝对禁止吃肉。但是有一天，道济把肉带进了寺庙， 开了荤，这让其他僧人很是震惊。住持非常生气，决定将他逐出灵隐寺。


邋里邋遢和尚
道济给自己取名为济公。这个和尚有点不拘一格。他的头发蓬乱，身上总是带著一个装满酒的葫芦，帽子上沾满了灰尘，衣服上满是窟窿，鞋子也是破破烂烂，并且他还手持一把破扇。

虽然济公看起来像个乞丐，但他有颗行善济世的心。他不受戒律约束，哪里需要他，他就到哪里去。他明辨是非，喜好打抱不平，彰善罚恶。

济公为人谦和，总是游走于世间百姓之间。在那个年代，世上还会不时有神迹出现。济公在佛门修行多年，拥有一些佛法神通。


古井运木
有一个故事讲的是济公用功能从井里搬木头。杭州要建一座寺庙，急需木材，但最好的木头只能在九百里外的四川省找到。僧侣们心急如焚，但这一切都难不倒济公。他用功能将木头一根一根地从井里传送过来。

其他僧人把传过来的木头堆积在一起，这时，负责清点的僧人突然喊了一声：“够了！”济公正在招来另一根木头，听到和尚的话，他中途停了下来。最后一根木头便半沉在井中，后人在上面建了一座亭子，命名为 “神运井”。


飞来峰的传说
济公预知将有一座小山从西方飞来，落在灵隐寺前的村庄 ，为了拯救村民的性命，他急中生智地采用了“和尚抢新娘”的办法，从而避开了村民被山峰压死的厄运。这就是飞来峰的故事。

济公很担心村里人的安危，便挨家挨户地告诉村民赶快离开村庄，但没有人相信他。情急之下，济公背起新娘就跑。村民们追著追著，一座山峰飞降在村子里。巨大的石块飞的到处都是，整个村子夷为平地。

济公是佛教的一位颇具传奇色彩人物，关于他的传奇故事还有很多。济公和尚永远以其欢喜而又庄严的神态和务实的态度被人们所铭记，成为了中国传统神话传说中最可爱的民间英雄之一。

The Eccentric Adventures of Monk Ji Gong

One of ancient China’s most beloved folk heroes is the colorful monk, Ji Gong. These fables of his escapades are guaranteed to entertain and amuse all.

Li Xiuyuan was born in the year 1130 in Tiantai, Zhejiang Province (Song Dynasty). He was 18 when he went to Lingyin Temple. It’s an immense structure on the hills above Hangzhou, near Shanghai. Li Xiuyuan was a true monk. His monastic name was Daoji and he used to work very hard at his chores.

Daoji’s job was to scrub the pots in the kitchen every morning. It’s well-known that Buddhist monks are all strictly vegetarian. They are absolutely prohibited from eating meat, but one day, Daoji shocked the other monks when he brought meat into the kitchen, and then went on to eat it. The abbots were not pleased in the least and decided to expel him from the Lingyin monastery.

A wayward monk

Daoji then took on the name Ji Gong. But the wayward monk was a little wild. His hair was unkempt and he always carried a gourd full of wine with him. His hat was dusty, his clothes were full of holes and the shoes were falling apart. He also carried a “magic” fan.

Despite looking like a tramp, Ji Gong had a heart of gold. He was kind of unique, and he traveled to wherever he felt he was needed. Having mastered the martial arts, Ji Gong had a keen sense of justice and loved using his skills to fight evil and right wrongs. 

Ji Gong was humble and he always roamed around among ordinary folks. In those days, the boundaries between the human and divine world were blurred, and as someone who cultivated in the Buddha school for a number of years, Ji Gong possessed a few supernatural powers.

Summoning logs from a well
One story tells of Ji Gong using paranormal powers to pull logs out of a well. A temple was to be built in Hangzhou and desperately needed wood. But the best wood was found only in Sichuan Province, some 900 miles away. The monks were desperate. But nothing could faze Ji Gong. He used his magic powers to teleport the logs over one after another.

The other monks piled them up until the monk charged with counting suddenly yelled, “Enough!” Ji Gong had already beckoned another log, but hearing the monk, he stopped it mid-way. That last log remained half-submerged in the well, and later generations built a pavilion over it, naming it the “Divine Teleportation Well.”

Stopping a flying mountain peak
Another tale, Stopping a Flying Mountain Peak, tells of when Ji Gong gatecrashed a wedding and abducted the bride. He carried her away from the village which led all the guests to chase after him. The fact of the matter was Ji Gong had the supernormal power of clairvoyance and he saw that there was going to be a terrible landslide. The villagers did not heed his words to get out of the place.

That was when he abducted the bride. No sooner had the chase gone past the village, a nearby mountain peak broke off and landed right on the village. Huge rocks flew everywhere, shattering windows and flattening buildings in an instant.

Ji Gong is a featured immortal of Buddhism. There are many more stories about his adventures. Monk Jigong will always be remembered for his joyful, yet solemn demeanor and pragmatism. Ji Gong is one of the most endearing and beloved folk heroes in traditional Chinese myths and legends.

https://visiontimes.com/2020/06/09/the-eccentric-adventures-of-monk-ji-gong2.html