The Story of the Great Buddhist Monk, Daxing

The bodies of many Buddhist monks of great virtue that lie on China’s Mount Jiuhua remained uncorrupted after they passed away. Monk Daxing was one such monk who lived during the end of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911 A.D.) was one of them. Monk Daxing’s fellow cultivators stored his body in a large barrel after he passed away. When the barrel was opened three years later, Monk Daxing’s body remained soft and appeared as though he had just passed away.

Monk Daxing was a compassionate and generous man. Throughout his life, he endured a lot of hardship and was very diligent in practising Buddhism. The following story illustrates his exceptional level of forbearance.

At the foot of Mount Jiuhua, there lived a wealthy family. The family had a daughter named Xiao Hui who had a pre-arranged marriage to another rich family’s son.

Three years before the proposed wedding date, Xiao Hui gave birth to a baby boy. Her parents were in great shock and disappointment. They demanded to know the truth. Xiao Hui finally told her parents, “I once went to worship Buddha at the Buddhist monastery on Mount Jiuhua and was raped by Monk Daxing. Afterwards, I became pregnant and gave birth to this baby.” Her father was furious. He brought his servants, hurried to Mount Jiuhua and stormed into the monastery. He condemned Monk Daxing for his alleged crime. Together with his servants, he cursed and beat up Monk Daxing. Finally he presented the newborn baby to him and demanded Daxing to take it. Monk Daxing was silent throughout the process. He accepted the baby boy and said peacefully in prayer, “Buddha Amitabha!”

Monk Daxing’s reputation was immediately ruined. He was once a highly respected monk, but now he was known as a scandalous rapist in the disguise of a monk. Everywhere he went, people laughed at him, condemned him and cursed him. However, Monk Daxing seemed indifferent to all the insults. Everday he would stroll down Mount Jiuhua to solicit alms to buy milk for the baby. Under his attentive care, the small baby grew increasingly strong, plump and smart.

Three years passed quickly.

Despite the alleged rape, the wedding took place as scheduled. On the wedding night, her husband demanded to know what became of their baby, so she told him everything in tears. The next day, the groom told his parents the truth: that the two of them had had a secret rendezvous and that was the true reason why Xiao Hui had become pregnant and given birth to a baby three years before. That was why he had insisted on marrying Xiao Hui despite the scandal. In order to protect her future husband’s reputation, Xiao Hui made up a lie and framed Monk Daxing.

On the third day after the wedding when Xiao Hui visited her parents as according to Chinese tradition, she took the opportunity to tell her parents the truth. Her parents were even more astonished than when she gave birth before. Now they regretted what they had inflicted upon the innocent monk Daxing and also felt bad about abandoning their own grandson.

The two families hurried to the monastery. They knelt down in front of Monk Daxing, begging for his forgiveness and asking for the return of the baby. Monk Daxing produced the baby boy with a big smile on his face and brought him to Xiao Hui’s arms in a respectful manner. He looked as if nothing had happened and told them with a grin, “Take the baby back! Buddha Amitabha!” He held his hands together in front of his chest so as to bid farewell to them and returned to the meditation chamber with a big smile on his face.

From then on, all the monks in the monastery and the local residents held even greater admiration for Monk Daxing.