Journey to the west, the hundredth return to the east, the five saints come true. This time, the four disciples returned to Lingshan to be sealed, Tang Priest was sealed as a meritorious Buddha, the Monkey King was sealed as a fighter to defeat the Buddha, Pig Bajie was sealed as an altar messenger, and Friar Sand was sealed as a golden arhat. It can be seen from here that among the four people, only the Monkey King and Tang Priest have become Buddhas. So who is the higher status of the two?
There is no sumeru Buddha in the south. There is no great wisdom king Buddha in South China. There is no golden sea and light Buddha in the south. There is no Datong Buddha in the south. There is no talent in the south. There is no merit Buddha in the south. There is no battle to defeat Buddha in the south. * * * The book ranks 48th Buddha, the ancient Buddha without burning lamps in the south ranks first, the Buddha with glazed light in the south ranks second, and the Tathagata ranks third, while the Tang Priest ranks 47th after receiving sandalwood, and the Monkey King ranks 48th at last after defeating the Buddha.
Therefore, judging from the original works, Tang Priest's status after becoming a Buddha is only one level higher than that of the Monkey King.
However, according to the records of Buddhist scriptures, there are 35 buddhas * * *, the Tang Priest's Holy Sandalwood Buddha ranks 19, and the the Monkey King Holy Fighting Buddha ranks 3 1. Behind the Buddha, there are the following Buddhas:
In the south, there is no fighting to defeat Buddha, no walking Buddha, no solemn merit Buddha of Zhouzha, no walking Buddha of Bao Hua, and no lying snail tree Wang Foshan giving birth to lotus flowers. Does that mean that Tang Priest's position is much higher than that of the Monkey King? No, Buddhism pays attention to the equality of all beings, but in the Buddhist world, who is more respected is based on the rank and merit of Buddhism, not on ranking. Look at the picture below:
The relationship between the buddhas is like this. With the Buddha as the center, 30 Buddhas form three circles, which are arranged in ten directions of Sakyamuni, namely, east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest and up and down. The last four buddhas sit around the buddhas in four directions: east, south, west and north.
The holy Buddha of Tang Priest, an altar of sandalwood, sits in the northwest of the Buddha, whose duty is to eliminate all evils of the world, while the sealed holy Buddha of the Monkey King sits in the southeast of the Buddha, whose duty is to eliminate all troubles of the world.
Therefore, according to Buddhist teachings, although the Monkey King was a disciple of Tang Priest before he became a Buddha, after he became a Buddha, their status was equal. As for who is more respected by the world and has a higher status, it depends on personal cultivation.
Finally, the net altar messenger sealed by Pig Bajie and the golden arhat sealed by Friar Sand belong to the Bodhisattva series. In Buddhist teachings, there are no two titles, namely, pure altar messenger and golden body arhat, which are just invented by the author. The author classifies them all as Bodhisattva series.
There is no vajrayana bodhisattva in South China. Bodhisattva, the messenger of the Southern Five Classics. There is no Lohan Bodhisattva with eight treasures and golden body in South China. In South China, there are no Eight Heavenly Dragons and Bodhisattvas. Finally, answer the question positively and compare the status of the Monkey King and Tang Priest after learning the scriptures. If there is a grade difference according to the original work, it is equal according to Buddhist teachings.