Lu Zhishen - Becoming A Monk

Becoming A Monk

Lu Zhishen's original name is Lu Da. He was described as to have a round face, big ears, a straight nose, a squarish mouth and a beard which overshadows his face. Lu Da is first introduced as a garrison major in Weizhou (in present-day Gansu) from his first meeting with Shi Jin. While they are having some drinks in an inn, they hear a singer called Jin Cuilian, who is crying over her plight. She has been bullied by a butcher nicknamed "Lord of the West". Lu Da helps Jin Cuilian and her father escape from Weizhou and he confronts the butcher later. He fights with the butcher and kills him with three punches to the head. To avoid arrest, Lu Da flees to the city of Yanmen and by chance runs into Jin Cuilian's father. Jin Cuilian has married to a wealthy squire there, and Lu Da seeks shelter in his manor. The squire later writes a letter to the abbot at Wenshu Monastery on Mount Wutai introducing Lu Da. After Lu Da is accepted and becomes a monk, the abbot gives him the Buddhist name Zhishen, which means "sagacious".

Lu Zhishen does not follow the Buddhist code of abstinence from meat and wine. Once, he causes an uproar in the monastery in a drunken rage by beating up his fellow monks who try to stop him and smashes a statue at the entrance. He earns himself the nickname Flowery Monk for the flowery tattoos which adorn his upper body. Lu Zhishen causes trouble again in the monastery after drinking and the abbot decides to send him away as he can no longer tolerate Lu's actions and behavior. Lu Zhishen is sent to the Great Minister's Temple in Dongjing (present-day Kaifeng).

Lu Zhishen wields a monk's spade and a dagger as his weapons. Initially, he told the blacksmith that he wanted a monk's spade weighing 100 jin. The blacksmith remarks that even Guan Yu's guan dao weighs less at 81 jin, so Lu Zhishen wanted his spade to be 81 jin as well. The blacksmith told him that the spade would not be handy if it is too heavy, so Lu Zhishen eventually agreed to have the spade at 62 jin instead.