He originally did not believe in Buddhism, but three strange things happened to him while he was working as an actor. Did he decide to become a monk in his later years?

Jigong, whose original name was Li Xiuyuan, is generally believed to have been born in the fourth year of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty (1130). He was the fiftieth ancestor of Zen. He became a monk at Guoqing Temple during his lifetime, and later lived in Lingyin Temple and Jingci Temple in Hangzhou. He seems to be crazy in his behavior, but he is proficient in medical skills, has a kind heart, and saves lives and heals countless people. Among the people, he is an endorsement of punishing evil and promoting good, and has great supernatural powers. There are many movies and TV series based on him, but the most classic one is You Benchang's version.

According to the earliest information about Jigong's life, "Beiqi Collection", Jigong was "crazy and rough, modest and clean... he had been in the world for half a century, and he had been in abjection for forty years", and You Benchang's interpretation of Jigong perfectly restored the characteristics of Jigong in folklore and records. Until now, everyone still remembers the lyrics of the classic tune "The shoes are torn, the hat is torn, and the cassock on the body is torn", as well as the image of You Benchang holding a broken cattail leaf fan.

In history, Jigong cultivated both Buddhism and Taoism, but in reality, "Jigong" You Benchang is more related to Buddhism. When he was a child, You Benchang did not believe in Buddhism, but after he became an actor and played Jigong, he met Three strange things happened, so You Benchang decided to become a monk in his later years and converted to Buddhism like Zhenji Gong. What happened in the first place?

You Benchang was born in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province in 1933. When he was young, You Benchang was actually very handsome. In modern Internet buzzwords, he was just a young man. However, You Benchang met a mysterious person in his childhood. The man told his parents that the child had a destiny with Buddha, and that only by converting to Buddhism could he maintain peace throughout his life, otherwise he might not live to be 13 years old.

Parents are always the most worried about their children. Just in case, You Benchang was sent to Shanghai Fazang Temple to become a monk at the age of 6 and receive the Dharma title. Of course, at that time, You Benchang had no interest in becoming a monk and refused to do so. After being ordained, he just stayed in the temple as a layman and continued to study as usual. He was taken out by his parents after he was 13 years old. This was his first experience of becoming a monk. This experience made You Benchang very familiar with temple Buddhism.

At the age of 19, You Benchang studied in the Acting Department of Shanghai Theater Academy. After graduation, he became an actor according to his major, and also played the classic character "Kong Yiji" written by Mr. Lu Xun. When he first starred in "Ji Gong" in 1985, You Benchang was just past his destiny. Because he had not been exposed to comedy before, many people questioned whether he could play this role well, but it turns out that hard work always pays off.

You Benchang’s performance as Jigong is not stiff and funny, nor does he deliberately put on strange expressions and gestures. Instead, he puts himself into Jigong’s inner world, and even participates in the design of makeup, costumes and props. Although Jigong is a “wine and meat man” "Through the intestines", but all You Benchang drank was plain water. He accurately performed the drunken Jigong's appearance of walking unsteadily and stepping on cotton. He also suffered a lot during the filming of the fight scenes.

But the old artist never thought that these were hardships, only that they were an actor’s bounden duty. Because he took it seriously enough, You Benchang, who had played 79 inconspicuous roles in the past, finally became famous all over the country with his role as Jigong. In everyone's hearts, he is Jigong. How he punishes scoundrels, how he skillfully uses ancient wells to transport wood, how he skillfully transplants tumors, and how he solves miracles The crime was cleared, and the prodigal was persuaded to change his ways, which left a deep impression on the audience.

While filming the Jigong TV series, You Benchang encountered three strange things. At that time, the crew's conditions were limited, and some scenes could only be filmed in certain weather conditions. Once, the crew needed to rain, but the weather had been clear for a while. Everyone thought that the rain would not come for a while. You Benchang prayed for rain with the mentality of giving it a try. Under the witness of the crew, the weather actually changed that day. , heavy rain poured down;

Another time, it was necessary to take a shot of dark clouds covering the sky, but the sky was cloudless, so the photographer had to give up. Unexpectedly, after You Benchang walked out, the horizon really slowly appeared. Dark clouds, the photographer hurriedly saved this shot; both of them are related to the weather, which can be said to be coincidences, but when You Benchang shot the scene of the butterfly landing on the cattail leaf fan, there was no special effects at all. What stayed on the screen was him shaking the cattail leaf fan. What a butterfly! When the butterfly saw him waving his fan and trying to summon him, it actually flew over, and this scene has become a classic.

The series of strange things made You Benchang sigh. He felt that he was really destined to the Buddha, and because he did not like flashy personality, You Benchang chose to become a monk in 2009, and his Dharma name was Dingchang. At this time, he He is 76 years old.

Although he became a monk, he was still willing to dedicate himself to art. He not only continued to play the classic Master Hongyi, but also established an art troupe with his own money to encourage young actors to work hard. Among many old artists, You Benchang He is very low-key, but no one denies his achievements because of this. He seems to be born to be "Ji Gong". I have to say that this is also a special fate