Is the White Dragon Horse Buddhist?
I was recently contacted by a reader on my main external blog. Part of their question asked:
I heard on the Fifth Monkey [@jttwaudiodrama] production notes for Part 8 that the White Dragon Horse wasn’t really converted to Buddhism and thus never “left his family” and obligations. Would this make him eligible for marriage...?
There is some inconsistency in the White Dragon Horse’s story. I can’t recall him officially taking vows during the journey, but the Buddha states in chapter 100 that he had (at some point):
Then he [the Buddha] said to the white horse, “You were originally the prince of Dragon King Guangjin of the Western Ocean. Because you disobeyed your father’s command and committed the crime of unfiliality, you were to be executed. Fortunately you made submission to the Law and accepted our vows ... (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 382).
又叫那白馬：「汝本是西洋大海廣晉龍王之子，因汝違逆父命，犯了不孝之罪。幸得皈身皈法，皈我沙門 ...
He is then elevated in rank to become an Aṣṭasenā, a group of eight celestial beings said to be "in attendance when the Buddha speaks the Mahayana sutras" (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 74). The Buddha continues:
... Because you carried the sage monk daily on your back during his journey to the West and because you also took the holy scriptures back to the East, you too have made merit. I hereby grant you promotion and appoint you one of the dragon[ horses] belonging to the Eight Classes of Supernatural Beings (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 382).
... 每日家虧你馱負聖僧來西，又虧你馱負聖經去東，亦有功者，加陞汝職正果，為八部天龍馬。」
After transforming back into a dragon, he takes his place atop a Huabiao pillar in paradise:
The elder, his three disciples, and the horse all kowtowed to thank the Buddha, who ordered some of the guardians to take the horse to the Dragon-Transforming Pool at the back of the Spirit Mountain. After being pushed into the pool, the horse stretched himself, and in a little while he shed his coat, horns began to grow on his head, golden scales appeared all over his body, and silver whiskers emerged on his cheeks. His whole body shrouded in auspicious air and his four paws wrapped in hallowed clouds, he soared out of the pool and circled inside the monastery gate, on top of one of the Pillars that Support Heaven (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 382).
長老四眾，俱各叩頭謝恩。馬亦謝恩訖。仍命揭諦引了馬，下靈山後崖化龍池邊，將馬推入池中。須臾間，那馬打個展身，即退了毛皮，換了頭角，渾身上長起金鱗，腮頷下生出銀鬚，一身瑞氣，四爪祥雲，飛出化龍池，盤繞在山門裡擎天華表柱上。
A huabiao pillar in Xinghai Square, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China. Via Wikipedia.
A detail of the huabiao dragon finial. Via Wikipedia.
And lastly, JTTW refers to him as a bodhisattva:
I submit to the Bodhisattva of Vast Strength, the Heavenly Dragon of Eight Divisions of Supernatural Beings (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 385).
南無八部天龍廣力菩薩。
So given this info, I don’t think he would be involved in a relationship.
Buswell, R. E. , & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
