Pujing 普淨

In Chapter 27 of the Romance, Guan Yu, on his way back to his elder brother, cuts down Han Fu (韓福) and then heads through the night for Sishui Pass. Bian Xi, the general guarding the pass, was originally one of the remnants of the Yellow Turbans who had surrendered to Cao Cao and been sent to hold the pass; he sets more than two hundred swordsmen and axemen in ambush in the Zhenguo Temple in front of the pass, intending to lure Guan Yu into the temple and kill him at the signal of a struck cup. The Zhenguo Temple was the Han emperor Ming's own temple of incense and offerings and had some thirty monks, and among them the monk from the same home district as Guan Yu bore the name in religion Pujing. Romance, Ch. 27 §25–28

Pujing, already aware of the plot, steps forward and asks Guan Yu how many years it has been since he left Pudong. When Guan Yu, saying it has been nearly twenty years, does not recognize him, Pujing tells him that his family's house and the general's were separated by only a single stream. Bian Xi, afraid the plot will leak out, rebukes him, asking why a monk should talk so much, but Guan Yu replies that when men from the same home district meet, they can hardly fail to talk of old times. Pujing first has tea served to the two ladies, then invites Guan Yu into the abbot's quarters, raises with his hand the monk's knife he wears at his side and looks meaningfully at Guan Yu. Guan Yu grasps his meaning and has his attendants follow close behind him with their swords. Romance, Ch. 27 §28–30

At the banquet in the Dharma hall, Guan Yu sees the swordsmen and axemen behind the hangings on the wall and rebukes Bian Xi, and when Bian Xi flees, secretly hurling a flying hammer at him, Guan Yu cleaves him in two with a single stroke. When Guan Yu thanks Pujing, saying "Had it not been for you, master, I would already have been harmed by this villain," Pujing says that he can no longer remain there and will gather up his robe and bowl and wander elsewhere, and that since they will meet again some day, the general should take care of himself. Romance, Ch. 27 §31–33

In Chapter 77, the spirit of Guan Yu, which has not dispersed, arrives at Mount Yuquan in Dangyang County, Jingmen Prefecture. On the mountain was an old monk whose name in religion was Pujing; formerly an elder of the Zhenguo Temple at Sishui Pass, he had wandered the realm until, finding the hills clear and the waters beautiful here, he built a grass hermitage and lived in it. Every day he sits in meditation and cultivates the Way, keeping only a young novice beside him and living on begged food. Romance, Ch. 77 §19

On a moonlit night, after the third watch, Pujing, sitting in his hermitage, hears a voice in the air crying "Give me back my head!" and sees a man riding the Red Hare and holding the Green Dragon Blade, followed by two men on his left and right, descending to the summit of Mount Yuquan. Recognizing Guan Yu, Pujing strikes the door with his whisk and asks, "Where is Yunchang?", whereupon Guan Yu's spirit suddenly awakens, comes down in front of the hermitage and asks his name in religion. Pujing reminds him of their meeting long ago at the Zhenguo Temple in front of Sishui Pass, and Guan Yu, saying that he has not forgotten the kindness of being saved, begs him for pure teaching to show him the way out of his confusion. Romance, Ch. 77 §20–22

Pujing says that past wrongs and present rights are none of them worth disputing, and that causes and their effects never fail to correspond, and he asks: if the general, harmed by Lü Meng, cries out for his head to be returned, from whom then are the heads of the many others, such as Yan Liang and Wen Chou and the six generals of the five passes, to be claimed? Guan Yu, suddenly greatly enlightened, bows his head, takes refuge in the Buddhist teaching and departs. Thereafter Guan Yu often manifests himself as a spirit on Mount Yuquan to protect the people, and the local people build a shrine on the summit. Romance, Ch. 77 §22–23