According to the “Song Gaoseng zhuan”, “Taiping Guangji” and “Records of the Anomalies,” there are many monks who have attained pramana yet presented themselves as lunatics. Apparently quite different from most "Eminent monks", they neither practice Sila, Samadhi, and Prajna nor carefully cultivate their nutriment of blessedness. Without showing their supernatural abilities, people would have taken them as lunatics. These mad monks walk around the streets and eliminate people's pain by using their supernatural abilities, seeing this as a divine revelation of the power of Buddha. Why do they act this way? If they are not lunatics basically and taking madness as a device for delivering some message, then what is it aim to? By generalizing the features of these mad monks, this article aims to highlight the cultural phenomenon of the mad monks in Tang dynasty and their general attributes. Also examine the religious meanings of the madness performance of them by the following two perspectives: one is the core value of practise and realization of meditation in Buddhism, the other is the religious psychology. I believe if we could ascertain the core value of these madness performances, then we might be able to appreciate their performances.
