The classic Chinese novel Journey to the West tells the tale of a Buddhist monk named Tang Sanzang who sets off for India in search of sacred Buddhist Scriptures. Along the way, he is joined by three disciples chosen to accompany and protect him. The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, was the first of the three to join the monk. But could the Monkey King fulfill his sacred duty, or would his arrogance and impatience be his undoing?
The birth of Sun Wukong
The Journey to the West begins with the birth of Sun Wukong. While still young, he commits a serious crime by causing trouble in the Palace of Heaven. As punishment, Sun Wukong is imprisoned by Tathagata Buddha under Wuxing Mountain, part of a range of five mountains corresponding to the universe’s five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and derived from Tathagata Buddha’s five fingers.
To wear down Sun Wukong’s arrogance, he is only allowed to have iron pellets when hungry. Finally, after 500 springs, summers, autumns, and winters, Sun Wukong sees through the vanity and vicissitudes of the human world and repents for his youthful arrogance. If given a chance, he was determined to let go of evil and set his mind to cultivate.
Sun Wukong repents
In the eighth chapter of Journey to the West, Bodhisattva Guanyin, on Tathagata Buddha’s order, was to find someone from the East to obtain Buddhist sutras from the West. As Bodhisattva Guanyin passed by Wuxing Mountain, Sun Wukong saw her and said: “I sincerely repent for what I did. I want to cultivate, and I hope the merciful Bodhisattva can tell me the way.” Immediately following these words in the book was a poem that says: “When a thought rises from a man’s heart, Heaven and earth know all about it.”
Upon hearing Sun Wukong’s words, the Bodhisattva was filled with joy for him. Sun Wukong committed terrible deeds in the past and believed he could do whatever he wanted. Because of his arrogance, he messed up the rules and regulations of Heaven. But now, he was determined to convert to Buddhism and no longer act in a wrong way.
Since his beast nature had turned to the right track, and his Buddha nature had come out, his liberation would not be far away. Because of the goodness in his heart, Guanyin told him that a monk from the Tang Empire would rescue him in the future. Sun Wukong was overjoyed at her words and waited heartily day and night for his savior to arrive.
Monk Tang Sanzang arrives
Finally, the day came when the Bodhisattva’s chosen one, Monk Tang Sanzang, arrived at Wuxing Mountain. Sun Wukong happily waved to him and yelled: “Master, what took you so long? It’s good that you have come! But please get me out of here. I will ensure you will be safe on your way to India to get the Buddhist Scriptures.”
Despite being a wild and fierce animal, the Monkey King’s pure, innate nature was still intact. His greeting to Tang Sanzang was straight and direct and showed the heart of someone who wanted to help his Master complete the mission of bringing the Buddhist scriptures back to China.
The Monkey King saw through the deceit
Fortunately, Monk Tang Sanzhang was lucky enough to have three disciples, including Sun Wukong, help him on the dangerous journey to India. The Monkey King, who possessed supernormal abilities, had eyes that could see a thousand miles away in broad daylight. Within that distance, he could see everything clearly, down to the most minute details of a dragonfly spreading its wings. No deception could fool his eyes.
With his beast nature rectified to the right path, he began to fulfill his vow of protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey. Along the way, Sun Wukong saw through the tricks of demons who wanted to kill his master, Tang Sanzhang. Though the demons changed into different kinds of humans, including an old lady and a beautiful woman, the Monkey King saw through the deceit. He eliminated them, including one who was a tiger.
However, Tang Sanzhang was deceived by those demons in human form, and Sun Wukong’s killing of the six demons angered him. He nagged about it along the way, and Sun Wukong could hardly stand it. Even worse, Tang Sanzang said that Sun Wukong could not go with him to complete the journey to the West.
Sun Wukong meets the Dragon King
But Sun Wukong sincerely wanted to cultivate. He was full of chagrin because Tang Sanzang, fooled by his own human eyes, concluded that Sun Wukong would not go to the divine West. Sun Wukong could not hold back the anger in his heart and left his Master behind.
Since he’d been imprisoned under Wuxing Mountain for so long, The Monkey King had not been back to his home at Mount Huaguo in more than 500 years. Now that he was free, he could return home in one somersault. But instead, he changed course halfway through and decided to look for the Dragon King of the East Sea.
The Dragon King was happy to see the Monkey King and hear that he had changed his ways and set his mind to cultivate. As the Dragon King was warmly entertaining Sun Wukong, he looked up and noticed a painting. He stared at it intently, trying to make sense of it. The Dragon King saw his confusion and explained it to him in detail.
The story of Zhang Liang
Sun Wukong learned that the painting told the story of Master Huang Shi Gong and Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty. Zhang possessed extraordinary talent, and the master, wanting to take him as his disciple, intended to test him.
To do so, he deliberately threw his shoe under a bridge and asked Zhang to fetch it. After Zhang retrieved it, he ordered him to put it on his foot for him. Master Huang Shi Gong then threw his shoe over the bridge twice in a row.
Zhang respectfully fetched the shoe each time, showing neither arrogance nor negligence. As a result, Huang took him as his disciple and passed on the art of war to him. As a result, Zhang became well-versed in the art and later assisted Liu Bang in planning his war strategy. After his success in helping to establish the Han Dynasty, Zhang abandoned his post, returned to the mountains, and eventually enlightened and became immortal.
The Dragon King solemnly advised Sun Wukong: “If you do not protect your Master, do your duty diligently, and take in the teachings, in the end, you break your promise to Heaven and God.
Sun Wukong listened carefully to his words and did not speak for a long time. Then, after reflecting on the situation, he realized the seriousness of sacred duty and purpose. So he got up and flew out of the dragon’s palace to find Tang Sanzang.
Zhang Liang’s story helped the Monkey King understand the importance of his mission. In the end, the Monkey King’s enlightened understanding and forbearance enabled him to fulfill his sacred mission and assist his master, Tang Sanzang, in obtaining the Buddhist sutras.
