In the Journey to the West World, all cultivators aspire to immortality, but immortality is difficult to achieve, and even if they practice the art of immortality, they may not be able to live forever.
In that year, in order to learn the art of immortality, Sun Wukong crossed the two major continents of Dongsheng Shenzhou and Nan ganbu continent, and went through hardships to come to West NiuheZhou and worship Bodhi As a teacher. However, after learning the art of immortality, Grandmaster Bodhi told him, "Since you have mastered the Dharma, you will attain the root cause, and you have already focused on the divine body, but you are only guarding against the 'three plagues and harms.'" “
What are the three plagues? These are the three natural disasters that heaven has sent down to test the immortals, namely—
Thunder: Fierce thunder and lightning from the sky.
Yin Fire: Stronger than the Samadhi True Fire and the Six Ding Divine Fire, it burned up from under its own fountain point, straight through the Mud Wall Palace, the five organs turned into ashes, and the limbs were decayed,
Wind: Blowing into the six intestines, passing through the dantian, wearing the nine tricks, and the flesh and bones are sparse.
Why did Heaven send down three plagues to test the immortals?
Because the order of heaven and earth is life and death, the existence of immortals undoubtedly violates the natural operation order of heaven and earth, the greater the number of immortals, the more serious the order of heaven and earth is disordered, and in order to maintain the order of heaven and earth, the heavens naturally have to send down natural disasters to deal with immortals.
Therefore, even if you practice the art of immortality, if you can't withstand the test of the three plagues, you will escape into samsara.
So, how can we avoid the benefits of the three plagues?
The three plagues are every five hundred years, first thunderstorms; after escaping thunderstorms, every five hundred years, the yin fire is lowered; after dodging the yin fire, another five hundred years, the wind is lowered.
If you want to pass these three tests, you must have extremely powerful mana, so Bodhi Guru taught Sun Wukong the Seventy-Two Transformations and The Douyun.
However, Sun Wukong's Seventy-Two Transformations and Douyun don't seem to come in handy, because throughout the journey to the west story, he didn't use these two magical powers to deal with the three plagues.
In fact, Sun Wukong did not suffer a natural disaster at all.
During the five hundred years of being pressed against the Five Elements Mountain, it was in the first natural disaster test of Sun Wukong - the period of thunder disaster, but Sun Wukong did not encounter thunder disaster.
So, why was Sun Wukong suppressed for five hundred years, but did not suffer three disasters?
Some people believe that Sun Wukong made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace, stole a large number of peaches, and has long been immortal, and naturally will not encounter the benefits of the three disasters.
However, does the purpose of the three plagues sent down by heaven help the art of immortality? On the contrary, it is to let the immortals fall into reincarnation, so why eat the peach and will not encounter the three disasters?
The reason why Sun Wukong did not suffer the three plagues is actually very simple, if we understand the recipe of immortality, it will be clear at a glance.
In the second time of the original work, Bodhi Grandmaster taught Sun Wukong the art of immortality, saying: "All come to the spirit of the spirit, and firmly hide the leakage." Hugh leaked, the body was hidden, and Ru was taught by me to spread the word from Chang. How beneficial it is to memorize the recipe, and to cool off evil desires. ”
Originally, to cultivate the art of immortality, we must abandon evil thoughts and maintain a pure and desireless mentality. Did Monkey King do this? When he was studying art in Lingtai Fangzhi Mountain, he lived a daily life like an ascetic monk, practicing assiduously, and naturally achieved this. However, after returning to Huaguo Mountain, he ate and drank with the monkeys and monkey grandchildren all day, and he had already thrown his pure heart and desire out of the cloud of nine clouds.
Therefore, after descending the mountain, Sun Wukong's immortal technique has been broken, and he is not an immortal body, which is not surprising why he will be seduced by the underground government.
The reason why he later lived forever was because he tampered with the book of life and death and stole peaches, which had nothing to do with the art of immortality, and since this was the case, during the five hundred years of being crushed on the Five Elements Mountain, of course, he would not encounter the benefits of the three disasters.