"Journey to the West" is broad and profound, there are many details in it are worth recalling, there is a question that I don't know if everyone has considered, Sun Wukong first left Tang Monk back to Huaguo Mountain, happened to pass through the East Sea, so Shun took it to visit the East Sea Dragon King, the result was a set of words by the Dragon King, and said back to the Side of Tang Monk, this is of course Sun Wukong Zhi En Tu, but the merit of the East Sea Dragon King is not small, if it were not for his sincere temptation, persuading Sun Wukong, I am afraid that the monkeys would have been happy in Huaguo Mountain. Especially at that time, Sun Wukong had not yet put on a tight hoop, and it was really possible that he would never return to Huaguo Mountain. So the question is, how did the East Sea Dragon King know that Sun Wukong was going to pass through the East Sea, and why did he persuade the monkey to return to Tang Monk?
East Sea Dragon King
Let's first look at a question, is the East Sea Dragon King deliberately waiting for Sun Wukong, or is Sun Wukong passing by by accident, and he is just doing his best to be a landlord? In fact, there is a particularly interesting detail in the original work, that is, there is a pattern hanging on the back wall of the East Sea Dragon King's living room, which is "Yí Bridge Into the Shoes", which tells the story of Zhang Liang picking up shoes for the Emperor Shi gong three times and finally getting the Book of Heaven. Clear-eyed people know at a glance that this is where they met Sun Wukong by chance, which is basically to persuade Sun Wukong not to abandon Tang Monk, and to help others to learn the scriptures in the end.
The East Sea Dragon King is rich in the four seas, what does he do with a portrait of a mortal, this is clearly to induce monkeys to use, then there is a new problem arising, the East Sea Dragon King does not have the ability to predict the prophet, how did he know that Sun Wukong would come to the East Sea? Yes, the East Sea Dragon King does not have the ability to predict the future, but there are people who do, who is she? Of course, it is Guanyin Bodhisattva, she will be a Buddhist high-level skill, wisdom and eye communication, can predict the future, in fact, this point has been confirmed in many places in the article, almost every time Sun Wukong asked the bodhisattva for help, the bodhisattva said confidently: I already know this, how to do it.
Guanyin Bodhisattva
However, even if Guanyin Bodhisattva had the ability to predict the future, she did not have a deep friendship with the East Sea Dragon King, so how could she pass on the news that Sun Wukong wanted to return to Huaguo Mountain to the East Sea Dragon King? Don't forget, there is still a person standing next to Guanyin Bodhisattva, that is, the Dragon Girl, who is the beloved daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, and of course can act as a bridge between Guanyin Bodhisattva and her father. Because Sun Wukong is an important member of the sutra collection team, if he picks a son, then the sutra will fail, so The Guanyin Bodhisattva perceives with his wise eyes that Sun Wukong wants to return to Huaguo Mountain, and passing through the East Sea, he sends his dragon daughter to inform the East Sea Dragon King, the East Sea Dragon King for the revitalization of the Dragon Clan, of course, to have a relationship with the Guanyin Bodhisattva, so the needs of the Guanyin Bodhisattva, the East Sea Dragon King is not satisfied.
Therefore, the East Sea Dragon King deliberately laid out a hanging scroll of Zhang Liang's shoes on the back wall, and used this story to persuade Sun Wukong to return to Tang Monk, while on the other side, Guanyin Bodhisattva began to prepare for Sun Wukong to wear a tight hoop. If you read the book yourself, you will find that this time the Tang monk also lied, and this paragraph is quite interesting:
Sanzang said, "Disciple, don't lie to the monks." You left me, and within an hour, you said that the Dragon King's family was eating tea?
See? He told Sun Wukong not to lie, but he said this:
Sanzang agreed, "I wore it when I was a child." If this hat is worn, it will be chanted without teaching, and if this garment is worn, it will be performed without a ceremony. ”
Monkey king
This is obviously to fool the monkey into wearing a tight hoop spell. Under the close cooperation between the Dragon King of the East Sea and the Tang monks, Sun Wukong no longer returned to Huaguo Mountain, and put on a tight hoop, and from then on he could only wholeheartedly assist the Tang monks to learn the scriptures. Echoing the old saying: The longest road in the world is your routine.