Preface
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King in Journey to the West, has a demonic power that makes the heavenly court feel a headache. However, the Buddha did not dare to act rashly, and the reason for this was not because of the lack of strength, but because after subduing Sun Wukong, he said some thought-provoking words. This fascinating historical mystery makes you want to find out.
This article will delve into the relationship between the Buddha and the Monkey King, revealing that the words spoken by the Monkey King after his surrender may contain deeper philosophy and wisdom. This fascinating journey through history will take us through time to explore this incomprehensible and mysterious scene in Journey to the West, revealing the multiple dimensions of history, culture and beliefs.
How did an ape from Huaguo Mountain break into the Heavenly Palace?
In the distant Dongsheng Shenzhou, there is a Huaguo Mountain with dense forests and groups of apes. Whenever the spring breeze turns rainy, the mountain is full of life, surrounded by green grass. One day, a fairy stone that was struck by lightning cracked in the mountains, and a smart and cute little monkey crawled out of the crack in the stone. He is the Monkey King who captured Huaguo Mountain and dominated the Water Curtain Cave in the future.
The little monkey was born with great powers, and soon established himself in the forest as a king. But his rebellious and unruly character doomed him to be unwilling to wander away from this small world forever. So one day, Sun Wukong made up his mind to leave the mountains and forests he was familiar with and go to the outside world to find the elixir of immortality.
The road is long, and the walker has gone through a lot of hardships, and finally got the help of an immortal, and learned the seventy-two incarnation spells and a body of immortal skills. When he triumphantly walked to Huaguo Mountain, he was surprised to find that in the years he left, several batches of monkey kings had changed in the forest. Looking at the tragic fate of these monkeys in the forest fighting for power and profit, birth, old age, sickness and death, Sun Wukong's heart swelled with blood: he wants to become the overlord of the monkeys and build a world without troubles and always happy!
One by one, the monkeys looked at the golden light emitted by Sun Wukong's body, and they all sighed that he had become a real immortal. Soon, Sun Wukong relied on his superhuman strength and prestige to defeat all the monkey generals, capture Huaguo Mountain, and call himself the Monkey King. He ordered a group of monkeys to dig the Water Curtain Cave, and built the palace of the Water Curtain Cave 72 Cave Heavenly Hall in the cave. Here, he became the Great Sage in the hearts of the monkeys, in charge of the noble treasures of 72 spells and the wishful golden hoop stick. Everyone cheered, no longer worried about old age and death, and regained their joyful nature.
An ape attains the Tao, and a group of apes looks up to the sky
In the days when Sun Wukong established himself as king, he lived extremely happily every day. However, the good times did not last long, and the ignorance of the monkeys finally brought trouble to Sun Wukong. When the spring flowers bloomed that year, the monkeys in the Water Curtain Cave all followed the Great Sage out for a hike. Suddenly, a little monkey was hungry and looking for fruit to eat on the side of the road. He looked up and found a big fresh fruit growing on the tree, and was about to climb the tree to pick the fruit, but an old woman stopped him and said that this fruit was the Lingzhi fruit of the immortal family, and he could not eat it.
However, where did the little monkey know what Ganoderma lucidum fruit was, he just thought that the old woman was playing tricks on him. He would not give up, but would go up to the tree and pluck the fruit to eat. Sun Wukong hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade the little monkey, but unfortunately it was too late. I saw that the old woman suddenly turned into a tall god and kicked the monkey off the cliff with one kick. Seeing this, Sun Wukong was furious, and raised the golden hoop stick to slam it. Who knew that the immortal's mana was so strong that he actually grabbed the golden hoop stick of the great sage and threw him to the ground.
It turned out that the immortal was the depressed true immortal Laojun who had missed many times at the Pan Tao meeting and had not eaten the immortal peach, he happened to go out to pick medicine, and was angered by Sun Wukong's rude behavior. After a big battle, Sun Wukong finally recognized the identity of Lao Jun and quickly knelt down to admit his mistake. Only then did Lao Jun put away his mana and put the Great Sage back into Huaguo Mountain. But he already had a grudge against Sun Wukong in his heart, and decided to denounce the Great Sage's crimes to the Jade Emperor.
Sun Wukong broke into the Dragon Palace and offended the heavenly court
Lao Jun's complaint in the Heavenly Palace made it difficult for Sun Wukong to let go. He was unwilling to admit defeat, and thought to himself that he would also go to the Heavenly Palace to see what the place was. So he summoned the monkeys to a feast and said that he was going to visit his relatives in the heavenly palace. The Great Sage was crooked, and he really encountered him in the Lingxiao Hall The reason for his birth was that he was a fairy stone that fell from the sky to the world, and the aura that only happened in the Huaguang Cave turned into a macaque who could speak human words, so he was different from ordinary monkeys and had the ability to penetrate the heavens and the earth.
The Jade Emperor was overjoyed when he learned that the Great Sage was a once-in-a-millennium spirit monkey. He named Sun Wukong an idle and boring official position, called a horse official, with the intention of placing him under house arrest. Where is the great sage willing to obey the orders of others? He immediately resigned and rode back to Huaguo Mountain. At this time, the Jade Emperor's face was lost, and in a fit of rage, he sent heavenly soldiers and generals to arrest Sun Wukong. Who knows that the Great Sage is not an ordinary monkey, and a somersault is enough to cross tens of thousands of miles. It's hard to catch him.
In desperation, the Jade Emperor had to fight the idea of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. He knew that there was a legendary weapon in the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea, the Ruyi Golden Hoop Stick, and as long as he got this thing, he might be able to control this big monkey who was against the sky. So he summoned the dragon king to coerce and lure, and asked him to take out the golden hoop rod to help the heavenly officials.
Although the Dragon King was unwilling, the Jade Emperor was his own lord, so he had to be ordered to go to Huaguo Mountain to find the Great Sage. He lied to the Great Sage that the Heavenly Palace had an immortal fate and asked him to do it again. Without saying a word, he snatched the treasure of the Dragon King, took the Heavenly Sword and Ding Fengbo, and then happily returned to the Water Curtain Cave. This time, the Dragon King wanted to cry without tears, so he had to go to the Jade Emperor again and accuse Sun Wukong of his crimes.
If the Buddha suppressed the Great Sage, he was imprisoned for 500 years under the Five Fingers Mountain
A big war is inevitable. This time, the Jade Emperor directly sent the whole army to arrest Sun Wukong. I saw a murderous aura outside the Water Curtain Cave, and 100,000 heavenly soldiers came to the realm. Sun Wukong did not show weakness, and went up to the nine clouds, showing his ability to penetrate the sky and the earth in mid-air, and run rampant without hindrance. Just when the two armies were facing each other, there was another force that could not be ignored - the Dragon King of the South China Sea was furious and ordered his two nephews to avenge this revenge. They turned into hunters who were hunting, and took the opportunity to capture many monkeys in the Water Curtain Cave and lure the Great Sage out of the cave.
At this time, the Great Sage was really angry, and he let go of his hands and feet to fight with the nephew of the Dragon King of the South China Sea. The two sides have been fighting for several days, and it is difficult to separate. At this critical moment, the Jade Emperor made a killer move - he invited the great god of Buddhism, the first master of Wanren Mountain, such as the Buddha. If the magic power is vast, but only a few words, let the two dragons of the South China Sea Dragon King go down the mountain first. I saw that there was suddenly an extra golden peach in his hand, and he made a bet with the Great Sage.
The content of this gamble is very simple: if the great sage can jump out of the palm of his hand, he will let him go back to the mountain to rebuild the water curtain cave; If he fails to escape, he will be punished and suppressed for 500 years. The Great Sage is bold and confident. He used his all-over tricks, but the mana was too strong, and in the end he couldn't jump out of the palm of the Buddha's hand. If you come to hook your hands, you can shake your five fingers and turn into a big mountain, and the great sage will fall from the sky to the world and press it under the five finger mountain.
In order to prevent the rebirth of the Great Sage, Rulai also blessed a spell on the mountain: for five hundred years, the Great Sage will not be able to break free from the confinement of this mountain. Seeing the great sage going mad under the mountain, but he couldn't do anything, he left with confidence and told the Jade Emperor about it. At this point, Sun Wukong finally paid a heavy price for his reckless behavior and was imprisoned at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain for 500 years.
Why didn't you kill the Great Sage? The reason for this is unexpected
If the Buddha cleaned up this monkey who didn't know the height of the sky for the Heavenly Palace, it was a very happy thing. After all, the Great Sage has been making trouble in the Heavenly Palace for so long, and he has injured so many Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Gods, and he deserves death. This move is undoubtedly to eliminate harm for the heavens and make a bad breath for the heavenly palace.
But what is puzzling is that Rulai did not choose the most direct and powerful means - to directly kill the Great Sage. He just used his mana to suppress the Great Sage at the foot of the Five Fingers Mountain, restricting his freedom for five hundred years. This is undoubtedly a lenient way for a demon monkey who has made such a big mess in the sky.
Why, then, did Rulai make such a decision? Why didn't he directly kill the Great Sage, but only suppressed him for 500 years? There must be a reason for this that we don't know. Perhaps, the value of the great sage is far more important than his sins, and this is the real consideration for Nyolai to leave him in the world.
It is not difficult to find that as the founder of Buddhism, Buddha Nyolai has always adhered to the core ideas of Buddhism - forgiveness and compassion. When the Jade Emperor and the countless immortals of the Heavenly Palace were furious and wanted to put the Great Sage to death, Rulai did not hurry, but gave him a chance to atone for his sins.
This is in line with the Buddhist concept of "purifying all sentient beings". Perhaps, in the eyes of Rulai, the Great Sage is just a lost monkey, and although his actions are ignorant, he is also worthy of forgiveness. Moreover, he does have extraordinary strength, as long as he reforms, he will be very useful in the future.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the choice of Rulai. Instead of killing the Great Sage, he restricted his freedom. Up to 500 years will be enough for the Great Sage to reflect on the past and be a new person. Rulai's decision undoubtedly gave the Great Sage a chance to be on the verge of a dead end, and it also indicated that he might be able to straighten the Western Heaven and benefit the Heavenly Palace in the future.
Of course, according to the wisdom of the Buddha, there must also be a deep meaning that we do not know. Perhaps all this was in his calculations, and the Great Sage was just a pawn in his layout. We don't know that all these things in the future Heavenly Palace are in the hands of Rulai. Therefore, Rulai will keep the life of the great sage and give him a chance to mend his ways.
epilogue
500 years have passed in a flash, and the Great Sage has finally waited for the day when Rulai will fulfill his promise. When the monk Rulai passed by Wuzhi Mountain to learn scriptures, he ignited the great sage and unlocked the seal on his body. At that time, the great sage had already repented of his past wrongs, and was bent on making up for his mistakes and making meritorious atonements.
In this way, under the guidance of the monk Rulai, the great sage gradually grew from a monkey who only knew how to scatter wilds to a great hero who protected the West Heaven and had unparalleled combat power. Perhaps, all this was expected by the Buddha. He did not choose to kill the Great Sage precisely because he understood that the nature of the monkey was unchangeable, and he also valued the great value of the Dharma Protector merit in the future of the Great Sage.
Life is like a play, it all depends on interpretation. The Great Sage finally realized the true meaning of life after 500 years of suffering. Nyorai's forgiveness and compassion allowed him to be reborn into a new version of himself, which is the true meaning of his life as a great saint.