(Minghui.org) When thinking of Journey to the West from the perspective of a Falun Dafa practitioner, I have gained further understandings from the story, which I would like to share.
Heart and Mind
Monk Tang had three disciples, representing three aspects of a person on the path of cultivation practice. Because Monk Tang had the heart to obtain the Buddhist scriptures, his mind (represented by Monkey King), character (represented by Sandy), emotion (represented by Pigsy) also acted accordingly. To some degree, the journey of obtaining Buddhist scriptures was a process where these aspects were constantly refined through various tribulations on the journey to obtaining fruition.
I have learned from the Falun Dafa teachings that everyone has both Buddha nature and demon nature. Cultivation practice means one needs to constantly strengthen their Buddha nature and abandon their demon nature.
Taking Monkey King as an example, the book often refers to him as xin yuan (the agitated mind). In many ways, he represents Monk Tang’s mental state. When the mind is determined, Monkey King can use all his capabilities to conquer difficulties on the journey. On the other hand, when the mind is out of control, it can cause harm and hinder progress.
One of the most important requirements for a cultivator is the ability to discern good from evil. Chapter 27 fully depicts this through the story of Three Strikes Against the White Bone Demon, one of the most well known episodes. The demon deceives Monk Tang three times, first by transforming into a beautiful young woman, then an old woman, and later as an old man. Fortunately, Monkey King possesses the supernormal power to see through these tricks and rescue Monk Tang.
However, the muddle-headed Monk Tang was fooled by the demon’s disguise. He not only punished Monkey King for killing the three “innocent” lives, but also banished him. This separation of heart (Monk Tang) and mind (Monkey King) led to disastrous consequences. In Chapter 28, Monkey King returned to Mount Huaguo, killed hunters, and even became a monster again.
Meanwhile, without support of a strong mind (Monkey King), Monk Tang almost lost his own life because of the Yellow-Robe Demon, let alone continuing his journey to seek Buddhist scriptures. This tribulation lasted until Chapter 31, and one of the chapters (Chapter 30) was titled “The Evil Harms the True Dharma,” highlighting the seriousness of the situation, where Monk Tang was turned into a tiger by the Yellow-Robe Demon, Sandy was captured, the White Dragon Horse was injured, and Pigsy wanted to quit. The moral of this episode demonstrates the importance of a strong mind; otherwise, one would break down even with little external interference.
In contrast, when the mind is strong, the situation is completely different. During the group’s visit to Wuji Kingdom in Chapter 36, the monks at a temple initially refused Monk Tang lodging. However, after Monkey King demonstrated the power of his Golden Cudgel, all 500 monks in the temple immediately lined up and respectfully welcomed the group. This illustrates that when a person is righteous with a strong mind, the surrounding environment will naturally change in the right direction.
Emotion and Character
Besides Monk Tang and Monkey King, Pigsy was the third most important member of the team. He was well renowned for his desires including lust, cunning, laziness, and greed. These reflect a cultivator’s shortcomings that must be eliminated before reaching fruition.
It also took Monk Tang some time to recognize these and make progress. At first, he favored Pigsy and shielded him from hardship. He also believed Pigsy’s slanderous words. Because of that, Monk Tang drove away Monkey King in Chapter 27 as mentioned above, and ended up in danger himself.
As time went on, Monk Tang also underwent significant changes. After they subdued the rhinoceros monsters in Chapter 92, Pigsy was reluctant to resume the journey and began to complain. Monk Tang intervened, warning him to hurry; otherwise, Monkey King would discipline him. Alarmed, Pigsy exclaimed, “Master has changed.” This episode illustrates how a cultivated person gradually abandons the attachment to laziness and comfort.
Like Pigsy, Sandy was once a monster at Flowing Sand River who even ate human beings. After turning over a new leaf and becoming the third disciple of Monk Tang, he was often considered the most modest and reliable one among the three disciples. This highlights the significance of humility and good character.
Still, there were times when the three disciple’s character was tested and tempered. When the group traveled to Gold-Pouch Mountain in Chapter 50, the three ignored the Monkey King’s warning and stepped out of the protective circle he had drawn on the ground. Not only that, greedy Pigsy put on an embroidery vest he found in an empty building without consent. To make things worse, even modest Sandy followed his suit and put one on as well. Little did they know, it was these missteps that led them straight into the trap set by the Single Horned Rhinoceros King, one of most powerful monsters on the journey.
The title of this chapter highlights the harm of desire, which can compromise emotion (as seen with Pigsy) and character (as with Sandy). Cultivation is in many ways a process of returning to one’s divine origin. This requires one to abandon earthy desires; only then can one attain purified emotions and character that aligns a pure mind and heart with true success.
Source of the Tribulations
After reviewing four aspects of a cultivator’s internal conflicts, we can now take a look at the external factors. The 81 tribulations along their journey can be divided into two categories.
Karmic Relationship
The first type was rooted in a karmic relationship. The Yellow-Robe Demon mentioned above (Chapters 28-31) was Kui Mulang, one of the 28 Constellations in the Heavenly Court, who fell in love with a Jade Maiden (who descended on earth as Princess Baihuxiu). Meanwhile, the King of Wuji Kingdom suffered a three-year ordeal (Chapters 37-39) which involved being immersed in a water well because he had previously submerged Bodhisattva Manjushri in the city’s moat.
Similarly, the King of the Kingdom of Zhuzi was separated from his queen for three years (Chapters 68-71) after accidentally wounding the chicks of the Peacock Wisdom King Bodhisattva with arrows. Owing to a personal grudge, the Jade Rabbit and heavenly maiden from the Moon Palace staged a real vs. fake princess drama (Chapters 93-95) in the Kingdom of Tianzhu.
As explained in Journey to the West, these stories unfolded from karmic ties established in the past, and every up and down was predestined. As Monk Tang and his three disciples tempered themselves through these trials, they—often without realizing it—not only resolved past grievances, but also accumulated spiritual merit along their journeys of cultivation.
Sometimes the divine directly sets up conditions to test the cultivators. In Chapter 23, several Bodhisattvas worked together to challenge the group with wealth and lust. The cultivators’ true nature was fully revealed. Everyone was determined in cultivation, however Pigsy was willing to return to the secular pleasure.
In fact, in Chapter 8 Buddha had explained this journey to the west as “mountain-high blessing and sea-deep compassion” for sentient beings. Not only the group of four resolved their their past sins and achieved Buddhahood through these tribulations, they also suppressed monsters and benefited people along the way.
Consequences of Impure Thoughts
The journey toward Buddhahood is serious, and requires one to gradually abandon attachments; otherwise, impure thoughts would incur all kinds of problems.
Such a theme was reflected in Journey to the West from the beginning to the end. Right after Monkey King was recruited as Monk Tang’s disciple in Chapter 14, they encountered six bandits representing the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, thought, and touch) which might interfere with cultivation. Fortunately, Monkey King (mind) was able to clear them easily. The title of this chapter was very meaningful: “The mind is rectified, and six bandit members were cleared.”
As the journey continued, the group encountered numerous tests of heterodox paths at Pingdingshan (Chapters 32-25) and Chechi Kingdom (Chapters 44-46). They also faced the temptations of lust at the Woman Kingdom (Chapter 54) and Scorpion Spirit (Chapter 55). The Spider Demonesses (Chapters 72-73) further illustrated that one has to overcome the seven emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire—before reaching spiritual fruition.
While the previous examples reflect habitual human notions, there are also many examples of impromptu ones. After Monk Tang praised the exquisite tea set in Chapter 16, Elder Jinchi inquired about what treasure Monk Tang had. This led Monkey King to show off their cassock, leading to another tribulation with the Black Bear Demon.
When encountering the Heaven-Reaching River in Chapter 47, Monk Tang grew increasingly anxious over the difficulty of crossing the vast waters. Exploiting this impatience, the Spirit-Inspiring Great King froze the river to lure him into crossing quickly. As result, Monk Tang was captured and taken to the demon’s underwater lair.
After Monkey King killed some bandits in Chapter 57, four members of the group complained about each other. “Monk Tang mounts his horse in anger,” “Monkey King harbors resentment; both Pigsy and Sandy feel jealous.” With discord among them, their unity was shattered. The internal strife paved the way for the great ordeal involving Six-Eared Macaque. This episode is often known as “the True and False Monkey Kings.”
When they arrived at Yuhua Zhou in Chapter 88, the three disciples were eager to instruct the three princes in martial arts. This eagerness to be teachers (shi in Chinese) attracted a pack of lion-spirits (with the same pronunciation as shi). After that ordeal, Monk Tang stayed at Jinping Prefecture for a few days. While viewing the lanterns with the crowd during the Lantern Festival, he allowed a sense of ease to settle in and his meditative vigilance to relax, and as a result he was captured by rhinoceros-demons right in front of the golden lanterns.
These lessons are encapsulated by a poem in Journey to the West after the group passed the terrifying trial at Lion Camel Ridge (Chapters 74-77). The poem opens with the line, “The mere arising of a single thought stirs up a hundred demons.” For spiritual practitioners, any negative thought or attachment—even one that flashes by only for an instant—can be seized upon and exploited by demons if not promptly confronted and corrected, creating obstacles to one’s progress.
Avoiding Misunderstandings
Journey to the West is a cultivation story, and it goes beyond this secular world. Some stories cannot be interpreted with everyday human notions.
After the group arrived at the Thunderclap Monastery in Chapter 98, the Venerable Ananda and Kasyapa demanded a “gift” from the group before providing the Buddhist scriptures. Some misunderstood this as corruption in the heavens. In reality, this was a test for Monk Tang to let go of the attachment to the earthly belonging of the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl from the emperor. After all, with such an attachment, how could one achieve Buddhahood?
The episode of Fengxian County in Chapter 87 is also thought-provoking. Some people could not understand why the prefect’s disrespect of the divine could affect the entire county, leading to a three-year drought and the deaths of ordinary citizens.
In reality, an official—either head of state or prefect of Fengxian in this case—represents people in the territory. When the prefect knocked over a vegetarian offering intended for Heaven to feed to dogs, it created sinful karma for himself and people in the area. This misfortune was not settled until everyone in the county reverted to worshiping the divine and returned to kindness.
Such a theme is clearly summarized by a poem in this chapter:
When one has a thought,
the heaven and earth know what it has brought;
You reap what you sow is a universal law,
with blessings or retribution leaves one in awe.
In conclusion, Journey to the West has provided us with an example of how one can constantly improve oneself, strengthen righteousness, abandon impure thoughts, and overcome ordeals, leading toward spiritual fruition.
Category: Traditional Culture
