Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong History

Sun Wukong was born from an immortal stone formed from the primal forces of Chaos (in the Wuji), located in Huāguǒ-shān (Chinese: 花果山；Mountain of Flowers and Fruit). After joining a clan of monkeys, he gained the clan's respect by discovering Shuǐlián-dòng (Chinese: 水帘洞；Water Curtain Cave) behind a huge waterfall. The clan made the place their new home. The other monkeys honored him as their king, and he called himself Měi Hóuwáng (The Handsome Monkey King). However, his elderly best friend collapsed dead on a mountain cliff one evening, and the monkey king realized that he, too, would eventually die, and that despite his power over the monkeys, he was just like them, not beyond mortality. Determined to find immortality, he traveled by raft to civilized lands, where he met the Buddhist/Taoist master Bodhi and became his disciple. Bodhi taught him proper speech and human manners. Bodhi was initially reluctant to take him in because he was not “human,” and came from such a faraway place that the master thought he was being tricked, but the monkey’s determination and perseverance impressed the master. It was from him that the monkey received his official name, Sun Wukong (“Sun” refers to his origin as a monkey, and “Wukong” means “aware of emptiness”).

Soon, his eagerness and intelligence made him one of the master's favorite disciples, who taught him certain magical arts. He acquired the powers of transmutation, known as the "72 Transformations", supposedly the most versatile and difficult set of skills that allowed him to transform into any form of existence, including people and objects. He also learned about "Cloud Travel", including a technique called the Jīndǒuyún (Cloud Jump), which covers 108,000 li (54,000 km) in one leap. Finally, he could transform each of the 84,000 hairs on his body into inanimate objects and living beings, or even into clones of himself, which would then return to his body as if he had not plucked them. Sun Wukong was proud of his skills, and made a demonstration of his great gifts before his companions, who at the sight of such a spectacle raised a commotion and distracted his master from meditation. When Bodhi went out to see what was going on, and discovered that Wukong was making a circus out of his abilities, he became angry and threw him out of his temple. Before they parted ways, Bodhi made Wukong promise never to tell anyone how he had acquired his powers. Back in Huāguǒ-shān, Wukong had established himself as one of the most powerful and influential “demons” in the world. In search of a weapon worthy of him, Sun Wukong traveled to the oceans, to the underworld dragon temple where he obtained the “Golden Staff As One Wishes,” known as the Ruyi Jingu Bang (also known as Lork bong Jin Jan in Khmer), which could change size, multiply, and fight according to its master’s whims.

It was originally used by Dà-Yǔ to measure the depth of the ocean and later became the “Pillar that Pacifies the Oceans,” a treasure of Ao Kuang, the “Dragon King of the Eastern Seas.” It weighed 13,500 jīn (8,100 kg). Once Wukong was near it, the pillar began to glow, signifying that he had finally found its true master. Its versatility meant that Wukong could use it as a staff and hold it inside his ear like a needle. This caused great fear among the magical beings of the sea and threw the sea itself into utter confusion, as nothing but the pillar could control the ebb and flow of the tide. In addition to taking the magic staff, Wukong also defeated the dragons of the four seas in battle and forced them to hand over their best magical armor: a golden chainmail coat (鎖子黃金甲), a cloak made of phoenix feathers (鳳翅紫金冠 Fèngchìzǐjinguān), and special boots for walking on clouds (藕絲步雲履 Ǒusībùyúnlǚ). Later, Sun Wukong would challenge the deities of Hell in their attempt to take his soul. Instead of being reincarnated like the other living beings, he not only crossed his name out of the “Book of Life and Death”, but also erased the names of all the monkeys in his clan. Due to these deeds, the Dragon Kings and the Kings of Hell decided to report him to the Jade Emperor. His power was considered so immense that when his hair shone gold for the first time, news reached the dragon kings that he was the most powerful warrior of the monkey race and that his golden, red or black hair burned like fire when he entered the battlefield and that this made the king of hell Yama believe that he was a demon who had transformed into a monkey, because his power was immense with his hair black like the flames of the demon god.

Sun Wukong vs Heaven

Hoping that a promotion and a title would make him more docile, the Jade Emperor invited Sun Wukong to the Heavenly Realm. However, this proved to be in vain. After the Jade Emperor excluded him from a royal banquet, as an act of rebellion Sun Wukong ate the Empress's Immortality Peaches and Lord Laozi's Indestructibility Pills. He subsequently felt guilty about it, but only slightly, so he remained a pain in the neck for everyone in Heaven. Eventually, the Heavenly authorities had no choice but to try and subjugate him. He fought against and defeated the Heavenly Army of 100,000 soldiers, then went on to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, Erlang Shen, and Nezha. Eventually, thanks to the teamwork of the heavenly forces, including the help of many famous deities, Sun Wukong was finally captured. After several attempts at a fatal execution failed, Wukong was locked away in the 8 Trigrams Cauldron to be distilled into an elixir by the Cauldron's sacred flames, which were believed to be hot enough to consume him. However, after 49 days of cooking, the Cauldron exploded, and Sun Wukong sprang forth stronger than ever and with the ability to "see" evil in any form through his "Huo Yan Jin Jing" (Fierce Golden Eyes).

Sun Wukong vs Buddha

Buddha bet Sun Wukong that he could not escape from the palm of his hand. Wukong, knowing that he was capable of covering one hundred and eight thousand li in a single leap, confidently accepted the bet. He took a great leap and landed in a desolate section of Heaven. There was nothing on the horizon except for five pillars so Wukong assumed that he had reached the limits of Heaven. To prove that he was there, he wrote "The Great Sage, Lookalike of Heaven was here" in the middle of the pillar and marked the space between the first and second pillar with his urine. He then jumped back and landed on Buddha's palm. Smiling, Buddha suggested that he turn around. Wukong did so and saw that the "pillar" he had written on was one of Buddha's fingers. Wukong had lost. He immediately tried to escape but Buddha turned his palm and sent Monkey King tumbling down a mountain. There he was held prisoner for five centuries until he offered to serve Tang Sanzang, the Tang Monk, who was destined to make a journey west to recover Buddhist scriptures for China. The bodhisattva Guanyin helped the priest by giving him a headband which he tricked the Monkey King into wearing. With a special chant, Sanzang could tighten the headband causing the Monkey King unbearable pain, so that the Monkey King would never do anything to disobey or displease him. Under Sanzang's supervision, the Monkey King was allowed to travel west. Upon his arrival, Wukong "attained" nirvana and became a Buddha along with Sanzang, Bonzo Sha, and the Dragon Prince.

Sun Wukong and Tripitaka

After 500 years of serving his "punishment" by Buddha, for the rest of the story, Sun Wukong faithfully assists Sanzang the Tang High Priest on his journey to India to recover the Buddhist sutras. He is joined on this journey by other magical beings, a pig (Zhu Bajie) and the ogre (Sha Hesang/Bonzo Sha), who along with Sun Wukong are ordered to follow the priest to redeem his crimes, serving as his guardians and protectors ("Dharmapalas"). The priest's horse is also a supernatural entity, a dragon prince who was defeated by Sun Wukong and tamed by Guanyin. However, the other characters are unaware of this fact. Because of the legend that the Tang priest is so pure that anyone who eats him becomes immortal, Sanzang's safety is constantly threatened by supernatural beings, so Wukong frequently acts as a bodyguard. The group faces a series of 81 conflicts before safely returning to the Tang Empire with the treasure of Buddhist scriptures.

Bajie (Sun Wukong's Companion)

Zhu Bajie (Chinese: 猪八戒; pinyin: Zhū Bājiè), also called Pig Zhu, is one of Tang Sanzang's three attendants and a major character in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "pig" and Bajie means "eight precepts". Buddhist scholars consider both expressions to be related to "Śīla pāramitā". In the English version of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Chu Ba-Chie" or "Ba-Chie". Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He resembles a terrifying humanoid-pig monster, part human and part pig (reminiscent of Jimmy Squarefoot from Manx folklore), who often gets himself and his companions into trouble for his laziness, gluttony, and propensity to lust after pretty women. He is jealous of the Monkey King and always tries to bring him down.[1]

Bonzo Sha (Sun Wukong's Companion)

Bonzo Sha (Chinese: 沙悟淨; pinyin: Shā Wùjìng), also known as Ogre Sha, is one of the three disciples of the Buddhist pilgrim Tang Sanzang in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty, although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the source novel, he is the least developed of the pilgrims and contributes the least to their endeavors. Like Zhu Bajie, Bonzo Sha was originally a general of Heaven, more specifically a curtain-lifting general (卷帘大将 juǎnlián dàjiàng). In a fit of rage, he destroyed a valuable vase. Other sources say that he did so unintentionally and that it was an accident. However, he was punished by the Jade Emperor, who had him beaten 800 times with a rod and exiled to earth,[1] where he was to be reincarnated as a terrible sandman, orc, ogre, troll, oni, demon, monster, or man-eating contraption.[2] There he lived in the Liúshā-hé (流沙河, "flowing sand river", or "quicksand river").[3] Every day, seven flying swords sent from Heaven would stab him in the chest and then return. He had to live in the river to avoid punishment.

Tang Sanzang / Tripitaka (Maestro of Sun Wukong)

The title Sanzang refers to his mission to seek out the Sanzangjing or the 'Three Collections of (Buddhist) Scriptures'. In some translations of the book, its title is given as Tripitaka, which is the original Sanskrit term for the Sanzangjing. He is also known as Tang Seng, which is a courtesy name that, like the old name, Tang Sanzang, reflects his status as the blood brother of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.[1][2][3]In the novel, Tang Sanzang is a Chinese Buddhist monk who had renounced his family to join the Sangha since his childhood. He was actually a reincarnation of the Golden Cicada (simplified Chinese: 金蝉子; traditional Chinese: 金蟬子; pinyin: Jīn Chánzǐ), a disciple of the Buddha. He is sent on a mission to Tianzhu (an ancient Chinese name for India) to search for a set of Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China for the purpose of spreading Buddhism in his homeland. He becomes the blood brother of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor sends him out of the capital Chang'an and orders two escorts to accompany him. Tang Sanzang has his first encounter with demons after his departure from Chang'an and feels helpless when his two escorts are killed. The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin) helps Tang Sanzang find three powerful supernatural beings - Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Bonzo Sha - to aid and protect him on his journey. All three become Tang Sanzang's disciples and receive enlightenment and redemption for their past sins once the pilgrimage is complete. Throughout the journey, Tang Sanzang is constantly terrorized by monsters and demons due to a legend that said one could attain immortality by consuming their flesh because it was the reincarnation of a sacred being. At the end of the novel, Tang Sanzang is appointed as the Sandalwood Buddha of Merit (Chinese: 旃檀功德佛; pinyin: Zhāntán Gōngdé Fuó).

Journey to the West

The novel is a lengthy account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions" (Central Asia and India) to obtain sacred Buddhist texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to in the novel as Tang Sanzang. The novel roughly retains Xuanzang's own account (known as the Great Tang Records of the Western Regions) but adds elements from folk tales and the author's own invention: the monk is given this task by Gautama Buddha and provided with three protectors who agree to help him as atonement for his sins. These disciples are the Monkey King, Zhu Bajie, and Bonze Sha, along with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse. The group of pilgrims journeys toward enlightenment through the power and virtue of cooperation. Journey to the West has strong roots in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhist theology, and the pantheon of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas continue to reflect some Chinese religious attitudes today. Having stood the test of time,[3] the novel is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual insight, and a sprawling allegory.