Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592) chapter 99 describes the Monkey King's final battle as a fierce, stormy confrontation against demons wishing to steal the hard-won scriptures for themselves. This takes place shortly after the pilgrims and holy texts are dumped into a river by an annoyed river turtle spirit:
Master and disciples had just climbed up the riverbank when suddenly a violent gale arose; the sky darkened immediately and both thunder and lightning began as rocks and grit flew everywhere. What they felt was
One gust of wind
And the whole world teetered;
One clap of thunder
And both mountains and streams shuddered.
One flash of lightning
Shot flames through the clouds;
One sky of fog
Enveloped this Great Earth.
The wind's mighty howl;
The thunder's violent roar;
The lightning's scarlet streaks;
The fog blanking moon and stars.
The wind hurtled dust and dirt at their faces;
The thunder sent tigers and leopards into hiding;
The lightning raised among the fowl a ruckus;
The fog made the woods and trees disappear.
That wind caused waves in the Heaven-Reaching River [Tongtian he, 通天河] to toss and churn;
That lightning lit up the Heaven-Reaching River down to its bottom;
That thunder terrified the Heaven-Reaching River's dragons and fishes;
That fog covered the shores of Heaven-Reaching River with a shroud of darkness.
Marvelous wind!
Mountains cracked as pines and bamboos toppled.
Marvelous thunder!
Its power stirred insects and injured humans.
Marvelous lightning! Like a gold snake it brightened both land and sky.
Marvelous fog!
It surged through the air to screen the Ninefold Heaven [Jiuxiao, 九霄].
So terrified were the pilgrims that Tripitaka held firmly to the scripture wraps and Sha Monk threw himself on the poles. While Eight Rules clung to the white horse, Pilgrim twirled the iron staff to give protection left and right. That wind, fog, thunder, and lightning, you see, had been a storm brought on by demons of yin energy" [yinmo, 陰魔], who wanted to snatch away the scriptures the pilgrims had acquired. The commotion lasted all night, and only by morning did the storm subside. Soaked from top to bottom and shaking all over, the elder said, "Wukong, how did this storm come about?"
"Master, you don't seem to understand," said Pilgrim, panting heavily, "that when we escorted you to acquire these scriptures, we had, in fact, robbed Heaven and Earth of their creative powers. For our success meant that we could share the age of the universe; like the light of the sun and moon, we would enjoy life everlasting for we had put on an incorruptible body. Our success, however, had also incurred the envy of Heaven and Earth, the jealousy of both demons and gods [guishen, 鬼神], who wanted to snatch away the scriptures from us. They could not do so only because the scriptures were thoroughly wet and because they had been shielded by your rectified dharma body [zhenfa shen, 正法身], which could not be harmed by thunder, lightning, or fog. Moreover, old Monkey was brandishing his iron rod to exercise the nature of pure yang energy [chunyang zhi xing, 純陽之性] and give you protection. Now that it is morning, the forces of yang are evermore in ascendancy, and the demons cannot prevail."
Only then did Tripitaka, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk realize what had taken place, and they all thanked Pilgrim repeatedly (based on Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 363-365).
I really like the idea of a battle between a divine force of yang energy and demonic forces of yin. This is a common occurrence in Chinese Folk Religion—e.g. a Tangki spirit-medium channeling a god to exorcise evil spirits.
But the above description really sets my mind alight with images of the confrontation. Monkey peers through the pouring rain to see an unfathomably large demon army the likes of which the cosmos has never seen. It contains innumerable commanders, vanguards, and an ocean of spirit-soldiers armed to the teeth. This demonic force would be the joint effort of demon kings and jealous gods wanting immortality and salvation for themselves. [1] Monkey takes this assault on the scriptures as a personal insult given his great effort in helping procure them.
A demon commander might say something like, "Leave the scriptures and the priest if you value your life!" Then Wukong would scream:
Who said that? Who the FUCK said that? Who's the slimy, little, demonic shit, twinkle-toed, cocksucker up there, who just signed his own death warrant?
[Surprised silence from the army]
Nobody, huh? The fairy-fucking-godmother said it! Out-fucking-standing! [pounds chest three times in a row] I WILL BEAT YOU ALL UNTIL YOU FUCKING DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Adapted from dialogue spoken by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket (1987).)
In all seriousness, though, his speech should be a chilling threat similar to Subodhi from chapter 2:
[Y]ou can be assured, wretched monkey, that you'll be skinned alive. I will break all your bones and banish your soul to the Place of Ninefold Darkness, from which you will not be released even after ten thousand afflictions! (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 125)
... 把你這猢猻剝皮剉骨,將神魂貶在九幽之處,教你萬劫不得翻身!
Anyway, the army commences its attack, the commanders sending forth wave after wave of spirit-soldier units wielding thunder and lightning as their weapons. In response, Monkey's body explodes with millions or even billions of hair clones to meet the oncoming storm. Each one wields the magic iron rod, which dispenses pure yang energy along with every ass kicking. The resulting battle is beyond imagination, with various units of Great Sages working to both defend the scriptures and Tripitaka but also drive back and decimate the malevolent force. Wukong succeeds in routing/destroying the entire demon army by dawn of the next morning.
Note:
1) The Buddha states that the scriptures of the Great Vehicle are "for the cultivation of immortality; they are the gate to ultimate virtue" (Wu & Yu, vol. 1, p. 205).
Source:
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.) Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.
I'm a really affectionate person once you get past my 5 layers of shyness, awkwardness, fear, vague dislike, and loneliness.
- Text from "themanwithfrozenhearts" 2013.12.21-
PS. 晚餐前我突然超極想要吃日本烏龍麵 🤤,所以就選了平價好吃的新品"麻婆豆腐うどん",有一點辣 😋 but Yummy at shop - marugame seimen Taiwan. 💕
(Before dinner, I suddenly wanted to eat Japanese udon noodles :D, so I chose the affordable and delicious new "Mapo Tofu うどん", which is a bit spicy but Yummy at shop - marugame seimen Taiwan.) Lan~*
Impatience can sometimes ruin big things, but if you can hold back your impatience, you won't act based on your spontaneity. Please help me, Lord, to learn not to be impatient and to know how to wait for You patiently in everything!
He who plans diligently will have plenty, but whoever acts hastily will suffer want (Proverbs 21:5).
01/04 Bible verses
“Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.” (Psalms 28:9 NIV)
https://psalm.bible/psalm-28-9
Please save your people, bless your inheritance, shepherd them, and support them forever. (Psalm 28:9)
01/04 Good words
1. No matter how sincere you are, it will turn into a lie when you meet someone who doubts you.
2. No matter how simple you are, when you meet complicated people, you will become scheming.
Hymn: If the Lord holds Ruan’s hand, there will be no worries in life.
https://youtu.be/CNYuWgQxgOg
🌺01/04 活出美好🌺
急躁有時會壞了大事,能忍住急躁就不會造成憑血氣而行。求主幫助我學習不急躁,懂得凡事用忍耐等候祢!
殷勤籌劃的,足致豐裕;行事急躁的,都必缺乏 (箴言21: 5)。
01/04 圣经金句
“Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”(Psalms 28:9 NIV)