The Monkey King is about a monkey who was born out of a magic egg that was in a magical rock under the heavens. He grew up in "unconstrained play" just like a normal ape, but quickly he was unable to hide his greatness. He became king after finding the ape community a cave they could dwell in forever. He then grows unsatisfied when he realizes that at some point he will have to die, so he goes on a journey to find immortality. Eventually, he gets trained by a saint to be great in mysterious and magical ways. Sun then returns to his ape kingdom and is greeted with favor. He then goes on other adventures, invoking fear in any who dare to challenge him.
I think one of my favorite parts of this story is at the beginning in The Great Sea whenever The Monkey King has an internal crisis over seeking truth. He is told," That you have hit upon this thought, O King, shows the desire to search for truth has awakened you!" So he goes on a journey to find truth. I think a lot of people can relate to this because there are a lot of moments where the tasks to which we have set ourselves seem futile in light of the grandeur of life! I find it very important to seek truth about the world and how it works- whatever that looks like for you!
I also like the part in Sun Wu Kung Gets His Name where, like the title says, he gets his name! I just think names are so important. Names define you in a way, makes you someone and when people call you by name it screams familiarity! So of course Sun was full of joy when he got his name! He was a Sun, not just an magic rock monkey anymore!
Hey, I found Truth! Taken in San Francisco.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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