My Take on the Real vs. Fake Monkey King Story—Eradicate Attachments and Cultivate Genuinely

(Minghui.org) I have encountered numerous tribulations in my personal cultivation in the past few years. Through reading Falun Dafa teachings, I have made some breakthroughs, and improved my character. I have also gained some enlightenment from the book Journey to the West, especially the chapters about the real and fake Monkey King.

Journey to the West is one of the four classical novels in China. It tells the story of the famous Tang Monk and his three disciples’ journey to the Western Paradise to receive the Buddha scriptures. Except Tang Monk, his three disciples all had superpowers, especially the first one, Monkey King, who ruled the Flower and Fruit Mountain and claimed to be the king of all the monkeys. 

At first, Monkey King was not very obedient to Tang Monk. As a result of that, his loyalty to Tang Monk and faith in Buddha were tempered in a series of tests and tribulations throughout their journey to the Western Paradise. 

Some people believe that Journey to the West is a children’s book, however, cultivators in Buddha schools have found this book enlightening as it illustrates the tribulations that cultivators go through and attachments to relinquish. 

I believe the story of the true vs. fake Monkey King has many parallels to our cultivation in Falun Dafa, and would like to share some of my understanding on it.

Absence of Compassion Incurs Tribulations

In their journey, Monkey King was sometimes denounced by the Tang Monk for killing bandits or those with evil thoughts to harm them. When they had a dispute, Monkey King became upset and his faith to assist Tang Monk on the path to the Western Paradise wavered. Then his shortage of compassion on top of attachments, such as competitiveness, jealousy and self-validating, eventually gave way to, among other tribulations, the emergence of the fake Monkey King, a demon in disguise who had all the powers and capabilities that the real Monkey King had. 

After Tang Monk expelled Monkey King for killing two robbers, the fake Monkey King, grasping the loophole, attacked Tang Monk and stole his luggage. He then occupied Monkey King’s home, Water Curtain Cave, and conjured a gang who looked exactly the same as Tang Monk and his disciples. The fake Monkey King’s goal was to replace Tang Monk on the westward journey and receive the Buddha scriptures himself.

To clear his name and validate himself, Monkey King, taking advantages of his superpowers and his connections with the heavenly deities, traveled to Luojia Mountain, the Underworld, Yama Temple and Nantianmen seeking help from Guanyin Bodhisattva, Earth Tibetan Bodhisattva and Jade Emperor to capture the fake “him,” but no one could help him. In the end, it was Tathagata Buddha who subdued the demon and revealed its true identity—a six-eared macaque.

Monkey King’s lack of compassion was proved true once again when he killed the fake Monkey King without Tathagata Buddha’s consent. To his dismay, his act of killing the fake Monkey King was due to his inhumanity and iniquity, along with his competitiveness, self-defending, and his impetuous character. All of those were the reasons of the cumulative tribulations he encountered one after another. 

Similarly, in the process of cooperating with fellow practitioners in clarifying the truth, I used to be very obsessed with the superficial things, and often argued with other practitioners to prove myself. As a result, I was once reported to the police, causing unnecessary losses. My strong attachments to validating myself, and failure to cultivate kindness and compassion had given the old forces the loopholes to persecute me. 

If one thinks he is cultivating, but is full of resentment, and complaints internally, isn’t it the same as Monkey King who was so eager to use his superpowers to obtain external support?

As a Dafa cultivator who practices Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, lacking compassion is no small matter. Our righteous thoughts have magical powers which should be used to disintegrate the evil factors in other dimensions and stop the demons from doing evil.

Attachments in the Way of Cultivation

The manifestation of Monkey King’s attachments in this dimension are jealousy, competitiveness, and self-validating. When Monkey King indulged in his own notions, the illusory him, a false Monkey King formed by his attachments, gained the upper hand and carried out the tasks fueled by his demonic desires, opposite of what the real Monkey King was expected to do and achieve. 

In addition, the six-eared macaque’s prank-like behavior was derived from Monkey King’s own evil thoughts. Throughout the entire journey, Monkey King didn’t fully abandon his desire to return to his Flower and Fruit Mountain to be the king. His worldly pursuits led to the tribulation of the fake monkey’s complete taking over of his home, the base for comfort. Using this opportunity, however, Tathagata Buddha turned it into a difficulty for him to overcome. Therefore, the very existence of the fake Monkey King was a test for the real one to solidify his faith and elevate his character. 

Comparing with Monkey King, some practitioners are inclined to elaborate on the negative side of other practitioners, and are even envious of those who are doing well with their cultivation. Some practitioners are attached to living a more comfortable life. Dafa cultivators should constantly be alert to our thoughts and behaviors so as to prevent unnecessary tribulations on our cultivation path. 

Genuinely Cultivating Ourselves to Overcome Our Own Tribulations

Was it possible that Guanyin and the Jade Emperor were unable to subdue the six-eared macaque? They were high realm divine beings, so how could they not see through a demon monkey’s tricks? This tribulation was a major hurdle on Monkey King’s cultivation path—a test for his faith in Buddha cultivation, so he must breakthrough it by himself.

With his irritable temper and arrogant personality, accompanying Tang Monk to the Western Paradise could be especially challenging. Nonetheless, the hardships he encountered in every step of the way—every test and difficulty he ran into, were grinding away Monkey King’s irritability, jealousy, the unrighteousness, and his pursuits to always prove himself right.

Likewise, on our path of cultivation, practitioners who live for the sake of fame and gain, comfort, envy and even anger should look within; we should strengthen our faith in Dafa, eliminate our attachments, and tribulations to elevate our characters. 

Genuinely Cultivating amidst the Chaotic World

Throughout their journey to achieve Buddha fruition, Tang Monk and his disciples overcame dozens of attacks of demonic interference. Cultivating in modern chaotic world, Dafa cultivators are faced with interference from the vicious old forces whose goal is to stop Dafa disciples from assisting Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, to rectify the cosmos. It is eminent for us to keep our mind tranquil while following Master’s teachings to cultivate solidly. 

Nowadays, some practitioners constantly check the current news on their mobile phones. They are easily carried away by the occurrences in the chaotic world which ultimately escalates their human notions and irritates their mind. 

What are the factors behind the uproar of news on social media about power struggles that many ordinary people are passionate about? The more intense the internal strangulation of the evil forces, the easier they manipulate people’s will to stir up more trouble. Ordinary people can discuss these issues, but true cultivators should not be enthusiastic about them.

Master Li taught us,

“The wicked CCP exists solely for this one purpose, and whether you go after it or not, it will fall apart. Once our Dafa disciples have completed the things that they are to do, it will fall apart for sure. But in the meantime, as good and evil collide, each life’s choice of where it stands, the path that each chooses, and the conduct of these sentient beings will determine where they head in the future. That’s how all this works.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the NTD Meeting,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)

After exhausting all their tactics and tricks to smear Dafa, the evil forces still fail to stop millions from learning the truth. Many people in China, including those who profit from persecuting Dafa practitioners, know very well that the days of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are numbered.

Let’s all cultivate well in the remaining time before Fa-rectification reaches this dimension, and not be misled by the chaos in the world. Our righteousness can help the ordinary people understand that human body is hard to come by, and Buddha Fa is difficult to meet. When the CCP collapses, and the evil forces are disintegrated, all beings will be held responsible for their actions. This is why Dafa cultivators must work diligently to help people learn the truth.

The above is based on my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything that is not on par with Dafa teachings. 

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)