EALC 275: Masterpieces of East Asian Literature Lecture #20: Monkey 4 Oct.30, 2013• 4. Competition and Contrast between Monkey and Pigsy: • How does Monkey trick Piggy into going with him to retrieve the body of the dead emperor? • By taking advantage of Piggy’s greed and making Piggy believe that they are on a treasure hunt (p.187). Monkey’s jealousy for Piggy’s strength (p.185). • How does Piggy revenge Monkey’s trick? • By hoaxing a guillable Tripitaka into reciting the head-bank sutra that gives Monkey excruciating pain. Tripitaka sometimes easily swayed by his disciples. • What’s the result of Piggy’s revenge? • Monkey has to go to the Taoist patriarch, Lao Tzu, to get an elixir pill for reviving the king. The Crow-Cock Episode, 3• 3. Cooperation and Contrast between Tripitaka and Monkey: • Contest #1, Calling for rain: Monkey wins the day by relying on his will and fearlessness, intimidating the heavenly gods and dragons into blowing the wind in his direction. • Contest #2, Meditation high in the air: • Monkey admits that he is too fidgety to settle-down and meditate, “It’s quite against my nature to sit still.” (p.235) • How do the Buddhists win? • Tripitaka meditates, relying on his superior spiritual cultivation and concentration, “I had first-rate masters when I was young and can remain suspended at the frontier between life and death for two or three years.” (p.235) • Monkey transforms himself into a centipede and climb into the meditating Daoist’s nostril. The Daoist falls to the ground. The Cart-Slow Country, 3• The “River that Leads to Heaven” Episode • Chapters 25-27: • Why are the villagers sad even if the Great King in charge of the river gives them good harvest every year? • Because the mystical king requires the offering of a pair of children per year. • How does Monkey decide to help the villagers? • Cooperation between characters: Monkey and Piggy transform themselves in a boy (War Child) and a girl (Load of Gold) and take the sacrificed children’s place.• 3. Trials and Challenges Arranged by Guanyin: • After being chased away by Monkey and Piggy, how does the cannibal king manage to capture Tripitaka? • By freezing the river first and then cracking the ice when the pilgrims walk on the river • What does the king turn into? • The goldfish in Bodhisattva Kuan-yin’s pond • After Kuan-yin takes back the goldfish, how do the pilgrims cross the river? • Being carried on the back of a big turtle • Gradual journey toward enlightenmentThe Monster freezes the River Chapter 26The pilgrims cross the frozen river Chapter 26The Boddhisattva Kuan-yin retrieves her “goldfish” with her fishing basket Chapter 27The Finale, 1 • Chapters 28-30: • 1. Unity of the Three Teachings: Who first greets the pilgrims when they step into Buddhist paradise? • A Taoist priest • 2. Paradox #1: How do the pilgrims cross the last river separating them from Buddha’s Thunder Clap Palace? • Riding in a bottomless boat• 3. A Leap of Faith: • In your opinion or speculation, why does the boat have to be bottomless? • The river that blocks your path to the “Other Shore” is really not a river; it is your apprehension of the difficulty of reaching the other shore that stops you from crossing. The boat, therefore, is only an appearance of the carrying vehicle. What carries you over is not the boat, but your own belief that overcomes fear and sees through desire. • Analogy to Neo trying to “leap” across a vast cavern between buildings in the Matrix--- an “impossible” task: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Nh0Fvoe9k The Finale, 2• 4. Enlightenment– Transcendence of limitations of physical senses • What happens to Tripitaka while he crosses the river? • He sees his own body floating away – total transcendence over the material world. “Tripitaka stepped lightly ashore. He had discarded his earthly body; he was cleansed from the corruption of the senses, from the fleshly inheritance of those bygone years. His was now the transcendent wisdom that leads to the Further Shore, the mastery that knows no bounds.” (p. 282) The Finale, 3On the bottomless ferry, the pilgrims see their earthly bodies float away Chapter 28• 5. Paradox #2: Why are the scriptures first given to the pilgrims completely blank? • On the one hand, although the scriptures given to Tripitaka are supposed to have writings so that the “foolish” Chinese can understand, the two disciples of Buddha have tricked Tripitaka for he did not give them gifts • More importantly, the Buddha tells the pilgrims that the “true” scriptures are supposed to be blank or “empty.” • “As a matter of fact, it is such blank scrolls as these that are the true scriptures.” (p.287) The Finale, 4Scriptures • Blank Scriptures • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUp9ZC2H_40&feature=related • Why? • --The pilgrims failed to give the Buddha’s disciples presents. • --The wordless scriptures are the most precious. • --The journey is more important than the destination. • --Sudden Enlightenment: a approach to Buddhist enlightenment found in Chan/Zen Buddhism that distrusts doctrines and programs and stresses instantaneous illumination for those of superior cultivation.Journey’s end, 1 • What is the purpose of the quest: the destination, or the journey itself? • Significance of the journey: • -Transformation-- An internal journey for each pilgrim to achieve perfection and enlightenment, overcoming individual flaws • -Composite character--Training of the team, interdependence • -Social Satire--Social ills in Chinese society are subjected to scrutinyThe pilgrims return to China with the Buddhist scriptures Chapter 30• A Set Number of Calamities: • How many calamities are the pilgrims supposed to suffer? • 81, 9 x 9 (九 jiu “nine”= 久 jiu “long-lasting/eternal”) • What is the last calamity? • The white turtle drops them in water for Tripitaka has failed to ask Buddha about the turtle’s future. • How many years do the pilgrims take for completing their journey? • 14 years Journey’s end, 2Reward • The pilgrims are elevated to divinity • Tripitaka→ Buddha • Monkey → Buddha • --What happens to the golden fillet? • Pigsy → Cleanser of the Altar • Sandy→ Arhat • Horse→ Heavenly dragon • “Every one of us is equally