great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

As I learned about the Heroic Journey model, each part made sense to me- in the context of all stories, and specifically in the context of Journey to the West as well. The one step that I struggled to understand, was the last one. “The Abyss”- where the heroic character faces his darkest fear as the last step of the journey. After some deliberation, I decided that this does, in fact apply to Monkey. What is Monkey’s biggest fear? Most would agree that Monkey’s biggest fear is mortality, which is why he strives for centuries to find immortality. “Is there no way by which, instead of being born again on earth, I might live forever among the people of the sky?” At the end of his very long journey, Monkey is told that every hardship and bump along the way was really put there for his good, and that someone else is running the show. I think accepting this truth was Monkey facing his greatest fear. “‘..It acted under orders from Buddha himself.’ ‘You mean to tell me,’ said Monkey, ‘that it was Buddha who told this creature to turn into an evil spirit and seize the Emperor’s throne? In that case all the troubles I meet with while escorting Tripitaka are very likely ordered by His Holiness. A nice thought!’” Monkey finds it difficult to accept this fact, but in the end manages to, and faces his fear of mortality- “the state or condition of being subject to death, mortal character, nature, or existence.”