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

Susanna Domosi:

Monkey is given the name Wake-to-Vacuity at the end of chapter 1. The significance of this could be seen as Monkey having to be awaken in order to come to vacuity. Vacuity can be defined as emptiness; getting rid of the idea that you are an individual because in spirituality, we are all connected as one. In other words, vacuity is immortality, the goal that Monkey sets out on a journey to achieve. Wisdom is one of the Six Perfections, one of the ways to enlightenment. Monkey demonstrates wisdom when he realizes that there is more to be accomplished in life than living with the other monkeys inside the waterfall: “Though we are not subject to the laws of man today, nor need we be threatened by the rule of any bird or beast, old age and physical decay in the future will disclose the secret sovereignty of Yama, King of the Underworld” (Wu Cheng’en, 428). Monkey is awaken with wisdom to strive to become immortal.
Wisdom is the possession of knowledge based on experiences. When monkey journeys through the West, his wisdom grows by observing the life of humans he encounters: “He saw, however, that the people of the world were all seekers after profit and fame: there was not one who showed concern for his appointed end” (Wu Cheng’en, 430). Monkey seeking immortality gains him wisdom on his journey to becoming awaken, achieving vacuity, and being names Wake-to-Vacuity.This allows him to understand that “profit” and “fame” are not items of real value.
Jiwoo Han:
In addition to what my partners stated, Monkey’s wisdom is the key to make it for him to where an immortal and his disciples live. It also gives him a chance to be one of the disciples and to become immortal in the end. He said “I have no cause for unhappiness. But I have a misgiving about the future, which troubles me sorely” (Wu Cheng’en). He is not content with his present life and it makes him look for something which is enlightenment. He also said “Is there no way by which, instead of being born again on earth, I might live forever among the people of the sky?” (Wu Cheng’en). He knows that he is not capable of avoiding mortality. His wisdom makes him go off on a journey to relieve a misgiving about his future life. He would never leave his home and get a chance to become immortal without wisdom. Therefore, wisdom is the key to awaken him to vacuity.

Daphne Young:
I agree with Susanna when she says vacuity, or emptiness, is immortality and Monkey gains wisdom on his journey to achieving vacuity. Building on that, immortality can also be seen as infinity, having no end. When one thinks that one knows all one’s world is very small and finite. If one does not seek to obtain more knowledge, one’s world is limited to only what they know or think they know. The more one knows, the more knowledge and wisdom one gains, the more infinite one’s world becomes. Monkey’s name, Wake-to-Vacuity, means a journey to enlightenment. It means to rid the idea of individuality as we are all connected one way or another in the world. “Smashing stubborn vacuity requires wake-to-vacuity.” (436) In Monkey’s journey, he will gain a lot of wisdom. The more wisdom he gains, the more he devotes his life to helping Tripitaka get to where he needs to go. “During the course of the pilgrimage, the monkey becomes increasingly bound both to his master and to the quest itself…the quest becomes…a structured series of challenges by which he can focus and discipline his rambunctious intellect.” (423)