At the end of the chapter, Monkey was given the name “Wake-to-Vacuity” which refers to the emptiness he is feeling. He desires to become immortal to avoid death, but without the wisdom of immortals he may never achieve his goal. Monkey has a vacuity of wisdom, which explains why he abandoned his kingdom in pursuit of his self-fulfilling interests. Monkey journeys to the immortals to fill the void in his life. He lacks wisdom because he does not accept the fact that only the Buddhas, immortals, and holy sages “can avoid the Wheel of Transmigration as well as the process of birth and destruction and live as long as heaven and earth, the mountains and the streams.” Instead of accepting death as a part of life, Monkey tries to evade his fate and live in eternity. Along the way Monkey finds a woodcutter who is caring for his mother. While speaking to the woodcutter, the woodcutter claimed, “…So there is no alternative but for me alone to support and care for my mother.” This is something that Monkey totally ignored previously in the beginning of the chapter. Unlike the woodcutter, Monkey abandoned his subjects who are lost without his leadership.
-Joseph Morreale
When the Patriarch tells the Monkey King “though your features are not the most attractive, you do resemble a monkey that feeds on pine seeds.” It makes me think about a Buddhist term adopted in Daoism, called monkey mind. Meaning unsettled, restless, confused and so forth. Which is connected to what The Patriarch then proceeds to name him “Wake-to-Vacuity” and like Joseph said it refers to the emptiness the Monkey King is feeling. The Monkey King spent years trying to find the way to immortality. And when he gets to the mountain and runs into the woodcutter, we are able to really get the sense of how empty he is without the gift of immortality. He believes immortality is the only way to be happy and get the most out of life. For instance, once the woodcutter told the Monkey King where to find the immortal one, he still insisted on the woodcutter to join him. However, the woodcutter basically tells him that they have separate paths and his is not to find immortality. His path is to continue to work and take care of his mother for the rest of his life. Like he said here “if I go with you, won’t I be neglecting my livelihood? And who will take care of my mother? I must chop my firewood. You go on by yourself!”
-Keauna
“ … If we die, shall we not haved lived in vain, not being able to rank forever among the Heavenly beings?” – The Monkey says this to other monkeys informing that they, as well as him should not live a life in vain and to be one of the highest in the heavens. By using his words of wisdom the monkeys now understood his reasoning , his actions and his search for immortality. In a way the monkey king is not only searching for immorality but also searching for wisdom. Along the way he meets a woodcutter who contradicts his story. The woodcutter explains how he has responsibilities which he cannot drop to go looking for immortality vs the monkey king who left the other monkeys behind. “ According to what you have said, you are indeed a gentleman of filial piety, and you will be rewarded in the future.” said by the monkey king to the woodcutter. This is another act of wisdom by the monkey king , showing he is fathom and respectful of the woodcutters views and does not suppress it but rather open to it.
-Bintou Samura
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