Monkey’s quest to find immortality reflects his view on the meaning of life. Sun Wukong, or Wake-to-Vacuity, Monkey’s given name, may be directly tied to his fear of an empty or meaningless life. However, Monkey realizes that not many people are as concerned with immortality as he is. He sees that “that the people of the world were all seekers after profit and fame.” They were concerned with achieving as much as they possibly could in their mortal lifetime, content with the short time that they were given. The woodcutter, for example, struggles to make a living and feed his mother. Monkey is surprised that the woodcutter, whose neighbor is an immortal, does not “follow him in the cultivation of the Way.” However, the woodcutter has had a life full of hardship and responsibility. He is not interested in prolonging his life, because all that it has been is a struggle to survive. Monkey, on the other hand, has led a very different life as the king of the monkeys. He’s afraid that if he does not achieve immortality, his life may remain empty as he had never really had much to overcome. Without challenges and distress, life may seem meaningless.
- Zuzanna
Zuzanna makes a good point when she states that Monkey makes the quest of finding immortality for himself and his followers as the epicenter of his life. With such zealousness towards his mission, Monkey will lose a part of himself as so often happens when people become blindsided while chasing things in their lives. While some people mindlessly search for “profit and fame” as Zuzanna mentioned, Monkey was more interested in “quitting earthly zeals (Immortality).” In reality, Monkey is actually no better than the regular people he criticizes because he is also wasting his time in search of something he doesn’t have or need. Such endless desires distract one from seeing what’s truly important and actually enjoying their lives. Instead people spend their days dreaming of things they’ll potentially never be able to have. Monkey had “Left his island to drift with heaven’s winds. He sailed oceans and seas to find the Way of Immortality.” He left his entire prior life behind in hopes of achieving the impossible; clearly he has been engulfed by his desires to the point where his life doesn’t have much value to him anymore. This is why Monkey’s new assigned name is so befitting, he has awoke to the emptiness of life; in which he spent “10 years” searching for the supernatural. Now that he will finally achieve immortality, his ultimate goal, Monkey can realize just how meaningless his life will become. He will be forever trapped, in a world of discontent and unfulfillment.
- Borys
In the faith of the Buddha, before one can reach a life of fulfillment they must first empty their minds of all illusions that distort their perceptions of reality. Both fear and desire are examples of these mortal misconceptions. What usually may be considered normal human emotions actually serve as setbacks that prevent us from moving forward in life. Once one has rid themselves of all such worldly interruptions, they become able to focus on the Six Perfections that guide them to Enlightenment: Generosity, Patience, Action, Wisdom, and Integrity. But this is no easy task. In the case of the monkeys in Journey to the West, when they initially come across the world behind the bridge, “ a stone mansion with trees and flowers…stone ovens and stoves, stone pots and pans, stone beds and benches,” they are fascinated by what they believe to be a way to satisfy all of their life’s needs. The monkey leader, later named “Sun Wukong,” exclaims to his peers that “this is truly the place for us to settle in… and spare ourselves from being subject to the whims of Heaven.” What he realizes hundreds of years later after having lived in this wonderland for so long is that it is not as fruitful as he had first believed. “If we die, shall we not have lived in vain, not being able to rank forever among the Heavenly beings?” In fact, the distraction of desire for material possessions only dragged them further away from discovering the purpose of life. So, when Monkey sets off to fix their mistake, he is in search of what he believes will be a life of higher worth: one of immortality. What makes his name “Sun Wukong,” or, “To Acknowledge Emptiness” significant is the fact that the journey that has given him this title seems to be his path to Enlightenment. Already having completed the first three Perfections, his Generosity being his care for the wellbeing of his brothers and sisters around them, his Patience seen through his commitment to a 10+ year-long effort to help them and himself, and having taken Action since the start when he first jumped through the waterfall and so forth, I believe that maybe this is Monkey’s way of being Enlightened.
- Emily