Tag Qitian Dasheng

The Worship of Sun Wukong in Wanfu Temple: Initial Findings

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 07-21-2020

As a historian of the great Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592), much of my time researching is spent flipping through piles of books or searching the internet. Rarely do I get the opportunity to conduct field research on living traditions connected with the novel. That’s why I was excited to learn of the Buddho-Daoist Wanfu Temple (Wanfu an, 萬福庵) (fig. 1 & 2) in Tainan, Taiwan, where they worship Sun Wukong under his guise as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven (Qitian Dasheng, 齊天大聖). This happened to coincide with a short break from school, allowing me time to travel. I left Taipei where I live and stayed in the West Central District of the southern municipality. My afternoon was spent independently touring both floors of the recently renovated temple and taking numerous photos, all of which can be seen on my google drive. I had originally planned to catch the train home that evening, but was so intrigued by what I saw that I delayed my return another day. After making introductions, my second afternoon was spent asking questions about pantheon structure, rituals, general beliefs, etc. I was invited back that evening to record their spirit-medium channeling the Great Sage.

Below, I present my initial findings. I realize that a day is obviously not enough time for observation, so the following information should be looked upon as an informal survey. However, I still feel that this material is important, not only because few scholars writing in English have published on the worship of Sun Wukong, but also because it helps flesh out the ongoing history of his veneration going back to at least the 14th century. [1]

Exterior and entrance

Fig. 1 – Wanfu temple exterior (larger version). Fig. 2 – The entrance (larger version).

Table of Contents

1. Temple History

Wanfu is touted as the oldest temple dedicated to the Great Sage in all of Taiwan. It was originally a mansion built during the early-1660s for Ruan Jun (阮駿), a subordinate of the famous Southern Ming Dynasty General Koxinga. His widow Lady Ruan (阮夫人) is said to have lived out the rest of her days there in religious piety, and following her death, the mansion was converted into a house of worship called the Lady Ruan Temple (Ruan Furen si, 阮夫人寺). The name was subsequently changed to “Myriad Blessings” (Wanfu, 萬福) in the 11th year of the Jiaqing reign (1806), during a time when the temple was known for taking in orphans. The change was made by nuns who believed the children benefited from the blessings of an old stone Great Sage statue thought to have been brought over from Fujian by Lady Ruan when she and thousands of other people fled the invading Qing forces to Taiwan. Sun Wukong’s influence over the temple grew to the point that while still officially known as Wanfu (fig. 3), it came to acquire the additional name of Taiwan’s Laying the [Religious] Foundation Great Sage Equaling Heaven Temple (Quantai Kaiji Qitian Dasheng miao, 全臺開基齊天大聖廟) (fig. 4). A second level was added to the building in 1971, and further renovations were completed in 2014.

Fig. 3 (left) – The “Wanfu Temple” sign over the main temple doors (larver version). Fig. 4 (right) – The neon sign on the facade reads “Wanfu Temple Laying the Foundation Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (larger version).

2. Pantheon of Great Sages

One of the most interesting aspects of the temple is that it recognizes more than one Great Sage, each with his own function. Their pantheon consists of a trinity, followed by a small handful in administrative positions, and finally a plethora of soldier Monkeys. The highest-ranking is the aforementioned 300-plus-year-old stone statue named Laying the Foundations Elder Great Sage (Kaiji Da Dasheng, 開基大大聖) (fig. 5A and 8). His central importance is signified by his position atop a chair on the altar stage. He is alternatively known as the Great Sage Lord (Dasheng Ye, 大聖爺). The second and third ranking members of this trinity, respectively named Laying the Foundations Second Great Sage (Kaiji Er Dasheng, 開基二大聖) and Laying the Foundations Third Great Sage (Kaiji San Dasheng, 開基三大聖) (fig. 5B, 5C, and 8), sit to his right and left. The Elder Great Sage and the Second Great Sage remain in heaven unless some important matter requires their direct participation. The Third Great sage alternates with the administrative Tour Inspector Great Sage (see below) to see to external temple business on Saturdays.

Fig. 5 (left) – (A)The Laying the Foundation Elder Great Sage, the 300-year-old stone statue; (B) The Laying the Foundation Second Great Sage; and (C) The Laying the Foundation Third Great Sage (larger version). Fig. 6 (center) – The Tour Inspector Great Sage (larger version). Fig. 7 (right) – The Internal Affairs Great Sage (larger version). 

The administrative Monkeys include the large Tour Inspector Great Sage (Chuxun Dasheng, 出巡大聖) (fig. 6 & 8), who oversees activities outside the temple. He is located to the right of the trinity; the slightly larger, staff-wielding Internal Affairs Great Sage (Neiwu Zongguan Dasheng, 内務總管大聖) (fig. 7 & 8) serves as a manager to lower-ranking Monkeys. He is located to the left of the trinity; and the Sergeant Great Sage (Shiguan Dasheng, 士官大聖) (fig. 9) serves as the temple director. This comparatively small statue sits behind a magistrate’s bench below the altar stage, just behind the offerings table.

Fig. 8 (left) – The altar stage layout, with the most important Great Sages labeled (larger version). Fig. 9 (right) – The Sergeant Great Sage sitting at a magistrate’s bench (larger version). 

In addition, the Elder Great Sage has at his disposal a group of powerful commanders known as the Five Camps Celestial Generals (Wuying Bingjiang, 五營兵將), who protect the five cardinal directions. These are the black Northern Camp Sage Lian Gong (Beiying Lian Gong Shengzhe, 北營連公聖者); the blue/green Eastern Camp Sage Zhang Gong (Dongying Zhang Gong Shengzhe, 東營張公聖者); the red Southern Camp Sage Xiao Gong (Nanying Xiao Gong Shengzhe, 南營蕭公聖); the white Western Camp Sage Liu Gong (Xiying Liu Gong Shengzhe, 西營劉公聖者); and the golden Central Camp Marshal of the Central Altar (Zhongying Zhong Tan Yuanshuai, 中營中壇元帥) (fig. 10). Each general in turn leads a vast heavenly army comprised of tens of thousands of soldiers. Such generals are very common to Daoist temples across Taiwan and find their origin in the 36 protector generals of Daoism (Sanshiliu Tianjiang, 三十六天將), who, funny enough, are led by Zhu Bajie’s previous incarnation Marshal Tianpeng (Davis, 2001, p. 78).

The position of the Great Sage pantheon in relation to the wider Buddho-Daoist pantheon mirrors that from Journey to the West. Despite his central position in Wanfu’s religious life, the Great Sage is still considered subordinate to the Bodhisattva Guanyin (觀音), whose birthday was being celebrated on the second day of my visit with a vegetarian meal open to all. In fact, the temple’s second floor Three Jewels Hall (Sanbao Dian, 三寶殿) contains statues of the Buddha and flanking Bodhisattvas raised on an altar stage, with a statue of Guanyin placed in front of and almost at the same level as the Enlightened One (fig. 11). This shows her great importance.

Fig. 10 (left) – Two sets of the Five Camps Celestial Generals can be seen. Their colors of black, blue/green, red, white, and gold help distinguish each one (larger version). Fig. 11 (right) – The statue of Guanyin sitting in front of and almost at the same level of the Buddha (larger version). The goddess Mazu sits in front of Guanyin. From the second floor Three Jewels Hall.

3. Worshiping the Great Sage and Requesting Blessings

When the faithful come to pray, they often stand directly in line with the center of the altar (fig. 12), with hands pressed and set against their forehead (or chest), or they light a grouping of three incense sticks, kneel on the praying couch, and hold the sticks up to their forehead (or chest) with elbows level, often rhythmically bobbing their arms or upper torso (fig. 13). The procedure for making a request has three steps. First, adherents greet the Great Sage and say their full name, lunar birthday (and time if known), and their address. This is done because many people have names written with the exact same Chinese characters. The step insures that the Great Sage answers the right prayers for the right person. Second, they wish for health, wealth, good luck, removal of a negative influence, etc. Third, they later burn spirit money to repay Monkey’s generosity. This form of prayer is for those who don’t mind waiting for a response.

For those seeking an immediate response, the temple employs a pair of crescent moon-shaped wooden blocks known as “bamboo cups” (jiaobei, 筊杯) (fig. 8) for divination purposes. The procedure starts the same with the greeting and personal information, but the cups are grasped between the hands during the prayer and then dropped to the ground after a few minutes. Like rolling spiritual dice, the faithful take note of the orientation in which the blocks fall. One side of the blocks is flat, while the other is curved. If one cup falls with the flat side upwards (open) and the other flat side down (closed), this means “yes” (shengjiao, 聖筊). If both fall upwards, this means the Great Sage is happy or “laughing” at the request (xiaojiao, 笑筊). If both fall facedown, the Great Sage is “angry” and unwilling to fulfill the request (nujiao, 怒筊) (fig. 14). The cups are thrown three times, and the best two of three results are accepted as the answer.

Fig. 12 (left) – The offering table and altar (larger version). Fig. 13 (center) – A young couple praying to the Great Sage (larger version). Fig. 14 (right) – The Bamboo cups, both sitting in the “angry” response (cup down) (larger version).

Often times adherents will want more clarification, so the blocks are used in tandem with “fortune sticks” (qiuqian, 求籤). The traditional procedure is to shake the cylinder full of sticks, each marked with a number, until one falls out. (I, however, saw one young man with long, dyed hair randomly reach into the cylinder without shaking it. He also didn’t wait the required period after his prayer to drop the cups. He must have been in a hurry!) The adherent then looks up the corresponding oracle in a booklet kept on the temple’s front desk. These oracles are also available on slips of paper that can be taken and read later. The use of the bamboo cups and fortune sticks is common in other temples.

I asked one young couple associated with the temple about the exact number of members. They were unsure of the core members and especially of the number of outside worshipers. It appears the veneration of the Great Sage is so entrenched in Tainan religious society that people from other temples will come from time to time to pay their respects to Monkey.

3.1. Great Sage Spirit-Medium

The second day of my visit coincided with one of the twice weekly (Wed. and Sat.) rituals in which the temple’s spirit-medium (Hokkien: tangki, 童乩; Chinese: jitong, 乩童, lit: “divining youth”) calls down the spirit of the Great Sage to possess his body (video 1). Prior to the ritual, red ropes were used to demarcate a sacred space within the center of the altar hall. The ropes were tied to either side of the main central temple doors and stretched diagonally to the respective left and right walls of the hall, forming a V-shape, or a sort of spiritual bottleneck. Only the medium and the temple workers were allowed to inhibit this sacred space shortly before and during the ritual. The faithful seeking blessings and spectators were asked to wait on the other side of the ropes, entering through secondary doors located to the respective left and right of the main set.

Video 1 – The spirit-medium ritual.

I witnessed the medium chewing an herbal substance that was removed prior to the ritual. [2] He then proceeded to purify himself with a small pot of (psychoactive?) incense, first bathing his hands and arms in the smoke, before passing it around his head, waist, and calves. Taking hold of the pot’s handles, he began belching. This gave way to a moving trance in which he marched in place for several minutes. The arrival of the Great Sage was signaled by an audible growl and the medium lifting high one knee, taking on a martial pose like esoteric protector deities (fig. 15). After an attendant removed his shirt, he squatted low to the ground and struck another pose with arms flexed like said deities (fig. 16). Such postures serve to mark the medium’s transition from a human to a god.

The medium-turned-Great Sage displayed jovial feet clapping, followed by feats of strength, including elevated push ups and a handstand. Finally, he stood atop a wooden bench and used his weight to rock it side to side, slamming the feet down in rapid succession, producing a sound similar to firecrackers. The sound is used to scare away evil influences. I was told in advance that the medium would “do exercise” and use the bench “to make noise,” so these appear to be common aspects of the ritual.

Fig. 15 – The stance announcing the Great Sage’s arrival (left) is similar to esoteric guardian deities, such as the temple’s depiction of Wangling Tianjun (center left) (larger version). Fig. 16 – His next stance (center right) is also similar to said guardians, especially this statue based on a famous 14th-century carving of a Japanese Nio (right) (larger version).

The Great Sage welcomed the first of many children and blessed each the same with the following procedure. First, he touched the top of the incense pot and then transferred his hand to the child’s crown, doing this three times. Second, he dipped his finger into the incense and drew a line down the center of the child’s face from the forehead to the chin and onto the neck. Third, after dipping his fingers in the incense again, he traced a rectangular form on the child’s torso, possibly a symbolic fu (符) talisman, before pushing on the stomach several times to release, as I was told, “bad air” (negative qi). The same rectangle was traced on the child’s back. Fourth, the Great Sage dipped his finger in the incense and turned to the table to write out three fu talismans on yellow strips of paper, his finger often floating above the surface. One was packaged to be later burnt and the ashes combined with an included tea leaf and cold (yin) and hot (yang) water to be given to the child as a magical brew. The second was folded and put inside of a red pouch to be worn as a good luck charm (fig. 17-19). The third was lit and waved over the child’s head and around their body.

Fig. 17 (left) – A baggy containing a loose fu talisman, a folded talisman inside of a red charm, and a tea leaf (larger version). This baggy was given to me when I participated in similar ritual for adults. Fig. 18 (center) – The front of the charm reading “Tainan Wanfu Temple, safety and peace” (larger version). Fig. 19 (right) – The back reading “Great Sage Equaling Heaven,” “Guanyin/Shakyamuni,” and “Multitude of Gods and Buddhas” (larger version). 

The large number of children taking part in the ritual (many of which were not shown in the video) is, as mentioned above, tied to the temple’s history. Adherents believe the Great Sage bestows blessings on children, as well as cures them of illnesses when they are sick. [3] Additionally, they believe that those taken as the Great Sage’s godchildren will be well-behaved and become well-tempered adults. [4] For those who have read the novel, this may at first appear to be a paradox—Monkey, a paragon of good behavior?!—but this no doubt refers to his internalization of self-restraint after becoming a Buddha at the end of the novel. This coincides with the disappearance of his restraint-inducing golden headband.

Numerous adults also sought the Great Sage’s blessing. Having already provided their personal information on salmon-colored prayer sheets to temple personnel, each person in turn greeted the medium and then made their request (health, wealth, good luck, etc.). The blessing procedure was the same regarding fu talismans, complete with the third being lit and waved around the head and body. I even saw the Great Sage bless a shirt in place of an adherent who could not come in person. When interacting with the faithful, the medium spoke to them in a high-pitched voice, [5] often making people laugh with his responses. I was later informed that the language being used was Taiwanese, which explains why I couldn’t understand what was being said. I too took part in the ritual and noted that the medium’s eyes were rolled back into his head. Apart from the poses at the beginning, the voice and eyes serve to mark the possessed state.

The medium has held his position at the temple for 20 years. But it should be noted that he has a normal job during the week and volunteers his time at the temple. His path to mediumship began as a young man when he started displaying certain behavior signifying he had been chosen by the Great Sage to be his earthly representative. While many mediums go through a period of training under a “Red Hat” Daoist (Hongtou Daoshi, 紅頭道士), a master of religious ceremony (Clart, 2008), I was told that the methods of mediumship were revealed to him in his dreams by the Great Sage while he slept in the temple for 49 days.

3.2. Celebrating the Great Sage’s Birthday

The Monkey King’s birthday is recognized as the 12th day of the 10th lunar month and is celebrated over the course of three days. This year (2018) the birthday will correspond to November 19th. The first day of celebrations is undertaken by core temple members, while the subsequent days are undertaken by sister temples. Below is a video showing a time-lapse of a past celebration. Many people crowd the temple to pay their respects, as well as to fill the offering table with all kinds of delicious fruits and sweets. I can picture the Great Sage rolling around on the ground and laughing in delight!

Video 2 – The celebration of the Great Sage’s birthday.

His offerings are later shared with his five celestial generals in the Rewarding Soldiers ritual (Kao jun, 犒軍). This too is common in other temples.

4. Conclusion

The Buddho-Daoist Wanfu Temple of Tainan, Taiwan worships Sun Wukong under his guise as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who is venerated as a powerful exorcist and healer, as well as a sort of patron saint of children. The main focus of worship is a 300-plus-year old stone statue believed to have been brought over from Fujian during the turmoil of the late-Ming dynasty. The temple recognizes an entire pantheon of Great Sages, from a trinity (headed by the aforementioned statue) and administrative managers down to an army of lowly soldier monkeys. Furthermore, the Great Sage has at his disposal five cardinal celestial generals and their respective armies to insure his will is done. The position of the Great Sage within the greater Buddhist pantheon is the same as in the novel. He is subordinate to the Bodhisattva Guanyin, who is considered by Wanfu to be almost equal to the Buddha in terms of importance.

The Great Sage-adherent dynamic involves two forms of interaction: impersonal and personal. The former involves the adherent praying to the deity in heaven, sometimes using bamboo cups, fortune sticks, and corresponding oracle booklets to divine the Great Sage’s response to their request. The latter involves personal interaction with the deity via a spirit-medium. The Wanfu medium twice-weekly (Wed. and Sat.) holds a ceremony where he calls down the Great Sage, and after taking possession, the deity personally interacts with those seeking blessings. He employs magic fu talismans to bless both children and adults, the paper slip being burnt and waved around their body. The ritual for children is more involved as incense is first used to draw talismans on their body and then negative qi is released by pushing on the stomach.

I plan to revisit the temple at a later date to conduct more in-depth research into the particulars of the pantheon, as well as the ritual of the spirit-medium. Visiting during the Great Sage’s birthday, the 12th day of the 10th lunar month, would be an ideal time since it’s no doubt a time of much fanfare.

5. Update

Update: 07-21-20

Wanfu Temple’s “black command flag” (Hokkien: or leng ki; Mandarin: hei leng qi, 黑令旗) (fig. 20) is located just outside the rightmost front entrance. Elliott (1955/1990) explains that command flags advertise the presence of a spirit-medium, while also serving as a warning to ghosts and demons (p. 51). Chan (2014) comments that such flags are imbued with the power of the Dark Emperor of the North, considered the greatest exorcist god in Daoism, and act as a covenant between the deity and the tangki spirit-medium who leads his heavenly armies against evil (p. 34).

Fig. 20 (left) – The Wanfu Temple black command flag (larger version). Fig. 21 (right) – The flag legend (larger version).

Each flag is covered with arcane symbols that are usually only intelligible to the initiated. With some help, [6] I have made a near complete translation of the Wanfu black command flag (fig. 21):

  1. 雨漸耳 (Yu jian er, “Rain soaks the ears”) – This likely refers to a commandment from heaven.
  2. 六? (Liu ?) – The mystery character likely refers to the Six Ding (六丁), protector spirits of Daoism. They are often grouped with the Six Jia (Mugitani, 2008). See also no. 11 below.
  3. 六甲 (Liu Jia) – Refers to the Six Jia. See also no. 12.
  4. 北極 (Bei ji, “Northern Ultimate”) – This refers to the Dark Emperor of the North. Here, the character for “north” is split in half and “ultimate” is inserted in the middle.
  5. ?富? – Two unknown characters sandwich that for “wealth” (fu).
  6. Sun – A symbol for 陽 (yang) energy.
  7. Moon – A symbol for 陰 (yin) energy.
  8. Big Dipper – A seven-star pattern associated with Daoist ritualistic dances and purification ceremonies. See section one of this article for more info.
  9. 風調雨順 (fengtiao yushun) – A common Chinese idiom meaning “the wind and rain are seasonal” (i.e. the weather is good).
  10. 國泰民安 (guotai minan) – Another common idiom. It means “the country is prosperous, and the people are secure.”
  11. 敺邪 (qu xie) – “Expel evil/disease.” This is likely connected to no. 2 above. Together it would read the “Six Ding expel evil/disease.”
  12. 押煞 (ya sha) – “Stop malicious spirits”. This is likely connected to no. 3. Together it would read the “Six Jia stop malicious spirits.”
  13. This angular symbol is the 符胆 (fu dan), the talismanic flag’s locus of power (Chan, 2014, p. 35).

Notes:

1) A 14th-century tomb shrine jointly dedicated to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the “Great Sage Reaching Heaven” (Tongtian dasheng, 通天大聖) in Baoshan, Fujian shows that Monkey was indeed venerated prior to the publishing of Journey to the West (1592) (Wang, 2004).

2) This appears to be a common practice. In his study of Singaporean spirit-mediums, Elliott (1955/1990) writes:

Before their performances many dang-ki have been seen to chew some sort of root or sip from a cup, but it has been impossible to ascertain whether these contain stimulating substances (p. 64).

3) The Great Sage is, after all, a trained doctor. His medical skills are described in chapters 68 and 69.

4) Such youths are known as “dedicated children” (khoe-kia) in Singapore (Elliott, 1955/1990, p. 83).

5) Elliott (1955/1990) references the tangki‘s “shrill, artificial voice” and notes that it’s “supposed to be ‘shen [神, god] language'” (p. 64).

6) I am indebted to Kelly Black Lin for helping me decipher some of the cryptic characters.

Sources:

Chan, M. (2014). Tangki War Magic: The Virtuality of Spirit Warfare and the Actuality of Peace. Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice, 58(1), 25-46. Retrieved from 

Clart, P. (2008). Tang-ki (or jitong) In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Taoism: Volume 2 (pp. 964-966). London [u.a.: Routledge].

Davis, E. L. (2001). Society and the Supernatural in Song China. Honolulu (Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

Elliott, A. J. (1990). Chinese Spirit-Medium Cults in Singapore. London: The Athlone Press. (Original work published 1955)

Mugitani, K. (2008). Liujia and Liuding. In F. Pregadio (Ed.), The encyclopedia of Taoism: Vol 1-2 (pp. 695-697). Longdon: Routledge.

Wang, y. (2004). Sun Wukong De Yuanji Keneng Zai Fujian Baoshan [Sun Wukong’s Origin Could be In Baoshan, Fujian]. Yuncheng Xueyan Bao, 22(3), 30-34.

The Origin of Sun Wukong’s Golden Headband

Jim R. McClanahan 8 Comments

Last updated: 12-24-2023

The golden headband or fillet (jingu, 金箍; a.k.a. jingu, 緊箍, lit: “tight fillet”) is one of the Monkey King’s most recognizable iconographic elements appearing in visual media based on the great Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592 CE; “JTTW” hereafter). It is generally portrayed as a ringlet of gold with blunt ends that meet in the middle of the forehead and curl upwards like scowling eyebrows (type one) (fig. 1). A different version is a single band adorned with an upturned crescent shape in the center (type two) (fig. 2). Another still is a simple band devoid of decoration (type three) (fig. 3). Sun first earns the headband as punishment for murdering humans. The circlet is a heaven-sent magic treasure designed to reign in the immortal’s unruly, rebellious nature. Since Sun Wukong is a personification of the Buddhist concept of the “Monkey of the Mind” (xinyuan, 心猿), or the disquieted mind that bars humanity from enlightenment, the fillet serves as a not-so-subtle reminder of Buddhist restraint. Few scholars writing in English have attempted to analyze the treasure’s history.

In this paper, I present textual and visual evidence from India, China, and Japan that suggests it is ultimately based on a ritual headband worn by Esoteric Buddhist Yogin ascetics in 8th century CE India. I also show how such fillets became the emblem of some Chinese protector deities, as well as military monks in Chinese opera.

Table of Contents

1. Literary Origin and Purpose

The headband is first mentioned in chapter eight when three such “tightening fillets” are given to the Bodhisattva Guanyin by the Buddha in order to conquer any demons that she may come across while searching for a scripture pilgrim:

“These treasures are called the tightening fillets, and though they are all alike, their uses are not the same. I have a separate spell for each of them: the Golden, the Constrictive, and the Prohibitive Spell. If you encounter on the way any monster who possesses great magic powers, you must persuade him to learn to be good and to follow the scripture pilgrim as his disciple. If he is disobedient, this fillet may be put on his head, and it will strike root the moment it comes into contact with the flesh. Recite the particular spell which belongs to the fillet and it will cause the head to swell and ache so painfully that he will think his brains are bursting. That will persuade him to come within our fold” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 206-207).

此寶喚做緊箍兒，雖是一樣三個，但只是用各不同。我有金緊禁的咒語三篇。假若路上撞見神通廣大的妖魔，你須是勸他學好，跟那取經人做個徒弟。他若不伏使喚，可將此箍兒與他戴在頭上，自然見肉生根。各依所用的咒語念一念，眼脹頭痛，腦門皆裂，管教他入我門來。

Guanyin later explains in JTTW chapter 42 which demons get which fillet (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 251).

Sun Wukong earns the “Constrictive” (jin, 緊) band in JTTW chapter 14 after brutally murdering six thieves who accost his master Tripitaka, the chosen scripture pilgrim, on the road to the west. The killings cause the two to part ways, and it is during Monkey’s absence when Guanyin gives the monk a brocade hat containing the fillet and teaches him the “True Words for Controlling the Mind, or the Tight-Fillet Spell” (喚做『定心真言』，又名做『緊箍兒咒』) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 317). Sun is eventually persuaded to return and tricked into wearing the hat under the guise of gaining the ability to recite scripture without rote memorization. It soon takes root, and the powerful immortal is brought under control through the application of pain. He then promises to behave and to protect Tripitaka during their long journey to the Western Paradise. [1]

The remaining two fillets are used by Guanyin to conquer monsters in later episodes. She throws the “Prohibitive” (jin, 禁) band onto the head of the Black Bear Demon (Hei xiong jing, 黑熊精) in JTTW chapter 17, and after reciting the spell, he agrees to become the rear entrance guard of her Potalaka Island paradise (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 365). The “Golden” (jin, 金) band is split into five rings—one each for the head, wrists, and ankles—and used to subdue Red Boy (Hong hai’er, 紅孩兒), the fire-spewing son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan, at the end of JTTW chapter 42 and the beginning of 43 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 251-252). The child demon becomes her disciple and eventually takes the religious name “Sudhana.” [2]

Monkey is forced to wear the fillet until he attains Buddhahood in JTTW chapter 100, causing it to vanish (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 383). The band’s disappearance at the end of the novel denotes Sun’s internalization of self-control, but the treasure doesn’t disappear forever. It appears once more in the Later Journey to the West (Hou Xiyouji, 後西游記, 17th century CE), an unofficial sequel set 200 years after the original. The story follows a similar trajectory, with Monkey’s descendant Sun Luzhen (孫履真, “Monkey who Walks Reality”) attaining immortality and causing havoc in heaven. But this time the macaque Buddha is called in to quell the demon. Monkey quickly disarms the “Small Sage Equaling Heaven” of his iron staff and pacifies him not with trickery but with an enlightening Buddhist koan. He then places the band on Luzhen’s head to teach him restraint (see Liu, 1994).

Fig. 1 – (Left) The “Type One” headband. From the comedy A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (1995). (Center) The “Type Two” headband. From the famous 1986 TV show. (Right) The “Type Three” headband. From the 2011 TV show (larger version).

2. Past Research into the Origins of the Headband

It appears very few scholars writing in English have attempted to trace the origins of the golden fillet. Wang Tuancheng theorizes that the idea for the headband came from two sources. First, the historical journal of Xuanzang (602–664 CE), the Tang Dynasty monk on whom Tripitaka is loosely based, details how he was challenged to a religious debate by a man in a foreign kingdom who offered his own head as the price of defeat. Xuanzang won, but instead of collecting his prize, the monk took the man as his servant. Second, Wang notes that slaves during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) wore a metal collar around their neck shaped like the Chinese character for twenty (nian, 廿). He goes on to explain: “…the author transformed the metal hoop that the non-Buddhist might have worn to Sun Wukong’s headband” (Wang, 2006, p. 67).

I’m not particularly persuaded by this argument since Wang doesn’t offer any evidence as to why a Han-era slave implement would still be in use during the Tang (618–907 CE) four to five hundred years later; nor does he suggest a reason for why such a collar would be moved from the neck to the head. Besides, there exists religious art featuring the fillet (see below) that predates the novel by centuries, meaning it wasn’t the sole invention of the JTTW author-compiler.

Before I continue, I would like to point out that the 13th century CE precursor of the novel, The Story of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Procures the Scriptures, does not mention the fillet at all. (This is just one of many differences between it and the final 16th century CE version.) Monkey is simply portrayed as a concerned celestial who purposely seeks out Tripitaka to ensure his safety, as the monk’s two previous incarnations have perished on the journey to India. In other words, he comes as a willing participant, which negates the need for punishment via the ringlet. [3] But at least two pictorial representations of Monkey coinciding with the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE) depict him wearing a band, which, again, excludes the treasure being a later invention.

In her excellent paper on the origins of Sun Wukong, Hera S. Walker (1998) discusses a 13th century CE stone relief from the western pagoda of the Kaiyuan Temple (開元寺) in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China that portrays a sword-wielding, monkey-headed warrior (pp. 69-70). Considered by many to be an early depiction of Monkey, the figure wears a robe, a Buddhist rosary, and, most importantly, a type one fillet on the forehead (Fig. 4). [4] Walker quotes Victor Mair, who believes that the fillet “recalls the band around the head of representations of Andira, the simian guardian of Avalokitesvara” (the Indian counterpart to Guanyin) (Walker, 1998, p. 70). He goes on to list similarities between the stone relief and depictions of Andira, while also suggesting said depictions are based on south and southeast Asian representations of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman:

Identical earrings (these are key iconographic features of H[anuman] in many Southeast Asian R[ama saga]s), comparable tilt of the head… which seems to indicate enforced submission, long locks of hair… flaring out behind the head, elongated monkey’s mouth, similar decorations on the forearm and upper arm, etc. It is crucial to note that all these features can be found in South Asian and Southeast Asian representations of H[anuman] (Walker, 1998, p. 70).

So as it stands, the 13th century CE appears to be the furthest that the motif has been reliably traced.

Fig. 4 – The 13th century CE stone relief of Sun Wukong from the Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China (larger version).

3. My Findings

While Mair suggests a Southeast Asian Hindo-Buddhist influence, I know of at least one example from northeastern China that suggests an Indo-Tibetan Buddhist influence. The Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. 2 (Dong qianfo dong di 2 ku, 東千佛洞第2窟) in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province contains a late-Xixia dynasty (late-12th to early-13th century CE) mural of Xuanzang worshiping Guanyin from a riverbank. Monkey stands behind him tending to a brown horse. He is portrayed with a type three circlet on his head, waist length hair, and light blue-green robes with brown pants (fig. 5). This painting was completed during a time when China was seeing an influx of monks fleeing the inevitable fall of India’s Buddhist-led Pala Dynasty (750–1174 CE) from the 10th to the 12th century CE. They brought with them the highly influential Pala Buddhist art style and Vajrayana Buddhism, a form of esoteric Buddhism. The MET (2010) writes:

A mixture of Chinese-style and Vajrayana traditions and imagery was employed in the Tangut Xixia Kingdom …  which was based in Ningxia, Gansu, and parts of Shanxi … It is difficult to imagine that this “new” type of Buddhism, which not only was flourishing in Tibet in the late tenth century but was also found in the neighboring Xixia Kingdom and may have been practiced by Tibetans based in the Hexi Corridor region of Gansu Province, was completely unknown in central China until the advent of the Mongols (p. 19).

The painting of Monkey and Tripitaka was surely created by an Indian or Tibetan Buddhist monk, or at the very least a fellow Tangut or Chinese practitioner living in the area. This suggests that the imagery within the painting, such as the fillet, could have an Esoteric Buddhist pedigree, and textual evidence shows such headbands were indeed worn in some esoteric rituals.

For example, the Indian Buddhist Hevajra Tantra (Dabei kongzhi jingang dajiao wang yigui jing, 大悲空智金剛大教王儀軌經, 8th century CE) instructs adherents on how to adorn and dress themselves for worshipping Heruka, a Wrathful Destroyer of Obstacles:

The yogin must wear the sacred ear-rings, and the circlet on his head (emphasis added); on his wrists the bracelets, and the girdle round his waist, rings around his ankles, bangles round his arms; he wears the bone-necklace and for his dress a tiger-skin… (Linrothe, 1999, p. 250).

彼修觀者當如是行：謂頂想寶輪、耳帶、寶鐶，手串寶釧，腰垂寶帶，足繫寶鐸及妙臂釧，頸嚴寶鬘衣、虎皮衣 …

Furthermore, it describes how each of the ritual adornments and implements used in the ceremony represents each of the five esoteric Buddhas, as well as other religio-philosophical elements:

Aksobhya is symbolized by the circlet (emphasis added), Amitabha by the ear-rings, Ratnesa by the necklace, and Vairocana (by the rings) upon the wrists. Amogha is symbolized by the girdle. Wisdom by the khatvanga [staff] and Means by the drum, while the yogin represents the Wrathful One himself [i.e. Heruka]. Song symbolizes mantra, dance symbolizes meditation, and so singing and dancing the yogin always acts (Linrothe, 1999, p. 251).

「輪者，表阿閦如來；鐶者，無量壽如來；頸上鬘者，寶生如來；手寶釧者，大毘盧遮那如來；腰寶帶者，不空成就如來。於是色相而生念住：金剛渴椿誐杖者，表勝慧相；奎樓鼓者，即善方便故；瑜伽行者，瞋業清淨；住金剛歌詠者，真言清淨。

「又復，不應為求利養作是金剛歌舞事業。是故，瑜伽者當如是行…

As can be seen, the circlet represents Aksobhya (Sk: “Immovable”; Ch: Achu, 阿閦; Budong, 不動). This deity is known for his adamantine vow to attain buddhahood through the practice of Sila, or “morality,” the aim of which “is to restrain nonvirtuous deeds of body and speech, often in conjunction with the keeping of precepts” (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, pp. 27 and 821). So, the ritual band most likely served as a physical reminder of right speech and action, making it the best candidate for the origin of Monkey’s fillet. Sun is after all the representation of the “Monkey of the Mind” (as noted in the introduction), so his inclusion in the Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave painting was probably meant to convey the taming of this Buddhist concept via the circlet (apart from referencing the popular tale itself).

The Hevajra Tantra, the text in which the circlet appears, was first translated into Tibetan by Drogmi (993–1074 CE) and adopted during the 11th century CE as a central text by the respective founders of the Kagyu and Sakya sects, two of the six major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Various members of the Sakya sect were invited by Mongol royalty to initiate them into the text’s esoteric teachings during the 13th century CE. These include Sakya Pandita and his nephew Chogyal Phagpa, who tutored Genghis Khan‘s grandson Prince Goden in 1244 and Kublai Khan in 1253, respectively. The meeting between Kublai and Chogyal resulted in Vajrayana Buddhism becoming the state religion of Mongolia. The Hevajra Tantra was translated into Chinese by the Indian monk Dharmapala (963–1058 CE) in 1055 during the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 CE). The text, however, did not become popular within the Chinese Buddhist community like it would with the Mongols in the 13th century CE (Bangdel & Huntington, 2003, p. 455). But this evidence shows how the concept of the 8th century CE ritual circlet could have traveled from India to East Asia to influence depictions of Sun Wukong in the 12th/13th century CE. And the relatively unknown status of the text in China might ultimately explain why there are so few ancient depictions of Chinese deities wearing the fillet, or why it does not appear in the 13th century CE version of JTTW.

While the late-Xixia mural (fig. 5) lacks many of the ritual adornments (apart from the fillet) mentioned in the Hevajra Tantra, the Quanzhou stone relief (refer back to fig. 3) includes the band, earrings, necklace, bangles, and possibly even a tiger skin apron, suggesting it too has an esoteric origin (most likely based on Chinese source material). The band’s connection to esoteric Buddhism is further strengthened by a 12th century CE painting from Japan. Titled Aka-Fudo (赤不動), or “Red Fudo [Myoo],” it depicts the wrathful esoteric god seated in a kingly fashion, holding a fiery, serpent-wrapped Vajra sword in one hand and a lasso in the other (fig. 6). He wears a golden, three-linked headband (similar to the curls of type one), which stands out against his deep red body and flaming aureola. Biswas (2010) notes: “… the headband on his forehead … indicate[s], according to some, a relation to the habit of groups of ascetics who were among the strong supporters of Acalanatha” (p. 112). His supporters were no doubt yogin practitioners in the same vein as those who worshipped Heraku and other such wrathful protector deities.

Fig. 5 – A portion of the late-Xixia (late-12th to early-13th century CE mural) in the Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave number two (larger version). Fig. 6 – The 12th century CE Japanese painting “Aka-Fudo” (赤不動) (larger version).

3.1. Symbol of Martial Deities and Warrior Monks

It’s important to note that Monkey was not the only cultural hero of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE) to wear a golden fillet. Another example is Li Tieguai (李鐵拐), or “Iron Crutch Li,” the oldest of the Eight Immortals. [5] Li is generally portrayed as a crippled beggar leaning on a cane. Legend has it that his original body was cremated prematurely by a disciple while the immortal traveled in spirit to answer a summons from Lord Laozi, the high god of Daoism. Li’s spirit returned a day later to find only ashes, thus forcing him to inhabit the body of a recently deceased cripple. According to Allen and Philips (2012), “Laozi gave him in recompense a golden headband and the crutch that was to become his symbol” (p. 108). Some depictions of Li wearing the fillet predate JTTW. The most striking example is Huang Ji’s Sharpening a Sword (early-15th century CE) (Fig. 7), which portrays the immortal wearing a type three band and sharpening a double-edged blade on a stone while staring menacingly at the viewer. [6] One theory suggests Li’s martial visage identifies him as a “spirit-guardian of the [Ming] state” (Little, 2000, p. 333). Both Monkey and Li are, therefore, portrayed as brutish, weapon-bearing, golden headband-wearing immortals who serve as protectors. This shows that the fillet was associated with certain warrior deities during the Ming.

The fillet’s connection to religion and martial attributes culminated in the Jiegu (戒箍, “ring to forget desires”), a type two band worn by Military Monks (Wuseng, 武僧) in Chinese opera to show that they have taken a vow of abstinence (fig. 8). Such monks are depicted as wearing a Jiegu over long hair (Bonds, 2008, pp. 177-178 and 328), which contrasts with the bald heads of religious monks. [7] I would like to suggest that the band’s half-moon shape may have some connection to a Ming-era woodblock print motif in which martial monks are shown wielding staves tipped with a crescent (fig. 9) . The exact reason for the shape is still unknown (Shahar, 2008, pp. 97-98), but the association between the crescent and martial monks seems obvious. (See the 07-25-22 update below for the foreign origins of this motif.) The use of the fillet in Chinese opera led to it being worn by Sun Wukong in the highly popular 1986 live-action TV show adaptation of the novel (fig. 2). [8]

Fig. 7 (Left) – Huang Ji’s “Sharpening a Sword” (early-15th century CE) (larger version). Fig. 8 (Center) – An image of the military monk Wu Song wearing a jiegu (戒箍) fillet from a 2011 Water Margin TV show (larger version). Fig. 9 (Right) – A late-Ming woodblock of the warrior monk Lu Zhishen with a crescent staff (larger version). From Shahar (2008).

4. Conclusion

Examples of past research into the origins of the golden fillet respectively point to a slave collar from the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and circa 13th century CE South and Southeast Asian depictions of the Buddhist guardian Andira and the Hindu monkey god Hanuman as possible precursors. However, the first isn’t credible, and the second, while on the right track, doesn’t go back far enough. A late-12th to early-13th century CE mural in the Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave complex depicts Sun Wukong wearing a type three fillet with possible ties to a ritual circlet worn by Esoteric Buddhist Yogin ascetics in 8th century CE India. The Hevajra Tantra, the esoteric text that mentions the band, associates it with the Aksobhya Buddha and thereby his moralistic, self-restraining practices. The text was transmitted from India to Tibet, China, and Mongolia from the 11th to the 13th centuries CE, showing a clear path for such imagery to appear in East Asia. A 12th century CE Japanese Buddhist painting of the guardian deity Fudo Myoo with a fillet suggests that the practice of wearing circlets in esoteric rituals continued for centuries. Other non-Buddhist deities became associated with the fillet during the Ming Dynasty. A 15th century CE painting of the immortal Li Tieguai, for example, depicts him as a type one circlet-wearing, sword-wielding guardian of the Ming dynasty. All of this suggests that the band became a symbol of Chinese protector deities. The association between the fillet and religion and martial attributes led to its use as the symbol of military monks in Chinese opera.

5. Updates

Update: 12-23-17

I’ve been wondering what the 8th century CE version of the circlet (along with the other ritual implements) mentioned in the Hevajra Tantra might have looked like. While I have yet to find a contemporary sculpture or painting, I have found an 11th to 12th century CE interpretation from Tibet. Titled The Buddhist Deity Hevajra (fig. 10), this copper alloy statue somewhat follows the prescribed iconography of the god as laid out in the aforementioned text:

Dark blue and like the sun in colour with reddened and extended eyes, his yellow hair twisted upwards, and adorned with the five symbolic adornments,/ the circlet, the ear-rings and necklace, the bracelets and belt. These five symbols are well known for the purificatory power of the Five Buddhas./ He has the form of a sixteen-year-old youth and is clad in a tiger-skin. His gaze is wrathful. In his left hand he holds a vajra-skull, and a khatvahga [staff] likewise in his left, while in his right is a vajra of [a] dark hue…(Linrothe, 1999, p. 256)

Fig. 10 – The Buddhist Deity Hevajra, late-11th to early-12th century CE, copper alloy (larger version). Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Fig. 11 – Detail of the circlet (larger version).

The circlet here is depicted as a fitted band with crescent trim and a teardrop-shaped adornment (a conch?) (fig. 11). The statue’s iconography more closely follows that from the Sadhanamala (“Garland of Methods”), a compilation of esoteric texts from the 5th to 11th centuries CE. The following information probably derives from the later part of this period:

He wields the vajra in the right hand and from his left shoulder hangs the Khatvanga [staff] with a flowing banner, like a sacred thread. He carries in his left hand the kapala [skull cap] full of blood. His necklace is beautified by a chain of half-a-hundred severed heads. His face is slightly distorted with bare fangs and blood-shot eyes. His brown hair rises upwards and forms into a crown which bears the effigy of Aksobhya. He wears a kundala [ear decoration] and is decked in ornaments of bones. His head is beautified by five skulls (Donaldson, 2001, p. 221).

Our statue has many of these features but lacks the image of the Buddha in his hair. This suggests the knob visible in the coif (fig. 10) once carried such a figure. So, once again we see the importance of the Aksobhya Buddha. The statue is similar to 10th and 11th century CE stone statues from India. [9]

While this doesn’t get us any closer to what the original circlet looked like, this statue adds to the mutability of the fillet imagery. The Hevajra Tantra is vague in its description, and so it is no surprise that so many variations have appeared over the centuries. The original sanskrit text uses the word cakri (circle) to refer to the band (Farrow & Menon, 2001, pp. 61-62). This might explain the simple type three fillet worn by Monkey in the Eastern Thousand Buddha Cave no. two painting (fig. 2).

Update: 08-16-20

I have written an article suggesting an origin for the type one headband, or as I now call it, the “curlicue headband.”

Sun Wukong’s Curlicue-Style Headband

Update: 12-12-21

One thing I figured out a while ago but never explained here was the reason why the Japanese Buddhist protector deity Aka-Fudo (赤不動) (fig. 6) is depicted with a headband. I believe this is a visual representation of the fillet’s association with the Aksobhya Buddha. This is because the fudo (Ch: budong, 不動) of Aka-Fudo and the Sanskrit meaning of Aksobhya respectively mean “immovable.” So, the image of Aka-Fudo is encapsulating both his position as a protector deity and the Buddha represented by the headband. 

Update: 01-23-22

I’ve written an article suggesting a mantra for the secret spell that causes the golden fillet to tighten.

The Tightening Spell of Sun Wukong’s Golden Headband

Update: 07-25-22

I’ve written an article that explains the origins of the “crescent-style” headband.

The Monkey King’s Crescent-Style Headband

Update: 06-26-23

Above, I mentioned that the novel contains three kinds of headbands:

  1. Sun Wukong/Six Ears – “Constrictive” (jin, 緊) – ch. 14
  2. Black Bear Demon – “Prohibitive” (jin, 禁) – ch. 17
  3. Red Boy – “Golden” (jin, 金) – ch. 42

It’s interesting that all of them are pronounced “jin” (with varying tones).

Now imagine that there is a secret fourth headband not intended to punish but to empower. Called the “Strength” (jin, 勁) headband, it would only be used in the most extreme emergencies.

It would be neat to see someone work this into their fanfiction.

Update: 12-24-23

A character is briefly punished to wear a golden headband in the famed Ming-era novel Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi, 封神演義, c. 1620; summary). Chapter 82 reads: 

Ma Sui [馬遂] attacked him with his sword, and after only one round, threw a gold hoop [jingu, 金箍] around the immortal’s head. The Yellow Dragon Immortal [Huanglong zhenren, 黃龍真人] writher in pain but was quickly rescued and brought back to the pavilion.

The Yellow Immortal Dragon Immortal tried to take the hoop off his head but found it was impossible. It was so tight the true samadhi fire went out of his eyes.

The Immortal of the South Pole [Nanji xianweng, 南極仙翁] came in to announce Heavenly Primogenitor’s [Yuanshi tianzun, 元始天尊] arrival. The religious leader entered the pavilion and said, “The Yellow Dragon Immortal was destined to be caught in this gold hoop. Come here and let me help you.”

He pointed at the gold hoop, and it dropped to the ground (Gu, 2000, pp. 1713-1715).

只一合，馬遂祭起金箍，把黃龍真人的頭箍住了。真人頭疼不可忍，眾仙急救真人，大家回蘆篷上來。真人急忙除金箍，除又除不掉，只箍得三昧真火從眼中冒出；大家鬧在一處。不表。且說元始天尊來會萬仙陣，先著南極仙翁持玉符先行。南極仙翁跨鶴而來，雲光縹緲。馬遂抬頭，見是南極仙翁，急駕雲光至半空中來，阻住去路。仙翁笑曰：「馬遂，你休要猖獗，掌教師尊來了。」馬遂正欲爭持，只見後面仙樂一派，遍地異香，馬遂知不可爭持，按落雲頭，回歸本陣。南極仙翁先至蘆篷，率眾仙迎鑾接駕，上篷坐下。眾門人拜畢，侍立兩傍。元始曰：「黃龍真人有金箍之厄。」忙叫：「過來。」黃龍真人走至面前；元始用手一指，金箍隨脫。

(Gu (2000) skips over some elements in the original Chinese.)

I’ve known about this episode for a while but forget to post about it.

Notes

1) For the entire episode, see Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 314-320.

2) The child first speaks his new name in chapter 49 (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 354). The original Sudhana originates from the Avatamsaka Sutra (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, pp. 386-387 n. 3).

3) For a complete English translation, see Wivell (1994).

4) This is just one of many relief carvings that grace the pagoda. It includes other guardian-type figures with esoteric elements but rendered in the Chinese style. See Ecke and Demiéville (1935).

5) The Eight Immortals are Daoist saints who came to be worshipped as a group starting sometime in the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234 CE) (Little, 2000, p. 319).

6) The sword is usually a symbol of the immortal Lu Dongbin, but as noted above, it is used to identify Li Tieguai as a Ming guardian (Little, 2000, p. 333).

7) Shahar (2008) discusses the historical differences between religious and military monks in ancient China.

8) Liu Xiao Ling Tong (六小龄童; born Zhang Jinlai, 章金萊, 1959), the actor who played Monkey in the 1986 TV show, comes from a family who has specialized in playing Sun Wukong in Chinese opera for generations (Ye, 2016).

9) See the Heruka chapter in Linrothe (1999). He includes our statue in his study, but other sources describe it as Tibetan instead of Indian (Bangdel & Huntington, 2003, p. 458).

Bibliography

Allan, T., & Phillips, C. (2012). Ancient China’s Myths and Beliefs. New York: Rosen Pub.

Bangdel, D., & Huntington, J. C. (2003). The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago, Ill: Serindia Publications.

Biswas, S. (2010). Indian Influence on the Art of Japan. New Delhi: Northern Book Centre.

Bonds, A. B. (2008). Beijing Opera costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.

Buswell, R. E., & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Donaldson, T. E. (2001). Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of the Later Buddhist Sculpture in China. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

>Farrow, G. W., & Menon, I. (2001). The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra: With the Commentary Yogaratnamālā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.

Gu, Z. (2000). Creation of the Gods (Vols. 1-4). Beijing: New World Press.

Linrothe, R. N. (1999). Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art. Boston, Mass: Shambhala.

Little, S. (2000). Taoism and the Arts of China. Chicago, IL: Art Institute of Chicago.

Liu, X. (1994). The Odyssey of the Buddhist Mind: The Allegory of the Later Journey to the West. Lanham, Md: University Press of America.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leidy, D. P., Strahan, D. K., & Becker, L. (2010). Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Shahar, M. (2008). The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts. University of Hawaii Press.

Walker, H.S. (1998). Indigenous or Foreign? A Look at the Origins of Monkey Hero Sun Wukong. Sino-Platonic Papers, 81, 1-117.

Wang, T. (2006). Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang’s Western Pilgrimage. Taipei: Rhythms Monthly.

Wivell, C.S. (1994). The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of T’ang Brought Back the Sūtras. In V. H. Mair (Ed.), The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature (pp. 1181-1207). New York: Columbia University Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.) Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.

Ye, X. (2016). Liu Xiao Ling Tong and Sun Wukong. Retrieved December 15, 2017, from https://www.youlinmagazine.com/story/liu-xiao-ling-tong-and-sun-wukong/Njgw

Why the Monkey King Wears a Tiger Skin Loincloth and How it Ties Him to Supreme Esoteric Buddhist Guardian Deities

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 05-20-2026

After being released from his mountain prison in  Journey to the West (Xiyou ji, 西遊記, 1592 CE, “JTTW” hereafter) chapter fourteen, Sun Wukong effortlessly kills a tiger with his iron staff and uses a magic hair-turned-knife to skin the beast. He cuts a large square from the fur and uses half to create a loincloth to cover his naked body (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 309-310). This tiger skin clothing is a highly recognizable element of Monkey’s iconography (fig. 1). But did you know that it has a connection to the Wrathful Destroyers of Obstacles (Sanskrit: Krodha-vighnantaka; “WDO” hereafter), [1] a class of supreme guardian deities in Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism?

Table of Contents

1. WDO Background

Esoteric Buddhism first developed in India as an offshoot of Mahayana Buddhism during the 6th century CE. WDOs appear in three recognized iconographic phases stretching from the sixth to the twelfth century. The first and longest phase (6th to 12th cent.) depicts the WDO as a dwarfish attendant to a full-size Bodhisattva. [2] He serves as the personification of his master’s wisdom and abilities. The second phase (8th to 10 cent.) represents the WDO as an independent deity with his own attendants. He serves as the personification of the attributes of the five esoteric Buddhas. The third phase (late-10th to 12th cent.) represents the WDO as the equal of Buddhas (Linrothe, 1999, pp. 11-14).

Wrathful Destroyers of Obstacles are often depicted as fierce, multi-armed figures bearing weapons and, most importantly, wearing tiger skin loincloths (Sanskrit: Vyaghracarma-nivasana). For example, the Manjusrimulakalpa, an 8th-century esoteric text, dictates the prescribed iconography of Manjusri’s WDO guardian Yamantaka (“the Destroyer of Yama, god of death”):

Six faces, six arms and feet/Black in color, with a big belly / Bearing a skull, his hair flaring out in anger / A tiger skin wrapped around the hips (emphasis added) / Holding all kinds of implements and weapons” (fig. 2) (Linrothe, 1999, p. 66). (emphasis mine)

The Hevajra Tantra, another 8th-century esoteric work, ties tiger skin clothing to Yogin practices. The text instructs them on how to adorn and dress themselves for worshipping the WDO Heruka:

The yogin must wear the sacred ear-rings, and the circlet on his head; on his wrists the bracelets, and the girdle round his waist, rings around his ankles, bangles round his arms; he wears the bone-necklace and for his dress a tiger-skin (emphasis added)… (Linrothe, 1999, p. 250). (emphasis mine)

Furthermore, it describes how each of the ritual adornments and implements used in the ceremony represent each of the five esoteric Buddhas, as well as other religio-philosophical elements:

Aksobhya is symbolized by the circlet, Amitabha by the ear-rings, Ratnesa by the necklace, and Vairocana (by the rings) upon the wrists. Amogha is symbolized by the girdle. Wisdom by the khatvanga [staff] and Means by the drum, while the yogin represents the Wrathful One himself [Heruka]. Song symbolizes mantra, dance symbolizes meditation, and so singing and dancing the yogin always acts (Linrothe, 1999, p. 251).

Van Kooij (as cited in Linrothe, 1999) comments, “Heruka is more or less a deified hypostasis of the … yogin himself” (p. 251). This suggests that the WDO are dressed according to what is worn by the very Yogin ascetics who worship them. But I would like to take this one step further. It is important to note that many of these elements, such as the earrings, bracelets, arm bangles, bone necklace, tiger skin dress, khatvanga staff, drum, and dancing, are all attributes of the Hindu God Shiva. He is considered the yogin par excellence, as well as a wrathful deity in his own right (Elgood, 1999, pp. 44-54). I, therefore, suggest that the practice of wearing tiger skin was just one of many elements that esoteric Buddhism borrowed from Hindu asceticism.

Fig. 1 – (Left) A modern depiction of Sun Wukong (by the author) (larger version). Fig. 2 – (Center) A 13th-century Japanese depiction of the Wrathful Destroyer of  Obstacles Yamantaka (larger version). Fig. 3 – (Right) A modern depiction of the Hindu god Shiva (larger version).

Shiva is often depicted as wearing a tiger skin and/or using it as a meditation mat (Skt: Asana) (fig. 3). This skin has two interpretations: 1) it represents his power over nature; 2) it represents him killing the personified “tiger of desire” (Elgood, 1999, p. 52; Beer, 2003, p. 65). When viewed from a Buddhist context, it seems only natural that Buddhist ascetics and deities would use the skin to represent the cessation of desire. It should also be noted that tigers and their skin were symbols of strength in ancient India. For instance, the great Hindu epic the Mahabharata (circa 4th cent. BCE), describes the martial feats or attributes of many powerful warriors and kings as being tiger-like (Śarmā, 1988, p. 66). In addition, during the royal consecration ceremony (Skt: Rajasuya), newly appointed Vedic kings would step on a tiger skin to gain the animal’s strength (MacDonell & Keith, 1995, p. 337). I, therefore, suggest that the WDO tiger skin loincloth serves a secondary function as a symbol of the WDOs spiritual or physical strength.

There are numerous classes of Buddhist deities that share similarities with the WDO, such as having a wrathful appearance and serving a protective function, but do not rank as high in the esoteric pantheon. These include the Heavenly Kings (天王, tianwang; Skt: Lokapala) (fig. 4), who protect righteous kingdoms and monasteries; Gate Guardians (門神, Menshen; Skt: Dvarapala), who protect the doorways of monasteries and temples; the Protector of Fields (Skt: Ksetrapala), who protect plots of land; the Guardians of the Directions (Skt: Dikpala), former Hindu gods who protect the eight directions; and the Dharma Protectors (Skt: Dharmapala), who protect the Buddha’s teachings. The WDO are high-level members of the latter group (Linrothe, 1999, pp. 20-22).

WDOs stand high above other guardians because they are charged “with the destruction of barriers which prevent the experience of enlightenment” (Linrothe, 1999, p. 25). These barriers include external threats like manifested demons and internal threats like demon-caused mental and bodily illness, the “three poisons,” and karmic debt (Linrothe, 1999, pp. 24-25). [3] And they have the power to subdue even supreme devas. For example, the Compendium of the Truth of All Buddhas (Skt: Savra-tathagata-tattva-samgraha, late-7th cent.) tells of the Cosmic Buddha Mahavairocana ordering the WDO Trailokyavijaya (the wrathful form of Vajrapani) to conquer Mahesvara (a.k.a., Shiva), king of the gods and master of the three realms. After being subdued, the fallen god asks the Buddha: “[H]ow it can be that Vajrapani, whom in anger [I]…called a mere Yaksa, can be so strong, stronger even than the Tathagata as Lord of the Trikaya[?]” (Linrothe, 1999, p. 26). [4]

Fig. 4 – (Left) Statues of the Four Heavenly Kings located in Beihai Park, Beijing, China (larger version). Fig. 5 – (Right) A modern toy depicting Monkey’s fearsome three-headed, six-armed form (larger version).

2. The Monkey King as a WDO

Many of Sun Wukong’s attributes and abilities align with those mentioned above, I would, therefore, like to argue that he is a WDO. First, he wears the tiger skin loincloth, which ties him to the same spiritual tradition represented by WDOs and Yogin ascetics. Second, he has a wrathful appearance (Skt: krodha). During his war with heaven, he takes on a fearsome form with three heads and six arms and multiplies his iron staff to defeat wave after wave of celestial opponents (fig. 5) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 157 and 191). This is similar to the multiple heads, arms, and weapons of the WDO Yamantaka, as well as other such deities (Linrothe, 1999, pp. 188, 268-269 and 279-280, for example). Third, he serves as a destroyer of obstacles (Skt: vighnantaka). By vanquishing the various monsters, spirits, and fallen stars that threaten the life of Tripitaka, Sun clears the path of manifested demons that obstruct his master’s path to enlightenment. Thanks to his help Tripitaka becomes a Buddha at the end of the novel (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 381). Fourth, Sun serves as the guardian and strong-arm of a Bodhisattva, per phase one of the recognized WDO iconography. Tripitaka is after all the Golden Cicada Bodhisattva reborn on earth (see the 05-20-26 update below for more info). Fifth, Monkey is so powerful that he poses a threat to the August Jade Emperor of Heaven, just like the WDO Trailokyavijaya did for the supreme deva Mahesvara. This ultimately explains why the celestial army is no match for Sun and why other guardian deities, like the Heavenly Kings, fear and respect him. [5] Identifying the Great Sage as a WDO helps locate his position in the novel’s Buddhist pantheon prior to his elevation to Buddhahood. This means that Monkey is no longer the Buddho-Daoist “wild card” that doesn’t really seem to fit in anywhere.

The author-compiler of JTTW would have had plenty of esoteric material to influence his depiction of Sun. Esoteric Buddhism filtered into China by the early-Tang Dynasty (618–907) and continued into the Song (960–1279) thanks to royal patronage. People of the neighboring foreign Khitan Liao (907–1125), Tangut Western Xia (1038–1227), and Jurchen Jin (1115–1234) dynasties, all of whom conquered northern China at one time or another, adopted the religion. The Mongols, another foreign ruler of the Middle Kingdom, were great adherents of Vajrayana Buddhism during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), which ensured the continued presence of esoteric imagery in China. And during the Ming (1368–1644), when JTTW was first published, the Yongle (r. 1402–1424) and Zhengde (r. 1505-1521) emperors, as well as other elite members of society, patronized and/or practiced the religion (Stoddard, 2008; Orzech, Sorensen, & Payne, 2011).

3. Update

Update: 12-16-2017

My new article expands on the WDO connection by highlighting Monkey’s association with the circlet mentioned above as one of the ritual items worn by yogis. This shows Sun’s trademark headband can be traced to Esoteric Buddhism.

The Origin of Sun Wukong’s Golden Headband

Update: 06-07-2018

A stone carving of Sun Wukong from one of the Kaiyuan temple’s stone pagodas (erected in 1237) portrays him wearing nearly all of the aforementioned ritual items, further solidifying his image as a WDO.

The Sun Wukong Stone Relief of Kaiyuan Temple

Update: 05-20-26

I mistakenly referred to Tripitaka as a bodhisattva. Evidence points to him being an arhat/luohan. See section 4.1. of this article.

The Monk Tripitaka and the Golden Cicada

Notes:

1) The Krodha-vighnantaka term was coined by Rob Linrothe (1999) since the names traditionally given to said wrathful deities over the centuries are not appropriate to cover all three historical phases of their existence (pp. 19-20).

2) The first artists to represent WDOs drew on previous depictions of semi-divine Yaksa spirits, the dwarf-like Gana attendants of Shiva, and the humanoid personification of divine Hindu weapons (Skt: Ayudhapurusa) (Linrothe, 1999, pp. 12-13).

3) The three poisons are stupidity, greed/lust, and anger. These are often depicted in the center of Buddhist Wheel of Life art as a boar, a snake, and a rooster, each biting the others tail, forming a circle.

4) Linrothe (1999) writes that Shiva in this case represents the conquering of ego instead of “a Hinduism which must be humiliated” (p. 26).

5) During the Great Sage’s rebellion, the August Jade Emperor is forced to ask the Buddha to intervene because Sun Wukong is too strong (Wu and Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 191-192). Monkey defeats the celestial army, along with the Heavenly Kings, prior to being subdued (Wu and Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 172). And later the guardians “ben[d] low to bow to him and dare not bar his way” when he visits heaven some centuries after his rebellion (Wu and Yu, 2012, vol. 4, p. 118).

Sources:

Beer, R. (2003). The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. Chicago, Illinois: Shambhala.

Elgood, H. (1999). Hinduism and the Religious Arts. London, u.a.: Cassell.

Linrothe, R. N. (1999). Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art. Boston, Mass: Shambhala.

Orzech, C. D., Sorensen, H. H., & Payne, R. K. (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the tantras in East Asia. Leiden: Brill.

MacDonell, A. A., & Keith, A. B. (1995). Vedic index of names and subjects. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Stoddard, H. (2008). Early Sino-Tibetan art. Bangkok: Orchid Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

The Later Journey to the West: Part 1 – Sun Luzhen’s Early Adventures

Jim R. McClanahan 2 Comments

Note: An AI translation of this novel is now available. Click the linked Chinese characters below that read “後西遊記.”

Last updated: 03-15-2026

The great Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記; “JTTW” hereafter) spawned numerous unofficial sequels years after its publishing in 1592. One such sequel, Later Journey to the West (Hou Xiyouji, 後西遊記) by an anonymous author of the 17th-century, is set two hundred years after the original and follows the adventures of Sun Wukong’s spiritual descendant Sun Luzhen (孫履真). He too learns the secrets of immortality and causes havoc in heaven, before being tasked to protect the historical monk Dadian (大顛, 732-824) on a similar journey to India. The two are accompanied by the son of Zhu Bajie, Zhu Yijie (豬一戒), and the disciple of Sha Wujing, Sha Zhihe (沙致和). This may at first seem like a cookie cutter retelling of the story, but it is so much more. Unlike the original, which only used allegorical terms for given characters, Later Journey to the West is comprised of extremely dense layers of allegorical meaning, from the names of characters and the words they speak to the places they visit and the villains they face.

Below, I present the first of a three-part overview (part 2 and part 3), which covers Sun Luzhen’s early adventures. I rely very heavily on the engaging work of Xiaolian Liu (1994) as the novel has yet to be published in English.

Notes have been added to the sections below to explain the allegorical meaning of various story elements.

Table of Contents

1. The Riddle

The novel begins with the following riddle:

I have a statue of Buddha, which nobody knows;
He needs no molding or carving;
Nor does he have any clay or color;
No human can draw him; no thief can steal him;
His appearance is originally natural,
And his clarity and purity are not the result of cleaning;
Though only one body,
He is capable of transforming himself into myriad forms (Liu, 1994, p. 22)

我有一軀佛，世人皆不識，
不塑亦不裝，不雕亦不刻，
無一滴灰泥，無一點彩色，
人畫畫不成，賊偷偷不得。
體相本自然，清靜非拂拭，
雖然是一軀，分身千百億。(source)

Liu (1994) notes that the answer is: “The Mind is none other than the Buddha” (jixin jifo, 即心即佛), a common Chan (Zen) Buddhist saying referring to self-enlightenment (p. 22). He continues:

The author uses the verse to announce the theme of his book and to prepare the reader for the mental or spiritual journey he is going to undertake through the experience of reading it […] [T]he novelist wants to make sure that the readers is aware of the allegorical nature of his various episodes and is ready to apply the same technique he would employ in solving a riddle to the reading of the novel, i.e. to go beyond the literal level of the text in order to find the solution or to decipher the intended message (Liu, 1994, p. 24).

2. Sun Luzhen’s Early Adventures

The story opens on the Flower Fruit Mountain (fig. 1), home of the original Monkey King and the axis mundi, or center of the cosmos through which all creative energies flow freely between heaven and earth. Our hero Sun Luzhen is born from a stone and, upon hearing of the adventures of Sun Wukong, takes the title “Small Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian xiaosheng, 齊天小聖). [A][1] He follows in his ancestor’s footsteps by sailing to the Aparagodaniya continent in a quest for immortality. There, he finds an immortal’s temple but is barred from meeting the patriarch by a Daoist monk until he has completed a number of tasks, including purifying himself in the Hall of Calming the Mind and the Hall of Nourishing the Breath, [B] taming a dragon and a tiger, [C] and visiting several locations, such as the Cinnabar Field and the Divine Mansion. [D] Monkey completes the purification rituals, but soon leaves the temple when he discovers the immortal cavorting with an old woman and two young maidens. [E]

A) Just like Sun Wukong in JTTW, Sun Luzhen represents the “Monkey of the Mind” (xinyuan, 心猿), a Buddhist metaphor for the restlessness of the human mind/heart (the character of xin (心) can mean both) (Liu, 1994, pp. 27-28).

B) These represent the early stages of spiritual cultivation, namely meditation and the regulation of breathing. The latter involves absorption of yang energy during prescribed times of the day.

C) These animals represent yin and yang energy, respectively. So taming said animals refers to a mastery of said energies.

D) These represent spiritual centers of the body, namely a region just below the navel and the upper region of the head, respectively. See J below.

E) These people represent Daoist terms associated with sexual cultivation, a type of internal cultivation popular during the Han dynasty but fell out of favor by the Ming when the novel was written (Liu, 1994, pp. 35-37).

Monkey leaves the temple and continues his search the world over for a worthy master, finding only false immortals and hypocritical monks along the way. [F] He returns to Flower Fruit Mountain determined to bring about his own immortality, and there the small stone monkey finds the “No-Leak” Cave (wulou dong, 無漏洞) on the backside of the mountain, making it his hermitage. [G] He meditates for forty-nine days, before Sun Wukong appears in spirit, sharing with him magical formulas and eventually merging with him. This causes Monkey Jr. to realize: “The true master is after all in one’s own mind, but people don’t know where to look for him” (Liu, 1994, p. 38). [H]

F) These people represent the wrong path to enlightenment, including non-Chan Buddhist sects and even Daoism.

G) The name represents the Buddhist concept of Anasrava and the Daoist concept of Wulou (無漏)/Loujin (漏盡), or the cessation of emotional outpouring (or leaking) upon achieving enlightenment (Liu, 1994, p. 38).

H) This represents self-realization.

Having achieved immortality, Sun Luzhen discovers his ancestor’s “as-you-will” gold-banded cudgel in the cave and sets out to find additional ways of increasing his spiritual attainment. [2] First, he forces the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and the Old Tiger King of the Western Mountains to respectively submit to his power. [I] Next, Monkey travels to the underworld below and uses his wits to prove the other worldly judgements of the ten magistrates of hell are unjust, making their rulings listed in the ledgers of life and death null and void. [J][3] Finally, the small stone monkey travels to the celestial realm above to visit the Jasper Pool, the abode of the Queen Mother of the West (fig. 2). [K] He gets drunk on immortal wine and soon creates such a disturbance that the August Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven, calls up the celestial army to deal with the menace. The Small Sage is too powerful, and so the emperor enlists the help of the Great Sage, now an enlightened Buddha (fig. 3), [4] to halt his descendant’s onslaught. [L][5]

I) This follows the Daoist monk’s instructions to tame a dragon and a tiger. This again represents his mastery of yin and yang energies.

J) This represents Monkey’s status as an immortal who is beyond the reach of death. I believe the downward journey symbolically follows the Daoist monk’s instructions to visit the Cinnabar Field, an area of the body below the navel normally associated with the storage of spiritual and sexual energy. Although Liu (1994) does not say this explicitly, he does comment: “According to the Taoist microcosmic view, the human body [has] features corresponding to the cosmic universe […] For example, the Celestial Palace … and the Jasper Pool are not only the heavenly residence of the Jade Emperor and the Mother Queen [of the west], but also terms referring to the upper regions of the head” (p. 45). See K below.

K) Going to heaven represents the upward propulsion of energy to the head, the last step in achieving immortality.

L) As the ruler of heaven, the August Jade Emperor represents the Primary Spirit (yuanshen, 元神), or the original pure spirit that everyone is born with. This is also known as the “Heavenly Mind/Heart” (tianxin, 天心). Therefore, Monkey’s rebellion represents the attempt of the “Conscious Spirit or the Heart of Blood and Flesh” at usurping the spiritual mind before all attachments are extinguished upon enlightenment (Liu, 1994, pp. 47-48).

Fig. 1 – A depiction of Flower Fruit Mountain from a modern video game (larger version). Fig. 2 – A Ming Dynasty painting of the Queen Mother of the West riding a stone lion (larger version). Fig. 3 – A live action depiction of Sun Wukong after attaining Buddhahood (larger version).

3. Sun Luzhen’s Enlightenment

Sun Wukong arrives and soon deprives the small stone monkey of the magic iron staff, and when the latter complains that he won’t be able to defend himself, Monkey Sr. tells him: “It is already in your ear [where he used to hide the magically reduced weapon]. How can I give it back to you?” (Liu, 1994, p. 50). [M] This Chan gong’an (Zen koan) instantly brings about Sun Luzhen’s enlightenment.

M) This represents one’s own internal or spiritual strength.

Before returning to the Western Paradise, the Great Sage places the golden fillet on his head and instructs him:

There is a limit to brute force,
But Wisdom and courage are boundless;
If you fail to achieve the right fruition,
You will forever be a wild immortal. (Liu, 1994, p. 49)

頑力有阻，慧勇無邊；
不成正果，終屬野仙。(source)

Liu (1994) explains the significance of the verse:

In the poem Sun Wukong tells his descendant to resort to wisdom and courage, rather than brute force, to achieve this goal. This teaching is borne out by the fact that it is not the celestial army but Sun Wukong who subdues Monkey with his enlightening words. But more important is the message conveyed in the last two lines. Though Monkey has obtained physical immortality, he is still a yexian 野仙 (wild immortal), because he is unable to quench his desires and emotions […] According to Chan Buddhist doctrine of wunian 無念 (no-thought), man’s original nature is pure and free from all thoughts and passions. In the first section of the novel, Monkey tries a Taoist approach in his effort to seek immortality. Though he succeeds through Taoist meditation in calming his mind and in realizing his self-nature, his desire for immortality and his practice of internal alchemy, symbolized by his celestial adventures, violate the Chan Buddhist principle of non-attachment, and are therefore considered “wild” and “unorthodox” by Buddhist ontological non-dualism. The completion of the Taoist physiological alchemy is only the beginning of a self-cultivation process for the hero whose ultimate goal … is to accomplish zhenguo 正果 (right or orthodox fruition), i.e. to achieve the Buddhahood inherent in one’s own nature, through the journey proper to the Holy Mountain in the Western Paradise. (p. 49)

4. Updates

Update: 10-25-21

I have listed Sun Luzhen as an “honorable mention” among the Monkey King’s literary children. See section 3 here:

The Monkey King’s Children

Update: 03-15-26

I have drastically updated the formatting of this article, including adding more of the original Chinese characters/quotations, increasing the number of tags, linking to more wiki articles, and placing the (previously separate) explanatory notes within each section. Needless to say, this post now differs from parts two and three. I will get around to updating those in the future.

Notes:

1) This mirrors the title “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” (Qitian Dasheng, 齊天大聖) taken by Sun Wukong in JTTW chapter 4.

2) Daoism recognizes up to five categories of immortality, each increasing in spiritual attainment from the last: 1. Ghost; 2. Human; 3. Earthly; 4. Divine; and 5. Heavenly (Liu, 1994, p. 55, n. 36).

3) This contrasts with Sun Wukong who used force to erase his name (and those of all other monkeys living at that time) from the ledgers of life and death (see JTTW chapter 3).

4) Monkey Sr. is granted Buddhahood, along with the title “Buddha Victorious in Strife” in JTTW chapter 100.

5) Sun Luzhen’s drunken episode, havoc in heaven, and subjugation by a Buddha recalls the adventures of his ancestor from JTTW chapters 4 to 7.

Source:

Liu, X. (1994). The Odyssey of the Buddhist Mind: The Allegory of the Later Journey to the West. Lanham, Md: University Press of America.