High on the peak of the mountain of flowers and fruit, where the wind sings through the ancient pines and the sea spray kisses the cliffs, there sat a giant stone egg.
It was no ordinary rock. It had been warmed by the golden sun and cooled by the silver moon since the very beginning of the world.
One day, with a sound like a crack of summer thunder, the stone egg split wide open.
Out of the stone scrambled a monkey. He was fully formed with bright eyes and a coat of golden fur, and when he bowed to the four corners of the earth, two beams of brilliant light shot from his eyes, piercing the clouds and reaching all the way to the Jade Palace of heaven.
[000:58] The Jade Emperor, ruler of the heavens, looked down from his golden throne and blinked at the sudden light. He sent his heavenly scouts to see what had happened, but when they returned, they simply laughed. "It is only a wild monkey," they said, "born from a stone egg on the earth below. He is drinking from the mountain streams and eating the forest fruit. The light from his eyes is already fading."
The Jade Emperor nodded and forgot all about him. He did not know and could not guess that this was no ordinary beast. This was a creature of magic, destined to shake the heavens to their very foundations.
On the mountain of flowers and fruit, the stone monkey lived a joyful life.
This story comes from China, a vast land of high, mist-shrouded peaks, winding rivers, and ancient legends.
For hundreds of years, people have gathered in tea houses and around fires to hear the adventures of this very monkey, whose tale was written down in the great Ming Dynasty novel, Journey to the West.
There are many ways to tell this story, but today, we will follow the path of his wildest adventures.
In those early days, the stone monkey spent his time playing with the other monkeys of the forest. They swung from the vines, splashed in the cool mountain streams, and searched for sweet wild peaches.
One hot afternoon, the monkey clan gathered at the foot of a roaring waterfall. The water tumbled down from a great height, crashing into a deep, swirling pool below, sending up clouds of cold white mist.
"It is so beautiful," one of the old monkeys sighed, "but where does the water come from? I wonder what lies behind that roaring curtain."
Another monkey laughed. "Whoever is brave enough to leap through the waterfall and find out what is on the other side without hurting themselves, we will make our king."
The monkeys cheered and chattered, but none of them dared to step forward. The water fell with a terrifying force, and the rocks below were sharp and slippery.
But the stone monkey only grinned. He crouched low, his muscles tensing, and with a mighty shout, he sprang.
He sailed through the air, right through the freezing, roaring wall of water. He expected to crash into a hard rock face, but instead, he landed softly on a dry stone floor.
He opened his eyes and gasped.
He was standing on a beautiful stone bridge that spanned a quiet, sparkling stream. Behind the bridge was a massive empty cave. Inside, there were stone tables, stone chairs, and stone beds, all carved perfectly by some ancient hand.
On the wall of the cave, deep cut letters read, "The land of flowers and fruit, the cave of the water curtain, a heavenly paradise."
The monkey laughed with delight. He leaped back through the waterfall, landing perfectly in front of the waiting crowd.
"It is dry!" he cried. "There is a great stone house behind the water, big enough for all of us to live in. No more shivering in the rain, no more hiding from the wind. Come with me!"
One by one, the monkeys took courage and leaped through the water. They gasped at the beauty of the cave, running from room to room, claiming the stone chairs and beds.
When they finally gathered together, they remembered their promise. They bowed low before the stone monkey, touching their heads to the stone floor.
"You are our leader," they declared. "Long live the handsome monkey king!"
And so, the stone monkey took his throne. He ruled over his kingdom with generosity and joy, and for many years, the mountain of flowers and fruit was the happiest place on earth.
Hundreds of years passed. For a monkey king who was born of stone, time flowed like water, and he did not seem to age at all.
But one evening, during a great feast of sweet plums and palm wine, the monkey king noticed an old monkey collapse in the corner of the cave. The others gathered around, weeping.
"What is wrong with him?" the monkey king asked, running over. "Why will he not wake up?"
"He has died of old age, great king," a wise old Gibbon explained, wiping away a tear. "Our lives are short. One day, we must all grow old, die, and be taken by the kings of the underworld. Only three kinds of beings can escape this fate: Buddhas, immortals, and sages. They live in the human world, high on sacred mountains, and they know the secrets of eternal life."
The monkey king's heart grew heavy. He looked at his beautiful cave, his happy subjects, and his own strong hands.
"If that is true," he said, "then I cannot stay here and wait for death to take me. Tomorrow, I will leave this mountain. I will cross the oceans, find a master, and learn the secret of how to live forever."
The next morning, the monkeys built a raft of pine logs and packed it with sweet fruits. The monkey king stepped onto the raft, waved goodbye to his weeping subjects, and set sail into the great blue unknown.
He traveled for years. He sailed across vast oceans, landed on strange shores, and wandered through the towns and cities of humans. He dressed himself in human clothes, learned to speak their language, and watched how they lived. He saw that humans spent all their days chasing money and fame, worrying about tomorrow, and never thinking about what truly mattered. None of them knew the secret of eternal life.
But the monkey king did not give up. He climbed high into the rugged mountains until he reached the forest of slanted moon and three stars. Deep in the forest, he found a quiet temple, and there he met the patriarch Subhuti, a wise Taoist master with a beard as white as snow and eyes that held the quiet depth of the night sky.
The patriarch looked at the monkey standing before him in human clothes. "Where do you come from, and what is your name?" he asked.
"I have no parents, master," the monkey replied, bowing low. "I was born from a stone egg on the mountain of flowers and fruit. I have traveled across the world to find you, because I wish to learn how to live forever."
The patriarch smiled, recognizing the monkey's rare and magical nature. "Since you have no family name, I shall give you one. Your surname shall be Sun, which sounds like the word for monkey, and your given name shall be Wukong, which means awakened to emptiness. From now on, you are Sun Wukong."
The monkey king danced with joy. "Sun Wukong! Sun Wukong! I have a name!"
For seven years, Sun Wukong lived at the temple. He did not study magic right away. Instead, he swept the courtyard, carried water from the mountain streams, chopped firewood, and listened quietly to the master's lectures. He was patient, clever, and always eager to help.
One afternoon, the patriarch Subhuti decided it was time to test his pupil. He walked up to Wukong and asked, "What path of magic do you wish to learn, my disciple?"
Wukong bowed. "Whatever the master teaches, I will learn. But most of all, I wish to learn how to escape death."
The patriarch shook his head. "That is a difficult path."
To test him further, the master struck Wukong three times on the head with his wooden staff, turned his back, and walked away with his hands behind him, locking the door to his room.
The other disciples were angry with Wukong, thinking he had offended the master. But Wukong only smiled. He understood the secret code. The three strikes meant he should come to the master's room at the third watch of the night, midnight. The locked door meant he should enter through the back.
At midnight, Wukong slipped quietly into the patriarch's room through the back window. The master was meditating, but he opened his eyes and smiled. "You truly are a clever monkey. You understood my secret."
The patriarch then taught Sun Wukong the deepest secrets of the universe. He taught him the 72 transformations. With a single thought, Wukong could turn himself into a bird, a tiger, a pine tree, a blade of grass, a fish, or even a temple. He could make himself as tall as a giant or as tiny as an insect.
Next, the master taught him the cloud somersault. "With this magic," the patriarch said, "you can leap into the sky, summon a cloud beneath your feet, and travel 108,000 li in a single somersault." 108,000 li was far enough to cross the entire sky and back in the blink of an eye.
Wukong practiced day and night until he mastered both skills. But one afternoon, he could not resist showing off. In front of the other disciples, he laughed and transformed himself into a beautiful pine tree, complete with rough bark and green needles. The disciples cheered and clapped.
Hearing the noise, the patriarch Subhuti walked out of the temple. His face was stern.
"Wukong," he said quietly, "why are you showing off your magic? If you display your powers to others, they will become jealous, and jealousy leads to danger. You have learned what you came to learn. You must leave this temple and return to your home."
Wukong fell to his knees, his eyes filling with tears. "Master, please do not send me away."
"Your destiny lies elsewhere, Wukong," the patriarch said, his voice softening. "But promise me this: you must never tell anyone that I was your teacher. If you get into trouble, and I fear you will, you must face it on your own."
Wukong bowed, his heart heavy with gratitude and sorrow. He stepped outside, did a single somersault, and flew away on a cloud, leaving his master's temple behind forever.
When Sun Wukong returned to the mountain of flowers and fruit, his subjects welcomed him with wild cheers. But Wukong soon realized that his kingdom was in danger. While he was away, a terrible demon had tried to take over the mountain, and though Wukong defeated him easily, he realized he lacked a weapon worthy of his new magical strength.
"A king must have a weapon!" Wukong mused, pacing the stone floor of his cave. "But every sword and spear I tried breaks in my hands like a dry twig."
An old monkey stepped forward. "Great king, deep beneath the waves of the Eastern Sea lies the crystal palace of the Dragon King, Ao Guang. He is the master of the oceans, and his treasuries are filled with the finest weapons in the world. Perhaps he has something strong enough for you."
"A wonderful idea!" Wukong cried. He ran to the edge of the cliff and leaped into the ocean. Using his water parting magic, he walked through the sea without getting a single hair wet. The water parted before him like silk curtains, revealing a world of glowing coral, ancient shipwrecks, and schools of glimmering fish.
Wukong soon arrived at the Crystal Palace. It was a breathtaking sight, with walls of pure jade, gates of mother of pearl, and roofs made of giant glowing clam shells. The Dragon King, Ao Guang, was seated on his coral throne, surrounded by crab generals and turtle ministers. He was surprised to see a monkey walking through the deep sea, but he welcomed him politely.
"I am Sun Wukong, the handsome monkey king of the mountain of flowers and fruit," Wukong announced, puffing out his chest. "I have come to borrow a weapon worthy of my strength."
The Dragon King, wanting to get rid of this strange guest quickly, ordered his servants to bring out a massive bronze sword that weighed thousands of pounds. Wukong picked it up with one hand, swung it around, and shook his head. "Too light, too light. It feels like a blade of grass."
The Dragon King blinked in surprise. He ordered his strongest guards to bring out a giant halberd made of solid black iron, weighing 9,000 pounds. Wukong caught it, spun it like a toy, and sighed. "Still too light. Do you have nothing heavier in this vast ocean of yours?"
The Dragon King's face grew pale. He had no other weapons of that size. Just then, the Dragon Queen whispered in his ear. "Your Majesty, what about the giant iron pillar in our treasury? It was used by the ancient kings to measure the depth of the sea and pin down the wild waters. Lately, it has been glowing with a strange golden light. Perhaps it is waiting for this monkey."
The Dragon King nodded and led Wukong to the depths of the sea treasury. There, rising high into the dark water, was a massive iron pillar, thick as a temple column, wrapped in bands of solid gold at both ends.
Wukong walked up to it and tapped the iron. It rang with a deep, powerful sound.
"It is beautiful," Wukong said, "but it is much too thick. If only it were a little shorter and thinner, it would be perfect."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the iron pillar began to glow. It shivered, shrank, and shortened right before their eyes. Wukong's eyes widened. "Smaller!" he commanded. "Smaller still!"
The pillar shrank again, down to the size of a walking staff. Wukong grabbed it. It was heavy, weighing 13,500 pounds, but to Wukong, it felt absolutely perfect. It was made of black iron, bound with gold at the ends, and engraved with characters that read, "The compliant golden hooped rod." It was a weapon that could change its size at its master's command.
"Smaller!" Wukong laughed, and the staff shrank until it was the size of a tiny embroidery needle. He tucked it safely behind his ear.
The Dragon King was terrified. The pillar that held the sea quiet was now in the hands of a monkey. But before he could protest, Wukong demanded a suit of armor to match. To avoid his anger, the Dragon King and his brothers quickly gave Wukong a suit of golden chainmail, a cap decorated with long phoenix feathers, and a pair of cloud walking boots. Wukong thanked them with a loud laugh, did a somersault, and shot out of the ocean like a golden rocket, leaving the sea gods trembling in his wake.
But Wukong's troublemaking was not finished. A few weeks later, after drinking too much wine during a celebration, Wukong fell asleep under a shady pine tree. As he slept, his spirit drifted away from his body.
Suddenly, two shadowy figures with pale faces and iron chains appeared. They were the soul catchers from the underworld. Without a word, they threw the chains around Wukong's spirit and dragged him down into the cold, dark land of darkness where the dead are judged.
Wukong woke up as he was being dragged through the iron gates of the underworld. He looked around at the gloomy, mist-filled caverns and the weeping ghosts. "Where am I?" he demanded.
"You are in the land of darkness," the soul catchers replied coldly. "Your life on earth is at an end. We have come to bring you before the kings of death."
Wukong's golden fur bristled with rage. "What? I am Sun Wukong, an immortal. I have learned the secrets of the universe. How dare you try to capture me?"
With a roar, he reached behind his ear, pulled out the tiny needle, and cried, "Grow!" The staff shot out to its full size. Wukong shattered his chains with a single blow and began to swing his staff, knocking the demon guards left and right.
The ten kings of the underworld, terrifying lords of the dead, came rushing out of their offices, trembling with fear. "Stop! Stop, great sage!" they cried, bowing before him. "There must be a mistake!"
"A mistake?" Wukong snarled, resting his heavy staff on the stone floor. "Bring me the book of life and death. Let me see what is written."
The terrified kings hurried to their library and brought out the massive, dusty ledgers. Wukong flipped through the pages until he found the section marked, "Monkeys." There, under the category of "Natural Monkeys," he found his own name. It said he was destined to live only 342 years and then die.
"Nonsense!" Wukong shouted. He grabbed a brush, dipped it in thick black ink, and boldly crossed out his own name. Then, he flipped through the pages and crossed out the names of every monkey on the mountain of flowers and fruit.
"There!" Wukong laughed, tossing the brush aside. "Now we are truly immortal. None of you have any power over us."
He marched out of the underworld, and as his spirit returned to his body under the pine tree, he woke up with a start. He looked at his hands, then at his golden staff, and smiled. He had conquered the sea, and now he had conquered death itself.
It did not take long for the complaints to reach the Jade Palace of Heaven. The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and the kings of the underworld both sent urgent petitions to the Jade Emperor, begging him to punish the wild monkey who had stolen the sea pillar and ruined the records of death.
The Jade Emperor was furious. "A mere monkey has caused such chaos? Send my heavenly generals to arrest him at once!"
But the spirit of the planet Venus, a wise, white-haired old God who preferred peace to war, stepped forward. "Your Majesty," he said gently, "this monkey is born of heaven and earth. He is incredibly strong and knows great magic. If we send an army, there will be a terrible war. Why not invite him to heaven and give him a job? If we keep him close, we can watch him, and he will learn to behave."
The Jade Emperor thought this was a sensible plan. He sent Venus to Earth to invite Wukong to heaven.
When Venus arrived at the mountain of flowers and fruit, Wukong was delighted. "An invitation to heaven? Excellent! I have always wanted to see the golden palaces." He flew up to the heavens with Venus, marveling at the white jade streets, the rainbow bridges, and the golden palaces that floated on clouds of sweet-smelling incense. He was brought before the Jade Emperor, but instead of bowing, Wukong merely waved his hand. "Greetings, Emperor!"
The gods of heaven gasped at his rudeness, but the Emperor remained calm. "Sun Wukong, I appoint you to be the Bimawen, the supervisor of the Imperial Stables."
Wukong did not know what the title meant, but it sounded grand. "Bimawen! Yes, I like the sound of that!" He hurried to the heavenly stables and took his new job very seriously. He spent his days grooming the thousands of heavenly horses, which had wings of light and could run on the wind. He fed them the finest grass, washed them in crystal streams, and made sure they were happy and healthy. Under his care, the horses grew fat and strong.
But one evening, during a feast with his assistants, Wukong asked, "Tell me, this title of mine, Bimawen, how high of a rank is it in heaven?"
His assistants looked at each other nervously. One of them cleared his throat. "Well, great king, to be honest, it is not a rank at all. It is the lowest job in the entire palace. You are just a stable boy. The other gods laugh at you."
Wukong's face turned bright red. He knocked over his wine cup, his eyes burning with anger. "A stable boy? They insulted me! The handsome monkey king, a master of 72 transformations, who can leap across the sky, and they make me groom horses? This is an insult!" He pulled out his golden staff, smashed the stable gates, and flew out of heaven, returning to his mountain in a rage.
When he arrived home, he ordered his monkeys to hoist a giant banner high above the trees. Painted on the banner in bold golden letters were the words, "Great Sage, Equal to Heaven." "If they will not respect me," Wukong declared, "I will force them to."
The Jade Emperor was insulted by Wukong's rebellion. He sent two of his greatest generals, Li the Pagoda Bearer and his powerful son, Prince Nezha, with an army of heavenly soldiers to capture the monkey. But Wukong was too strong and too clever. He defeated Prince Nezha in a spectacular shape-shifting duel, turning his staff into a thousand identical rods that rained down on the heavenly army until they retreated in defeat.
Seeing that force had failed, the planet Venus once again suggested peace. "Your Majesty, give him the title, 'Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.' It is just an empty name. It costs us nothing. And we can give him a new job to keep him out of trouble. Let him guard the peach garden of the Queen Mother of the West."
The Jade Emperor agreed, and Wukong was invited back to heaven. He was thrilled with his new title and happily took up his post in the peach garden. Now, this was no ordinary orchard. It contained 3,600 magical peach trees. The trees in the front ripened once every 3,000 years, and anyone who ate them would become healthy and wise. The trees in the middle ripened once every 6,000 years, and anyone who ate them could fly and live forever. The trees in the back ripened once every 9,000 years, and anyone who ate them would become as eternal as heaven and earth.
Wukong walked through the garden, looking at the giant pink peaches hanging from the branches. They smelled sweeter than anything he had ever known. His mouth watered.
"Just one," he whispered to himself. "No one will ever know."
He climbed up into one of the oldest trees, plucked a giant, ripe peach, and took a big bite. The sweet juice ran down his chin. It was delicious. Soon, Wukong could not stop. Day after day, he would slip into the garden, put the guards to sleep with his magic, climb into the branches, and eat the ripest peaches, leaving nothing but the pits behind.
One morning, the fairy maidens of the Queen Mother arrived in the garden with golden baskets. They were there to harvest the peaches for the grand peach banquet, the most important festival in heaven. But when they looked up, they gasped. The branches of the oldest, most sacred trees were completely bare.
Wukong, who had been sleeping inside a giant peach leaf, woke up and saw them. He slid down the branch. "Who are you? And what are you doing in my garden?"
The maidens bowed. "We are the servants of the Queen Mother. We have come to gather peaches for the grand peach banquet."
Wukong's eyes lit up. "Ah, the peach banquet! Tell me, am I invited? I am the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven."
The maidens looked at each other, embarrassed. "We, we have seen the guest list, Great Sage. The gods of the stars are invited, the immortals, the kings of heaven, but your name was not on it."
Wukong's smile vanished. His heart swelled with a familiar, burning anger. Another insult! They had given him a grand title, but they still treated him like a servant.
"Stay there!" Wukong commanded. He pointed his finger at the maidens, using his freezing magic to lock them in place like stone statues.
He flew straight to the grand banquet hall. The feast was not yet ready, but the long tables were already set with golden plates, jade cups, and jars of royal wine. The delicious scent of roasted phoenix meat and dragon marrow filled the air.
Wukong's anger turned into mischievous glee. He pulled a few hairs from his chest, chewed them up, and blew them out. "Change!" he whispered. The hairs turned into sleep flies that landed on the chefs and servants, putting them all into a deep, snoring sleep.
Wukong sat down at the royal table. He began to feast. He stuffed his face with the delicious food, and then he began to drink. He drank jar after jar of the sweet, heavy, heavenly wine. Before long, he was completely drunk. He staggered out of the banquet hall, his head spinning, and stumbled down the golden streets of heaven.
Without realizing where he was going, he wandered into the palace of Lao Tzu, the supreme Taoist master of alchemy. The palace was empty, but on a table sat five golden gourds. Wukong stumbled over and uncorked one of them. Inside were round, glowing pills, the elixir of immortality, which Lao Tzu had spent thousands of years preparing for the gods.
Wukong, still terribly drunk, thought they looked like sweet candy. He tipped the gourds back and swallowed the pills by the handful, gulping down every single one of them.
As the magical medicine settled in his stomach, the fog in his mind cleared. Wukong gasped. He was suddenly wide awake, and he realized what he had done. He had eaten the sacred peaches, ruined the Queen Mother's banquet, and swallowed Lao Tzu's priceless elixirs.
"Oh no," Wukong muttered, scratching his head. "If the Jade Emperor finds out about this, there will be no escaping his anger. I had better go home." He ran out of the palace, did a quick somersault, and flew straight back to the mountain of flowers and fruit, leaving heaven in absolute chaos.
When the Jade Emperor discovered the empty banquet hall, the bare peach trees, and the empty elixir gourds, his face turned black with rage. "This is the final straw!" he roared. "Send the entire heavenly army! Bring me that monkey, dead or alive!"
A massive army of 100,000 heavenly soldiers, led by the fiercest generals and the four heavenly kings, descended upon the mountain of flowers and fruit. They surrounded the mountain with thick, dark clouds, and lightning flashed across the sky.
But Sun Wukong only laughed. He led his army of monkeys into battle, swinging his golden staff with such speed that it looked like a wheel of fire. No matter how many soldiers the heavens sent, Wukong drove them back.
Seeing his army struggle, the Jade Emperor called upon his nephew, Erlang Shen, the greatest warrior god in heaven.
Erlang Shen was a mighty champion, with a third eye in the middle of his forehead that could see through any illusion. And he was accompanied by his faithful celestial hound.
Erlang Shen flew down to the mountain and confronted Wukong. "You troublesome monkey!" he shouted. "Your mischief ends today!"
"Let's see what you've got!" Wukong cheered. The two great warriors clashed. Their weapons met with a sound like cracking mountains. They fought for hundreds of rounds, neither able to get the upper hand.
Realizing he was facing a true equal, Wukong decided to use his 72 transformations. He turned himself into a swift sparrow and flew into the sky. But Erlang Shen's third eye saw him instantly. He transformed into a hungry hawk and swooped down. Wukong quickly turned into a large cormorant and dove toward the water. Erlang Shen changed into a giant sea crane, waiting to catch him. Wukong plunged into the river and became a fish. But Erlang Shen became a fish-eating kingfisher, skimming the surface of the water.
Back and forth they went, changing from tigers to leopards, from eagles to snakes, each trying to outsmart the other. Finally, Wukong transformed himself into a small temple. He made his mouth the temple door, his teeth the door posts, his tongue the altar, and his eyes the windows. But he didn't know what to do with his tail, so he stuck it up in the back like a flag pole.
When Erlang Shen arrived, he looked at the temple and laughed. "Ha! I have seen many temples, but I have never seen one with a flag pole sticking out of the back. This must be the monkey!"
Before Wukong could escape, Erlang Shen's celestial hound leaped forward and bit Wukong on the leg.
At that very moment, high above in the clouds, Lao Tzu watched the battle. He reached into his sleeve, pulled out his magical diamond snare, and tossed it down.
The heavy ring fell through the air and struck Wukong squarely on the head. Dizzy and off balance, the monkey king fell to the ground, and the heavenly soldiers rushed forward, binding him in heavy magical chains. At last, the wild monkey was captured.
The Jade Emperor was relieved to see Sun Wukong brought to heaven in chains. "Take him to the execution block!" he commanded. "Behead him!"
But when the executioners swung their heavy swords, the blades shattered against Wukong's neck. He had eaten the peaches of long life, the wine of heaven, and the elixirs of immortality. His body was now as hard as diamond.
"Burn him with lightning!" the Emperor ordered. Great bolts of heavenly lightning struck Wukong, but they only tickled him. They tried to burn him with cosmic fire and pierce him with sacred spears, but nothing could leave even a scratch on his golden fur.
Lao Tzu stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, this monkey has eaten my elixirs and the sacred peaches. He has become a solid block of immortality. Normal weapons cannot hurt him. But if you allow me, I will put him inside my eight trigrams furnace. I will burn him with my alchemical fire for 49 days. The fire will melt the elixirs out of him, and he will turn to ash."
The Jade Emperor agreed, and Wukong was thrown into the massive bronze furnace. The lid was sealed tight, and the celestial fires were lit beneath it.
Inside the furnace, the heat was intense. But Wukong was clever. He knew the secrets of the eight trigrams. He crawled quickly to the corner marked "wind." In that corner, there was plenty of cool wind, but no fire. However, the wind blew the thick black smoke directly into his face.
For 49 days, Wukong sat in the dark, windy corner, his eyes watering and burning from the smoke.
On the 50th day, Lao Tzu ordered his servants to open the lid of the furnace, expecting to find nothing but a pile of gray ash. But as the heavy lid was lifted, two beams of brilliant golden light shot out of the furnace, piercing the sky. With a roar like thunder, Sun Wukong leaped out of the flames.
Not only was he alive, but the intense heat and smoke had refined his body even further. His eyes had turned a brilliant, glowing gold. He now possessed the fiery eyes and golden pupils, which allowed him to see through any evil disguise or illusion in the universe.
Wukong kicked the furnace over, sending burning coals scattering across the heavens. He pulled out his golden staff, made it giant, and began to swing it wildly. He smashed the jade pillars, knocked over the golden tables, and chased the terrified gods out of the palace. Heaven had never seen such havoc.
The Jade Emperor, hiding behind his golden throne, was desperate. "Go to the Western Paradise!" he cried to his messengers. "Bring the Buddha! Only he can stop this madness!"
Before long, a warm, golden light filled the ruined halls of heaven. Walking slowly through the clouds came the Buddha, peaceful and smiling, with eyes that held the wisdom of all time.
Wukong stopped his wild swinging and stared at the giant golden figure. "Who are you?" he demanded, resting his staff on his shoulder.
"I am Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha of the Western Paradise," the Buddha replied, his voice calm and soothing. "Why are you causing such trouble in heaven, little monkey?"
"Because I am strong enough to rule!" Wukong boasted, puffing out his chest. "I have mastered the 72 transformations. I can ride the clouds, and I am immortal. The Jade Emperor should step down and let me have his throne."
The Buddha smiled gently. "You are indeed a clever monkey. But let us make a wager. If you can leap out of the palm of my right hand with a single somersault, I will let you have the Jade Emperor's throne. But if you fail, you must return to Earth and learn some manners."
Wukong looked at the Buddha's hand. It was large, but it was only a few inches across.
"What an easy challenge!" Wukong laughed. "I can travel 108,000 li in a single leap. I can cross the entire universe. Your hand is not even the size of a peach!"
"Let us see," the Buddha said, stretching out his right hand.
Wukong shrank his staff, tucked it behind his ear, and leaped onto the Buddha's palm. He crouched low, took a deep breath, and gave a mighty spring. He sailed through the air like a shooting star. He flew past the clouds, past the stars, and past the very edge of the universe. He traveled so far and so fast that the wind whistled in his ears. Finally, he came to the very end of the world, where the sky met the deep void.
There, standing in the mist, were five massive pink pillars rising high into the clouds.
"This must be the end of the world!" Wukong thought, grinning. "I have done it! I have won the wager! But I must leave a mark to prove to the Buddha that I was here." He pulled a hair from his chest, blew on it, and turned it into a brush. In bold black letters on the middle pillar, he wrote, "The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, was here."
Then, just to be safe, he walked to the base of the first pillar and left a little puddle of monkey urine, laughing at his own cleverness. With a joyful somersault, Wukong flew all the way back to heaven, landing perfectly on the Buddha's open palm.
"All right!" Wukong cheered, dusting off his hands. "I have been to the end of the world and back! Now, tell the Jade Emperor to give me his throne!"
The Buddha looked down at him with great pity. "You foolish monkey," he said softly. "You never left my hand."
"What do you mean?" Wukong shouted. "I flew to the very edge of the world! I saw five pink pillars, and I even wrote my name on one of them!"
"Look down," the Buddha said.
Wukong looked down at the hand he was standing on. He gasped, his golden eyes widening in shock. There, at the base of the Buddha's middle finger, were the tiny words, "The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, was here." And at the base of the Buddha's thumb, there was a tiny wet spot that smelled faintly of monkey urine.
The five pillars were not the end of the world at all. They were the five fingers of the Buddha's hand. No matter how far or how fast Wukong had traveled, he had never left the palm of the Buddha's hand.
Before Wukong could even think of escaping, the Buddha turned his hand over and pushed Wukong down to the Earth below. The five fingers of the Buddha's hand transformed into the five peaks of a massive stone mountain, the Five Elements Mountain.
The mountain crashed down on top of Wukong, pinning his body beneath the heavy stone. Only his head and his arms were left free. To make sure he could not escape, the Buddha placed a golden seal with a sacred mantra on the peak of the mountain.
"You must stay here, Sun Wukong," the Buddha said gently, his voice echoing through the valley. "You must wait here for 500 years until a holy monk comes this way on a great journey. You will protect him on his quest, and through that journey, you will find true wisdom."
And so, the great monkey king, who had challenged the heavens, defeated armies, and conquered death, was left trapped beneath the quiet stone of the mountain. He had all the time in the world to think about his adventures, his pride, and the long journey that still lay ahead of him.
Have you ever felt so proud of something you did that you forgot to listen to others? What do you think the monkey king will learn while he waits under the mountain?