"The Journey
to the West" is a book about experiences and pitfalls in
spiritual practice. The more I read it, the more I admire the
writer. He has given very vivid descriptions about our lives and
inner qualities and uses all kinds of metaphors to depict the
obstacles in spiritual practice and ways to overcome them. The
more we practice, the more we will understand the meaning of this
book, and the more strongly we will feel that this is not just
a fairy tale. Truly, there are very good teachings in the book.
After you have started to practice the Quan Yin Method, you will
understand it better; you will see your true self and become enlightened!
In
"The Journey to the West," Xuan Zang (also known as Tripitaka)
is a very kind and solemn master. But what about his three disciples?
They look ugly, and they kill. Ordinary people are scared to death
just from seeing them. But Xuan Zang is not afraid. He accepts them
as disciples. And they wholeheartedly support him in his successful
quest in search of the scriptures. Without these three ferocious
disciples, Xuan Zang might not have been able to reach the West.
Therefore, everything has its use. If we understand the laws of
the universe and the secret of Creation, we'll be able to make use
of everything. There is nothing that's not useful.
Don't
ever think that the Monkey King, Pigsy and Sandy don't exist. They
represent our very inner nature and the struggle that Xuan Zang
goes through in his journey to get the scriptures. The Monkey King
represents his intelligence and wisdom, and the almighty power.
He seeks help from the Buddha and gets his problems solved each
time. Pigsy stands for his laziness and fondness for women. Sometimes
he finds a beautiful woman alluring and becomes greedy when he sees
good food. Sandy represents the time when he is peaceful, balanced
and in a state where neither good nor bad exists.
The
Monkey King described in the book is very, very smart. He has the
power to transform himself into seventy-two different forms. Before
he attains enlightenment, he causes tumult in the heavenly court
and calls himself the Great Sage Equal To Heaven. That represents
our inner struggling quality. If he were as high as the Lord of
Heaven, he wouldn't have had to stir up anything! He's just like
us. We know we have the qualities of God inside, which are the highest.
But since we haven't attained that level, we can't believe in ourselves.
Or we have faith in ourselves today but not tomorrow, then again
the day after tomorrow, and then lose faith in ourselves the day
after that. If it happens that we are enlightened and know who we
are, we feel very noble and one with Heaven and Earth and everything.
But
there are many difficulties in this world. When we run into obstacles
and a lot of trouble, we fall down to the level of a mortal. We
doubt ourselves, and feel we are very weak, helpless and powerless.
Then we feel very frustrated. No matter how people may tell us that
we are Gods or Saints, we don't want to listen. We lose our confidence.
All Quan Yin practitioners go through the experiences of the Monkey
King. That's why we struggle and cause a lot of trouble. One day
we want to become God, and the next day we don't. Today we are God
and tomorrow we are not. One day we are God, the next we are Maya
and run around. This is Xuan Zang's inner conflict. The writer uses
the monkey as a metaphor for our unsettled minds. But the mind is
very smart and powerful. It can have whatever it wants and go wherever
it wants. But no matter where it goes, it's still within the realm
of the mind and can't go beyond the Three Worlds.
You
have read in "The Journey to the West" about the Monkey
King accompanying Xuan Zang on a westward journey in search of scriptures
for the sake of saving sentient beings. But God keeps sending demons
and spirits to harm them. The eighty-one sufferings are all created
by God. What does this mean? It means that without trials and tribulations,
we can't grow up, just like a soldier cannot become good without
training and a child won't study hard without tests. Therefore,
tests are good for us so we know whether we've made any progress
and whether our faith has wavered.
You
have seen in the novel how both master and disciples are hurt by
trees, shackled by flowers or hurt by mountain deities, et cetera.
That's just like what I've told you: The outside world is sometimes
unsafe and dangerous for us. If we look too long we'll get lost
there and forget our original nature. Then it's easy for us to be
bound there. Just like when we are used to living in one place,
we don't want to go anywhere else or can't sleep when we go to a
different place. It's the same with a spiritual practitioner. Sometimes
he passes through some places and wants to stay there. His original
goal is to find the scriptures and attain Godhood. When he arrives
in some places and sees the beautiful scenic landscape, pretty trees,
blooming flowers and bountiful fruits, he just wants to stay there
rather than move on. He thinks, "Okay, why do I want to become
God? I'll stay here to enjoy the flowers and trees, and then write
and recite poems!"
Therefore,
in "The Journey to the West" some tree and flower deities
come to tempt Xuan Zang. And he almost falls in love with them.
That's because he is beginning to become fond of the scenery, not
because there is a real tree deity to trap him. He is attached,
which is the same as being bound by trees and flowers. Moreover,
the trees and flowers have their own spirits too. If we come to
like them, they will communicate with us. Then the more we like
them, the more they will bind us there. And our level will stop
there. We should keep moving ahead in our spiritual practice and
not stop anywhere. That's why we say that it's dangerous to look
at the outside world. That's all it means.
The
Monkey King represents our more mature wisdom. Therefore, if he's
not careful and complies with the worldly habits of Xuan Zang, he
will get stuck in disasters too. But because he is the Monkey King,
he escapes sooner or later and is not stuck for too long. But Pigsy
is! (Master laughs.) Therefore, at one time, God manifests as three
beautiful girls. Pigsy, not knowing about it, is deluded by lust
and is caught in the net. Even though he is not hurt, he is bound
for a while. What is the bondage? Even if a person is truly beautiful
and is a true transformation of God, and you fall in love with her,
you are tied down by your feelings. Your initial intention is to
go to the West to get scriptures. But you stop there because of
your love for her. This delays your spiritual journey. Therefore,
even if the person is God's manifestation, we shouldn't mind! Be
careful not to be bound by so-called good and beautiful women, or
the good things of this world.
Once,
Xuan Zang is trapped in a spider's cave. He is bound by beautiful
women and many children, who are transformations of spiders. This
is the idea of the family. Maybe at that time he wanted to have
a family, wondering why he should go through so much hardship to
get the scriptures. Why not marry, and then have a few lovely karmas?
Wouldn't that be nice? (Laughter) As soon as you have that kind
of thought, you are tied there! Even if you don't have a real wife
or children right next to you to bind you, when you think of it,
you are already bound and your level changes! Then, if you let that
idea stay with you for a long time, you are tied there during that
whole period of time. Therefore, it is not that there are real spider
spirits or little spider spirits to tie him down. These are his
own thoughts. He ties himself to that situation. Sometimes because
of the length of the spiritual path, we inevitably change our minds
every now and then. The writer uses these stories to describe X
uan Zang's mind and his spirit in overcoming all kinds of inner
obstacles.
There
is also a white-bone spirit that can transform itself into a beautiful
woman to entice people and then suck their blood. What is this white-bone
spirit? It's the spirit within us, or our quality of wanting to
entice other people sexually. Therefore, spiritual practitioners
from the old times used the method of white-bone visualizing to
control their lust. They practiced until they could visualize everyone
as white bones. That's also correct. If you see through a beautiful
woman or a handsome man, what they have within them is nothing more
than white bones or a skeleton!
When
we see the Monkey King tricked into wearing a golden ring on his
head by the Quan Yin Bodhisattva, we may think, "Why is it
that the Bodhisattva has no mercy?" But if she didn't do this,
there would be no way to control him. The Quan Yin Bodhisattva wanted
to teach him and help him. So she had to give him this golden ring.
Otherwise, there would be no way to change his personality. And
he wouldn't be able to attain any level. Therefore, God and Saints
don't always smile and give you candy. That would spoil you. It
would be like buying you a ticket to hell!
Do
you understand the metaphors in this story now? We all have the
qualities of pigs and monkeys within us. Animals also eat, bear
children, and take care of them. They are not much different than
us. Therefore, if we don't practice, we are not much different than
animals. Thank God we practice meditation and develop our wisdom.
Animals can't know as much as we know. Therefore, you need to take
good care of your Xuan Zang spot (Master points to the wisdom eye)
and your corner of compassion. Don't let your pig and monkey qualities
control your everyday life and dirty your precious "home".