The Monkey And The Monk: Chapter Summary

Why the sudden formality

At the end of The Monkey and the Monk, the pilgrims acquire the scriptures and, thus, fulfill the task of their journey and please Bodhisattva. Yet, she points out that “within our order of Buddhism, nine times nine is the crucial means by which one returns to immortality. The sage monk has undergone eighty ordeals. Because one ordeal, therefore, is still lacking, the sacred number is not yet complete.”(Wu Cheng’en, 470) Even though the sage monk performed tasks that were supposed to lead to immortality, Bodhisattva suddenly says that his deeds were not sufficient unless the pilgrims performed one more ordeal for the perfect number of sufferings. This behavior of Guanyin is problematic – why would she suddenly insist
That perfect procedure is represented by the perfect number of quests preceding the achievement. Number nine seems to be crucial for Buddhist tradition and for the book itself. For example, monkey acquires the skill of 72 earthly transformations (7+2=9) (Wu Cheng’en, ch. 2). For one somersault, one can go 108 miles and the journey itself has 108000 miles (1+8=9) (Wu Cheng’en ch.14). Number nine represents perfection in the book and generally, in Buddhism. Even though one additional ordeal to the eighty preceding ones does not make a huge difference, the fact that it appears to be unnecessary might be purposely drawing our attention to it. In the climax of the book while the author is overwhelming the reader with Buddhahood, immortality, etc., by suddenly focusing on a formality of a seemingly unimportant detail, he forces the reader to take a step back and notice that even a small detail cannot be overlooked in attaining one’s goal. By implying that even though the last ordeal seems unbeneficent, it is a step that cannot be skipped, Wu Cheng’en might be for the last time emphasizing that there are no shortcuts on the way to one’s achievement. This message was apparent already throughout the book – for example when the monkey achieved immortality without achieving enlightenment and, thus, caused harm in the
She purposely interrupts the process of immortalization of the pilgrims to make sure the protocol is correct because “elixir [referring to the elixir of immortality] won’t gel if there’s slight errancy.”(Wu Cheng’en, 466) And because it is not, she arbitrarily creates a task that does no good or bad but that bureaucratically satisfies the conditions. This bureaucratic approach and obsession with rules is very similar to characteristics of another character in the book – the Jade Emperor. It is interesting that Guanyin’s behavior reminds the reader of Jade Emperor’s one because both of them are a representation of a different religion and because their portrayal throughout the book has been significantly different since their contracting characteristics have been a means for criticism of Daoism. Jade Emperor is at the top of a Taoist hierarchy that is powered by bureaucracy and rules that must be followed to keep the structure running even though sometimes, it might be ineffective or even detrimental (for instance, the future companions of Tang monk have been punished for minor offences and their punishment is causing more harm to the world than the original offences). The book is making a satire out of the Jade Emperor’s procedures that must necessarily follow the protocol – one of such moments is the way the