Sun Wukong’s Journey to Buddhahood & Sufi Mysticism
**Sun Wukong’s Journey to Buddhahood**
**I. The Stone Monkey King**
- Autochthonic birth
- Through the waterfall
- Study with Patriarch Subodhi
- Aware of Vacuity
**II. The Search for Immortality**
- Deportment
- The way(s)
- Immortality
- Showing off
- Banished
**III. Demon King of Havoc**
Returns to defeat the Demon King of Havoc
**IV. Monkey’s Iron Cudgel**
- War games
- Weapons from Ao Kuang
- Complaint made to Heaven
**V. A Messenger from Heaven**
- Monkey summoned to Heaven
- *Pi Ma Wen*
- Monkey flees Heaven
**VI. In the Cloud Palace of the Jade Emperor**
- Great Sage, Equal of Heaven
- Monkey evades capture
**VII. Immortality Peaches and the Golden Elixirs**
- Rank without significance
- Guarding the peaches
- Eats peaches
- Banquet
- Drinks elixirs
- Home
**VIII. Monkey Goes Too Far**
- Kuan-yin suggests Erh-lang to arrest Monkey
- Monkey surrounded
**IX. In the Buddha’s Palm**
- Survives execution
- Buddha summoned
- Wager lost
- Mountain prison
- *OM MANI PADME HUM*
**X. Kuan-yin’s Search for a Pilgrim**
- Buddha sends Kuan-yin to China
- Sandy
- Pigsy
- Dragon horse
- Kuan-yin visits Monkey
**XI. The Journey to the West**
Hsuan-tsang/Tripitaka sent West to India, begins perilous journey
**XII. Tripitaka Takes a Disciple**
- Tripitaka frees Monkey
- Monkey kills tiger, then six bandits
- Tripitaka scolds Monkey, who leaves
**XIII. The Cap of Discipline**
Tripitaka learns to control Monkey with a cap and spell given by Kuan-yin
**XIV. Riding the Dragon**
Dragon eats horse, fights Monkey, is turned into a replacement horse
**XV. Pigsy and the Dragon of the River of Flowing Sands**
- Pigsy and Sandy join the group
- The journey must be difficult
- Kuan-yin aids again
**XVI. Flaming Mountain and the Iron Fan**
- Responsibilities noted
- Merit
- Hot lands, fan needed
**XVII. Fanning the Fire**
- Rakshasi, wife of Bull Demon King
- Monkey blown away
- Enters Rakshasi
- Given fake fan
**XVIII. The Bull Demon’s Wife**
Monkey meets Princess Jade Countenance, eventually gets real fan
**XIX. Bull Demon Wins the Day**
Bull Demon King tricks Monkey into giving up the fan
**XX. Putting Out the Fire**
- Transformation fight
- Buddha, Jade Emperor intervene for Monkey
- Fan used to extinguish flames
**XXI. The Behind the Temple and the Bottomless Boat**
- Tripitaka’s body floating in water
- Transcendent wisdom achieved
**XXII. The Last Calamity**
- Scriptures retrieved
- Final trial overcome
**XXIII. The Western Paradise**
- Scriptures presented and read
- Tripitaka and Monkey become Buddhas
**The Conference of the Birds: A Sufi Allegory**
The birds of the world have gathered around the hoopoe, who will guide them on a journey to see the Simorgh
**A. The Need for a Leader**
The birds have decided that they are missing something: a leader or at least a relationship with a leader
**B. Absolute Obedience**
Before they begin their journey, the birds must first declare their absolute obedience to the hoopoe
**C. The Oath**
The oath is necessary: the journey will be perilous and fraught with adversity, and only he knows the Way
**III. The Seven Valleys**
To reach the Simorgh, the birds will have to traverse seven treacherous valleys, each a station along the Way
**A. Valley of the Quest**
In which the birds must “renounce the world” and repent of their sins
**B. Valley of Love**
Where each bird will be plunged into seas of fire “until his very being is inflamed”
**C. Valley of Insight into Mystery**
Where every bird must take a different path
**D. Valley of Detachment**
“All claims, all lust for meaning disappear”
**E. Valley of Unity**
The many are merged into one: “The oneness of diversity / Not oneness locked in singularity”
**F. Valley of Bewilderment**
The birds, weary and perplexed, break through the veil of traditional dualities and are suddenly confronted with the emptiness of their being
**G. Valley of Nothingness**
The birds “put on the cloak that signifies oblivion” and become consumed by the spirit of the universe
**H. Reaching the Throne of Simorgh**
Only when all seven valleys have been traversed, when the birds have learned to “destroy the mountain of the Self” and “give up the intellect for love,” are they allowed to continue to the throne of Simorgh
**IV. The Thirty Birds**
Of the thousands of birds who began the journey with the hoopoe, only thirty make it to the end
**A. Seeing Themselves**
Yet when they finally set their eyes upon him, they are astonished to see themselves.
**B. Simurgh: Thirty Birds**
Simurgh is Persian for “thirty birds”
**C. The End of the Way**
At the end of the Way, the birds are confronted with the reality that although they have “struggled, wandered, traveled far,” it is “themselves they sought” and “themselves they are.” “I am the mirror set before your eyes,” the Simorgh says. “And all who come before my splendor see / Themselves, their own unique reality.”
**V. The Sufi Declaration**
Note the Sufi declaration “I am God” and how it is reflected in this poem
**VI. Vocabulary**
Note the following vocabulary: