All about history book of myths and legends. ( PDFDrive )

responsibility of looking after the heavenly peach garden,

where the Peaches of Immortality grew. Monkey was very

happy in heaven until the gods threw a party for Xi Wangmu.

They forgot to invite Monkey, and in revenge, he stole

and ate all the Peaches of Immortality, reaffirming that

he was now actually one of the immortals.

MONKEY AND THE BUDDHA

After he had stolen the peaches, Monkey ate some pills

belonging to the sage Laoze that were made from the

Peaches of Immortality. Assured for a third time of

eternal life, he began to plan to take over heaven. The

baed emperor appealed to the Buddha, the greatest sage

of all. When the Buddha asked Monkey why he wanted to

rule heaven, he replied that he deserved to be king as he

was the most powerful creature in the universe, and could

leap thousands of miles in one jump. Holding Monkey in

his hand, the Buddha asked him to demonstrate his power.

But when Monkey obliged, the Buddha showed him that he

had only jumped across the sage’s enormous palm – the

mountains where he had landed were the Buddha’s fingers.

The astounded Monkey was imprisoned inside a magic

mountain, and was released when he had truly repented.

He was ordered to accompany the monk Xuanzang, who

was going on a westward journey to India to find Buddhist

scriptures and bring them back to China.

One of the best-loved of all Chinese myths is the story of

a mischievous character named Monkey. It tells how Monkey

runs amok, upsetting all the gods, and causes still more mischief

when he is punished. Finally, he is made to join a Buddhist

pilgrim on an expedition and reforms himself. Involving Daoist,

Buddhist, and ancient Chinese deities, the story appeals to all

with its lively plot and likeable, albeit roguish, central figure.

THE MYTH

Monkey was the most intelligent of all his species. When he

was young he went to study with a Daoist master, but unable

to resist playing pranks on other students, he was sent to the

forest. There the other monkeys revered him for his wisdom

and skill and made him their king. A feast was held for him,

and Monkey, having drunk too much, fell asleep, whereupon

the King of the Underworld kidnapped him and took him to

hell. There Monkey was confined to keep him out of mischief.

FROM HELL TO HEAVEN

In hell, Monkey broke free and went to look at the register

of judgements, which contained the destiny of every living

being. When he read that he would die when he was 342

years old, he crossed out his name so

told about Monkey’s

impudent behaviour,

he decided to summon

the irrepressible creature

to heaven. He tried to

keep him in check by

giving him the vital

The Adventures of Monkey

The monkey king

Monkey’s desire for

immortality at all costs is

comic, but also a reflection of

a common human trait.

EAST ASIA

In the Buddha’s palm

After Monkey discovered that

he had merely traversed the

breadth of the Buddha’s palm,

he realized that his powers

were, after all, limited.

the Jade Emperor was

that he could live for ever. When

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