WuKong: The Monkey King

Chapter 3 Wonderful Tao

The Stone Monkey found itself on a bridge, its soul still trembling from the fall. Was this the Iron Bridge or the Bridge of Helplessness?

The sound of rushing water behind it confirmed its survival in this world of the Journey to the West.

Spanning thirty feet, each step the Stone Monkey took on the bridge was a profound shock to its spirit.

The Way!(Tao,from the "Tao Te Ching")

Whose 'The Way'?

Each word etched deeply into the Stone Monkey's heart.

"The Way that can be told is not the eternal Way. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of the ten thousand things...."

"Heaven and earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs; the sage is not benevolent, treating the people as straw dogs..."

"The shape of shapelessness, the image of nothingness..."

Having read some classics in its past life, the Stone Monkey recognized these verses as from Laozi's Tao Te Ching. Laozi, the Supreme Old Lord, the Celestial Venerable of Morality! How could his teachings appear here?

Clouded in doubt, the Stone Monkey listened as the Tao Te Ching was recited in full, feeling as though something had been added to its soul.

A feeling indescribable in words, soothing and intensely comfortable.

This feeling, what is it again?

Immediately, a voice provided him with the answer: "Chapter 81 of the Tao Te Ching, adding three thousand instances of Fate, materials that can be shaped, rare, rare, haha..."

This feeling, is it Fate? The Stone Monkey recalled the text of "Journey to the West," where the term "Fate" appeared frequently, suggesting it likely wasn't a bad thing.

The voice had not yet finished, and there was more!

Who's Dao is it this time?

"Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in the country of Shravasti, in the Jeta Grove, in the garden of Anathapindika. At that time, the World-Honored One, together with a gathering of monks, was staying in the bamboo grove. These monks..."

"Today, seeing the guide of the world, has opened my wisdom eye. To speak of the pure Dharma, to depart from all attachments. Today, encountering a divine being, has allowed me to achieve the unborn. I wish in the future to attain enlightenment, just like the honored bipeds..."

The Stone Monkey found this lengthy Buddhist scripture bewildering, as he had never read such profound Buddhist texts before. However, after hearing each section, he would silently chant "Amitabha Buddha" in his heart.

Listening on, the Stone Monkey gradually became touched by the scripture and began to understand its meaning. It turned out that this scripture was actually an autobiography of the Buddha, detailing many of the Buddha's past and present deeds.

After listening for a long time, the Stone Monkey had an epiphany. He compared his past life's experiences with those of the Buddha, reminding him of the saying: a person cannot lose what they have never had—how could anyone take away what was never theirs to begin with?

To the Stone Monkey, the world of "Journey to the West," seen in his previous life as fictional, now seemed more real and tangible than the world of his past life, which had become a distant memory. Compared to the two worlds, the current one seemed more genuine to him.