44 pages • 1 hour read
Monkey: A Folk Novel of China
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Chapters 28-30
Chapter 28 Summary
In this final section of the text, the pilgrims achieve their goal and move onto the next phase of their lives. Ten years after leaving China, Tripitaka and his disciples arrive in India. A Taoist Immortal leads them to a mountain, and as they climb upward, they come to a large river with only a thin bridge to cross. Monkey sees a boat coming. He realizes it is ferried by the Conductor of Souls and pushes Tripitaka on board, despite the boat having no bottom. As the pilgrims cross the river, they see a body in the water that belongs to Tripitaka and note, “He had discarded his earthly body; he was cleansed from the corruption of the senses, and from the fleshly inheritance of those bygone years” (282).
On the other side of the river, the pilgrims arrive at the Temple of the Thunder Clap, where their every move is handled with significant formal ceremony. Though their mission is supposedly over, the pilgrims encounter considerable confusion when trying to receive the scriptures to take back to China. Tripitaka is taken to select some scrolls, but the disciples who manage the scrolls ask for gifts in exchange, which Tripitaka does not have. The disciples relent but give Tripitaka blank scrolls as revenge. A Bodhisattva suspects what might have happened and sends a messenger to grab the scrolls from Tripitaka and dump them on the ground, at which point the pilgrims realize they have been given blank scrolls.
The pilgrims complain to Buddha, who agrees that scriptures shouldn’t be given for nothing, but makes his disciples replace the scrolls for ones with writing. The disciples still want a gift, and Tripitaka “could think of nothing to give them except his golden begging bowl” (287). Buddha warns Tripitaka about how he should share the scrolls with the people of China, and the pilgrims leave. Kuan-yin arrives and mentions that the journey has taken “‘five thousand and forty days” (289), which is eight shy of the number of scrolls the pilgrims have been given. She suggests Buddha call spirits to help the pilgrims get home in eight days so the numbers will match.
Chapter 29 Summary
Kuan-yin summons all the spirits who helped along Tripitaka’s journey, and they present a report of how the pilgrims fared. Kuan-yin sees “that the number of calamities listed here is eighty, thus falling short by one of the holy number” (290). To fulfill the holy number, the spirits carrying the pilgrims drop them at the edge of The River that leads to Heaven, where the turtle takes them across once again. When he learns that Tripitaka did not ask Buddha his question, the turtle dives, leaving the pilgrims in the water and the scriptures wet. As the pilgrims climb onto the shore, a storm arises, during which demons attempt to wrest away the scriptures.
Once the storm subsides, men from the farm where the pilgrims stayed before invite them back. The old man and his family treat the pilgrims to elaborate meals and show them a new shrine they have erected. Tripitaka worries that “if we stay here too long, our secrets may be wormed out of us” (296). Tripitaka and his disciples escape the farm in the night, and the spirits pick them up again.
Chapter 30 Summary
When the farmers wake up and find the pilgrims gone, they build a shrine to the pilgrims, and they carry on worshipping them for years afterwards. In Ch’ang-an, the Emperor has built a pagoda to keep watch for the pilgrims and therefore spies them as they arrive back home. The spirits carrying Tripitaka and the others don’t want to let Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy go to earth with Tripitaka, but they insist. The Emperor greets Tripitaka and his disciples, views their passports, throws a banquet in celebration, and takes them to Tripitaka’s old temple. Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy are on perfect behavior, as “all three were now Illumined, and it cost them no pains to stay quiet” (301).
The Emperor writes an essay for Tripitaka, “Introduction to Buddha’s Holy Teachings” (301), which becomes part of the scriptures. Tripitaka goes to read out the scriptures to the people, but before he can start, he, Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy are carried into the sky and back to Paradise, where they receive their heavenly ranks. Tripitaka becomes Buddha of Precocious Merit, Monkey becomes Buddha Victorious in Strife, Sandy becomes Golden Bodied Arhat, Pigsy becomes Cleanser of the Altar, and the dragon disguised as a horse becomes a dragon again, as one of the eight senior Heavenly Dragons. The cap that Tripitaka used to keep Monkey in check has disappeared with Monkey’s promotion, and celebrations are held to welcome the new heavenly hosts.
Chapters 28-30 Analysis
This section wraps up the pilgrims’ journey to India. Tripitaka’s task does not become any easier simply because he has reached Heaven. He still runs into challenges, and he still requires Monkey to push him along and make sure that he does what he needs to do. Tripitaka’s experience with Buddha himself is confusing: After being sent to retrieve scriptures, and never told that he should bring a gift for the disciples who guard the scriptures, Tripitaka is at first denied the scriptures for which he’s come. The residents of Paradise think that Tripitaka is ridiculous for expecting to get scriptures in return for nothing; however, the spirits of the realm think the idea that scriptures should cost anything is ridiculous. Ironically, throughout his adventures, Tripitaka refuses all forms of payment, as accepting money is not correct behavior for a Buddhist priest, but if he had accepted money, he would have had something to give in exchange for the scriptures.
At the end of the story, each pilgrim is promoted in Heaven according to his worthiness. Tripitaka and Monkey both become Buddhas—Tripitaka due to his piety and perseverance, Monkey because of his intelligence and great skill. Sandy becomes a mid-level deity, and the horse earns the right to become a dragon once again. Pigsy receives only a small promotion, and even after achieving enlightenment, he still doesn’t understand why his reward should be less than the others. Wu suggests that true enlightenment can only come to those who swear off all earthly desires and honestly seek religion above all else.
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