Sun Wukong And The Famous Bet Which Got Him Locked Up For 500 Years

I remembered watching Monkey Magic which lasted for only 13 episodes. It could've been good if a second season came after that. Which Buddha is which? Some may assume that it was Gautama Buddha who subdued Sun Wukong. Yet, the divine power of this Buddha has been rather immense. This Buddha made Wukong a bet. Wukong could rule the Heavens IF he could escape the Buddha's hand. Sun Wukong infamously peed on the hand of Buddha without knowing it. The five pillars were Buddha's fingers. After losing the bet, Wukong was locked up for 500 years. Later, Sun Wukong was released by the monk Xuanzang. Sun Wukong was to take part in the Journey to the West.

Wishbone (RIP to the dog) later had this Buddha of Western Paradise. This would be the Amitabha Buddha. In Indian legends, we also have Vishnu as the one who oversees the Vaikuntha. Vishu is said to have ten legendary avatars. Vishnu took many forms to defend humanity. Later, Vishnu was said to have become Sakyamuni who was also Siddharta Gautama. Vishnu also became Rama and Krishna. Vishnu is also practically infinite light. Vishnu also presides over the Vaikuntha which is pretty much Sukhavati or the Western Paradise.

The Ramayana had an incident where Kakbushindi (a crow) wanted to see if Rama was indeed Vishnu in human form. Kakbushindi grabbed the snack of the infant Rama only to realize he was facing Vishnu. Vishnu revealed his infinite reach. Sun Wukong (who is partly based on Hanuman) would learn the hard way. Sun Wukong thought he could escape the hand of the Buddha of Western Paradise. Like Kakbushindi, Sun Wukong found himself unable to escape the infinite reach.

A bit of parallelism between the Ramayana and Journey to the West can be seen. Indra is the Indian counterpart of the Jade Emperor. In Ramayana, the gods all plead with Vishnu to save the world from Ravana's rampage. In Journey to the West, the gods all plead with the Buddha of Western Paradise to stop Suk Wukong's rampage. Sun Wukong's rampage led to the Jade Emperor's defeat. The Jade Emperor pleads with the Buddha of Western Paradise to intervene.

Maybe, the rampage on the Jade Emperor's palace may be parallel to another story. In Indian legends, Brahma wanted to start a yagna but he needed a wife to accompany him. Saraswati was supposed to show up during the yagna but was taking too long. Brahma asked Indra (the Jade Emperor) to find him a woman suitable for him. A shepherd girl was soon taken and her name was Gayatri. Gayatri is the Indian goddess of compassion. For that act, Saraswati also cursed Indra to lose his heavens. However, Gayatri later diluted the curse saying that Indra would regain it. Indra did lose his Heavens to Mahishasura, the Ox Demon. It took the efforts of Durga to defeat Mahishasura. In Journey to the West, the Jade Emperor lost his Heavens to Sun Wukong. Amitabha Buddha victoriously defeated Sun Wukong and sealed him away for 500 years.

Some people may wonder why this Buddha wasn't fat. A bit of study would reveal that the Laughing Buddha is known as Maitreya in the text. The subject of Maitreya can be a bit tricky. Laughing Buddha bears resemblance to the Indian god of wealth, Kubera. Kubera himself is portrayed to be a fat and jolly god. Any incarnation of the TV series tends to reveal that Laughing Buddha isn't the same person as the Buddha of Western Paradise.

The journey would soon go to India to find the sutras or Buddhist teachings. It's no surprise that much of Journey to the West has Indian influence. This would mean Sun Wukong was tasked with recovering the sacred teachings Vishnu as Gautama Buddha gave to mankind.

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

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