Reading Club: Journey to the West

With Moksa’s help Sandy is subdued, shaved, and ordained. Using Guanyin’s gourd and nine skulls he builds a dharma-boat to ferry Sanzang across the Flowing Sands River; the four pilgrims are reunited and continue west.

Session Focus:
We will explore trust-building in a newly formed team, how authority and compassion transform an enemy into an ally, and how skillful means (rituals, tools, intermediaries) solve problems that force alone cannot.

Key Questions for contemplation:

Brother Monkey reported. “…We have now reached the Flowing Sands River…and my master cannot cross it. There's an evil monster in the river who's a great fighter, and although our Pig had three great battles with him on the surface of the water, he couldn't beat the ogre…This is why I've come to see you and ask you in your mercy to help him across."
"You have revealed your conceit once again, you ape," said the Bodhisattva. "Why didn't you tell the monster that you were protecting the Tang Priest?”
Monkey replied, “We wanted to catch him…Pig was the only one who could find the ogre's den and did all the talking. I expect he never mentioned fetching the scriptures.”
Guanyin said, “ The ogre of the Flowing Sands River is a believer whom I converted myself and instructed to protect those who would be coming to fetch the scriptures. If you had told him that you had come from the East to fetch the scriptures, so far from fighting you, he would certainly have joined you.”
Q1: Why does Guanyin say Wukong “revealed his conceit again”?
What habits or blind spots does this reveal about Wukong?
Do you know people like this at work—how would you coach them? What have you learned from Guanyin in her coaching Wukong?

Monkey, “…Guanyin Bodhisattva said that the ogre of the Flowing Sands River is the mortal incarnation of the Great Curtain−lifting General, who was thrown down to this river as a monster because of a crime he had committed in Heaven. He has been converted by the Bodhisattva and has vowed to go to the Western Heaven with you. If we'd told him we were going to fetch the scriptures, there would have been none of this bitter fighting. The Bodhisattva has now sent Moksa to give this gourd to that fellow to make a dharma boat that will ferry you across."
Q2: What improvement do you observe in Wukong’s report to Sanzang here?
What does this tell us about accountability and learning in leadership?

"Wujing, Wujing," Moksa shouted at the top of his voice, "the pilgrims who are going to fetch the scriptures have been here for a long time. Why haven't you submitted to them?”
The ogre, who had gone back to the river−bed for fear of the Monkey King, was resting in his den when he heard his Buddhist name being called and realized that this was a message from the Bodhisattva Guanyin. On hearing that the pilgrims were there, his fears of being attacked melted away, and he pushed his head up through the waves to see that it was Moksa the Novice. Look at him as he bows to Moksa, his face wreathed in smiles. "I'm sorry I did not welcome you properly, Your Holiness.”
Q3: What does Moksa’s presence and Guanyin’s backing do to change the ogre’s attitude?
Why do the ogre’s fears melt away on hearing Moksa’s voice, and why does he bow and smile?

The ogre asked. "Where is the Bodhisattva?”
Moksa replied, ”She didn't come, but she sent me to tell you to be the Tang Priest's disciple. You are to make a dharma boat to ferry him across this weak water. There he is, sitting on the bank.”
Wujing then noticed Pig and said, "I don't know where that bloody creature is from, but he fought with me for two whole days and never said a word about fetching scriptures. And as for this one," he added, noticing Monkey, "he's that one's accomplice and a real terror. I'm not going with them.”
Q4: Why is Friar Sand initially unwilling to join Sanzang given Monkey and Pig’s behaviour?
What does this reveal about how reputation and past actions affect trust?
What helps change his mind?

Friar Sand took the skulls from round his neck without delay and tied them into the pattern of the Nine Palaces with the Bodhisattva's gourd in the middle. Then he asked Sanzang to board it, and Sanzang found when he sat on it that it was as stable as a small dinghy. Pig and Friar San supported him to left and right, while Monkey led the dragon horse through the clouds behind him, and Moksa stood above him on guard. Sanzang thus made a calm and windless crossing of the weak water of the Flowing Sands River. He moved with the speed of an arrow, and it was not long before he climbed ashore on the other side. He was neither wet nor muddy, and his hands and feet were completely dry. Thus it was that master and disciples trod on dry land again without any trouble. Moksa then landed his cloud, and took back the gourd. The nine skulls changed into nine gusts of wind and disappeared.
Q5: What practical and symbolic roles do Guanyin’s gourd and the nine skulls play in enabling the crossing?
Why is Moksa entrusted to take the gourd back?
What does the transformation of the nine skulls into gusts of wind suggest?

As they were travelling along one day, evening drew in, and Sanzang said, "Where are we going to sleep, disciples, now that it's getting late?"
"That's not the right thing to say, master," said Monkey. "We monks are supposed to eat the wind and drink the rain, and sleep under the moon and in the frost. Our home is wherever we are. So why ask where we're going to sleep?"
"You may think that you've had an easy journey," said Pig, "but you don't give a damn about other people being tired. Ever since we crossed the Flowing Sands River we've been going over mountain ranges, and this heavy load has fairly worn me out. We've got to find a house where we can beg some tea and food and have a good rest−−it's only fair.”
"It sounds to me, idiot, as though you're having regrets," said Monkey. "I'm afraid you can't have such an easy life now as you did back in Gao Village. If you want to be a monk, you have to suffer−−it's the only way of being a true disciple."
"How heavy do you think this load is?" Pig asked.
"I haven't carried it since you and Friar Sand joined us, so how should I know?" Monkey replied. "Just add it up," said Pig. "There are . . . With all this luggage to carry day after day of course I find the going heavy. While you're allowed to be the master's disciple, I'm treated as a hired hand."
"Who do you think you're talking to, idiot?" Monkey asked.
"I'm talking to you, elder brother," said Pig.
"You shouldn't be complaining about this to me," Monkey replied. "My job is to look after the master's safety, while you and Friar Sand look after the horse and the luggage. And if there's any slacking from you, you'll feel a heavy stick about you ankles."
"Don't threaten me with a beating, brother," said Pig, "that would be bullying. I know that you're too high and mighty to carry the luggage, but the master's horse is a big, sturdy animal to be carrying only one old monk. I'd be very happy if it could carry a few pieces of luggage.”
Q6: What team dynamics appear in the conversation about luggage, roles and fairness?
What are common challenges in newly formed teams, and how would you cultivate unity and shared purpose here?

"Disciple," said Sanzang, "do you see the farm over there? Let's ask if we can spend the night there." Monkey immediately looked up, saw that the sky above it was full of clouds of blessing, and knew that the farm had been miraculously produced by the Buddha or some Immortals.
Not daring to give away the secrets of Heaven, however, he only said, "Splendid, splendid, let's ask if we can lodge there." Dismounting from his horse, Sanzang saw a gate−house with pillars like elephants' trunks and beams that had been painted and carved.
Q7: Why doesn’t Wukong reveal that the farm is miraculously produced? What does this teach about discretion, and the right use of privileged knowledge?

Take your time with these questions. Bring your insights, personal reflections, and discoveries into our circle for shared contemplation.