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Knowing that only Bodhisattva Lingji can calm the Yellow Wind, Wukong seeks the Bodhisattva’s help; the monster is revealed to be a brown marten and is taken for judgment. The pilgrim then continues to the Flowing Sands River, where Monkey and Pig face Sandy.

Session Focus:
Crossing the Flowing Sands is one of the journey’s hardest trials (weak water). In this session we’ll explore team dynamics under stress — how the group recognizes each member’s strengths nd what that teaches us about building complementary teams in life and work.

Key Questions for contemplation:

Monkey handed the piece of paper to him, and when he had read it he said, "Who is this Long Life Li?"
"He's the Great White Planet of the West," Monkey replied.
Pig immediately bowed low and said, "My benefactor, my benefactor. If he hadn't put in a memorial to the Jade Emperor, I don't know what would have become of me."
"So you're capable of feeling gratitude," said Monkey.
Q1: What trait do you see in Pig here?
How does gratitude shape team relations?

"I would like you to tell him that I am Brother Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, a disciple of the Patriarch Sanzang, the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang in the East, and there is a matter about which I should like to see the Bodhisattva."
"That's far too many words for me to remember, sir," said the lay brother with a smile.
"Then tell him that the Tang Priest's disciple Sun Wukong is here," Monkey replied.
Q2: What do you learn about Wukong’s character from this exchange?
Any lessons about tailoring how we present ourselves?

Monkey rushed at it and had raised his cudgel to kill it when the Bodhisattva stopped him and said, "Don't kill it, Great Sage. I must take it back to see the Tathagata. He used to be a marten who had obtained the Way underneath the Vulture Peak, and once he stole some of the pure oil from a crystal lamp. When the lamp went out he was so afraid of being caught by a Vajrapani that he ran away and became a spirit monster here. The Tathagata decided that as this was not a capital offence I should be sent to keep guard over him; but if he took life or committed any other evil deeds he was to be taken to the Vulture Peak. As he has now offended you, Great Sage, and captured the Tang Priest with the intention of murdering him, I must take him to see the Tathagata to be sentenced for his crime before this business can be regarded as cleared up.”
Q3: What does this tell you about compassion, justice, and leadership?
How does a wise leader balance mercy with accountability?

When he could hold himself back no longer, he pulled out his cudgel and said, "Master, you sit here and don't be afraid. I'm going to play with him." Ignoring Sanzang's pleas for him to stay, he whistled, jumped down to the side of the river, and found that the fight between Pig and the ogre was at its height. Brother Monkey swung his cudgel and aimed it at the ogre's head, but the ogre made a lightning turn and plunged straight into the river. Pig was hopping mad.
"Nobody asked you to come, elder brother," he said. "That ogre was tiring and he could hardly fend my rake off. With few more rounds I would have captured him, but you gave him such a fright that he ran away, damn it."
"Brother," said Monkey with a smile, "I must tell you frankly that the sight of you fighting so beautifully gave me an uncontrollable itch. I haven't used my cudgel for a whole month since we came down the mountain after dealing with the Yellow Wind Monster−−I just had to join in the fun.“
Q4: What pattern or habit does this reveal in Wukong?
How can such impulses affect team strategy?

“The Ogre has lived here for a long time, disciple," Sanzang said, "and must know the shallows and deeps here. We must have a water expert to lead us across this vast expanse of weak water that has no boats."
"Yes," said Monkey, “…As that ogre lives here he must be a water expert, so if we catch him we shouldn't kill him−−we should make him take you across, master, before finishing him off."
"There's no time to lose, brother," said Pig. "You go and catch him while I look after the master."
"This is something I can't talk big about," said Monkey with a smile. "I'm not all that good at underwater stuff. Even to walk underwater I have to make a magic hand movement and recite a water−repelling spell before I can move. The only other way I can get about there is by turning myself into a fish, a shrimp, a crab or a turtle. I can manage any strange and wonderful magic on a mountain or in the clouds that you can do, but when it comes to underwater business, I'm useless.”
"When I was the commander of the Milky Way, the heavenly river, in the old days," said Pig, "I had a force of eighty thousand sailors, so I know a bit about water. But I'm afraid that he might have generations of clansmen down there, and that would be too much for me. And if they got me, we'd be in a real mess.”
Q5: What’s significant about these admissions of limits or weakness made by Monkey and Pig?
What do they tell us about realistic self-assessment in teams?
What do you learn about creative problem solving and using an opponent’s skills as an asset?

Quick recall questions to link past lessons to present:
1. What is “weak water”? Why did Guanyin foresee this difficulty?
2. Why did Sha Wujing (the ogre) fall from grace and become a man-eating spirit? How did that shape his later role?
3. Why did Guanyin ask him to keep the nine skeletons — what was her plan?
4. How does the name Sha Wujing (“Awakened to Purity”) reflect his transformation?

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

📝 Members’ Blogging Space:
Share your reflections and learnings:
https://www.hellosuliving.com/blog

📚 Self-Study & Preparation:
https://chine.in/fichiers/jourwest.pdf
Chapter 22 (page 311 - 317)

💰 Participation Fee:
Pay-as-you-go: AUD $5 per session (via PayPal)

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