Session 73: Trials, Grace, and Misunderstanding

Out of the eighty-one trials, the pilgrims are now passing through the 24th Trial: Encountering Demons at Flat-Top Mountain, and the 25th Trial**: Suspended High in the Lotus Cave**.

After a long and difficult struggle, Sun Wukong defeats the Senior Demon King and his allies, seizes their five powerful treasures, and rescues his master Tang Sanzang, along with Pig and Friar Sand. Just as the journey resumes, they encounter Laozi, who reveals a surprising truth: The demons were originally his servants, sent down at the request of Guanyin Bodhisattva to test the pilgrims’ determination. Upon hearing this, Wukong feels deeply frustrated, believing he has been misled and deliberately put through hardship.

🌱 Session Focus:
In this session, we explore a deeper question:
👉 Why does Wukong feel “played” by Guanyin Bodhisattva?
👉 And what does this reveal about the nature of grace, guidance, and trials from a higher realm?

Key Questions for contemplation:

The Grate Sage found over a hundred little devils there with smashed heads, broken legs, and open wounds. They had all been wounded by his magical other selves and were now standing there howling in agony. At the sight of them the Great Sage could not restrain his evil and murderous nature; he laid into them, swinging his iron cudgel. The poor devils, who were the fruit of so much hard work to acquire human form, became so many pieces of worn and hairy hide once more.
Q1: Why is Wukong unable to restrain his violent nature, even after journeying with Sanzang for so long?
What does this reveal about the difficulty of true inner transformation?
Does Wukong need to kill these demons?

What does it mean that these beings were “the fruit of long cultivation to gain human form”?

The Tang Priest thanked him no end: "I'm so grateful to you for your great efforts, disciple."
"You're telling me it was a great effort," laughed Monkey. "You lot only had to put up with the pain of being hung up, but I wasn't allowed to stand still for a moment. I was more rushed than a postal courier with an urgent message, having to charge around all over the place without stopping. I was only able to put the demons down because I stole their treasures."
Q2: What do you observe in Wukong’s state of mind in his reply to Sanzang?
Is he seeking recognition, fairness, or validation?
What does this reveal about his inner expectations?
Have you experienced moments where your effort was not fully understood or appreciated?

As they were walking along a blind man suddenly appeared beside the path, went up to them, and seized Sanzang's horse.
"Where are you going, monk?" he asked. "Give me back my treasures."
…
When Monkey saw that it was the Supreme Lord Lao Zi he rushed up to him, greeted him and asked, "Where are you going, old fellow?"
The venerable elder at once rose up to his throne in the realm of jade, drew himself upright amid the nine mists and called, "Sun the Novice, give me back my treasures."
The Great Sage rose into the air and asked. "What treasures?”
"I use the gourd to keep cinnabar and the vase to hold water, the precious sword I use for refining demons, the fan for fanning my fire, and the cord for tying round my gown. One of those two demons was a servant boy who looked after my golden furnace, and the other a servant who looked after my silver furnace. They stole my treasures and came down to the mortal world. I could not find them anywhere. You have done a very good deed in capturing them."
"You're very rude indeed, old fellow," said the Great Sage. "You deserve to be charged with laxity for allowing members of your household to become evil spirits.”
Q3: Why does Laozi choose to appear as a blind man and not reveal the truth immediately?
Why might truth not always be revealed at the beginning?
In life, have you experienced situations where understanding only came after the hardship?

"Don't blame the wrong person," said Lord Lao. "It was nothing to do with me. It was the Bodhisattva from the sea who asked me for the loan of them three times, and sent them here to be turned into monsters to test whether your master and his disciples truly wanted to go to the West."
On hearing this the Great Sage thought, "That Bodhisattva is a terrible old liar. When she delivered me and told me to protect the Tang Priest on his journey to the West to fetch the scriptures I said that the journey would be tough and difficult. She promised to come and help me whenever things were really desperate. But so far from helping she's sent evil spirits to play me up and give me a hard time. The liar. She deserves to be an old maid all her life. If the old fellow hadn't come here himself I most certainly would not have given them back to him. But now that you've told me all this you'd better have them."
Q4: What do you read in Wukong’s reaction toward Guanyin?
Does Guanyin truly “deceive” him—or is there a deeper intention?
What might “grace” look like from a higher perspective?
• Is it always protection and ease?
• Or can it also come in the form of difficulty and challenge?

📚 Self-Study & Preparation:
https://chine.in/fichiers/jourwest.pdf
Chapter 35 (page 492 - 499).

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