Full of suspense, personality and adventure, Monkey by Wu Ch’eng-En is considered to be one of the most influential works of Chinese literature in history. The 16th century novel follows the demanding journey of a small group of travellers — including the carefree, trickster character Monkey — from Chang'an to India on a quest to acquire ancient scriptures. By reading Monkey, one can acquire knowledge about several important aspects of ancient Chinese culture, the most prominent being the path to nirvana, an idea present in Buddhism— known not only for being China’s oldest religion, but for being one of the most widely followed religions in modern China as well. Nirvana is defined as “a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the …show more content…
The advancements Monkey makes in his journey become increasingly evident as the middle and end of the novel progress, especially when he works to bring the king of Crow-cock back to life. He goes to Lao Tzu for pellets of elixir, asking, “would you be so kind as to lend me a thousand of your nine times sublimated life-restoring pills” (Ch’eng-En 197). It is quite obvious that his tone has changed drastically when speaking to authority, and his intentions are no longer destructive and self-centered. He is going through the cessation of suffering, the third Noble Truth of Buddhism. The Third Noble Truth offers the possibility of liberating oneself from any suffering or ignorance keeping them from becoming a true Buddha. Through his journey, Monkey has learned about the effects of karma, and in turn, about how to act in order for good to come to him. He demonstrates respect, patience, and politeness toward authority and teaches readers that these are important qualities in reaching
By learning from the Dharma, understanding The Four Noble Truths, three jewels, living by the five precepts, and following the eightfold path will assist to the completed path of enlightenment. Nirvana, which means to extinguish or unbind, is when a Buddhist has reached a state in which he has gained knowledge and freedom from what ever has bound him from reaching nirvana. Whether it be passion, desire, jealousy, egotism, or ignorance. When nirvana has been reached then there will be complete release from the samsara and karmic cycles.
The excerpt being reviewed in this paper is the story of An Lingshou whose “secular surname was Xu” (Shi 307). She is an upper class woman who “was intelligent and fond of studies” and “took no pleasure in worldly affairs” (Shi 307). She is devoutly Buddhist and doesn’t want to be married, but her father Xu Chong disagrees, accusing her of being “unfilial” (Shi 307). She responds that her “mind is concentrated on the work of religion” and questions why she must “submit three times before [she is] considered a woman of propriety” (Shi 307). Her father thinks this is selfish and goes to see a “Buddhist magician monk” who tells him to “keep a vegetarian fast and after three days . . . come back” (Shi 307). Xu Chong does so and the monk “spread Xu Chong’s palm with the oil of sesame seed ground together with safflower” and has him read what’s there (Shi 307). He sees “a person who resembled his daughter” as Buddhist preaching to a large group. The monk tells him that it “is a former incarnation of” his daughter who left her house to help the world at large and that “she indeed shall raise her family to glory” and help them find Nirvana (Shi 307). Lingshou is allowed to become a nun and “cut off her hair, discarded secular ornaments, and received the rules of monastic life from” the monk who spoke to her father and another famous nun (Shi 308). Lingshou goes on to be a famously great nun who “built five or six monastic retreats” and her family goes on to be honored and promoted (Shi
Townsend and Pollock surround their work with life altering decisions made by their characters resulting in either the success or failure of their own development or those around them. “Behavior-outcome relations (contingency rules) represent the individual’s assessment of the likelihood that a particular behavior will be followed by a particular outcome (Knowles, McLean 154). Throughout Saint Monkey and “Real Life,” character interactions are vital in shaping their further development as the stories progress. Audrey, Caroline, and Bobby are constantly affected by their loved ones and in some cases themselves.
Epithets of nirvana in Buddhism include "the free," "the immortal," and "the unconditioned." Nirvana is attainable in life, and the death. of one who has attained it is termed parinirvana, or complete nirvana.
Nirvana is a remembrance to the day of the Buddha’s death and how he enters Nirvana and it means to extinguish or blow out (O’Brien). Schools of Buddhism explain Nirvana as a state of bliss or peace and that Nirvana can be entered in both life and death (O’Brien). O’Brien writes that the Buddha died at the age of 80. She explains that when he died, he was accompanied by monks. The Buddha told them that he did not keep any of his teaching from them and that he needed them to keep his teachings alive to help the people for the years and years to come. O’Brien writes that Nirvana day is a day to really look at the Buddhas teachings. Monasteries and temples have meditation retreats and lay people bring money or things from their home for the monks to live off of (O’Brien). What Buddhists mostly want is to reach
Additionally, Sergeant Major Morris knew the consequences of wishing upon the monkey's paw, saying on page 377, "I don't know what the first two [wishes] were, but the third was for death." This implied that the previous owner of the paw had suffered such severe consequences that he wished away his own life. Although Sergeant Major Morris refrained from giving the
Nonetheless, Monkey’s intellectual journey shows him how to become humble about this knowledge and effectively use it. On page 75, Buddha presents Monkey a chance to have the Jade Emperor’s position under one task: to jump off the palm of Buddha’s right hand. Although Monkey thinks that the task is absurd and easily doable he fails and even suffers from embarrassment. As Monkey jumped off Buddha’s palm and what he thought was the ground, he only managed to jump to the base of Buddha’s middle finger. Monkey failed to realize that jumping off Buddha’s hand would result in leaving the face of Earth. However, he stated, “This is the end of the World”, when looking at the hands of Buddha. With his knowledge yet not being used effectively, he failed to understand his words that resulted in his embarrassment and shock demonstrated on page 76. He effectively uses his knowledge in the beginning in Chapter XXIV when he comes up with a clever plan to overthrow the Tiger Strength Immortal, Deer Strength Immortal, and Ram Strength Immortal. The three immortals initiate a series of games of replicating various skills that they each possess. In order for Tripikita and his disciples to regain their passports and move on their journey to gather the Scriptures, Tripikita must successfully win every game. Given an open opportunity to use his knowledge and
This assessment stands in stark contrast to the claims made by Dr. Morton H. Fried, a professor of anthropology at Columbia University. Fried argues “Although Christian missions were present in China by A.D. 671 and mission-introduced medical and educational institutions have flourished, Christianity has never gained an important place in Chinese religious life. This essay reflects upon the long-term failure of Christianity to adapt to local beliefs and contexts (in contrast to Buddhism), and suggests that the future of Christianity in China is no more secure than its past.”
Nirvana is a word that is commonly used in Buddhism with varied meanings depending on the use. It means the state of blowing out from certain detractors in life. To “blow out” has great meaning and refers wholly to the extinguishing or dispelling of oneself from certain characters that are considered to be iniquitous. It is characterized by peace of mind and it saves man from the sufferings, the cycles of rebirth, and death. Nirvana could only be achieved by individuals who observed the laid down rules and detached themselves from sin. Moksha is a common belief in the Hindu religion and it describes a state where one’s soul connects with god’s soul. In the Hindu religion, achieving moksha removes one from the cycle of life and death, which is the state of reincarnation as one moves from one life to the next. In essence, moksha is a state of unification of one’s soul with that of the creator, therefore achieving oneness of atman and Brahman. This essay discusses the various similarities and differences that exist between Buddhist Nirvana and Hindu Moksha.
Zhou Shuren, better known by the pen name Lu Xun is generally regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature and was thought by many to have his finger on the pulse of the nation’s conscience. His early notoriety was achieved as a result of his short works of fiction which were often satirical, sometimes humorous, and at times very gloomy (“Lu Xun”). Lu Xun was a mindful of his art and labored over his stories to eliminate unnecessary detail, yet they are filled with rich characters, interesting plot lines, vivid imagery, and strong themes. “It can be argued that in the overall output of Lu Xun’s writings his twenty-five short stories constitute a rather slim volume. But is should also be noted that, given the relatively brief time span (eight years), Lu Xun was able to demonstrate an unparalleled range and diversity of technical experimentation. (Lee 57) “Kong Yiji” and Ah-Q-The Real Story are exceptional examples of his talent and contain numerous similarities in terms of, characterization, , plot, and theme.
The conceptual definition of religion associates it with the belief in and worship of a supreme being. The Chinese religious traditions challenge this concept of religion. As a matter of fact, it is more appropriate to refer to the idea of religion in China as ‘Chinese traditional culture’, instead of ‘Chinese traditional religion’. However, both phrases will be used interchangeably in this paper. The Chinese religion is fundamentally represented in the unity of three traditional cultures namely Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese Buddhism that existed prior to the engagement of China with the West. It is critical to note that the key religious idea of the three traditions is not a personal God or some other ...
Instead of concentrating upon philosophical treatises or religious texts, we are going to conduct our exploration through the reading of traditional Chinese tales and stories. Since early times, Chinese literature has abounded in tales of wonder and fantasy -- tales of ghosts and spirits, fabulous voyages, miraculous transformations, and every variety of strange and wondrous event. Those tales were composed at least partly as entertainment. And yet, they also reveal a wide range of attitudes about the nature of the world, the nature of human existence, and the nature of the divine. In these tales, all the realms of being -- animal, human, divine, and demonic - often impinge upon each other in wondrous and unpredictable ways. It is those realms -- and their interrelationships -- that this course will explore. We will also consider some of the ideas found in Taoist thought and religion, and evaluate the extent to which they might contribute to our understanding of the stories that we read.
Haft, Idema, and Lloyd, Haft. A Guide to Chinese Literature. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1997.
Storytelling has been one of the most effective vehicles for communication of beliefs, values, and traditions since the establishment of language. Since the emergence of Chinese civilization, stories have been used by many to express the concept of religions and philosophies to the common people: “Merchants, traders, and Buddhist pilgrims helped spread Buddhist ideas to China by the second century C.E. Buddhism offered the Chinese new ideas such as karma, reincarnation, hell, monks…” (Brown). Wu Cheng’en, a Chinese novelist and poet during the Ming Dynasty, is considered the author of the Journey to the West. The Journey can be viewed as a collection of religious stories that represents a single demonstration of Chinese religious culture. Journey can therefore be viewed as an esoteric work, like the Bible and Koran. Furthermore, with every esoteric work, there are two meanings provided to the reader: an inner and an outer meaning. The inner meaning is generally associated with the religion itself while the outer meaning is usually the adventures that the characters embark on. This story has been an influence to many and has been retold so many times that it is even considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. As one reads through the novel and studies the symbolism used in the story, he/she can find that it is deeply rooted in Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Which religion the story is an allegory for still remains a debate among scholars even today. Yet, although there are Taoist and Confucian elements found in the Journey, I believe that this story is an allegory mainly focused on Buddhism. There are several elements of Buddhism found in the story, especially through the analysis of each of the ma...
interpretation of nirvana as the renunciation of human consciousness and of self. In this form,