The Monkey King

"Boom..." The giant vermilion door opened a crack again!

Stone Monkey suddenly opened his eyes, full of expectation.

It was the round-faced girl again. She poked her head out of the crack in the door and glanced at Stone Monkey. After a while, she stepped out of the threshold, straightened her clothes, walked over to Stone Monkey, and squatted down.

"Still not leaving?"

"When will Master see me?" Shihou asked.

"Master won't see you, you'd better leave."

"Why doesn't Master see me?"

The girl bit her lip, spoke for a while, and said, "I don't know why Master doesn't accept you. It's just that Master has never driven away those who seek the Dao, but this time he won't accept you. I'm afraid that no matter how long you kneel, you won't be able to get in." go."

The girl looked at the stone monkey with a little unbearable look.

"If I ask for the Dharma, I will leave on my own. If I cannot ask for it, I would rather die at this door."

"Then you just wait to die at this door! Children cannot be taught!" The girl sighed helplessly, turned around and went back.

After a while, the girl turned back again, holding clear water and fruits in her hands.

"Master asked me to give it as a gift?" Stone Monkey hurriedly picked up the jar and drank all the water in it.

"I don't want you to die here, dirtying the door, and committing suicide on your own initiative. Maybe you will be scolded by Master when you go back!"

Not caring about so much anymore, the stone monkey started gobbling up the food.

The girl sat next to the stone monkey, smiled helplessly as she watched the stone monkey use its hands and feet, and asked, "Why are you doing this?"

The stone monkey didn't say a word and just continued to stuff food into his mouth.

"After you finish eating, will you go back?"

Hearing the sound, Stone Monkey immediately stopped, gathered up the uneaten food and put it back on the tray.

"Okay, okay, I won't chase you away!" The girl quickly shook her head and waved her hands.

The stone monkey then started gobbling it up again.

"Hey...does the injury from last time still hurt?" the girl asked, looking at Stone Monkey's scarred hands.

Stone Monkey shook his head.

"It's good that it doesn't hurt anymore... Actually, this is my first time chasing someone away, so I can't control where I start. However, you are really stubborn."

The stone monkey stuffed the last apple and its tail into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

"Ah..." He let out a sigh of satisfaction, wiped his mouth, and looked at the girl: "What's your last name?"

The girl had a pair of strange sky-blue pupils, as clear as lake water, which was amazing.

"Call me Wind Chime. What's your name?"

"Stone Monkey."

"Stone Monkey? Why is it called Stone Monkey?"

"I jumped out of a rock."

"It jumped out of the stone? Wow!" Feng Chime opened his mouth wide: "There are indeed many wonders in the world!"

"Yes. The Stone Monkey in Huaguo Mountain. The book says that I was conceived by absorbing the aura of heaven and earth."

"It says in the book? Could it be that the book also records how you came here? Which book?" Feng Chime laughed.

"Journey to the West." Stone Monkey said.

"Journey to the West? What a strange name."

"Actually, it's not surprising. It tells the story of a monk who took a monkey, a pig, a river demon, and a dragon to the West to find Tathagata Buddha to get scriptures about a thousand years later, fighting monsters and leveling up along the way. I'm inside That monkey."

"What happened a thousand years later? Not only is the title of the book strange, but the story is also strange... Do you have another name?"

"Not now, but if the old man inside is willing to open the door, there will be. He will give me a new name, Sun Wukong. He will say: 'You are like a hozen, so you will be named Sun. The right way is to break the stubbornness of the devil and you need Wukong. Let’s call him Sun Wukong.'"

Deep in the Taoist temple, Patriarch Subhuti, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating, moved his ears, and the tea he just drank sprayed all over the floor.

"Huh? This sounds very similar to Master's tone. Is it also what is said in the book?" Feng Ling sighed.

"Of course." Stone Monkey nodded heavily: "It was the old man who said it."

"You monkey talk is really interesting." Feng Chime covered her mouth and laughed.

Looking at the tea stains on the ground, Subhuti was silent for a while, and then slowly sighed: "This monkey is really broad-minded, but it's a pity..."

Day after day, it is already a spring and autumn in a blink of an eye.

Subhuti didn't say a word about taking Stone Monkey as his disciple. He just meditated, lectured and practiced every day.

The wind chime brought water and food to the stone monkey every day, but Subhuti didn't ask a word about it.

And the stone monkey was still kneeling at the door, no matter the wind, rain or heavy snow, he never moved a step. Fortunately, his body was extremely strong and strong. If it had been anyone else, not many of them would have been able to hold on.

One day, Subhuti was meditating in the attic. The wind chime came to his seat and kowtowed: "Master, I have something to say."

"Speak if you have anything to say."

"Master often teaches us: Those who practice Taoism should benefit from heaven and earth, and they should feed back to heaven and earth. If you see someone who humbly seeks Taoism, you should give him all your money. Now the monkey head has been kneeling outside the mountain gate for a whole spring and autumn, sincerely You see, why doesn’t Master accept it?”

Subhuti was silent for a long time, gently stroking his long beard, and said regretfully: "The stone monkey was originally conceived by heaven and earth. It is beyond the six paths, five permanent things, and ten categories of heaven and earth. It is beyond the calculation of heaven. After ten years of hard work, it now has a tough temperament. Either you don’t cultivate it, but if you cultivate it, you will achieve great success.”

The wind chimes were heard in the mist, and he said again: "My disciple is puzzled. Since the master knows that his cultivation will be a great success, why doesn't he accept it?"

Subhuti smiled helplessly and looked up to the sky and sighed: "This monkey has a high heart. If he has supernatural powers, I am afraid that there will never be peace in the world."

The wind chime bowed deeply and said nothing more.

Day after day again.

There is an endless stream of disciples coming in and out of Taoist temples. Some are new to the mountain to become disciples, some are leaving after completing their studies, and most of them are mediocre for decades and achieve nothing, and finally have to return in frustration.

The stone monkey is still kneeling like a sculpture.

"This monkey is as stubborn as a rock. Even after Master told me not to accept it, he still refuses to leave."

"I heard that he just jumped out of the stone, hahahaha."

"So what if the heaven and earth give birth to it? If the master refuses to accept it, it must be because he has no immortal bones!"

"A wild monkey also wants to become an immortal. It's so whimsical!"

"Master, it's true. You can accept me as a chopping wood worker. The kitchen is short of people."

Hearing this, all the disciples laughed one after another, and there was gradually a sense of ridicule in the eyes of the stone monkey.

They whispered, but the stone monkey remained unmoved. He only closed himself up and looked at the red door all the time.

After the wind chime delivered food every day, it was inevitable that he would chat with the stone monkey.

"Why are you so determined to cultivate immortality?" Feng Ling asked, holding his cheek.

"You don't want to become an immortal?"

"I think, but the master said that the true meaning of cultivating immortals is to understand the Dao. A person's happiness depends on the breadth of his heart. Even if he becomes a god in the sky, there will not be one more point... Sometimes I think, since cultivating immortals can't be happier , then why do you want to become an immortal?" Feng Ling stared at the grass on the ground, a little confused. After a long time, he turned around and asked: "What about you? Why do you want to become an immortal?"

Stone Monkey put down the fruit in his hand, remained silent for a while, and asked, "Have you ever been chased by a tiger?"

Wind Chime shook his head.

"My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I knew he really wanted to eat me, like a pheasant or a rabbit. In his eyes, I was just a piece of meat, a lunch, or dinner. .”

The wind chimes were silent.

"Later, I killed it. In this life, I don't want to be someone else's meal. If anyone dares to covet me, whether he is a god, a human, or a Buddha, I will kill him! As long as I have this ability! "

The stone monkey clenched his fists, looked up at the flowing clouds on the horizon, and said slowly: "Then I went to sea, very tired and miserable. My only friend died on the road, humans wanted to eat me, monsters wanted to chase me away, immortals Don’t accept me… just because I’m just a monkey.”

"I gritted my teeth and came all the way. When there was no way, I cut a path. No matter what, I couldn't stop. I must not be someone else's meal. Don't be an ordinary monkey."

"Don't be a monkey! I want to..." The stone monkey's voice stopped in astonishment, staring at the fruit in trance.

Silence, a long silence.

This feeling made Feng Ling a little breathless. She was still too young to understand the concept of "killing", nor the persistent struggle, nor what Shi Hou had experienced along the way.

The bright sunshine shines through the clouds on the stone monkey.

There was a look of perseverance and a sense of overwhelming hardship.

The stone monkey lowered his head and ate the fruit, muttering in his mouth: "I want to live and live better. So I have to eat more so that I can persist longer... hold on until the door opens. As long as the door opens. Yes, everything will be fine."

"You are amazing." Feng Chime suddenly felt sad.

The stone monkey outside the door has a heart stronger than anyone imagined.

Ten years of suffering failed to dispel his thoughts, but made him stronger.

Live persistently and live better!