Reflections on Spiritual Cultivation through the tale of Journey To The West (2)

This article is the English translation of an article written in Vietnamese based on an episode of the weekly radio show Radio Khai Tam featuring Thay Hang Truong's teachings.

Behind the waterfall was a large cavern that could hold thousands of beings. Inside the cavern there was light, and the plants were lush and thriving. After exploring the place, the Stone Monkey happily realized that many monkeys could live there. So he swam back out and called the young monkeys to follow him inside: “Brothers, come quickly into the cave—it's wonderful in there!”

The Stone Monkey swam upstream and helped each monkey cross the river, pass through the waterfall, and enter the cavern. Once all the monkeys were inside, they all felt delighted because the cave was incredibly beautiful and full of various fruits and flowers.

The Stone Monkey then reminded them of the challenge they agreed to outside the cave, and the whole group of monkeys unanimously honored him as their king. Overjoyed, the Stone Monkey took the title “The Handsome Monkey King” .

The Name Handsome Monkey King.

The “beauty” here refers to the Stone Monkey’s achievement after swimming upstream and leaping through the waterfall to enter the cave.

In ancient Chinese culture, there was the belief that once someone passes through a water curtain or a waterfall, they would become a king. Likewise, a fish that leaps over the Dragon Gate (a very high rock) will transform into a dragon. Today we know that salmon live in the ocean but swim upstream, returning to the source rivers to spawn. Not only do they swim upstream, but they often have to leap over rocks—an extremely difficult journey.

Similarly, the Stone Monkey in the story swam upstream to pass through the waterfall into the Water-Curtain Cave, and by doing so, he becomes The Handsome Monkey King.

The Meaning for Spiritual Cultivation

How do we know whether we are practicing correctly?

The more we practice, the more beautiful, the younger looking, the more capable, and the more lovable we become. 

If the more we practice, the uglier we become, then something is quite strange.

Meaning of the names of places in the story

• The mountain where the waterfall is located is called Flower-Fruit Mountain. This mountain symbolizes a blessed land, a place of merit.

• The cave that the Stone Monkey and the other monkeys entered is called Water-Curtain Cave, meaning a celestial or spiritual cave, a place filled with sacred energy.

• The Stone Monkey was “born” in the Eastern Videha Continent.

  
  

According to legend, there are four continents in the four directions:

• East: Pubba-Videha Continent

• South: Jambudvīpa Continent

• North: Uttarakuru Continent

• West: Apara-Godānīya Continent

These four continents surround Mount Sumeru. Sumeru is a symbol of the ego—so vast that it cannot be seen, just as we cannot see the vastness of our own ego. The four continents listed above are also aspects of the ego, and we are similarly unaware of them.

1. Eastern Videha Continent

• Videha means supreme sacred or divine.

• The east is the direction where life-energy arises.

• In the Five Elements, the east corresponds to the liver.

• The liver belongs to the Wood element.

• Wood symbolizes growth and vitality (sprouting, rising, expanding).

  
  

If a person’s liver is weak, they lack vitality. If one has compassion—does not wish to harm others, wants to help them succeed, help them live well and be happy—then one’s liver is healthy and full of life-energy.

Therefore, we should begin our spiritual practice in the east, in the realm of our liver. When one practices but lacks Wood energy, it may be because of excessive killing energy produced by hunting, fishing, eating animal flesh, or by frequent anger—emanating a fierce, destructive energy—or speaking harmful words that can “kill without a blade.” These things weaken the life-energy of the liver.

To keep the liver healthy, one must nourish its life-energy. Thus we should engage in actions that help others gain vitality, or improve their livelihood including speaking words that uplift them while avoid threatening or intimidating speech.

2. Flower-Fruit Mountain

Why is it called “Flower-Fruit Mountain”? A mountain represents the shape of the ego. The ego is always rising up—always protruding. You can think of it like a person sticking their head out to be seen. If you were completely flat, like the ground, no one would notice you!

• Flower: represents beauty — in this context, lovable, endearing qualities.

• Fruit: represents usefulness or benefit.

  
  

Thus, Flower-Fruit Mountain symbolizes an ego that brings beauty and benefit to others. Such an ego is truly lovable, even though the ego still exists and has not yet disappeared.

Spiritual cultivation begins in the third chakra, the place that makes us constantly think about “self.” Therefore, we should learn to do beneficial things for others and at the same time become someone lovable and kind. We must become lovable before we do good—this is why the name must be Flower Fruit. If it were “Fruit Flower Mountain”, it would be wrong, because that would mean “do good first, then become lovable.”

3. Water-Curtain Cave

A cave is a place deep within. On our body, the navel or dantian can be compared to a cave.

• Water: Water nourishes trees and plants, which belongs to the Wood element—linked to life-energy as mentioned earlier.

  Life-energy is nourished by love. Love is like water—gentle, subtle, and life-giving.

Thus, Water-Curtain cave is a cave that is not dry or barren, but full of vitality.

• Curtain — symbolizing precepts, restraint, or moral discipline.

• Water Curtain: refers to a water curtain formed by the waterfall outside the cave. It hides the cave so that the outside world cannot see it clearly.

  
  

Water-Curtain symbolizes a thin layer of precepts that prevents us from doing harmful things. It is gentle like water, not rigid or harsh.

Once you leap through the water curtain and enter the cave, a vast and beautiful realm opens up. Many people think precepts are restrictive, as if they tie your hands and feet. But when we follow the true spirit of spiritual cultivation, precepts allow us to discover a wider, more beautiful horizon.

When the Stone Monkey jumped through the water curtain, he found a magnificent scene—with sunlights, trees, flat stones that could be used as tables, level areas for resting, rocks fit for sitting and playing chess, and so on.

The three location names above sketch out a map of spiritual practice for beginners.

In cultivating the Way while living among people

The first thing we must develop and nurture is kindness. We nurture kindness by becoming lovable and by thinking of others—doing things that bring benefit to them.

In personal cultivation/practice

We must generate kindness and forgiveness from within. The water of compassion allows others to feel that we are not only pleasant externally, but that we truly possess inner gentleness and compassion.

We must also maintain precepts so that a new inner horizon can open within our mind.

Therefore, any precept that prevents us from opening this inner horizon must be reconsidered. We should not cling to precepts as rigid rules or heavy stones that we must grip tightly. Precepts cannot be grasped like objects—just as the falling water of a waterfall cannot be held in one’s hands.

We should instead understand that everything we do is meant to manifest the true nature of the precepts within us. For example, to keep the precept of non-killing, we must allow compassion to develop. Once compassion grows, we naturally do not wish to harm or kill. But if we think in terms of “I am keeping the precept,” we easily become attached to the appearance of keeping it.

Conclusion

When stepping onto the spiritual path, we must remember that we need to practice both:

• Cultivation (while engaging in life) — Flower-Fruit Mountain

• Personal Spiritual Practice — Water-Curtain Cave

Both are essential and must go hand in hand.

Journey to the West (continued)

The monkeys lived in the Water-Curtain Cave happily and joyfully. They had nothing to worry about—every day was full of feasting, eating, climbing, playing, and sleeping.

One beautiful day, while the Handsome Monkey King was eating and drinking with the other monkeys, he suddenly burst into tears. The monkeys were utterly surprised and asked him why.

The Monkey King said:“I am living the life of a wealthy and privileged being, but when I think about it, I cannot escape death. I will certainly die one day. Is there any way to live forever? Is there a path to immortality? If not, I will definitely grow old and die.”

Hearing this, the monkeys became frightened and started crying loudly.

Think about it—has there ever been a moment when you were in the middle of a wonderful feast, a moment of peak enjoyment, and suddenly realized that one day you will no longer be able to eat, no longer be able to enjoy anything, and eventually lose everything? Right in the midst of complete pleasure, to have such reflection or awakening—what a profound moment.

Among the monkeys was an old monkey who said:“If Your Majesty wishes to live to a hundred years or more, you must go seek the Way. Only by learning the Way might you escape this fate; otherwise, there is no method at all.”

The Monkey King was surprised and asked:

“Go seek the Way? What does that mean?”

The old monkey replied:

“If Your Majesty truly wishes to seek the Way, then you must leave the Eastern Videha Continent and head south to the Southern Jambudvipa Continent. There you will find human beings who cultivate the Way. Once you arrive, you may find someone willing to teach you.”

Hearing this, the Monkey King turned his sadness into joy. He firmly decided to leave everything behind and set off in search of the Way. The monkeys, having lived together for so long, were deeply attached to him and were heartbroken as they said farewell.

No matter what religion you follow—Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or anything else—try to reflect whether there was ever a moment in your life when you completely changed your way of living or your life’s direction. We are looking for the moment when your life turned, not for some mystical realm. If you have experienced that kind of transformation, then you have already tasted the first flavor of the Path.

Letting go of suffering is easy, but letting go of comfort, luxury, and pleasure is not. Many times we wrestle with ourselves, but we must imitate the Monkey King—leaving behind comfort to seek the truth, or more accurately, to live in accordance with the truth.

Returning to the symbolism of directions in the Five Elements, the south corresponds to fire. When fire burns, it emits light; therefore, fire represents wisdom and clarity. The Monkey King travels from the east (wood—kindness, life-giving energy) toward the south to seek clarity, intelligence, and wisdom. Spiritual practice requires wisdom; hence, going south symbolizes this pursuit.

The Avatamsaka Sutra (Hua Yen sutra), written about a thousand years before Journey to the West, also describes Sudhana seeking the Way by traveling south, because that is the direction of wisdom.

Many times, we practice spirituality without truly seeking wisdom—we only look for safety. For example, we join a group because it gives us a feeling of security: we recite this way, we make offerings that way; we are told this brings merit, and we feel pleased. But we do not seek ways to develop our inner wisdom.

Sometimes we want to change, but we look in the wrong place. Instead of going south, we head toward the center (earth element)—silence, calmness, safety, like the solid ground—which may bring comfort, but if we stay there all the way to the end of life, it becomes a tremendous waste of our energy and potential for cultivation. Wood must seek fire in order to ignite and shine; only then can wisdom flourish.

We must understand that Journey to the West is not a story to listen to merely for entertainment, like common martial-arts tales. It invites us to think deeply about life, about the awakening of our aspiration, and about how we practice and cultivate. Journey to the West has 100 chapters, each one conveying a story and a spiritual teaching. It is truly a manual for practice and cultivation.

In the past two sessions, we discussed only the first chapter, and still have not finished.

Later chapters will discuss methods for penetrating the Five Shadows Demons (form, sensation, perception, mental formations, consciousness), and the difficulties one encounters in cultivation. Then we will understand why Sun Wukong must fight and destroy demons—because demons are temptations, obstacles, and forces that hinder our progress on the Path. Where do these demons reside? They reside within the Five Shadows.

I hope that gradually I can guide you to the deeper meanings and most important symbols found in this Journey to the West story.