Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 13: Seizing and Setting Free

One day, Ruyi came to find Wukong again, asking him to weed and catch insects in the garden. In normal times, Wukong would have gone without hesitation, but this time he sat on the couch, smiling mysteriously and saying, “Senior Ruyi, why do we need to weed?”
Ruyi was taken aback. “Weeds need to be removed; otherwise, they’ll hinder the growth of the flowers. Why do you even ask?”
Wukong retorted, “Why not remove the flowers instead and let the weeds grow strong? That would also be beautiful.”
Ruyi looked puzzled. “How could one remove the flowers? That’s absurd! If you want to be lazy, I’ll send someone else.”
Wukong got up from the couch, bowed, and said, “It’s not laziness. I truly don’t understand. Please forgive me, senior. I’ll go right away.”
Another day, a Taoist boy surnamed Ru, named Ruzhen, came to find Wukong to do some work. He saw Wukong bent over a strangely shaped vessel on the desk. The vessel resembled a bowl but was tilted, and it seemed like it would tip over if water were poured into it.
Ruzhen asked in confusion, “If this thing can’t hold water, what’s the use of it?”
Wukong smiled and said, “You think it can’t hold water? Then give it a try.”
He took a water pot and poured water into the vessel. As the water flowed in, the vessel gradually became upright. Surprised, Ruzhen said, “So it only becomes upright when filled with water.”
Wukong replied, “Not necessarily.” He kept pouring until the vessel was almost full, after which it suddenly tipped over, spilling all the water.
Ruzhen couldn’t dodge in time and got his clothes wet. He snapped, “If you knew it would spill, why pour it to the brim?”
Wukong blinked and said, “You should know too—how can something stay upright without tipping over?” After thinking for a moment, he added, “What’s the point of being full if it won’t stay upright?”
Ruzhen huffed, rushed out of the room, and called, “Come out quickly to weed the garden and tend the trees!”
Ruzhen hurried back to the main hall, where the Patriarch was meditating, his eyes slightly closed. Realizing Ruzhen had entered and sensing his displeasure, the Patriarch asked in a deep voice, “Ruzhen, do you understand what it means to feel neither joy nor sorrow, neither anger nor resentment?”
Ruzhen replied respectfully, “Disciple understands.”
“Then why did you get angry?”
Ruzhen stammered and remained silent. The Patriarch snapped, “It’s hard to teach these youngsters!”
Seeing the Patriarch scolding him, Ruzhen quickly knelt down and said, “It’s all because of that monkey bullying me.” He continued, “Patriarch, that stone monkey, Sun Wukong, somehow obtained a strange vessel. When it’s not filled with water, it tips over, but once filled, it gradually stands upright. Then, when he pours it to the brim, the water splashes all over me. Isn’t this clearly intentional?”
The Patriarch said, “That’s a form of cleverness. Why worry over such trivial matters?”

Ruzhen said, “That monkey still intends to annoy me, saying, ‘If it is full, why would it not be damaged?’”
At first, the Patriarch paid no attention, but upon hearing the phrase “If it is full, why would it not be damaged?”, he couldn’t help but repeat it silently several times, finding it profoundly meaningful. Delighted, he told Ruzhen to leave.
The Patriarch thought to himself that indeed, the monkey’s wisdom was extraordinary. Yet its monkey nature was unpredictable. It would be the right time to impart the ultimate truth after testing it for a few more months.
These days, Wukong had been trying every trick in the book to be elusive, doing things that baffled others and speaking in profound yet mysterious words. At first, the disciples in the cave would go to the Patriarch to report on him, but over time, they all assumed the stone monkey had gone mad and stopped paying attention to him, even refusing to assign him any tasks. Wukong grew increasingly bored.
How could he know that the Patriarch had already realized his great wisdom and was now testing his monkey nature? He kept racking his brains daily to come up with ingenious ideas, but the more he tried, the more frustrated he became.
That night, unable to sleep, Wukong went outside and lay under a thousand-year-old cypress tree in the courtyard, gazing at the stars in the sky through the leaves.
The stars shone brightly; even without the moon, everything was clearly visible. After staring for a while, they seemed almost within reach—very different from his past life.
Having been here for over a year and going through several unexpected setbacks, Wukong had fully immersed himself in the situation. He could faintly sense that his arrival might change the world of Journey to the West. Whether the change would be significant or not was unknown, but at least now he had begun his apprenticeship seven or eight years earlier than the original Monkey King. One stone could stir up a thousand waves—who knew what would happen next?
Gazing at the stars, Wukong suddenly had an idea: Did these stars also belong to this world? Could great beings like Laozi and Buddha travel through the stars and across the universe? Once he mastered the Cloud of Rebirth, he must try it—otherwise, he would regret it for life.
Thinking of the Cloud of Rebirth, Wukong sighed. “Patriarch, what are you waiting for?” As the saying goes, there is no problem that cannot be solved— the hardest problem is having no problem at all. Since he couldn’t figure out the Patriarch’s intentions, how could he solve the issue? Did he really have to force himself to take that risky step?
Three days later, Ruyi was teaching the disciples in the backyard when suddenly Wukong entered from the corridor. Ruyi was surprised—Wukong usually stayed in the front yard and had never been elsewhere. He wondered why he came here today.

Everyone knew that Wukong often caused trouble lately, so they quietly avoided him, fearing he might cause some strange incident again. But Wukong simply found a corner by himself, sat down, and listened quietly to the others talking without saying a word. After listening for a while, his eyes lit up with surprise—although these disciples wore Taoist robes just like Patriarch Subhuti, their discussions mostly revolved around Buddha’s Pure Land, topics related to Buddhism. Could it be that Patriarch Subhuti actually came from the Western world?

At that moment, a senior monk surnamed Hui was answering questions for the younger monks. A young Taoist boy asked, “I dare to ask Senior Hui Neng, among all the Taoist scriptures, which one should we read?” This question reflected many people’s thoughts, and everyone immediately agreed.

Hui Neng nodded slightly upon hearing this question. After everyone fell silent, he spoke, “The Shurangama Sutra says, ‘The original nature is one; there are many ways to express it.’ As for which scripture to read, the Nichiren sect teaches people to read only the five characters ‘The Wonderful Lotus Sutra.’ Those who practice chanting in the Pure Land sect tell them to chant ‘Namu Amida Butsu.’ But in our sect, there is only one character…”

Hearing this, everyone was in an uproar. There was no need to read countless scriptures—just one character could lead to enlightenment? It was truly astonishing.

A young Taoist boy eagerly asked, “Senior, what is that one character?”

Hui Neng replied, “That character is—”

“Empty!” It was Wukong, who had remained silent throughout, who spoke instead.

Everyone was shocked.

Ruyi quickly pulled Wukong aside, “Stop talking nonsense! Listen to what the senior monk has to say.”

Wukong smiled slightly and said nothing more, thinking to himself, I wonder what great insight you have.

Sure enough, Hui Neng’s expression turned ugly. He had intended to say the character “empty” himself, but Wukong had taken precedence. As a senior monk surnamed Hui, he must have something extraordinary about him. Hui Neng shook his sleeve with his left hand and gently twisted his thumb beside his index finger, saying, “That character is—the character ‘nothing.’”

Wukong burst into laughter. Hui Neng was quite quick at adapting. That finger-twisting motion was exactly like the gesture used to pick up prayer beads.

Hearing the mockery in Wukong’s laughter, Hui Neng grew displeased and loudly asked, “What great insight do you have, Wukong?”

Wukong had been waiting for this opportunity. He stood up and said, “I dare not claim any great insight. Last night, I had a strange dream. A Buddha with a golden body six zhang tall taught me that all transformations boil down to the character ‘empty.’ Today, after hearing the senior monk’s teachings, I couldn’t help but blurt it out. Please forgive me, senior.”

When Wukong mentioned the “six-zhang-tall golden-bodied Buddha,” he carefully observed everyone’s expressions. He saw that the young monks were all confused and at a loss, while several older monks surnamed Hui and Zhi changed color dramatically, showing expressions of disbelief. Hui Neng forced himself to stay calm and managed to laugh awkwardly twice, saying, “What my junior brother says does make sense. We should consult the Patriarch to reach a conclusion.” Without saying goodbye to anyone, he hurriedly left. Immediately afterward, the monks streamed out one after another. Ruyi walked last, giving Wukong a puzzled look before flicking his robe sleeve and following them out. The entire backyard was left with only Wukong alone. Consulting the Patriarch—probably to send a message, he thought. Judging from these monks’ expressions, they must surely recognize Tathagata. In this world, there is likely only Tathagata who can be a six-zhang-tall golden-bodied Buddha. His move was called “shaking the mountains to frighten the tigers.” Even if Patriarch Subhuti had great powers, he wouldn’t be able to uncover Wukong’s true origins. Hehe, he was curious to see how the Patriarch would react.