'Leap Of Faith In Arthur Waley's Monkey'

988 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How attachment affects my adult relationships

Leap of Faith The novel Monkey is a tale about the Journey to the West, written by Wu Ch’eng-en during the Ming dynasty in China. The folk novel has now been translated by Arthur Waley in 1942. In the story, a monk named Tripitaka is on a journey to India in search of Buddhist scrolls and scriptures with his three disciples Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy. On their way to salvation, the characters come across many spirits, gods, demons, immortals, and monsters while encountering many challenges in order to reach salvation. Toward the end of their voyage, they are face the ultimate task of detachment from their earthly bodies. The theme of detachment is very prevalent in the novel the Monkey, and is also a key practice in becoming a successful Buddhist. …show more content…

Initially, the only path to cross the water was the Cloud Reach Bridge, which was made of slim tree trunks, no larger than a palm’s width across, almost impossible to cross (Waley, 280). Monkey was confidant and passed over easily; however, the rest of the characters were hesitant refused to cross (Waley, 281). In the middle of arguing about how to get across, they saw a ferry with no bottom. Tripitaka was very weary of the bottomless boat so Monkey threw him aboard without warning. His feet had nothing to rest on and went straight into the water; somehow the ferryman pulled Tripitaka out of the water and back into the ferry (Waley, 281). Once they were all onboard, they noticed their bodies drifting downstream in the water, yet they all made it safely to the other side (Waley, 282). Stepping onto the bottomless boat and watching their bodies float away was a metaphor for their necessary detachment from their earthy selves. Detachment is a central concept in Buddhist philosophy and is viewed as one of the main obstacles to overcome. In order to reach detachment, one has to separate themselves from their own thoughts, desires, and expectations; cleansing their soul from the earthy corruption they have exposed to. This separation allows individuals to rid themselves of fleshy bonds, which then frees their minds from mental and emotional …show more content…

In the 21st century, teenagers are told to choose their career path the moment they graduate from high school, and my life was no different. I soon became attached to the one idea of how my future would turn out. Unfortunately, events occurred that made my dreams impossible; because I was so attached to this single idea, I was left frustrated and mentally suffering. Soon after, I was able to learn how to live in the moment and not dwell on the past or attach to the future. At that time, I did not realize that I was practicing the Buddhist concept of detachment. However, now that I have learned what it truly means to detach, I have become more interested how to practice it in my daily

Show More
Related

  • Summer Of The Monkeys Sparknotes

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, Jay lives near monkeys that will make him rich if he catches them. The book took place in the Cherokee Ozarks of Oklahoma in the 19th century. The protagonist of the book is Jay Berry, a 14-year-old boy who is very arrogant but changes as the book ends. The monkeys are obviously the antagonist of the novel. The monkeys are extremely intelligent creatures, especially Jumbo, the smart leader of the pack. The conflict of the story is man vs. nature. In the novel the Summer of the Monkeys, the importance of overcoming fears through its development of the plot and theme.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Demoness Kali

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Separation is a key and crucial phase of initiation. It starts the initiation process and helps jumpstart the entire practice. Shivan’s separation from his father, and eventually his mother leads to the beginning of his initiation story. Shivans initiation starts when

    Read More

  • Feminist Criticism In 'The Monkey's Paw'

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Three wishes, an old Indian curse, and a mummified paw, that was cut from a monkey. This is going to be exciting! “The Monkey’s Paw” is a short story written by W.W. Jacobs in the early 1900’s just after the turn of the centenary. Even though the text is short, it grabs the reader’s attention and keeps them on the edge of their seats until the very end. As exhilarating as this thriller is to read, unfortunately like many literary works written during that time, “The Monkey’s Paw,” is demeaning towards women and goes against feminist literary criticism’s principles and ideologies.

    Read More

  • Comparing 'The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Monkey: A Journey To The West'

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Redemption of a Trickster

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...assical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West) is a story of redemption. Although this goes beyond the scope of “The Monkey’s Story”, which ends with Monkey imprisoned under the mountain and condemned as Heaven’s worst criminal, through a “journey to the west” with a Buddhist monk in an effort to retrieve religious scrolls for the Buddha, Monkey is able to shed his violent and troubled past, transcend his identity as a trickster, and ultimately redeem himself. In this way, Monkey can be viewed as a Bildungsroman for Monkey, similar to the way in which The Odyssey can be thought as one for Odysseus. Monkey undergoes a journey towards wholeness, transitioning from a fragmented self dominated by the trickster to a relatively whole self with the overarching archetype of hero. Archetypes do not stay the same forever; they are fluid, dynamic, and ever-changing.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast Essay

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    In short, there are multiple similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution in the short story and motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” that clearly influence the audience. For instance, the difference in characters affects the mood. Similarities in the plot influence the tone, and the corresponding resolutions impact the theme. The director of the motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” chose to stick to some aspects of the text as well as change some for numerous reasons, some of which include keeping the audience's attention, sustaining the author's tone in the text, and ensuring that the readers and viewers receive the same message.

    Read More

  • The Heart of Understanding, by Thich Nhat Hanh

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh’s uses simple but powerful words and real world examples to illustrate the profound Buddhist philosophy from the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, an important representative of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The Mahayana school of Buddhist teachings emphasizes the doctrine of Sunyata- emptiness. The doctrine of emptiness, one of the most important Mahayana innovations, focuses on the relational aspect of existence. Thich Nhat Hanh coins and introduces a new word- interbeing to explain the state of emptiness. This idea of interbeing not only illustrates emptiness well but also provides understanding of other fundamental Buddhist ideas such as No-Self, impermanence and non-duality.

    Read More

  • Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Morrie gets his method of detachment from the Buddhist philosophy: One should not cling to things, as everything that exists is impermanent. In detaching, Morrie is able to step out of his material surroundings and into his own type of world where he has time to relax and think more about the type of world that his loved ones live in. Morrie does not intend to stop feeling this detachment, but instead he wants to experience it wholly because it is only then that he is able to let go, to think about something other than the stressful situation that he is in.

    Read More

  • A Sense of Foreboding in 'The Monkey's Paw'

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the outset, it is clear that ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by W.W. Jacobs is driven by an increasing sense of foreboding. Firstly, the setting of the story takes place in a very isolated and lonely place, far away from civilisation in a deserted area. This makes it a bit scary and starts to introduce tension for the reader in the story. Right from the start of the story W.W., Jacobs creates a very foreboding scene. He starts the story with pathetic fallacy, ‘the night was cold and wet’. Immediately this makes the reader feel more tension. This line also creates a feeling of inhospitality, and makes you feel that that the place is not inviting. This creates a scene outside that is evidently ominous, and sets the mood for the whole story. The next line is correlated with the first, and backs up the idea of the atrocious weather. It says ‘In the small parlour of Laburnum Villa the blinds were drawn’. This is trying to say that the family is protecting themselves from the weather, in a sense they are cocooning themselves from the weather. Also Jacobs Sets the scene by saying ‘Father and son were at chess’. This seems a bit too good to be true, for example the inside is all calm, with the father playing chess with his son and the Mother knitting; ‘the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire’. This shows that the family is venerable. This also creates a big contrast because it’s warm and pleasant inside and very hostile and antagonistic outside. At the end of the first paragraph of the story somewhat sets the expectations of the story by saying ‘unnecessary perils’, which you can predict, that there is going to be danger in the story. At the start of the...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Saint Monkey And Real Life

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Bushido and Hagakure

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    Zen Buddhism teaches of a concept called wu-nien, or “no-thought”. This of course is not a literal absence of thought, but it is rather a detachment from the thou...

    Read More

  • Essay On Interdependent Origination

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    Young adults are eager to leave their parents’ homes. Moving across the state or across the country is considered ambitious and brave. Americans are becoming less religious (Pew Research, 2008) as they forgo traditional activities like going to Church or Temple or creating a community based on religious practices. Thoughtful introspection and a commitment to moderation require time and are less valued. At the same time, Americans are more stressed than ever. Coping with illness, longing, emptiness, change and fear cause Americans to be dissatisfied and unfulfilled. It is possible that those who cling to a sense of self and independence are ignoring what the Buddha learned long ago: that humans land on the ground of a preceding cause. In order to live our best life, we must understand not just who we are, but how we are connected to the world. It makes sense to spend some time evaluating our “habit energy” so we can possibly change it. “You must be a lamp unto yourself.” Nirvana may not be waiting, but we may be able to manage the complexity of life with better insight and

    Read More

  • Why Is The Monkey A Lie?

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Quote to get an audience pumped up in five syllables as suggested by John Oliver:

    Read More

  • The History of Monkey King

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, which is a main character in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. Monkey King can be found in many stories and adaptions. The novel Journey to the West or Monkey King tells of a simian’s revolt against Heaven, of its defeat by the Buddha, and of its later being recruited as pilgrim to protect the monk Tripitaka on its quest for scriptures in India (Lai, 1994). So far, Monkey King has become one of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, it has a colorful cultural history and varied background. Monkey King is also considered by some scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore (Subbaraman, 2002). The original Chinese novel Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It published in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng’en (Babara S, 1994). The achievement of the novel has drawn widespread attention, various reasons support its popularity. This easy will analyse the varied background, cultural history, social environment of Monkey King, the novel Journey to the West and its author Wu Cheng’en. Furthermore why this novel for many years by the world's attention. It is obvious that the historical reasons of this extraordinary achievement are diverse.

    Read More

  • Prequel To The Monkey's Paw

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    Monkey’s Paw Prequel There was once an old fakir who lived in India. He created something that was called “the monkey’s paw.” The monkey’s paw could grant three wishes. The old fakir saw a man walking by who was just staring at the ground looking at the dirt.. The old fakir said “Would you like to buy this monkey’s paw?

    Read More

More about 'Leap Of Faith In Arthur Waley's Monkey'

Open Document