The Journey To The West (Part II)

***Legends Summarized: The Journey To The West (Part II)*** is the third episode of the *Legends Summarized* series and the second episode of the Journey To The West series by Red. It summarizes Tripitaka being selected to make the journey to the west and meeting Monkey and the horse.

## Introduction

*Last time on* Journey to the West*...*

*The mischievous Monkey King Sun Wukong, after achieving immortality six ways from Sunday, was brought down by the forces of heaven and placed inside Lao Tzu's Brazer of the Eight Trigrams to be rendered down into an immortal elixir. However, our hero proved too powerful for this scheme and broke free, wreaking even more havoc in heaven. But his reign of terror was abruptly ended when he was imprisoned by the heavenly Buddha beneath the Five Phases Mountain, where he must now wait for a chosen someone to come set him free.*

## Summary

### *The Much Faster Journey To The East*

When Buddha returns to his monastery after putting Sun Wukong under a mountain, he spends the next 500 years writing some amazeballs scriptures called the Tripitaka that can redeem even the worst sinners. Red is a bit skeptical, but she also isn't going to question the guy with the universe in his hand. Buddha wants the scriptures to be brought to the Land of the East so the sinners there can get some Buddhism Sparkles and be redeemed, but he can't deliver them himself. Quan Yin volunteers to find a person to travel to the western heaven, retrieve the scriptures, and then return. Buddha then gives her five gifts for the scripture pilgrim, and she goes to the east to find someone to make *The Journey to the West*.

Quan Yin and her disciple Moksa make there way along the route the scripture pilgrim will take to ensure it is traversable. The two first encounter a murderous river spirit. Quan Yin tells him to wait for the scripture pilgrim and help him on his quest because he can be redeemed of his crimes. The spirit agrees and is given the name Sha Wujing, aka Sandy.

Their second encounter is with a pig demon wielding a huge rake who fights with Moksa. Eventually, the pig demon notices Quan Yin and begs for her forgiveness of eating people who come along the road. She also tells him to join the scripture pilgrim for the same reasons, the demon agrees, and he takes on the name Zhu Wuneng, aka Pigsy, and becomes a vegetarian. Quan Yin and Moksa then continue along.

Eventually, the two come across a young, charming dragon who burned down his father's palace and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Jade Emperor. Red notes how this book is the origin of a LOT of anime tropes. Quan Yin convinces him to spare him and tells the dragon to wait by a river for the still-nebulous scripture pilgrim and to turn into a white horse when he arrives.

The two continue and come across the Five Phases Mountain with Sun Wukong (cue applause) still pinned under it. Monkey cajoles Quan Yin a bit, and she tells him that he will help the scripture pilgrim after he releases him from the mountain. Monkey agrees, and Quan Yin and Moksa head to the city of Chang'an in funny glasses for disguises. They then set about finding the best monk to be the protagonist.

### Tripitaka

The story veers into a tangent about Xuanzang, the soon-to-be protagonist. Red succinctly describes it by saying that he was the grandson of an emperor, has been a monk his whole life after being Moses'd by his mother, and is the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, an original disciple of the Buddha and holy being. He's basically the best dude ever.

Three court officials decide on Xuanzang to present a memorial to the Tang Emperor at the Grand Mass. Quan Yin, still disguised, then gives two of the special gifts, a cassock and a staff, to the court officials to give to the best monk, so they give them to Xuanzang. Then, as Xuanzang is presenting the memorial, Quan Yin reveals herself to the court, and requests someone to go on a pilgrimage to go to the western heaven and retrieve Buddha's fancy scriptures. Xuanzang volunteers and is given the byname Tripitaka, a horse, and two attendants. The group is the immediately captured by demons, and the attendants are killed and eaten.

### The Journey Begins...Poorly

After eating, the demons rest for the night, leaving Tripitaka still captured in their cave. However, an old man appears and saves a now confused Tripitaka and his horse, and the three escape the cave; when Tripitaka turns to thank the old man, he finds only a note explaining that he was the Gold Star of Venus helping out and that he should get some better sidekicks and a dragon instead of a horse. Tripitaka continues on but almost immediately realizes that he isn't built for questing and is almost eaten by beasts when a friendly hunter Poqin shows up, saves Tripitaka, and brings him to his home. After an awkward dinner of not-vegetarian food and accidentally pacifying the ghost of Poqin's father, Poqin escorts Tripitaka to the edge of the Tang Empire to keep him safe.

### DID SOMEBODY SAY HIJINKS?

At the border, they arrive at Five Phases Mountain, which everyone is impressed by, where they meet Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. He tells them that Quan Yin said that Tripitaka would let him out. Tripitaka agrees to do so and then arduously makes the long journey up and takes the seal off at which point Monkey destroys the mountain. Monkey remarks on how he missed clothing, but Tripitaka points out that he's wearing a tiger skin, not clothes. Tripitaka and Monkey are then attacked by bandits, and Monkey kills all of them. However, Tripitaka tells Monkey that he can't kill people if he wants to keep going on the journey and be a Buddhist, to which Monkey responds by leaving in a huff.

Quan Yin, while disguised as an old woman, approaches a despondent Tripitaka and asks him what's wrong. After he laments about how he can't control Monkey, Quan Yin gives Tripitaka a hat, some clothes, and a spell to help him control Monkey and reveals herself as she vanishes in a beam of light.

Monkey, meanwhile, has some tea with the Dragon Emperor, who suggests that true immortality deserves a second chance. Monkey then returns to Tripitaka, flying by Quan Yin on her way to convince him to return to the journey, and Tripitaka gives Monkey the clothes. Monkey puts them on, but when Tripitaka starts reciting the spell, the hat shrinks and gives him a splitting headache. After trying to get out of the hat, Monkey resigns himself to the fact that he can't get up to his hijinks anymore.

### An Enormous, F\*ck-you Dragon!

Tripitaka and Monkey keep trekking onward until they run into a river and a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon that eats their horse. Monkey goes back to fight the dragon while Tripitaka is guarded by some divine intervention. The two fight for a bit, but the dragon runs away into the river. Monkey gets him out with some magic, but the dragon transforms into a water snake and again retreats. Monkey, now very pissed, is then informed by some local mountain spirits that the dragon was ordered by Quan Yin to help Tripitaka as well. A heavenly spirit then fetches her, and Monkey takes opportunity to vent to her about the hat thing. Quan Yin then tells the dragon to turn into a replacement horse for Tripitaka and gives Monkey three Get-Out-Of-Danger-Free leaves, and Tripitaka, Monkey, and the Horse continue on their journey.

### A Toasty and Gross Encounter

Tripitaka, the horse, and Monkey keep going when they arrive at a monastery run by a sketchy old monk who becomes very envious of Tripitaka's cassock. During the night, the monk goes about his plan and burns down the monastery in an attempt to steal his cassock. Monkey, smelling the smoke, decides to let the monastery burn down to not annoy Tripitaka but also puts a fireproof cloak over him and the horse. Red notes here how weird it is that Monkey is in good standing with the people in heaven who he beat up. Despite this, a mountain demon steals the cassock anyway, and the old monk kills himself.

Monkey heads to the mountain demon and fights him, but the demon calls a lunch break and hides in his cave. After disguising himself as the old monk and having some tea with the demon, they fight some more, but the demon runs away again. Monkey then decides to call in Quan Yin for help. She disguises herself as one of the demon's Taoist friends and Monkey disguises himself as a pill of immortality. The demon eats the pill, and Monkey kills the demon from the inside, much to Red's disgust. The two then retrieve the cassock, return it to Tripitaka, and continue on their journey.

## Conclusion

*Will Sun Wukong learn to value friendship over his impulsive desires?*

*Will Tripitaka succeed in his quest to the Thunderclap Monastery?*

*Will that stupid horse ever remember he can fly?*

*Find out next time on* Journey to the West!

## Characters Appearing

* Sun Wukong
* Pigsy
* Sandy
* The Horse
* Tripitaka
* Quan Yin
* Moksa
* Buddha
* Dragon Emperor

## Links

* Legends Summarized: The Journey To The West (Part II)