Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One-Chapter 73 - 69 True and False Sun Wukong (Seeking

“Think back to when I, Old Sun, was suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain and rescued by Monk Tang, who gave me my ordination and took me into the Buddhist Community. Naturally, I became a disciple of Buddhism.”

“The Buddha spoke of two hearts, and you are the second heart that came after I joined the Buddhist Community!”

The more Li Ping’an listened, the more confused he became:

“How did it turn into the Buddhist dual-heart? What is the Buddhist dual-heart?”

Wukong said:

“The Buddhist dual-heart is that the Six Consciousnesses (Six Dusts) are illusory, but the true heart is not. Humans, demons, spirits, devils, immortals, deities, and Buddhas all have two hearts: one is the true heart that is not illusory, and the other is the delusional heart that is illusory.”

“The true heart is a person’s innate nature, their true essence, while the delusional heart is the false nature of the illusory Six Consciousnesses.”

“However, humans don’t fully possess the true heart because they have the Six Roots—ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—and are influenced by the external Six Dusts: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought, which give rise to the Six Consciousnesses.”

“A person’s Six Roots perceive the Six Dusts, and when the Six Consciousnesses can’t discern truth from falsehood, the delusional heart emerges.”

“But those who become Buddhas or saints turn their backs on the dust and gain enlightenment; their Six Roots become pure, they break through delusion to reveal truth, and ultimately eliminate the delusional heart, moving towards a singular (true) heart.”

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, then pointed to the illusion of the true and false Sun Wukong fighting in front of the Tathagata of Western Heaven and continued explaining:

“Back then, the Buddha Ancestor addressed the assembly of Bodhisattvas, the five hundred Arhats, Bhikkhunis, and Bhikkhus, saying, ‘Watch the dual hearts’ struggle that is coming,’ speaking of the struggle between the true-hearted Wukong and the delusional-hearted Wukong.”

“One is the true-hearted Wukong, the true heart is the innate nature, neither arising nor ceasing, not increasing nor decreasing; Wukong is truly ‘Wukong’ in its fullest sense.”

“The true-hearted Wukong is unaffected by the Six Dusts; regardless of how the form may change, to live or to die, it is still Wukong.”

“Put simply, the true-hearted Wukong is the essence of Wukong’s existence!”

Sun Wukong then turned to Li Ping’an and, looking him in the eye, pointed at him and said:

“The other is the delusional-hearted Wukong, which is you. This Wukong possesses all of the true Wukong’s Six Dusts, the voice of the true Wukong, the appearance of the true Wukong, the abilities of the true Wukong, and the thoughts of the true Wukong.”

“It looks like Wukong, its abilities are those of Wukong, it also has the Golden Cudgel, and it likewise seeks scriptures in the Western Heaven.”

“To put it plainly, this individual Wukong is a collection of all its tangible attributes.”

“Therefore, whether it is the true-hearted Wukong or the delusional-hearted Wukong, both are Wukong! There’s no true or false, just one entity with dual hearts, that’s all!”

“The struggle between the true heart and delusional heart is not about good and evil or the clash between human desires and the heavenly way.”

“The true-hearted Wukong is the essence of Wukong’s existence, and the delusional-hearted Wukong is the collection of Wukong’s tangible form, that is, the collection of the Six Dusts.”

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“So, five hundred years ago, whether it was the mortal Monk Tang, the deities of the Heavenly Court, even the Demon-Revealing Mirror, or Bodhisattva Guanyin, none could distinguish who was real and who was fake.”

Li Ping’an seemed to understand the meaning and background of his existence, but still had things he didn’t understand, pointing to the illusion created by Sun Wukong, he said:

“The illusions you conjure themselves speak clearly and are seen distinctly.”

“In the illusion, the Tathagata said, ‘Within The Universe, there are Five Immortals, namely Heaven, Earth, Deities, Humans, Ghosts; and there are Five Bugs, namely Various Mythical Creatures. This creature is neither of Heaven nor Earth, neither deity nor human nor ghost, nor is it of Various Mythical Creatures. And there exist Four Monkeys of the Mixed World, who belong to none of the ten categories.'”

“The first is the Lingming Stone Monkey, with Mastery Over Transformations, Discernment of Heavenly Time, Knowledge of Earthly Advantages, and the power to move stars and change fights.”

“The second is the Red-butted Monkey, who understands Yin and Yang, knows human affairs, is good at coming and going, and can avoid death to extend life.”

“The third is the Interconnected-Arm Gibbon, who can grab the sun and the moon, shrink thousands of mountains, discern omens and fate, and play with the universe.”

“The fourth is the Six-Eared Macaque, who listens well to sounds, can discern reason, knows the past and the future, with all things made clear to him.”

“These Four Monkeys do not belong to any of the ten categories, nor do they fit within the distinction of the two realms. In my view, the fake Wukong is indeed the Six-Eared Macaque.”

“So, it seems I am the Six-Eared Macaque spoken of in the world, not the Delusional Monkey King you spoke of!”

“Hahahaha! You fool, you do share the naivety of my second disciple. I haven’t finished speaking, how dare you jump to conclusions?”

Sun Wukong said with a laugh, covering his mouth:

“When I, Old Sun, began my apprenticeship, Master Bodhi struck me three times with his stick. At night, when I went to study, Old Bodhi once said that there were no Six Ears present, meaning no one was eavesdropping, a second meaning being the Six-Eared Macaque.”

“If we go by what the Buddha Ancestor said, the Six-Eared Macaque indeed could discern reason, know the past and future, with all things made clear. He would have known that if he went to the Thunder Monastery in Western Heaven, he would be exposed by the Buddha Ancestor and would not end up with the fate of dying extinct, would he?”

“This…”

The Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, stumped Li Ping’an with just one question.

“Because the Delusional Monkey King, who has Wukong’s appearance, essence, voice, and memories, would naturally feel he was the true Wukong in front of the Buddha Ancestor, so there was no need to flee. Once divided in mind, the Tathagata Buddha Ancestor covered the delusional Wukong with a bowl in front of everyone, and Old Sun, the true Wukong, killed the impostor with a strike of the staff.”

“By what you’re saying, wouldn’t I, this Delusional Wukong, have been beaten to death by you? How am I still alive?”

Li Ping’an seemed to have finally understood his origin but pointed out a contradiction in Sun Wukong’s words incisively.

“Have you forgotten how we sought treasures in the Eastern Palace back in the day and caused havoc in Hell, erasing our names from the Book of Life and Death?”

“The True Hearted Monkey King is Wukong’s nature, his true heart, which is neither created nor destroyed, neither dirty nor pure. The true heart has no Six Consciousnesses, thus it cannot undergo reincarnation.”

“But you, this Delusional Monkey King, tainted by the dust of the Six Roots, would inevitably go through reincarnation after being killed by me. Unfortunately, since the Book of Life and Death has been erased, and also Hell…”

Li Ping’an asked anxiously:

“What about Hell? Can’t you finish your sentence? And why did the Tathagata Buddha Ancestor construct this story about the Four Monkeys of the Mixed World in front of all the Bodhisattvas, the five hundred Arhats, Bhikkhunis, and Bhikkhus?”

“In Western Heaven, Heavenly Court, Human Realm, Hell, you will find the answers you seek.”

The Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, looked at Li Ping’an with profound meaning and said:

“If you can survive to the end, you will know all the truths!”

Li Ping’an asked eagerly:

“The truth? What is the truth?”

The Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, shook his head with eyes closed and said:

“Indescribable, indescribable, everything depends on your destiny.”