The Story of the Six-Eared Macaque
Everyone knows about the Six-Eared Macaque, right? It's that fake Wukong. I often feel pity for this fake Wukong. If it weren't for the help of the Tathagata (Buddha), he wouldn't have died under Wukong's staff.
The Tathagata can know the past and future, so of course he also knows that if he intervenes to help Wukong, this fake Wukong will inevitably die.
Does this mean the Tathagata wanted him to die? Why would the Tathagata want him dead?
The Tathagata should embody absolute great compassion and mercy, and should not be so careless as to let a living being die because of his own actions. Even if the Six-Eared Macaque obstructed the mission of retrieving the scriptures, his offense would not warrant death, right? So many bodhisattvas and immortals' subordinates who became demons were eventually just taken back; why should this Six-Eared Macaque die?
I think that the Six-Eared Macaque's death was definitely not because he obstructed Tang Seng's mission to retrieve the scriptures. There must be a deeper, hidden reason.
With this doubt in mind, I consulted a large amount of Buddhist texts and historical documents. Finally, I understood the full context and consequences of this little-known story.
This is a story of the grudges and debts accumulated over countless lifetimes and aeons between Shakyamuni and the Six-Eared Macaque.
Now, I will tell you this story.
According to "The Eight Manifestations of the Blessed One," countless kalpas ago, when Dipankara Buddha was in the world, there was a virtuous immortal named Shan Hui who took refuge in the Buddha. This Shan Hui was the previous life of Shakyamuni. Before practicing cultivation, Shan Hui was just an ordinary person. Since he, as a mortal, had already experienced innumerable kalpas, we do not need to ask his original name. We may simply call him Shan Hui, or the Buddha's previous life, etc.
Before Dipankara Buddha, there were millions of beings practicing, including mortals and beings from the six realms of existence. Shan Hui was one of them. Among them was also the previous life of our story's protagonist, the Six-Eared Macaque. At that time, he did not yet have six ears; he was just an ordinary monkey. We do not know his name, so we may simply call him "the monkey."
Shan Hui and the monkey were originally friends. The two went together to Dipankara Buddha to hear the great wise teachings. After hearing them, Shan Hui resolved to leave the secular world and practice the Bodhisattva path, to realize the great wisdom of the universe, and vowed to save all sentient beings, transforming them from delusion to enlightenment, and relieving them from suffering to attain happiness. Then Dipankara Buddha gave Shan Hui a prediction, saying: "In the future, you will become a Buddha in the Saha world. After attaining Buddhahood, you will be called Shakyamuni, and you will save all sentient beings.And this monkey, upon hearing it, repeatedly exclaimed, 'Nonsense!' He said that the Buddha's words were utterly mistaken and could mislead sentient beings gravely.
The Buddha asked the monkey why he spoke such falsehoods. The monkey, in turn, asked the Buddha: 'World-Honored One, according to your teachings, beings of the six realms who perform good deeds shall receive good karmic results, and those who commit evil will face evil results. But in my view, this is not necessarily the case. The tyrant revels in nightly songs and a life of plunder and lavish pleasure until his death. I suspect he has never worried about any punishment for his evil deeds. Even if you speak these truths to him, he may not believe them, for all he sees are his own evildoings but he receives good results. How can your Dharma benefit him? Take, for example, a virtuous person who performs good deeds all their life but is ultimately harmed by evil people—how can we speak of good karmic results? Moreover, everyone around sees a good person suffering for their good deeds; how can they still believe in your Dharma? It seems to me that your Dharma is of no use to the world, only bringing harm to virtuous people and failing to punish evildoers. What use is it?'
The Buddha of the Lamp, Rán dēng rúlái, said to the monkey: 'Karma always leads to retribution in the end; it is only a matter of sooner or later. You do not know that evildoers in this life, if they commit evil, will inevitably receive punishment in future lives or in several lives ahead. They may fall into hell to suffer, or be reborn as animals to be enslaved or slaughtered. The good results evil people enjoy in this life are the fruits of their virtuous deeds in past lives. Likewise, when good people encounter misfortune in this life, it is caused by evil deeds from their past lives. But their virtuous actions in this life will certainly bear good results in future lives.'
The monkey replied: 'What is past life and future life? I do not know. I only know this life. Not only do I not know past and future lives, but ordinary people also do not know past and future lives. People only know that if something is here, and I reach out and take it, it comes to my hand. If no one comes to fight me for it at that moment, then it belongs to me. Who cares about future retribution? Only the greatly wise can see events from many kalpas ago. How can ordinary people verify their own karma? If they cannot verify it, then it is only that you say it, and whether they believe or not, they live their lives following their own will. How can your Dharma be effective for them?'
Then the great wise one, Rán dēng rúlái, said to the monkey: 'I see that you are a person with affinity. I will give you a treasure: starting from this life, through all future kalpas, you will be able to remember everything. In future lives, you will not forget matters of this life, and in this life, you will remember matters of past lives. This will prove karma. How about that?'
The monkey bowed to the Buddha and was extremely joyful.After a short while, he felt doubtful again and asked the Tathagata of the Lamp: 'Although I can ascertain my own cause and effect, I wish to know the cause and effect of all people in the world. Yet, many people are insincere, appearing good while being evil at heart. People see the good deeds one performs, but secretly one does evil. People see the Buddha's true scriptures one believes in, but secretly one commits despicable acts. How can I know whether their cause and effect is true or false?' The Tathagata pointed at the monkey and said: 'You monkey, you are quite interesting. Very well, I shall grant you two more abilities: a pair of spirit-clear golden eyes that can discern the true nature of all things, and a pair of ears to hear all, which can hear the true minds of sentient beings. You can go into the six paths of reincarnation and, through countless eons, verify the principles of cause and effect.'
The monkey bowed to the Tathagata three times in thanks and bid farewell to him together with Shan Hui.
(Regarding the six paths of reincarnation: The so-called six paths of reincarnation are the realms of Heaven, Asuras, Humans, Hell, Hungry Ghosts, and Animals. Buddhism holds that sentient beings—including not just humans—suffer in these six paths of reincarnation. Even gods in the heavenly realm die and are then reborn into the six paths. If a person does evil in this life, they may be reincarnated as an animal, cast into hell to suffer, or become a hungry ghost subjected to torment.)
After countless lifetimes and eons, at the southern foothills of the world's highest peak, the Himalayas, there was a country called Kapilavastu. The queen, Maya, wife of King Suddhodana, gave birth to a prince named Gautama Siddhartha. It is said that the prince, immediately after birth, could take seven steps around and seven lotus flowers appeared under his feet. Looking around, he raised one hand to the sky, one hand to the earth, and spoke to himself: 'Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am supreme.'
At the age of nineteen, Prince Siddhartha went out of the city for a trip and saw the suffering caused by aging, illness, and death. He realized that no one could escape such suffering. Resolutely, he renounced the throne, wealth, and his parents and wife, leaving home to seek a method to relieve suffering and discover the truth of life.
After leaving home, Prince Siddhartha sought teachers far and wide, but their teachings did not satisfy him. He practiced austerities for six years but still could not attain the truth. Later, he came to the foot of a Bodhi tree near the hill of Gaya, contemplating quietly, and made a vow: 'Until I attain supreme enlightenment, I shall not rise from this seat.'
Thus, when Siddhartha was thirty years old, on the night of the eighth day of the second lunar month, a bright star suddenly appeared in the sky. Struck by the sight, Siddhartha had a sudden insight and, in an instant, attained profound enlightenment.At this moment, the inherent principle of enlightenment and the original wisdom merged into one consciousness, the principle and wisdom as they are, non-dual in nature, having realized the state of nirvana that is beyond birth and death, free from attachment and obstruction. Thus, Siddhartha thereby comprehended the great way of the universe and human life, transcended the suffering of birth and death in this shore, and reached the liberated shore of nirvana. Instantly, he became a Buddha, realized the fruit of Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, and became the teacher of gods and humans, revered above all in the three realms, both in heaven and on earth.
After Siddhartha attained enlightenment, he was called Śākyamuni and began teaching the Dharma to save sentient beings.
At that time, when the World-Honored One Śākyamuni was teaching the Dharma, beings from the six paths came to hear it. Among them was an old man who looked up at the Buddha and smiled. The Buddha asked the crowd to stand aside and called the old man near, saying, “Monkey, will you be able to realize the way of cause and effect after so many kalpas?”
The old man replied to the World-Honored One, “Virtuous Sage, you recognize me?”
The Buddha said, “How could old friends like you and I not recognize each other? Countless kalpas ago, you asked the previous Buddha Dipankara about the matter of cause and effect. Have you had any realization now?”
The old man said, “On the day I took leave of the Buddha Dipankara, we each went our separate ways. I was reborn as a monkey in the animal realm for many kalpas and as a human in the human realm for many kalpas, yet I still do not understand cause and effect.”
The Buddha said, “The previous Buddha Dipankara allowed you to know the matters of your past lives and also granted you spiritual insight and the ability to hear such matters with six ears. How is it that you still do not know cause and effect?”
The old man said, “My original mind is neither good nor evil; I neither perform good deeds nor commit evil acts, so I have neither cause nor effect. Therefore, I do not know cause and effect.”
The Buddha said, “The cause and effect do exist; it is just that you do not see them.”
The old man said, “Even after experiencing countless kalpas, I still do not know cause and effect. Now, listening to your teaching, I am even more confused.”
The Buddha said, “What is it that confuses you?”
The old man said, “I hear you say that birth, aging, sickness, and death of sentient beings are all suffering. Aging and death exist because of birth. Birth exists because of karma. The power of karma drives us to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death, and all kinds of suffering. Karma exists because of attachment. Attachment exists because of desire. Desire exists because of feeling. Feeling exists because of contact. Contact exists because of the six faculties. The six faculties grow from the mother's womb, and entering the womb is driven by karmic force. Thus, we have contact, feeling, desire, and attachment, creating karma. In this way, we experience aging and death and are reborn into suffering within the cycle of samsara. To escape this cycle, one must extinguish karma; then feeling is extinguished, desire is extinguished, and aging and death are also extinguished.”
The Buddha listened to the old man without speaking, signaling with his eyes for the old man to continue speaking.The elder said again, 'In my view, the extinction of all pleasure is not really pleasure, but merely a kind of self-deceiving foolishness. You claim that birth, aging, sickness, and death are suffering and derive this teaching from that, but in my opinion, it is merely fear of birth, aging, sickness, and death. What is there to fear in birth, aging, sickness, and death? I have witnessed countless brave and heroic souls over innumerable kalpas who would rather give up their lives to attain the truth. This is where the true path lies. How can those who are greedy for life and afraid of death speak of the teachings of the Buddha? I have also seen countless people over countless kalpas who, upon taking refuge in the Buddha, abandon their families, forsake worldly emotions and reason, and commit many heartless and unjust deeds, solely to achieve their own enlightenment. How could such heartless and unjust individuals attain true fruition? And all those countless people who take refuge in the Buddha seek it for the purpose of attaining great personal happiness. It is laughable to think that such selfish and self-serving people can talk about saving all sentient beings. If one truly acts for others without any self-interest, why would one chant the Buddha's name to sever karmic retribution? You also claim that offering to you, praising you, and having faith in you will bring great blessings. But I find that a bit strange—karmic retribution cannot be erased, yet you say a mere word from you can free one? Could it be that your lies are meant to deceive people into believing in you? If a person who has committed the ten gravest sins lays down the butcher's knife and immediately becomes a Buddha, where does the karma they created go? I do not believe anything you say!' The Buddha smiled and said to the elder, 'A monkey, despite experiencing countless lifetimes and innumerable kalpas, still remains foolish and unawakened. Who knows how many more kalpas it must endure to attain enlightenment.' After saying this, he closed his eyes and remained silent.
Seeing that the Buddha did not speak further, the elder retreated on his own.
The Asura realm, one of the six realms, is said to be inhabited by celestial beings, yet it lacks the good deeds of the gods and shares similarities with demons. Some say it is demonic, yet it possesses divine powers. Some say it is human, as it experiences human desires and emotions, but it also has the powers and aggressiveness of gods and demons. Thus, it is a type of being that is neither god, demon, nor human, but a monster existing between these realms.
Those reborn into the Asura realm may not have committed great evil in past lives, but they are extremely arrogant, dismissive of others, or jealous when others excel more than themselves.
In an unknown era, the wife of the Asura King Boya bore a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The girl was beautiful in appearance, and the boy was gifted with eloquence, able to discern truth from falsehood and understand the transformations of all things when he grew up. The Asura King Boya loved them dearly, naming the girl Rosero and the boy Bimajit.
One day, Boya brought his daughter Rosero and his son Bimajit before the Buddha to listen to his teachings.Among those listening to the Buddha's teachings were also the celestial deities led by Indra (known in China as the Jade Emperor).\ The Buddha called Vimalakirti forward to ask the Way: 'Vimalakirti, do you have something to ask me?'\ Vimalakirti stepped forward and said: 'Buddha, now you know me and I know you, and both of us know my past lives. In my previous life, I only wished to be an ordinary mortal, doing neither evil nor righteous deeds throughout countless lifetimes. I thought I would reincarnate in the human realm, but now I have fallen into the Asura realm. I do not understand the reason.'\ The Buddha said: 'Although you have never performed good deeds over countless eons, you have also never committed evil deeds, and this itself is a great merit. Reincarnation dictates that you should enjoy the blessings of the heavenly beings in this life, but because you destroyed the teacher and the Way and slandered the World-Honored One, you are destined to reincarnate in the Asura realm.'\ Vimalakirti asked: 'There is only one thing I do not understand. I destroyed your teacher, annihilated your Way, and slandered you, the World-Honored One, yet I never recognized you as my teacher, never believed in your Way, and never respected you as the World-Honored One. If this world did not have you, which cycle of reincarnation should I be following?'\ The Buddha said: 'Reincarnation is predetermined and is not something you or I can control. You need not blame me.'\ Vimalakirti snorted and left his seat in anger.\ A few days later, the Celestial Emperor sent an envoy, stating that he wished to marry Rosira, the daughter of the Asura King Poya. Poya refused and scolded the envoy angrily, claiming that the Buddha often favored the gods.
