Alone with the mind monkey

I decided the other day that I must have a Sun WuKong for my altar. One just like my Si Hing has at the Kung Fu school (though his was for Feng shui and not part of the altar at all.) It became like an obsession where I scoured the internet. The cheapest were $50 and from there the prices went up drastically to like $2000.00 Okay maybe there were some that were $25 but they looked like crap.


Why Sun Wukong? It's not just about Journey to the west. Which is actually read from an American perspective... exactly how America acts.

But read in a different way, there is a total cultural genocide of "demons" including ones as innocent as the peach girl... a peach tree that became a girl and wants to marry Tripitaka. She does nothing wrong at all.

MM hong chops the tree down in the day light when it is defenseless and  it bleeds human blood. He justifies this by saying that allowing these creatures (yew) monsters ie things born one way and trying to become another (ie beings like himself striving to be human even though they are not... on another note this same term is used for trans people in slang) cannot be allowed to be powerful or they will cause trouble for humans one day.

Monkey is given free reign killing "yiew" but gets in trouble when he kills the most depraved types of humans.

To put it lightly, Journey to the West definitely is problematic and satirical but there are many ways to read it and who knows what the Ming Dynsaty author meant. The Communists used it in their way for sure, but just the part about overturning heaven etc.


But usually it is seen as a cute children's story and has been retold to fit this.


I look at the Monkey King as pure and simple a chaotic, smart and creative character that breaks all the rules to show what is really up and what is really true. He does a lot of messed up stuff but strives for morality and in the end, attains Buddha hood by carving a path for his Sifu to walk with a stick that is a weapon of mass destruction.


He is also a fictional character and other monkey's remind me of him. He is often compared to Hanuman. But their personalities and actions differ so much that you might as well through in Curious George.

Curious George has a Sifu too, a man that represents reason and the modern age. The Man in the Yellow Hat. The original stories are problematic too, supporting neo-colonialism and white power kind of.. so the PBS version makes sure that the Scientist (who is hot and seems very friendly with said Man in the Yellow Hat, along with that single mom who lives in the building ever think of that?)... wait so the Scientist is a woman and appears to be black or at least dark skinned. So in the PBS version George has a group of Sifus to guide him through his journey which is simply through life and around the world, and the attainment of knowledge is through Science instead of the Mahayana greater Buddhist Vehicle.

In other words, George is the modern child friendly reincarnation of Sun Wu Kong and he uses a lot of outside the box methods to achieve his goals as well. Though he has not Staff.


My Monkey needs a staff.


I spent some time today just making a monkey king just like the statues I saw. I made it out of a water bottle, paper and duct tape. I think I will have the kids paint it as part of a Kung Fu project. That way, all the creative energy of my students will be going into the Statue.

I may make another using paper mache just to see if it is better, and another with Play doh. I was surprised how quickly I was able to fashion something without really planning it out. Just like Wukong himself.


Instead of a staff, I put a pencil in there. The reason for this is

a)the whole pen is mightier than the sword thing.

b) I am a blogger

c) Wu kong was created out of the power of fiction. The staff shrinks down and he sticks it in his ear. To me it is fitting that his Golden Pillar Staff is a pencil.


In JP there is also a blissful Monkey Studio and there is talk in Yoga about the Monkey of the mind and I find the story about the Monkey going behind the Water fall, to be pretty deep. Especially when you read the Taoist Quote in front of each chapter. I mean if you got all Joseph Campbell on this you could have a field day. But I also feel like the story should be retold.

Actually I have been working on it. On my other blog I blended monkey with Jesus and Adam sort of. But I marry him to Kwan Yin/Nuwa because to tell the truth, I feel like there is some sexual tension there in the novel. I know Chinese people will hate me for saying it but just look at some of the passages.

In another book I am writing (the other stories on the short blog I have put to the side, I am going to have Monkey King and KWan Yin proper be married and living in Chinatown, and constantly having loud domestic arguments. There is going to have to be something deep about all that too. They are going to be the concluding chapter. This book is going to be like the Cheung Family Kung Fu gospel. Each chapter will have a different Cheung from the Wuxia world that will have different personalities and meanings.

Obviously Zhang Fei is going to be in there. I thought about getting a Zhang Fei for the altar to. After all my last name isn't Kwan. But I think I will have Kwan Gung show up or at least have Zhang Fei talk about him. Not only that, but there is something about Kwan Gung's way. Zhang Fei is the man, but his style is a lot like the Monkey King anyway, and since I teach children, I feel that the Monkey King is a better embodiment of that energy.

The center of my altar has Nike, who might as well be Kwan Yin, but the more violent aspect of her. If you ask how can the Goddess of Mercy be violent, I will remind you that they get the sword to cut off Monkey's head from her. And there was no guarantee at that point that his head would grow back.


But onto making  a Statue of Kwan Gung. I think I will find some Horse or Reindeer figurine for cheap. Even a broken one, and put Kwan Gung on that. I even considered tying Kwan Gung to Odin... even though their personalities are completely different. Odin is more like Tso Tso or Zhuge Liang. Kwan Gung is more like Thor... though he is far more honorable than Thor. But I feel like Guan Yu's horse, which is fast.... could have some exaggeration tied to it. 8 legs like Sleipner. Or perhaps it could be a Kei Lun or like the Burak. If you think about it Chinese can be painfully reasonable with the Saints/gods they worship. At least when it comes to Kwan Gung, who really has nothing magic about him at all. He's just a good guy that happens to be big and able to fight. Jau Gong has magic. Kwan Yin has magic. Monkey King has Magic. Buddha has Magic.... why can't we give Kwan Gung some extra powers and have him give out gifts like Santa? Anyway, I guess I will paint WU Kong first. More on Why I need a Kwan Gung Statue (that I will make) later.

I avoided setting up these altars, but the ideas behind these figures have been running around in my mind so that they must come out, if not through a purchase than through me making them.

Sifu Mai Du had said that the altar is more about intention anyway. I feel like by making the figures and having the children paint them, that they become far more personal and therefore powerful.