The Jade Emperor ordered the demon monkey bound to the Pillar of Demon-Subjugation at the Monster Execution Platform.
The Monster Execution Block
They then slashed him with a scimitar, hewed him with an ax, stabbed him with a spear, and hacked him with a sword, but they could not hurt his body in any way. Next, the Star Spirit of the South Pole ordered the various deities of the Fire Department to burn him with fire, but that, too, had little effect. The gods of the Thunder Department were then ordered to strike him with thunderbolts, but not a single one of his hairs was destroyed.
Laozi’s Eight Trigrams Furnace
The Jade Emperor confined him to Laozi’s Eight Trigrams Furnace (Brazier of Eight Trigrams) to be smelted. Truly time passed swiftly, and the forty-ninth day arrived imperceptibly. The alchemical process of Laozi was perfected, and on that day he came to open the brazier to take out his elixir. The Great Sage at the time was covering his eyes with both hands, rubbing his face and shedding tears. He heard noises on top of the brazier and, opening his eyes, suddenly saw light. Unable to restrain himself, he leaped out of the brazier and kicked it over with a loud crash.
The Subjugation of the Monkey King
Whipping the compliant rod out from his ear, he waved it once in the wind and it had the thickness of a rice bowl. Holding it in his hands, without regard for good or ill, he once more careened through the Heavenly Palace.
At the time the various deities had the Great Sage surrounded, but they could not close in on him. All the hustle and bustle soon disturbed the Jade Emperor, who at once sent the Wandering Minister of Inspection and the Immortal Master of Blessed Wings to go to the Western Region and invite the aged Buddha to come and subdue the monster.
The two sages raced to the Thunderclap Monastery in the West, where Buddha, hearing the chaos, declared, “I shall subdue this demon myself.” Tathagata then called Ananda and Kasyapa, his two venerable disciples, to follow him.
Arriving at the heavenly court, Buddha found the Monkey King was being beset by the thirty-six thunder deities. Buddha commanded the generals to withdraw.
“Let the thunder deities lower their arms and break up their encirclement. Ask the Great Sage to come out here and let me ask him what sort of divine power he has.”
“Who are you to halt this fight?” roared the Monkey King.
Buddha smiled. “I am Sakyamuni of the Western Paradise. Why do you wreak havoc here?”
“The mortal realm is too small!” the Monkey King retorted. “It’s said, ‘The throne should rotate; next year it’s my turn!’ If the Jade Emperor won’t yield heaven, I’ll never cease!”
“What power grants you this audacity?” asked Buddha.
“I wield 72 transformations and the Somersault Cloud—leaping 108,000 miles in one bound! Why shouldn’t I rule?”
The Cosmic Wager
The Buddhist Patriarch said, “Let me make a wager with you. If you have the ability to somersault clear of this right palm of mine, I shall consider you the winner. You need not raise your weapon in battle then, for I shall ask the Jade Emperor to go live with me in the West and let you have the Celestial Palace. If you cannot somersault out of my hand, you can go back to the Region Below and be a monster. Work through a few more kalpas before you return to cause more trouble.”
When the Great Sage heard this, he said to himself, snickering, “What a fool this Tathagata is! A single somersault of mine can carry old Monkey one hundred and eight thousand miles, yet his palm is not even one foot across. How could I possibly not jump clear of it?”
The Monkey King scoffed, “Easy!” He stood on Buddha’s palm, somersaulted into the void, and flew until he saw five flesh-pink pillars beneath a haze. Certain he’d reached heaven’s edge.
He said to himself: “When I go back presently, Tathagata will be my witness and I shall certainly take up residence in the Palace of Divine Mists.” But he thought to himself, “Wait a moment! I’d better leave some kind of memento if I’m going to negotiate with Tathagata.” He plucked a hair and blew a mouthful of magic breath onto it, crying, “Change!” It changed into a writing brush with thick hair soaked in heavy ink.
He inscribed on the middle pillar:
“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, has made a tour of this place.”
Returning triumphantly, he demanded heaven.
“I left, and now I’m back. Tell the Jade Emperor to give me the Celestial Palace.”
Buddha laughed, “You pisshead ape! Since when did you ever leave the palm of my hand? Look closer.”
The Monkey King’s inscription glowed fresh on Buddha’s middle finger.
Astonished, the Great Sage said, “Could this really happen? Could this really happen? I wrote those words on the pillars supporting the sky. How is it that they now appear on his finger?”
The Five Phases Mountain
Stunned, the Monkey King tried to flee again. But Buddha’s palm flipped, transforming into the Five Phases Mountain (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), pinning him beneath.
After the Buddhist Patriarch Tathagata had vanquished the monstrous monkey, he at once called Ananda and Kasyapa to return with him to the Western Paradise.
At that moment, the Jade Emperor stopped them and offered his thanks, saying, “We are truly indebted to your mighty dharma for vanquishing that monster. We beseech Tathagata to remain for one brief day, so that we may invite the immortals to join us in giving you a banquet of thanks.”
Eternal Seal: The Golden Talisman
As the Jade Emperor hosted the Great Peace Banquet (also called ‘The Great Banquet for Peace in Heaven”), a guard reported, “The demon’s head protrudes!”
“No need to worry,” said the Buddhist Patriarch. He calmly drew a golden talisman from his sleeve. Handing it over to Ananda, he told him to stick it on the top of the mountain.
Ananda fixed it to a boulder atop the mountain, sealing the Monkey King forever—able only to breathe and twitch his hand, trapped until his destined redemption.
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