Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles:
In the previous article, we talked about the method of Sun Wukong to identify monsters, in fact, Sun Wukong did not rely on the golden eye of fire, but on his own experience of living for thousands of years.
Or observe abnormalities, or smell the smell, or seriously deduce that the wise man has a mistake, not to mention Sun Wukong, so sometimes he can't recognize the monster by experience alone.
Just like the text "Spear and Shield" that we learned when we were children, there are ways to distinguish monsters (spears), and naturally there are ways to prevent discrimination (shields), which is often mentioned in the book.
So, which gods or monsters in the original Journey to the West have performed the art of change, what are their characteristics, and whose spells are the most powerful?
Yang Jiaofeng on the Journey to the West series of articles: Inventory of the art of change that makes People in journey to the West laugh, immortals and monsters, who is the boss?
One
First of all, we need to understand, what is the art of change?
I (Yang Jiaofeng) believe that in Journey to the West, there are two kinds of changes, one is deliberately illusory and requires casting spells, such as the seventy-two changes of Sun Wukong and the thirty-six changes of the Eight Precepts of pigs.
There is another kind of appearance that belongs to the cultivation of thousands of years, such as python essence, scorpion essence, mouse essence, and many small demons. They had all experienced hundreds of years of cultivation, some of them had cultivated into human form, and some of them belonged to the state of half-human and half-beast. Although they are killed, they often appear in their original form, giving the impression that they have performed the art of change before they become humanoid.
But this situation is not quite the same as we understand the art of change, such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, what is her true appearance, who knows?
Therefore, the art of change discussed in this article is not to consider whether it is a monster or a god, and there is a gap between them and their true appearance after cultivating their human form. We think that these are two faces that are unique to them, both are real identities, not by the art of change.
Otherwise, the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain, all kinds of little demons, have they been performing the art of change?
If we talk about the art of change, there is no doubt that in the entire Journey to the West, Sun Wukong has performed the most times and has many tricks, and all the others cannot be compared to him.
And Sun Wukong's art of change is the seventy-two changes taught by Bodhi Grandmaster, so what are the little-known secrets of these seventy-two changes?
Two
In fact, when the Seventy-Two Changes were first, they were not used to lower demons and eliminate monsters, but to achieve immortality.
The reason why Sun Wukong originally ran to Lingtai Fangzhi Mountain to find Bodhi Ancestor to learn the art was because when he was in Huaguo Mountain, he found that a monkey was dead, and he did not want to die, so he searched all over the four continents to learn the art of immortality.
In fact, the true art of immortality does not exist, and here Bodhi Guru explicitly said that every five hundred years there will be natural disasters, and the art of change can prevent the first five hundred years of thunder.
And The Bodhi Patriarch here are two sets of dharma-changing techniques for Sun Wukong to choose:
"There is a general number of days, which is thirty-six general changes; there is a general number of earths, which is seventy-two general changes."
To this day, there are still jokes about "monkey playing" on the Internet, saying that Sun Wukong does not know true magic, not to pick up the number of big learning, and Tiangang is much more powerful than the earth!
In fact, this statement is incorrect, at least in the book Journey to the West, there is not a single word that mentions that the thirty-six changes of Tiangang are more powerful than the seventy-two changes of the earth. The so-called Heavenly Gang is more powerful than the earth, but it was compiled by later people, and even the seventy-two changes were sorted out.
In the original "Journey to the West", there is no mention of which seventy-two changes the seventy-two changes refer to, and what form they can be changed into.
Moreover, The Bodhi Patriarch did not specifically demonstrate how to change the tiger and how to change the tree, that is, he taught some secrets, all relying on Sun Wukong himself to realize:
"I don't know what magic was said. This Monkey King was also a master of all his skills, when he learned the tricks, self-cultivation and self-cultivation, and learned all the seventy-two changes. ”
Three
In the book Journey to the West, what kinds of changes did Sun Wukong use?
Seventy-two changes do not mean that they can only change seventy-two times, nor do they mean that they can only change seventy-two forms, but they refer to the ways in which there are seventy-two changes.
For example, it becomes larger or smaller:
After Sun Wukong returned from his studies and returned to Huaguo Mountain, he cast this spell when he surrendered the Seventy-Two Cave Demon King:
"He got to the place of joy, jumped on the bridge, walked out of the hole, took the treasure in his hand, made a magic power like heaven and earth, bowed his waist, and cried 'Long!' He is as tall as Mount Tai, his waist as steep as a mountain, his eyes as lightning, his mouth as bloody, and his teeth as sword..."
In addition to here, when fighting with the Erlang God, Sun Wukong also changed once.
For example, in the Country of Wuji, he became a villain when the treasure was given to the Prince of the Kingdom of Wuji, and when he was guarding the peach orchard, he also became smaller:
"It turned out that the Great Sage had been playing for a while, ate a few peaches, turned into a two-inch-long individual, and fell asleep under the thick leaves of the big treetops."
For example, it transforms into various other plants and animals or objects:
This is too much, and the seventy-two changes of Sun Wukong in the whole book are mainly reflected here, for example, when he was making a big fuss about the Peach Society, he became a barefoot immortal and lied about military information:
"The Great Sage rode the clouds, chanted the incantation, transformed into a barefoot Immortal, and ran forward to Yaochi."
There are also many times when changing items, such as turning into a magic elixir, letting the black bear spirit eat it, once turning into a watermelon seed, letting the yellow-browed monster eat it, and when fighting with the Erlang God, it has also become a land temple:
"The great sage took the opportunity to roll down the cliff, crouched there and changed again, changing into a temple of land, with his mouth wide open, like a temple door, his teeth becoming a door leaf, his tongue becoming a bodhisattva, and his eyes becoming a window ledge."
Four
In addition to being able to change itself, Monkey King can also change the items he carries with him.
For example, the golden hoop stick can be turned into a variety of gadgets, and then there is the hair of the whole body, in addition to becoming a small monkey, it can also become a gourd in the King of the Golden and Silver Horns of Pingding Mountain:
"Good walker, reach out and pluck a hair on the tail, twist it, and call it: "Change"! That is, to transform into a large purple and gold red gourd one foot and seven inches long..."
In addition to material transformation, Sun Wukong will also use things to change people, or people to change people.
For example, during the Wuzhuang Temple, Sun Wukong fled with Tang Monk and others, and when he left, he let the four willow roots transform into the appearance of four masters and apprentices and tied them to the pillar.
When he was in the Tongtian River, it was Sun Wukong who blew a breath, making the Eight Precepts of the Pig become smaller and smaller.
In the bhikkhu kingdom, Sun Wukong mixed mud with urine and smeared it on The Tang monk's face, making him look like Sun Wukong:
The walker had no choice but to throw the mud into a piece, put it on his own face, make the face of the next monkey elephant, tell Tang Monk to stand up and rest, and then stop saying anything, paste it on Tang Monk's face, read the mantra, blow out his immortal breath, and shout: "Change!" "Then the elder became a walker..."
Even the seventy-two changes allow Sun Wukong to have seventy-two lives, and it is not a person who says so.
During the great battle of the Red Child, Sun Wukong was stunned, and the Eight Precepts of the Pig said that Brother Monkey had seventy-two changes, that is, seventy-two lives.
When Che Chiguo tried to behead the Tiger Force Immortal, the Sha monk also emphasized:
"He has seventy-two changes, and he has seventy-two heads."
Five
It seems that the seventy-two changes are very powerful, and sun wukong is not the only one who has this skill in Journey to the West, who else?
There are also two, one is the Erlang God, the other is the Bull Demon King, both of them will change like seventy-two, but because of the different personal cultivation, the actual effect is also different.
Erlang Shen is best at changing animals, which is characterized by fastness, and with the blessing of the third dark eye, he can always be one step ahead. Whatever animal you change, I can always become the one in front of you on the food chain to kill you, and Sun Wukong is like this to test the change and not to do it, before he fled into the wilderness.
It can be said that the Erlang God belongs to the agile hero, while the Bull Demon King is a strength type, and when he changes with Sun Wukong, he is suppressed by Sun Wukong everywhere. But compared to the skill of the heavens and the earth, Sun Wukong can't do it, after the Bull Demon King turns into a giant bull, the strength reaches the peak, the defense also reaches the top, and the gods can't take him:
"From head to tail, there were more than a thousand feet long and short, from hoof to back, eight hundred feet high, shouting at the walkers: 'Splash! What will you do to me now? ’”
Sun Wukong's best skill is the plucking of monkey hair, that is, the fen body technique, because he has eighty-four thousand feathers on his body, and theoretically, he can conjure up eighty-four thousand small monkeys, not seventy-two:
"I don't know that since this monkey king attained the Tao, he has 84,000 feathers on his body, and the roots can change, and he should do whatever he wants."
In fact, the first time he fought against the Chaos Demon King, he conjured up two or three hundred little monkeys in one breath:
"Goku saw him fierce, even if he was outside, he pulled out a handful of hair, threw it in his mouth and chewed it up, and looked at the sky and spewed out, shouting: 'Change!' That is, it becomes three or two hundred small monkeys, surrounded by clusters. ”
Six
Although the Bull Demon King's body is no less hair than Sun Wukong's, it is obvious that he will not or is not skilled in using this skill, which also causes him to have different skills from the Erlang God and Sun Wukong's Seventy-Two Transformation Techniques.
As mentioned earlier, the art of change is for immortality, so what problems will exist when it is used to exorcise demons?
In journey to the West, there is a law of species that is followed, that is, the theory of species phase gramming. For example, rats are afraid of cats, scorpion centipedes are afraid of chickens, etc., and the surrender of scorpion essences and centipede essences on the way to the scriptures is helped by the Pleiadian star official and his mother, Vilambo Bodhisattva.
For example, the scorpion essence that was so powerful that he dared to come to the Buddha, and even the Guanyin Bodhisattva did not dare to lean on his body, was called twice by a big rooster, the first sound appeared in its true form, and the second sound was annihilated by the soul flying:
"The star officer cried out again, and the monster was soft and soft, dying in front of the slope."
Since Sun Wukong and the Erlang God and the Bull Demon King know to turn into animals in front of the food chain to restrain each other, why can't Sun Wukong turn into a big rooster to subdue the Scorpion Spirit?
This is the drawback of the art of change, it is okay to use magic against magic, but if you use magic against the real body of others, then it will be exposed, it will not work, because the art of change is false after all.
In addition, Sun Wukong's seventy-two changes have a major flaw, that is, the changes are incomplete. Especially when he becomes a human, he can only change his face, he can't change his body, at least the hair and tail of his body and the red ass are not changed.
For example, at the King of the Golden and Silver Horns of Pingding Mountain, pig eight precepts saw that sun Wukong had turned into a nine-tailed fox coming, and smiled at the sand monk:
"Bend down and tell me to get up, and then I'll pick up the monkey's tail." I'm hanging taller than you, so I can see clearly. ”
Seven
In fact, not only the Eight Precepts of the Pig are clear, but even the golden-winged Roc Bird also knows the weakness of Sun Wukong's art of change, and when facing the small drill wind that Sun Wukong has become in Shi Huoling, he recognized him at a glance, and the book said:
"But the change of character, but only the head and face changed, the body can not change, sure enough, a yellow hair, two red strands, a tail."
In fact, even if it is a mutant, Sun Wukong's body has defects, such as the temple he became during the battle against the Erlang God, because the tail could not be changed, it was recognized:
"I've seen temples before, and I've never seen a flagpole in the back. It's this beast that makes a fuss! ”
Of course, if Sun Wukong wants to perform the art of change, he also needs some prerequisites:
For example, the lute bone cannot be worn, and once the lute bone is worn, then it is impossible to perform the art of change:
"Unable to get up quickly, he was held down by the Seven Saints, that is, bound by the rope, so that the hook knife pierced the lute bone, and could no longer change."
Of course, Sun Wukong was pressed under the Five Elements Mountain, put into the purple and gold red gourd of Taishang Laojun, or the human race bag of Maitreya Buddha, there was no way to change, and perhaps this kind of magic weapon could also change with sun wukong's changes.
In the Yin and Yang Cylinder of the Roc Bird, although Sun Wukong himself and the hairs on his body could not change, the three life-saving millimeters sent by Guanyin Bodhisattva could still be changed.
This is also from the side, the things sent by Guanyin Bodhisattva are of higher quality, which is more conducive to Sun Wukong's ability to perform the art of change.
So, is there something wrong with the Seventy-Two Changes, or did Sun Wukong himself not master the mystery of this art of change?
Eight
In fact, the Seventy-Two Transformations are spells created for people, and although Sun Wukong is also like a human, he lacks one thing on his body, which is very likely to lead to the imperfection of the art of change.
When Sun Wukong first asked Bodhi Grandmaster for the art of immortality, Bodhi Grandmaster said this:
"It's not difficult, it's just that you're different than others, so you can't pass it on."
What's different, Monkey King asks?
Bodhi Guru said:
"Although you are like a person, you have fewer cheeks than people."
But he couldn't stand Sun Wukong's soft grinding and hard touch, he said that although he didn't have a cheek, he had a vegetarian bag, and Bodhi Grandmaster reluctantly taught:
"Or, you want to learn that general?"
Even so, Sun Wukong's art of change is stronger than many people, such as the Eight Precepts of the Pig and the Sand Monk.
Many people say that the thirty-six changes of the Eight Precepts of the Pig are more powerful than the seventy-two, which is nonsense, and in the Journey to the West book, there is not a single word mentioning that his art of change is stronger than that of Brother Monkey.
In fact, the thirty-six changes of the Eight Precepts of the Pig are too much affected by body shape, and he himself has said:
"My old pig originally had thirty-six changes, but if you say that it has become a light and gorgeous thing, you really can't."
Once he became a monk, he twisted seven or eight times before he reluctantly changed into a fat monk, and at this point, he himself admitted that he was not as good as Brother Monkey:
"Master, don't blame me for saying. If we talk about gambling on changes, making people pinch, and teasing people, three or five of us are not as good as master and brother. ”
Not to mention the sand monk, on the whole road to take the scriptures, he changed once in che chi guo, which was not perfect, and finally relied on Sun Wukong to help him:
"But it is said that Sun Dasheng twisted the sand monk with his left hand and the Pig Eight Precepts with his right hand, but the two of them realized that they sat on a high place, with their faces bowed, and did not say a word..."
In the Yellow Lion Spirit, even the change could not be changed, and the person who sold the duck was disguised.
Nine
Except for Sun Wukong, Erlang Shen, Bull Demon King, Pig Eight Precepts, and Sand Monk, what about the other gods or yokai?
In subduing the Black Bear Spirit, Guanyin Bodhisattva once transformed into Ling Xuanzi, but the book describes:
"Then the bodhisattva is incarnated with vast compassion, boundless mana, billions of incarnations, with the heart, with the mind, with the mind, in the trance, into a false immortal."
For a time, even the fire-eyed sun wukong joked that he could not identify whether it was a bodhisattva or a goblin, but Guanyin Bodhisattva revealed the essence of his art of change:
"Goku, the bodhisattva goblin, is always a thought. If we talk about the original, it is all nothing. ”
This sentence is very philosophical, Guanyin Bodhisattva transformed into a Ling Xuanzi, neither a bodhisattva nor a goblin, but a nothingness.
In fact, the art of guanyin bodhisattva change could not hide from Sun Wukong, and in the Four Noble Trial Zen Hearts, and later in the bhikkhu kingdom, she and the red child came to report the letter, and Sun Wukong recognized that it was the bodhisattva incarnation.
The art of changing the white bone essence is also very common, literally called the corpse solution, that is, her change needs to use the corpse, through the human corpse to return the soul, otherwise, it cannot be changed:
"The monster had some means to make a method of disarming the corpse, and when he saw the walker's stick coming, he shook his spirits, walked away in advance, and beat a fake corpse to death on the ground."
As for the food that the white bone essence had conjured up, it belonged to the lowest-level stone and toad blind spells, but if the pig took a bite, it would also break its teeth.
Kui Timber Wolf's transformation technique is also more powerful, he can turn Tang Monk into a tiger, but Sun Wukong can crack it:
"The walker took the water in his hand, read the mantra, and looked at the tiger's split head and sprayed it, retreated from the magic, and relieved the tiger's qi."
Ten
Other gods and monsters, in general, there are several situations, and their art of change is flawed and can be recognized by Sun Wukong one by one.
For example, the Buddha of Rulai, who is transformed into a yellow-browed monster, although there is nothing wrong with his appearance and body odor, but his temperament has his own fierceness, which is recognized by Sun Wukong at a glance.
For example, the three rhinoceros spirits of Jinping Province, although their appearance and temperament are close to those of the Buddha, the fishy smell of their bodies is recognized by Sun Wukong at a glance.
However, there are also a few yokai variation techniques that Sun Wukong did not recognize:
One is the aforementioned Bull Devil King, when Sun Wukong borrowed the banana fan, the Bull Devil King heard the news and changed into the appearance of the Eight Precepts of the Pig, the smell, appearance, and behavior were not unusual, sun Wukong did not recognize it.
Of course, Sun Wukong may be caught off guard, if he is wary, the Bull Demon King may not be able to deceive him, after all, the book also says:
"Good Demon King, he also has seventy-two changes, and his martial arts are the same as those of the Great Sage, but his body is wolf-chopped, he is not drilled, and he does not live a little... Sun Dasheng knew whether it was true or not, and he was not worried about this, so he handed him the fan. ”
Then there is the Green Lion Essence of the Wuji Kingdom, and the Tang monk he has become, Sun Wukong can't recognize it!
But this Green Lion Essence's technique of changing is also problematic, what is the problem?
That is, he can't conjure up what he doesn't have, because he's a castrated lion, and that thing is gone, so the king he becomes doesn't have that thing, so naturally he can't confuse the harem.
To this end, the Eight Precepts of the Pig still did not believe it, and personally touched it:
"The Eight Commandments heard this, and before they approached, they touched it and laughed, 'This goblin really has a bad nose and doesn't eat wine—he has taken his name in vain!' ”
Therefore, the way to identify the true and false Tang monks is actually very simple, touch it and you will know it!
In summary, what is false is false, even if it is seventy-two changes or thirty-six changes, there are many defects. Sun Wukong is also well versed in this way, so throughout the journey of taking the scriptures, his technique of change is mostly to change a small demon to flirt with the monster, change a fly to inquire about the situation, and change a sparrow to flee into the wilderness. And there are almost no demons that really use the art of change, which is why they have to appear in their original form every time they fight.
What is false can never be true, otherwise if the Buddha had nothing to do, he would have turned stones into gold on the Lingshan Mountain, and would he still need to send the Buddha to shewei guo to chant the sutra to earn gold?
My name is Yang Jiaofeng, look at the journey to the west from a different perspective, you will find different fun, like please pay attention to it!