At the Great Thunderclap Monastery on Spirit Mountain, Buddha’s radiance shines everywhere, and sacred chants echo through the air. The Sandalwood Merit Buddha, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the Altar-Cleansing Messenger, the Golden Arhat, and the Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Power Bodhisattva are receiving the worship of countless devotees. Then disaster strikes! The Heavenly Dao issues a warning, and Spirit Mountain trembles. The Tathagata proclaims: The immeasurable merit accumulated on the journey west has stirred up karmic backlash. Its source remains uncleansed, and the foundation of Buddhahood is unstable. They must “trace their worldly ties backward and return to the source to realize emptiness.” The five must retrace the Journey to the West, reversing their direction: beginning at Spirit Mountain and ending in the Eastern Lands. Along the way, they must “return” some of their merit and resolve the karmic debts that remain uncleansed. This is the “Path of Enlightenment Through Reversed Karma.” Success will secure their Buddhahood forever; failure will shatter their golden bodies and cast them back into the cycle of reincarnation.
What is the true self? Neither stubborn stone, nor demon monkey, nor Buddha. It is that “luminous original mind” which has endured countless tribulations without being destroyed, and which looks upon its own nature. Only by setting aside the golden headband, a symbol of restraint, can one attain true freedom; only by shedding the Buddhist robes, a symbol of labels and appearances, can one see one’s true nature. “Fulfillment” lies not on Spirit Mountain, but in understanding one’s mind, perceiving one’s nature, and returning to one’s true self.
What kind of spectacle will unfold when the myriad immortals of Investiture of the Gods collide with the five pilgrims from Journey to the West?
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