ENG
A heart caring with dreams unclear,
She left the mountain, ventured far and near.
Seeking the Five Skandhas, found naught,
True wisdom lies in letting go, she's taught.
The "Tripitaka Scriptures" depict the Mandrill as possessing extraordinary abilities, capable of grasping the sun and moon, shrinking mountains, discerning fortunes, and manipulating the universe with its power.
In Mount Huaguo, a day unlike any other unfolded. The Mandrill Chief was leaping through the mountains when she suddenly saw the celestial stone on the mountaintop explode, producing a stone egg. As the wind blew over it, the stone egg transformed into a stone monkey. The Mandrill Chief approached to observe, and the stone monkey began to mimic, learning to crawl and walk. Subsequently, the stone monkey bowed to the four directions, and its eyes emitted two beams of golden light that shot up to the Celestial Palace. Delighted, the Mandrill Chief brought the stone monkey into the forest to meet the other monkeys. This extraordinary stone monkey soon proved its worth and, after a series of contests, became the king of the monkeys, earning the title "Handsome Monkey King."
In the next hundreds of years, the Monkey King led the monkeys in carefree joy. One day, he began to worry about life and death. The Mandrill Chief advised the Monkey King to go out and seek the Dao. After the Monkey King returned, he rewarded the Mandrill Chief by appointing her as a general. Later, the Monkey King was titled the Great Sage, became a celestial official, caused havoc in the Celestial Palace, was subdued and imprisoned under a mountain, became a monk, achieved enlightenment, and finally became a Buddha... After several rises and falls, he ultimately returned to the mountain and transformed back into a stone.
One day, an immortal appeared in the dream to the Mandrill Chief, telling her that all Five Skandhas are empty and can transcend all suffering. The immortal explained that if she could visit all the sacred places and temples in the world, gather the essence of the Five Skandhas, and make the Five Skandhas Pill, she might be able to awaken the stone and restore its divine spirit.
Thus, she traveled across the three realms and four lands, searching for ingredients to make the pill, until she encountered a monkey that looked exactly like the Monkey King...
The story begins on Mount Huaguo with the Mandrill Chief, the leader of the monkey tribe. One day a celestial stone on the peak exploded and produced a stone egg. Wind broke the egg open and a stone monkey was born. The stone monkey learned by mimicking, crawled, walked, bowed to the four directions, and then shot two beams of golden light from its eyes up to the Celestial Palace. The Mandrill Chief brought the strange monkey back to the forest, where after a series of contests it became the king of the monkeys and earned the title "Handsome Monkey King." The Tripitaka Scriptures in the story describe the Mandrill (and by extension the powerful primate) as having extraordinary, almost cosmic abilities — able to grasp sun and moon, shrink mountains, foresee fortunes, and manipulate the universe.
For many years the Monkey King led the monkeys in carefree rule. Eventually he grew worried about life and death, and the Mandrill Chief advised him to go out and seek the Dao (a spiritual path to understanding and longevity). When he returned from that quest he rewarded the Mandrill Chief by appointing her a general. After that point the Monkey King’s story escalated: he earned the title Great Sage, became a celestial official, caused chaos in the Celestial Palace, was subdued and imprisoned under a mountain, later became a monk, achieved enlightenment, and ultimately became a Buddha. After these rises and falls, he came back to the mountain and transformed once more into stone.
After the Monkey King’s cycle of stardom, downfall, enlightenment, and return, an immortal visited the Mandrill Chief in a dream. The immortal taught that the Five Skandhas are empty and that realizing this emptiness allows beings to transcend suffering. The Five Skandhas are the Buddhist categories that make up a person’s experience (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness). The immortal said the Mandrill could visit sacred places and temples across the realms, gather the essences of those Five Skandhas, and combine them into a Five Skandhas Pill that might awaken the stone and restore its divine spirit.
Motivated by that dream and by loyalty to the stone monkey she raised, the Mandrill Chief left Mount Huaguo and traveled through the three realms and four lands searching for the required ingredients. Her goal is clear: gather those essences, make the pill, and revive or restore the Monkey King’s divine spirit. This quest is arduous and spiritual in nature; it requires visiting many sacred sites and understanding the Buddhist idea that clinging causes suffering.
While on that long journey, the Mandrill Chief encountered a monkey that looked exactly like the Monkey King. That meeting creates a new turning point: it raises the possibility of a recovered or reborn Monkey King, a successor, or a test of whether the pill is necessary or effective. The story ends with this encounter and the Mandrill Chief’s ongoing search, leaving open whether the Five Skandhas Pill will be completed and whether the stone’s divine spirit will be restored.