He leaned back and waited for the panther to reach him , then he swung his staff like a club lightning fast , smacking it on the head . The panther fell to the man ’ s feet . Slowly it stood up in a daze , and the man held up his forefinger , wagging it left and right . I noticed his furry tail wagging left and right in time with his finger . I watched this scene in astonishment . Every movement he made was of a skilled warrior , flexibly dodged each and every one of the panther ’ s attacks . The way he moved reminded me of … a monkey . Come to think of it , even his appearance was like a monkey … and his tail !
The panther turned and slunked away .
“ It ’ s safe now . You could breathe again !”, he said with a light tone . That ’ s when I realised I was holding my breath .
“ Who are you ?”, I blurted out .
“ I am Sun Woo Kong , body guard and guide of Xuanzang . This staff is my friend , Ruyi Jingu Bang , translated to “ The Compliant Golden-Hooped …”, said Sun Woo Kung .
He ’ s rambling , I thought .
“ But who ARE you ?”, I asked again . There was a whicker of a horse and a monk riding a white stallion behind Sun Woo Kung . The monk wore a big orange hat that had ribbons hanging down on the sides covering his ears . His cloak was made of simple yellow and red fabric ; there were no patterns on his cloak . The only patterns he had were the wrinkles on his clothes . Behind the monk two more people appeared . One of them looked part human and completely something else . His skin was light pink and had gigantic floppy ears . A round enormous snout protruded from his face , but wherever he went first wasn ’ t his snout , it was his even more humongous belly . I had to stop myself from laughing when I saw this ridiculous creature , so I shifted my gaze to look at the last member of their group . He looked like a tramp . He had a red beard , but his head was bald . His necklace was a loop of skulls that made him look both terrible and putrefying . They both looked so grisly they made everything else , even the bugs seemed nice .
“ We are travellers from the Middle Land ”, replied the monk . “ We ’ re searching for the ancient Sutra text . We want to show everyone the Buddhist ways . The way of the Buddha , is the way of Enlightenment . The way of the Buddha is the great hope . It will be the answer to all of our pain and suffering we have everyday . You know , what is the reasoning for our pain and suffering …”, said the monk .
The monk was rambling on and on like Sun Woo Kung , I realised . I had my own problems . He was so enthralled in his thinking I just stopped paying attention . Sun Woo Kung saved my life , I was grateful , but this monk was lecturing . Can I thank them then get going ?
“ What are you searching for ?”, the monk asked while I wasn ’ t listening . I didn ’ t want to be rude , so I answered his question , “ Hm ? What ? Nothing . I ’ m searching for nothing .”
“ You ’ re searching for nothing ? Nothingness … How profound !”, exclaimed the monk . “ In all of this pain and suffering , could nothingness be the ending ?”, he mused .
Sun Woo Kung said , “ Master we must go . We must be on our way .”
The monk flicked his hand to stop Sun Woo Kung . He glared at me with a look that cut into me straight to my heart .
“ I see you are indeed searching for something too . You are lost . You are truly lost . You are in the wrong place ”, the monk said with wonder . “ We have just crossed these mountains after the Middle Land . What you search for is not across the mountains , the door to your desire could be on the top of the mountain . Be careful of temptation , know yourself and be true to who you are ”, he said nodding . He raised his hand to his chest , and chanted , “ amituofo ” bowing down slightly .