The Real and Fake Handsome Monkey King

After the Investiture of the Gods Calamity came the Journey to the West Calamity. Six-Eared Macaque impersonated Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong, intending to replace Pilgrim Sun and journey west to obtain the scriptures.

They went through Guanyin of the South Sea, the Heavenly Court's Demon-Revealing Mirror, Tang Sanzang chanting the Tightening Headband Mantra, the Ten Kings of Hell examining the Book of Life and Death, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Truth-Hearing Beast distinguishing the real Handsome Monkey King from the fake one, yet none could tell them apart.

In the end, Six-Eared Macaque and Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong went together to the Western Paradise's Thunderclap Temple and sought out Tathagata Buddha to settle the matter. Tathagata Buddha saw through Six-Eared Macaque's true origins, suppressed him inside a golden alms bowl, and Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong killed him with a single strike of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Of course, some also said that the fake Sun Wukong had beaten the real Sun Wukong to death with one blow.

Taiyi offered no comment on this.

Setting aside the fact that Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong had been transformed from the stone Nüwa used to mend the heavens, and that he bore the fate of the Journey to the West Calamity as its protagonist.

How could such an existence possibly be replaced because of internal strife within the Buddhist Sect?

Furthermore, even if one did not respect the monk, one should respect the Buddha. Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong was, after all, the final disciple of Patriarch Bodhi, the incarnation of Buddha-Mother Zhunti. Tathagata Buddha was merely a quasi-saint—would he really dare offend one of the two greatest bosses of the Buddhist Sect?

Thus, it could be inferred that the one Lingming Stone Monkey Sun Wukong killed was indeed Six-Eared Macaque.

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