I am the Monkey King. Guanyin of Buddhism once told me I would protect an eminent Buddhist monk on his journey to the Western Lands to spread the Buddhist Dharma.
Wasn't the eminent Buddhist monk in my memory supposed to be an enlightened old monk who said "Amitabha" all day?
This muscular brute standing eight feet tall before me had nothing whatsoever to do with an eminent Buddhist monk, apart from his bald head!
Dangling in the man's grip, the Monkey King's mind froze for a moment. Then he remembered what Guanyin had said before leaving and hurriedly asked, "May I ask your name, venerable monk?"
"Lord Buddha, Tang Sanzang!" The burly man looked over the skinny little monkey in his hand and spoke with some disdain.
Tang Sanzang? Only someone versed in the three baskets of Buddhist scripture-discourses, monastic rules, and treatises-would be called a Tripitaka Master! the Monkey King thought to himself. Judging by the name alone, he certainly fit.
Now that the name matched, the Monkey King hurriedly said, "Venerable monk, you may not know this, but I am the Monkey King of Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain. I have been waiting here especially for you, to escort you to the Western Lands to spread the Buddhist Dharma!"
Speaking of escorting him, the Monkey King even deliberately straightened his back as he dangled in Tang Sanzang's hand. He was exceptionally confident in his abilities.
When he heard the skinny little monkey in his hand boast that he would protect him, Tang Sanzang examined him closely and said with a smile that never reached his eyes, "With that build of yours, you don't even look like enough for one meal. Take you as my disciple? Have you paid your protection money?"
Hearing Tang Sanzang demand protection money, the