Master Bodhi's True Identity

Master Bodhi is the most mysterious immortal in the Journey to the West. The fans of the Journey to the West have been arguing until now.

1. After ten years, the Monkey King finally found Master Bodhi. He also warmly welcomed him into the cave and named him. However, he only taught him a few skills for seven years but asked him to cook and cut firewood every day.

2. Sun Wukong stole peaches from Rotten Peach Mountain for seven years. Until then, Master Bodhi began to teach him skills. And he chose to teach four skills that had nothing to do with immortality.

3. The Monkey King finally learned the art of immortality, but he was told to prevent three disasters.

4. It was not easy for Sun Wukong to learn 72 changes and somersault clouds, but because he changed into a pine tree, Wukong was resolutely driven down the mountain by Master Bodhi.

5. When he left, he warned the Monkey King not to mention his name. Otherwise, he would demote his soul to nine dark lands. However, the monkey king said his name four times later, but everything went smoothly.

6. When Wukong was learning skills in the Bodhi cave, Master Bodhi told Sun Wukong that he had twelve generations of disciples in the world. However, he didn't meet any after leaving the mountain.

7. Sun Wukong learned the art of immortality, but soon after returning to Huaguo Mountain, he was seduced by the king of hell, and his life expectancy was prominently written in the Book of Life and Death.

The most strange thing is that the Tathagata does not know the existence of an immortal as powerful as Bodhi. In the eighth chapter of Journey to the West, when he lectured all his disciples, he told you: Although I am not in super purity level, I am not greedy and do not kill.

How can it not be called super purity with Master Bodhi's cultivation level? Tathagata really doesn't know him?

Because of the mysteries mentioned above, there have been a lot of controversies about who Master Bodhi is.

Some say Master Bodhi is the illusion of Tathagata, some say he is the illusion of Lord Lao Zi, and some say it is the illusion of Guanyin. Actually, it's all wrong.

First, the Bodhi cave is located in the Lingtai square inch mountain. Lingtai refers to the heart, and a square inch of land relates also to the heart.

Secondly, the Bodhi cave is called the oblique moon three-heart hole. The oblique moon three hearts is how to write "heart" in Chinese.

Third, in Buddhism, the name of Bodhi means to open great wisdom.

The 3 points above prove that Master Bodhi is actually Sun Wukong's teacher in his heart. The monkey king made his Master Bodhi during deep meditation.

In this regard, some people may still have doubts. There is other evidence in the original book which further proves this. In the second episode of the original text, several poems are describing Master Bodhi:

"Great Awaken Golden Immortal has no dirty posture. The Western Nice Appearance Bodhi has the same life and solemn body as heaven. A master with a pure heart."

So, Master Pure Heart is another title of Master Bodhi. This is a hint from the author of Journey to the West.

In Buddhism, understanding the original mind and seeing the nature of immortality is a realm of Zen enlightenment. Generally speaking, it is to see your soul with a heart.

A pure heart means sincerity. Whose sincerity? The Monkey King's!

Master Bodhi refers to the teacher who opens excellent wisdom. Master Pure Heart refers to a mentor who understands his heart. The broken bridge of the mystery in the footwall set by Master Bodhi comes from the stories of the fifth ancestor passing on scriptures to the sixth ancestor in Zen. Everything shows that Master Bodhi is the teacher of Sun Wukong in Sun Wukong's heart (deep meditation).

This is also why Sun Wukong can't see other disciples after leaving the mountain, and no one else has ever seen or known Master Bodhi.