一日高天上圣大慈仁者玉皇大天尊玄穹高上帝，驾坐金阙云宫灵霄宝殿，聚集文武仙卿早朝。东海龙王敖广进表，表曰：近日花果山生、水帘洞住妖仙孙悟空者，欺虐小龙，强坐水宅，索兵器，施法施威；要披挂，骋凶骋势。恳乞天兵，收此妖孽！又有冥司秦广王赍奉幽冥教主地藏王菩萨表文，表曰：今有花果山水帘洞天产妖猴孙悟空，逞恶行凶，不服拘唤。弄神通，打绝九幽鬼使；恃势力，惊伤十代慈王。大闹森罗，强销名号。伏乞调遣神兵，收降此妖。玉帝道：“那路神将下界收伏？”言未尽，班中闪出太白长庚星俯伏启奏道：“臣启陛下，可念生化之慈恩，降一道招安圣旨，把他宣来上界，授他一个大小官职，与他籍名在罥，拘束此间。”玉帝闻言甚喜，道：“依卿所奏。”即着文曲星官修诏，着太白金星招安。金星领了旨，出南天门外，按下祥云，直至花果山水帘洞。金星径入当中，面南立定道：“奉玉帝招安圣旨下界，请你上天，拜受仙罥。”悟空道：“承光顾，空退！
空退！”即唤四健将分付：“谨慎教演儿孙，待我上天去看看路，却好带你们上去同居住也。”太白金星领着美猴王，到了灵霄殿外，不等宣诏，直至御前，朝上礼拜。悟空挺身在旁，且不朝礼，但侧耳以听金星启奏。玉帝垂帘问曰：“那个是妖仙？”悟空却才躬身答应道：“老孙便是。”玉帝传旨道：“就除授他做个弼马温罢。”众臣叫谢恩，他也只朝上唱个大喏。玉帝又差木德星官送他去御马监到任。当玉帝授与他弼马温的官衔时，悟空高兴。他没有官衔、等级或薪酬的概念。当他意识到玉帝希望他做什么时，他大怒道：“这般藐视老孙！老孙在那花果山，称王称祖，怎么哄我来替他养马？不做他，不做他！我将去也！”须臾按落云头，回至花果山。众猴对他叩头并问道：“请问大王，官居何职？”猴王摇手道：“不好说！不好说！活活的羞杀人！那玉帝不会用人，他见老孙这般模样，封我做个甚么弼马温，原来是与他养马，未入流品之类。我初到任时不知，只在御马监中顽耍。及今日问我同寮，始知是这等卑贱。老孙心中大恼，推倒席面，不受官衔，因此走下来了。”众猴道：“来得好！大王在这福地洞天之处为王，多少尊重快乐，怎么肯去与他做马夫？”
教：“小的们，快办酒来，与大王释闷。”正饮酒欢会间，两个独角鬼王跑入洞中，倒身下拜。美猴王问道：“你们见我何干？”鬼王道：“久闻大王招贤，我们也望您肯不弃鄙贱，收纳小人，亦得效犬马之劳。”猴王大喜，即将鬼王封为前部总督先锋。鬼王谢恩毕，复启道：“大王在天许久，所受何职？”猴王道：“玉帝轻贤，封我做个甚么弼马温！”鬼王听言，又奏道：“大王有此神通，如何与他养马？就做个齐天大圣，有何不可？”猴王闻说，欢喜不胜，连道几个“好！好！好！”他教道：“自此以后，只称我为齐天大圣，不许再称大王。”玉帝闻言，即传旨：“着两路神元，各归本职，朕遣天兵，擒拿此怪。”却说那李天王与三太子领着众将，直至灵霄宝殿，启奏道：“臣等奉旨出师下界，收伏妖仙孙悟空，不期他神通广大，不能取胜。他洞门外立一竿旗，上书“齐天大圣”四字，道是封他这官职，即便休兵来投；若不是此官，还要打上灵霄宝殿也。”玉帝闻言，惊讶道：“这妖猴何敢这般狂妄！着众将即刻诛之。”正说间，班部中又闪出太白金星，奏道：“那妖猴只知出言，不知大小。欲加兵与他争斗，想一时不能收伏，反又劳师。不若万岁大舍恩慈，还降招安旨意，就教他做个齐天大圣。只是加他个空衔，有官无禄便了。”玉帝闻言道：“依卿所奏。”即命降了诏书，仍着金星领去。悟空遂与金星纵着祥云，径入灵霄殿下，金星拜奏道：“臣奉诏宣弼马温孙悟空已到。”玉帝道：“那孙悟空过来，今宣你做个齐天大圣，官品极矣，但切不可胡为。”悟空亦止朝上唱个喏，道声谢恩。齐天大圣对他籍名在罥十分满意，不在乎官衔品从，也不计较俸禄高低。那齐天府下二司仙吏，早晚伏侍，只知日食三餐，夜眠一榻，无事牵萦，自由自在。闲时节会友游宫，交朋结友。见三清，称个“老”
字；逢四帝，道个“陛下”。与那九曜星、五方将、二十八宿、四大天王、十二元辰、五方五老、普天星相、河汉群神，俱只以兄弟相待，彼此称呼。今日东游，明日西荡，云去云来，行踪不定。一天，玉帝宣诏猴王道：“朕见你身闲无事，与你件执事。你且权管那蟠桃园，早晚好生在意。”大圣欢喜谢恩，朝上唱喏而退。安排猴子去守蟠桃园就像安排猫去守鱼一样。孙悟空怀着可爱的天真去履行那种欢闹的职责。知道蟠桃会不曾请他时，孙悟空就变成赤脚大仙，溜进瑶池。大圣却拿了些百味八珍，佳肴异品，走入长廊里面，就着缸，挨着瓮，放开量痛饮一番。喝醉了，他摇摇摆摆地走错了路，走进了太上老君的炼丹之处，把给玉帝炼的仙丹像吃炒豆子一样全吃了。“不好！不好！这场祸比天还大，”他揣度道，“走！走！不如下界为王去也！”悟空使个隐身法，即按云头，回至花果山。但见那旌旗闪灼，戈戟光辉，原来是四健将与七十二洞妖王，在那里演习武艺。大圣高叫道：“小的们，我来也！”众怪丢了器械，跪倒道：“大圣在天这百十年，实受何职？”大圣笑道：“且喜玉帝相爱，果封做齐天大圣。近因王母娘娘设蟠桃大会，未曾请我，是我不待她请，先赴瑶池，把那仙品仙酒，都偷吃了。走出瑶池，踉踉误入老君宫阙，又把他五个葫芦金丹也偷吃了。但恐玉帝见罪，方才走出天门来也。”众怪闻言大喜，即安排酒果接风。大圣喝了一口，即咨牙罥嘴道：“不好吃！不好吃！我今早在瑶池中受用时，见那长廊之下有许多瓶罐，都是玉液琼浆，你们都不曾尝着。待我再去偷他几瓶回来，你们各饮半杯，一个个也长生不老。”大圣即出洞门，又翻一筋斗，径至蟠桃会上。他将大的从左右胁下挟了两个，两手提了两个，即拨转云头回来，会众猴于洞中，就做个仙酒会。而纠察灵官领旨出殿遍访，尽得其详细，回奏玉帝道：“搅乱天宫者，乃齐天大圣也。”玉帝大恼，即差四大天王，协同李天王并哪吒太子，点二十八宿、九曜星官，普天星相，共十万天兵，布一十八架天罗地网，下界去花果山围困，定捉获那厮处治。但他们却不能收伏。后观世音举二郎真君同他义兄弟追杀，他变化多端，亏老君抛金钢琢打重，二郎方得拿住。解赴御前，即命斩之。刀砍斧剁，火烧雷打，俱不能伤，老君奏准领去，以火锻炼。四十九日开鼎，他却又跳出八卦炉，打退天丁，径入通明殿里，灵霄殿外；被佑圣真君的佐使王灵官挡住苦战，又调三十六员雷将，把他困在核心，终不能相近。事在紧急，因此玉帝特请如来救驾。如来即唤阿傩、迦叶二尊者相随 ，离了雷音，径至灵霄殿门外。忽听得喊声振耳，乃三十六员雷将围困着大圣哩。佛祖传法旨：“教雷将停息干戈，放开营所，叫那大圣出来，等我问他有何法力。”
大圣道：“我炼就长生多少法，学来变化广无边。因在凡间嫌地窄，立心端要住瑶天。灵霄宝殿非他久，历代人王有分传。强者为尊该让我，英雄只此敢争先。”佛祖听言，呵呵冷笑道：“你那厮乃是个猴子成精，焉敢欺心要夺玉皇上帝尊位？”大圣道：“常言道，皇帝轮流做，明年到我家。只教他搬出去，将天宫让与我便罢了；若还不让，定要搅攘，永不清平！”佛祖道：“你除了长生变化之法，再有何能，敢占天宫胜境？”大圣道：“我的手段多哩！我还会驾筋斗云，一纵十万八千里。如何坐不得天位？”佛祖道：“我与你打个堵赛：你若有本事，一筋斗打出我这右手掌中，算你赢，再不用动刀兵苦争战，就请玉帝到西方居住，把天宫让你；若不能打出手掌，你还下界为妖，再修几劫，却来争吵。”那大圣闻言暗笑道：“这如来十分好呆！他那手掌，方圆不满一尺，如何跳不出去？”好大圣，急纵身要跳，被佛祖翻掌一扑，把这猴王推出西天门外，将五指化作金木水火土五座联山，唤名五行山，轻轻的把他压住。从此，他不得不生活在被那山压在下面的石匣之中，只有头手在外，口能言，身不能动。正是：渴饮溶铜压岁月，饥餐铁弹度时光。天灾苦困遭磨折，人事凄凉喜命长。
One day the Supreme Heavenly Sage， the Greatly Compassionate Jade Emperor of the Azure Vault ofHeaven， was sitting on his throne in the Hall of Miraculous Mist in the Golden-gated Cloud Palace，surrounded by his immortal civil and military officials at morning court. Ao Guang， the Dragon King of theEastern Sea， presented a memorial which ran：“Recently one Sun Wukong， an immortal fiend born on theMountain of Flowers and Fruit now living in the Water Curtain Cave， bullied this humble dragon andoccupied my watery house by force. He demanded a weapon by displaying magical prowess； he insisted onhaving armour by showing off his evil powers. I humbly beg that heavenly soldiers be sent to arrest this evildemon.”Then the King of Qinguang， one of the ministers of the Underworld， came with a memorial from theBodhisattva Ksitigarbha. It read：“Now the evil spirit， the Heaven-born monkey of the Water Curtain Caveon the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit， is presently giving full rein to his wicked nature， committing murders，and refusing to submit to discipline. He killed the devil messengers of the Ninth Hell with his magic， and heterrified the Ten Benevolent Kings of the Underworld with his power. He made an uproar in the Senluo Palaceand crossed some names out by force. I prostrate myself to beg that Heavenly soldiers be dispatched tosubdue this fiend.”“Which divine general shall be sent down to capture him？”asked the Jade Emperor，and before he had finished speaking the Great White Planet stepped forward， bowed down， and submitted，“Ibeg Your Majesty to remember your life-giving mercy and hand down a sage edict of amnesty and enlistment，summoning him to this upper world and inscribing his name on the list of office-holders， thus keeping himhere under control.”The Jade Emperor， delighted with the suggestion， ordered that it should be put intoeffect. He told the Wenqu Star Officer to compose the edict， and commanded the Great White Planet topersuade the monkey to accept the amnesty. The Great White Planet left Heaven by the Southern Gate， andbrought his propitious cloud down by the Water Curtain Cave. The Planet came straight in， stood facing thesouth， and said，“I have come down to earth with an Edict of Amnesty and Enlistment from the Jade Emperorto invite you to Heaven to be given office as an Immortal.”“Thank you for coming，”said SunWukong.“I’m sorry you couldn’t take some refreshments before leaving.”Then he called for his fourStalwart Generals and ordered them，“Give my sons and grandsons a thorough training. When I’ve had alook round in Heaven， I’ll take you all to live with me up there.”The Great White Planet led the HandsomeMonkey King to the outside of the Hall of Miraculous Mist. He went straight in to the imperial presencewithout waiting to be summoned， and did obeisance to the throne. Wukong stood bolt upright beside him， notbothering with any court etiquette， but just concentrating on listening to the Great White Planet make hisreport to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor lowered his curtain and asked，“Which of you is the demonImmortal？”“Me，”replied Wukong， only now making a slight bow.“Then make him Protector of theHorses，”ordered the Jade Emperor. All the ministers thanked him for his mercy， apart from Sun Wukong，who just expressed his respect with a loud“an-a-aw”. The Jade Emperor then told the Wood Planet totake him to the Imperial Stables. When the Jade Emperor conferred on him the title of Protector of Horses， hewas delighted. He had no concept of titles or ranks， or of emoluments， and when he realized what the JadeEmperor wished him to do， he said in a great rage，“How dare they treat me with such contempt？ On themountain of Flowers and Fruit I am a king and a patriarch. How dare he trick me into coming here to feed hishorses for him？ I won’t do it， I won’t. I’m going back.”He descended by cloud and was back on the mountainof Flowers and Fruit in an instant. The monkeys all bowed to him and said：“May we ask what office youheld？”“It hurts me to tell you，”replied the Monkey King with a wave of his hand.“I feel thoroughlyhumiliated. That Jade Emperor doesn’t know how to use a good man. A man like me—‘Protector of theHorses’. That meant I had to feed his animals for him and wasn’t even given an official grading. I didn’tknow this at first， so I fooled around in the Imperial Stables until today， when I found out from my colleagueshow low the job was， I was so angry that I pushed the table over and quit the job. That’s why I’ve comeback.”“Quite right，”the monkeys said.“Your Majesty can be king in our cave paradise and enjoy asmuch honour and pleasure as you like， so why go and be his groom？”Then they gave orders for wine to bebrought at once to cheer their king up. As they were drinking， two Single-horned Devil Kings hurried into thecave and prostrated themselves.“Why have you come to see me？”asked the Handsome Monkey King， andthey replied，“We have long heard that Your Majesty is looking for men of talent. We also hope that you willnot reject us although we are low and worthless， but will accept our humble services.”The Monkey King wasexultant. The two devil kings were appointed Commanders of the Van， and when they had thanked theMonkey King for this they asked，“What office did Your Majesty hold while you were all that time inHeaven？”“The Jade Emperor has no respect for talent，”replied the Monkey King.“He made mesomething called‘Protector of the Horses’.”“Your Majesty has such miraculous powers： you shouldnever have been feeding his horses for him. You should have been made a‘Great Sage Equalling Heaven’，shouldn’t you？”The Monkey King was beside himself with delight at this suggestion， and he kept saying howsplendid it was. He ordered，“From now on I am to be called‘Great Sage Equalling Heaven’， not‘YourMajesty’or‘King’.”On hearing this the Jade Emperor commanded，“Let the two divine officials returnto their posts； we shall send heavenly soldiers to capture this devil.”Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha ledtheir forces straight to the Palace of Miraculous Mist and made this request：“We， your subjects， took ourforces down to the lower world， under your Divine Edict， to subdue the immortal fiend Sun Wukong. But toour surprise we found that his magical powers were too far-reaching for us to be able to defeat him. He hasset a banner up outside the entrance to his cave that reads‘Great Sage Equalling Heaven’， and he saysthat if you give him this office he will stop fighting and submit； otherwise he will attack the Hall of MiraculousMist.”When the Jade Emperor heard this he asked in horror，“How dare that monkey fiend talk so wildly？
Send all the generals to execute him at once.”As he spoke the Great White Planet stepped forward from theranks of officials.“That monkey fiend knows how to talk，”he suggested，“but he has no idea about realpower. If more soldiers were sent to fight him， they might not be able to overcome him at once and theirenergies would be wasted. But if Your Imperial Majesty were to show your great mercy， you could send downa pacificatory amnesty and let him be a Great Sage Equalling Heaven. It would only be an empty title that hewas given， just an honorary appointment.”The Jade Majesty approved this suggestion and ordered that a newedict should be issued for the Great White Planet to deliver. Sun Wukong went with the Great White Planetby propitious cloud to the Hall of Miraculous Mist. The Great White Planet did obeisance and said，“Inobedience to the imperial edict your subject has summoned Sun Wukong， the Protector of the Horses， and heis present.”“Let Sun Wukong come forward，”said the Jade Emperor.“We do now proclaim you GreatSage Equalling Heaven. Your rank is now very high. Let there be no more mischief from you.”The monkeysimply chanted“na-a-aw”to express his thanks to the Emperor. The Great Sage Equalling Heaven wasquite satisfied that his name was on the register of office without caring about the grading of his job and hisown rank， or the size of his salary. The immortal clerks in the two offices in his residence were in constantattendance on him， he had three meals a day and a bed to sleep on at night， and he lived a free and easy lifewithout worries. In his spare time he would visit the other palaces， get together with his old friends， and makenew ones. When he saw the Three Pure Ones， he would address them as“Venerable”， and when he metthe Four Emperors he called them“Your Majesty”. He was on fraternal terms with the Nine Bright Shiners，the Generals of the Five Regions， the Twenty-Eight Constellations， the Four Great Heavenly Kings， the Godsof the Twelve Branches， the Five Ancients of the Five Regions， the star ministers of the whole sky， and thecountless gods of the Milky Way. Today he would wander east， and tomorrow he would go west， coming andgoing by cloud， and never staying anywhere for long. One day the Jade Emperor sent for the Monkey Kingand said，“Seeing that you are idle and have nothing to do， we are giving you a job. You are to administratethe Peach Orchard， and you will give it your attention day and night.”The Great Sage was overjoyed， andafter expressing his thanks and chanting“na-a-aw”he withdrew. Setting a monkey to guard the PeachOrchard is like setting a cat to guard a fish. Sun Wukong performed this hilarious duty with a charmingnaivety. Knowing he was not invited to the Peach Banquet， Monkey disguised himself as the BarefootImmortal and sneaked in the Jade Pool. The Great Sage grabbed the rare delicacies and exotic foods， thenwent under the portico and drank from the vats and pots until he was completely drunk. Drunk， he stumbledinto Lord Lao Zi’s elixir refinery， where he gobbled up all the pills meant for the Jade Emperor as if he wereeating fried beans.“This is terrible. This is a colossal disaster.”he thought，“I must get out of here. I’d bemuch better off as a king in the lower world.”Using a spell to make himself invisible， Wukong went straightdown to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit by cloud. When he got there he saw flags， banners， spears andhalberds gleaming in the sun： the four Stalwart Generals and the seventy-two kings of the monsters wereholding military exercises.“Children， I’m back，”shouted the Great Sage in a loud voice. All the fiendsdropped their weapons and fell to their knees and asked，“What office did you hold， Great Sage， during yourcentury and more in Heaven？”The Great Sage laughed and said，“I was lucky this time. The Jade Emperortook a liking to me and ennobled me as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Recently the Queen MotherGoddess gave a Peach Banquet， but she didn’t invite me. Instead of waiting for an invitation， I went to theJade Pool and stole all the immortal food and drink. I staggered away from the Jade Pool and blundered intoLord Lao Zi’s palace， and there I ate up his five gourds of pills of immortality. Then I got out through theheavenly gates and came here because I was scared that the Jade Emperor was going to punish me.”All thefiends were delighted with what they heard， and they laid on liquor and fruit with which to welcome him back.
But when he tasted it the Great Sage grimaced and said，“It’s awful， it’s awful. When I was enjoying myselfbeside the Jade Pool today I saw jars and jars of jade liquor under a portico there. As none of you have evertasted it I’ll go and pinch you a few jars； then you can each have a little drink， and live for ever.”The GreatSage then went out of the cave， turned a somersault and went straight to the Peach Banquet. He tucked towbig jars of wine under his arms， took two more in his hands， then turned his cloud round and went back tohave a feast of immortal wine with the monkey masses in the cave. However， the Miraculous Investigator leftthe palace in obedience to the edict， and by making thorough enquiries he found out all the details of whathad happened.“The wrecker of the Heavenly Palace was Sun Wukong.”he reported. The Jade Emperorwas furiously angry and ordered the Four Great Heavenly Kings along with Heavenly King Li and PrinceNezha to mobilize the Twenty-eight Constellations， the Nine Bright Shiners， the star ministers of all Heavenand a total of a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers. They were to descend to the lower world with eighteenheaven-and-earth nets， surround the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit， and capture that wretch for punishment.
But they were still unable to subdue him. Then Guanyin recommended the True Lord Erlang and his swordbrothers to go after the monkey， and he used many a transformation until he was finally able to capture themonkey after the Lord Lao Zi hit him with his Diamond Jade. The monkey was then taken to the imperialpresence， and the order for his execution was given. But although he was hacked at with sabers， chopped atwith axes， burned with fire， and struck with thunder， none of this did him any damage； so Lord Lao Zirequested permission to take him away and refine him with fire. But when the cauldron was opened afterforty-nine days he jumped out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace， routed the heavenly troops， and went straight tothe Hall of Universal Brightness in front of the Hall of Miraculous Mist. Here he has been stopped andengaged in fierce combat by the Kingly Spirit Officer， the lieutenant of the Helpful Sage and True LordErlang， thunder generals have been sent there to encircle him； but no one has been able to get close to him. Inthis crisis the Jade Emperor makes a special appeal to the Tathagata to save his throne. Telling the VenerableAnanda and the Venerable Kasyapa to accompany him， the Tathagata left the Thunder Monastery and wentstraight to the gate of the Hall of Miraculous Mist， where his ears were shaken by the sound of shouting as thethirty-six thunder generals surrounded the Great Sage. The Buddha issued a decree that ran：“Tell thethunder generals to stop fighting， open up their camp， and call on that Great Sage to come out， so that I mayask him what divine powers he has.”The Great Sage said，“I have practised many a method for obtainingeternal life，Infinite are the transformations I have learned.
That is why I found the mortal world too cramped，And decided to live in the Jade Heaven.
None can reign for ever in the Hall of Miraculous Mist；Kings throughout history have had to pass on their power；The strong should be honoured—he should give away to me；This is the only reason I wage my heroic fight.”
The Buddha laughed mockingly.“You wretch！ You are only a monkey spirit and you have theeffrontery to want to grab the throne of the Jade Emperor.”“As the saying goes，”the Great Sagesaid，‘Emperors are made by turn； next year it may be me.’If he can be persuaded to move out and handHeaven over to me， that’ll be fine. But if he doesn’t abdicate in my favour I’ll most certainly make thingshot for him， and he’ll never know peace and quiet again.”“What have you got， besides immortality andthe ability to transform yourself， that gives you the nerve to try to seize the Heavenly Palace？”the Buddhaasked.“I can do many tricks indeed，”the Great Sage replied.“I can also ride a somersault cloud that takesme thirty-six thousand miles at a single jump. So why shouldn’t I sit on the throne of Heaven？”“I’ll havea wager with you then，”said the Buddha.“If you’re clever enough to get out of my right hand with a singlesomersault， you will be the winner， and there will be no more need for weapons or fighting； I shall invite theJade Emperor to come and live in the west and abdicate the Heavenly Palace to you. But if you can’t get out ofthe palm of my hand you will have to go down to the world below as a devil and train yourself for several morekalpas before coming to argue about it again.”When he heard this offer the Great Sage smiled to himselfand thought，“This Buddha is a complete idiot. How could I fail to jump out of the palm of his hand， which isless than a foot across？”The dear Great Sage hurriedly braced himself to jump， but the Buddha turned hishand over and pushed the Monkey King out through the Western Gate of Heaven. He turned his five fingersinto a mountain chain belonging to the elements Metal， Wood， Water， Fire， and Earth， renamed them theFive Elements Mountain， and gently held him down. From then on， he had to live in a stone box under themountain， with only his head and hands out of the box so that he could speak but could not move his body.
Indeed： He endures the months and years， drinking molten copper for his thirst， and blunts his hunger on ironpellets， serving his time. Suffering the blows of Heaven he undergoes torments， yet even in the bleakest time ahappy fate awaits.
孙悟空被压在五行山即两界山下的石匣中已五百余年了，身不能展挣。他“头上堆苔藓，耳中生薜萝，鬓边少发多青草，颌下无须有绿莎。眉间土，鼻凹泥，十分狼狈，指头粗，手掌厚，尘垢余多”。他“不怕寒暑，不吃饮食，饥餐铁丸，渴饮铜汁，自昔到今，冻饿不死，度日如年”。这是他改变人生态度的外因。内因呢？正如他对唐僧和观音所说：
“我是五百年前大闹天宫的齐天大圣，只因犯了诳上之罪，被佛祖压于此处。前者有个观音菩萨，领佛旨意，上东土寻取经人。我教他救我一救，他劝我再莫行凶，皈依佛法，尽殷勤保护取经人，往西方拜佛，功成后自有好处。故此昼夜提心，晨昏吊胆，只等师父来救我脱身，我愿保你取经，与你做个徒弟。”“我已知悔了，但愿大慈悲指条门路，情愿修行。”
除上述原因外，孙悟空还很善于学习，他从如来的手掌中学到了很多东西：他学到了“强中自有强中手，能人背后有能人”；他学到了“天宫里各宫各殿，各方各处，都不少官”，即是说，这是个既得利益者把持的世界，它没有为自己这样的新生力量留下位置；他不能按自己的意愿改变这个世界，只能改变自己，以适应这个世界。这就是为什么他在两界山下石匣中遭受五百年苦难后改变了他“强者为尊该让我，英雄只此敢争先”的想法，答应观音菩萨，愿做唐僧的徒弟，“秉教伽持，入我佛门，再修正果”。正是如来救了玉帝的皇位并改变了孙悟空的人生。
Sun Wukong was pressed down inside a stone box under the Five Elements Mountain， i.e. the DoubleBoundary Mountain and could not be able to stretch himself for five hundred years.“His head was thickwith moss， and climbing figs grew from his ears. By his temples grew little hair but a lot of grass， under hischin there was sedge instead of a beard. Dirt between his eyebrows， and mud on his nose made him an uttermess； on his coarse fingers and thick palms was filth in plenty.”He“didn’t mind heat or cold and neitherate nor drank. He was given iron pellets when hungry and molten copper when thirsty. Although he’d beenthere since ancient times， he hadn’t died of cold or hunger. Every day there seemed to him like a year.”Thisis the external cause that made him change his attitude towards life. What’s the internal cause？ It’s just whathe told the Tang Priest and the Bodhisattva Guanyin respectively.“I am the Great Sage Equalling Heavenwho wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. The Lord Buddha put me under this mountainfor my criminal insubordination. Some time ago the Bodhisattva Guanyin went to the East on the Buddha’sorders to find someone who could fetch the ures. When I asked her to save me she told me that I wasto give up evil-doing， return to the Buddha’s Law， and do all I could to protect the traveller when he wentto the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and fetch the ures； she said that there’ll be somethingin it for me when that’s done. Ever since then I’ve been waiting day and night with eager anticipation foryou to come and save me， Master. I swear to protect you on your way to fetch the ures and to be yourdisciple.”“I have already repented and hope that you will show me the road I should follow. I want tocultivate my conduct.”Besides the causes mentioned above， Sun Wukong was very good at learning. Helearnt a lot of things from the palm of the Lord Buddha’s hand. He’s learnt that however strong you are， thereis always someone stronger， for every able person there is always one still abler. He’s learnt that“there are novacancies in any of the palaces， halls， and departments of Heaven”. That is to say， this world is dominatedby those who have the vested interest and there are no vacancies left for any new-rising force representedby Sun Wukong and his like. He could not change the world according to his own will but he had to adapthimself to this world. This is why， after five hundred years’ sufferings in the stone box under the DoubleBoundary Mountain， he changed his mind that“the strong should be honoured — he should give way to me：
This is the only reason I wage my heroic fight”and promised Guanyin that he would be the Tang Priest’sdisciple， observe and uphold the faith， enter their Buddha’s religion， and cultivate good retribution for himselfin the future. It is the Lord Buddha who saved the Jade Emperor’s throne and changed Sun Wukong’s life.
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