Myths are not stories that are untrue Rather they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record Which serve as a foundation to a culture. On an ancient island, atop an enchanted mountain there lived a Monkey King A handsome Monkey King. He was playful he was brave and he was a good ruler to his monkey subjects But though he had reached the heights of monkey greatness and luxury He was destined to seek out even more. The secret of immortality Today's tale is sponsored by Audible. Start your own audiobook adventure today by visiting the link in the description below Atop the magnificent mountain of flowers and fruit Stood an enchanted rock draped with magical mushrooms and orchids since the dawn of creation this magic rock had absorbed the truth of heaven the beauty of Earth the power of the Sun and the mystery of the Moon Then one day the rock suddenly split open and produced a stone egg And from that stone egg hatched a stone monkey this young Stone Monkey lived a charmed life atop the mountain He explored its peaks by day and had caves to sleep in at night he ate and drank freely from the splendid rivers and lush fruit trees and Befriended other monkeys and all other sorts of animals one day while playing in the water One of the other monkey said I wonder where this water comes from Let's follow it until we find the source Hooting and hollering, the troop of monkeys Clamored up the mountain until they found a mighty rushing waterfall Then another monkey in the group dared everyone there to a challenge. If any monkey was brave enough to go through the waterfall Find out what was on the other side and make it out alive They would make him their king. Stone Monkey being eager for the adventure volunteered immediately He squeezed his eyes shut braced himself and then lept through the crashing waterfall with no idea what lay on the other side He landed with a thud and opened his eyes He had survived But where was he? He took a moment to examine his surroundings Before him was a great iron bridge over a mighty chasm and across the bridge stood a magnificent Great palace ready and waiting for him. Filled with glee he leapt back through the waterfall to the amazement of all the other monkeys they crowded around him and he told them what he saw A mighty palace with stone rooms, bowls of food, plates, and even beds with room enough for a thousand monkeys Upon hearing all of this the entire monkey band dove through the waterfall to see for themselves Upon landing. They rushed across the bridge and immediately began wreaking havoc I mean they were monkeys after all. They grabbed plates, snatched bowls threw food, and fought over who got which bed But amidst this silly chaos Stone Monkey sat himself down in the throne at the center of the house and cleared his throat The monkey stopped their mischief and paid attention Well, he began you promised whoever jumped through the waterfall and survived would be your king I mean, I not only did that but I found you this place as well, huh? so can anyone explain why I'm not king yet? A little frightened now of their fearless, impulsive leader. They dared not go back on their word So they bowed before him and proclaimed He was to be great king of a thousand years For his first official decree The Monkey King declared that he would no longer be known as Stone Monkey, but instead as Handsome Monkey King. Now that is a proclamation I can get behind. for years Handsome Monkey King ruled over all of the monkeys, apes, and gibbons in the water curtain cave Governing them and giving them titles and ranks as he saw fit. And it went on like this for hundreds of years But after a while Handsome Monkey King became depressed sure life was fun now But what about the future nothing lasts forever. After all, what was going to happen when they got old and died? None of the other monkeys had ever thought about their own monkey mortality before so upon Handsome Monkey King relaying these thoughts They all became depressed but then a gibbon had an idea Not everyone dies. The Buddhas, Sages and Immortals lived forever? Though they do live in the human world Handsome monkey king cheered up instantly. Tomorrow, then I'll leave you all and go find these beings And I won't return until I've learned their secrets and find a way for all of us to live forever The next day the monkeys held a great feast Then they made the Handsome Monkey King a raft out of pine trees and he set out on his journey The winds were favorable and for many days and nights, they carried him along Until at last he finally reached land He jumped off his raft and saw humans for the first time. Fishing and gathering clams. Excitedly, he ran up to greet them but being that he was a big monkey barreling toward them They got real spooked and ran away as fast as they could, dropping their nets and baskets But then the Monkey King caught up to one particularly slow person and stole all his clothes in an attempt to look more human Classic Terminator 2 approach. Respect. He spent several days after perfecting human speech walking on two feet and wandering the land Asking everyone he met about the Buddhas, Immortals and Sages but he was Disappointed to find that most humans were more concerned with everyday things like fame and fortune and not at all concerned about their mortality For 10 years, he wandered this land from one coast to the other but found no immortals Frustrated he then built a raft just like before and said to himself Surely across this ocean. I will find the secret to everlasting life After many days of sailing, he finally spotted a high and beautiful mountain and upon landing there He overheard someone singing a song about the Immortals. He knew he must be close The Handsome Monkey king skipped along the mountain path until he came to a great cave. Yeah this had to be the place, but the doors were shut fast, and he did not dare knock cuz You know knocking might interrupt the Immortals and it's not like they had the rest of eternity to finish whatever they were doing or anything So best not to be rude Instead he sat in a tree munching on pinecones until eventually the doors to the cave opened and someone emerged He looked like a young boy But the nobility of his bearing and the purity of his features made it clear that he was definitely an Immortal. The Handsome Monkey King dropped his pinecone and swung down from the tree announcing that he had come to be a disciple The boy smiled and invited the Handsome Monkey King inside, for you see his master had been expecting him The cave was filled with majestic Pavilions and towers of red Jade with gates made of seashells and halls of secluded rooms all leading to the dais Where the Master sat as the Handsome Monkey King bowed before him the master asked. What is your name? And where do you come from? When Handsome Monkey King told him that he had come from the water curtain cave on the mountain of flowers and fruit all the way Back on the Eastern continent, the Master refused to believe him Because it was very hard to believe that anyone could have come from two oceans and a continent away But Handsome Monkey King would not be dissuaded He told the Master tales of how he had built rafts and sailed the oceans and then wandered the lands for years before at last Finding the Immortal. The Master was impressed by his tale and proceeded to ask what his surname was but the Handsome Monkey King just looked at him confused what is a surname? The Master clarified. What name did you get from your parents? The Monkey King then explained that he didn't have parents and all that he remembered from his birth was the great stone egg Concealing his delight the Master realized that this monkey was magical in origin and agreed to teach him on the spot But if the Handsome Monkey KIing was to study he needed a name. So the Master bestowed upon him the name Sun Wukong Now did Sun Wukong ever discover the secret of immortality? Well, to find out you'll have to come back to the campfire next time Whoa, but don't spoil it for the mortals Once again, thank you so much to our sponsor for this episode the Immortal Pillars of audio storytelling, Audible, you know I talk a lot on this channel every week and sometimes it's hard for me to find time just to sit and read However with Audible I get the chance to listen to any of their countless audiobooks Podcasts or audible originals while doing other stuff like commuting around NYC or taking walking breaks, which we all should be doing more anyway And actually Jeff was just telling me about one of his favorites I need to check out called red shirts It's a Star Trek-esque tale told from the POV of the lower level crew narrated gleefully by the one and only Wil Wheaton Damn it, Wesley. Why you gotta be so good at everything? And because Audible offers free and easy audio book exchanges and members can roll over their credits for a year I get to engage with all Of their cool stuff at my own pace So for a 30-day free trial plus your first audio book and two Audible originals for free visit audible.com/extracredits Oh and then afterward let me know what you're listening to in the comments Legendary thanks to patrons Ahmed Z Od Turk and Kyle Murgatroyd
