What is the background of Sun Wukong's enlightenment teacher, Bodhi Patriarch?

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Journey to the West is a work of divine and demonic creativity filled with wisdom, where the author Wu Cheng'en uses his boundless imagination to create vivid characters like the clever and brave Sun Wukong and the devout and steadfast Tang Sanzang. These characters complement each other, making the story lively and interesting, leaving readers with endless aftertaste and admiration.

In terms of plot structure, Wu Cheng'en employs a "leaving blanks" writing technique, leaving many mysteries throughout the novel. For instance, Sun Wukong's mentor, Bodhi Patriarch, who possesses profound magical skills, chooses to remain in the secluded Mount Fangcun, dedicated to teaching.

Who is Bodhi Patriarch? Who might be his master?

    Sun Wukong's Enlightenment Teacher

According to the setting in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is indeed a rare cultivation prodigy, born from the heavens and earth. The stone that nurtured him stood on the peak of Flower Fruit Mountain for thousands of years, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and the spirit of the universe. However, Sun Wukong, a humble stone monkey, wandered for eight to nine years seeking immortality, yet no immortal in the Eastern Continent or Southern Continent recognized his potential, except for Bodhi Patriarch in the Western Continent, who foresaw Sun Wukong's arrival at Mount Fangcun and sent a "woodcutter" to guide him and a celestial child to open the door.

After accepting Sun Wukong as a disciple, Bodhi Patriarch named him and taught him the arts of longevity, transformation, and the somersault cloud. As the saying goes, a great teacher produces excellent students. Although Sun Wukong stayed at Mount Fangcun for only ten years, the skills he learned were extraordinary. The longevity technique allowed him to live to 342 years, only to be taken by the underworld's messengers in his sleep. The transformation and somersault cloud enabled him to overcome dangers and even achieve victories against formidable foes.

This suggests that Bodhi Patriarch himself possesses extraordinary magical prowess.

    The Magical Skills of Bodhi Patriarch

At the beginning of "Journey to the West," Wu Cheng'en writes that Bodhi Patriarch is proficient in the three teachings of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, and is an immortal whose voice resonates through the heavens.

Bodhi Patriarch is also skilled in the 36 transformations and the 72 transformations, with 360 side doors in the "Dao" school alone. When Sun Wukong's ambition grew after mastering his skills, even before he caused great trouble, Bodhi Patriarch foresaw it and expelled him from Mount Fangcun.

Furthermore, during Sun Wukong's havoc in heaven, neither the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the three realms, nor the insightful Buddha knew who Sun Wukong's master was, indicating Bodhi Patriarch's profound magical abilities.

Unfortunately, Wu Cheng'en is very sparing in his words about Bodhi Patriarch. After Sun Wukong leaves Mount Fangcun, he is never mentioned again. Even when the novel concludes, many readers are left wanting more, curious about why Bodhi Patriarch possesses such powerful magic and who his master might be.

    The Master of Bodhi Patriarch

Some netizens speculate that Bodhi Patriarch's master is the Buddha of Lingshan. This is because there is a disciple under the Buddha named "Subhuti," known as "First in Understanding Emptiness," and Sun Wukong's name is derived from "Understanding Emptiness."

Initially, this interpretation seems reasonable, but upon closer examination, it has many flaws.

Firstly, if Bodhi Patriarch were a disciple of the Buddha, why would he be proficient in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism? The Buddha, as the leader of the Western Lingshan, is ultimately a high-ranking figure in Buddhism and cannot be as well-versed in all three teachings as Bodhi Patriarch.

Secondly, if the Buddha were Bodhi Patriarch's master, his powers should be overwhelming. However, when subduing Sun Wukong, the Buddha did not engage directly but instead devised a wager to trap Sun Wukong in his palm and then flipped his palm to seal him.

Clearly, the Buddha's Five Elements Mountain could not completely suppress Sun Wukong. It was only with the addition of the Six Words Mantra that he was fully subdued. If the Buddha were Bodhi Patriarch's master, he could have subdued Sun Wukong effortlessly, so why go through such trouble?

Many netizens also believe that Bodhi Patriarch's master is Hongjun Laozu, but Hongjun Laozu is a character from "The Investiture of the Gods," unrelated to "Journey to the West."

In fact, although Wu Cheng'en does not explicitly state who Bodhi Patriarch's master is, we can still find clues in the original text.

Readers familiar with "Journey to the West" will know that Sun Wukong is called the "Heart Ape," and when he sought immortality, it was by staying true to his original intention that he found Bodhi Patriarch's Mount Fangcun. The couplet at the entrance of Bodhi Patriarch's Three Stars Cave is also related to "heart."

The "Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain" refers to the heart, and the "Xie Yue San Xing Cave" also represents the heart. This suggests that Bodhi Patriarch's lineage is related to the "heart."

Meanwhile, we notice that although Bodhi Patriarch's magical skills are powerful, they have limits. Especially his longevity technique, which is not perfect. After teaching it to Sun Wukong, Bodhi Patriarch warned him, "This is an extraordinary path: it seizes the creation of heaven and earth, invades the mysteries of the sun and moon... After 500 years, a heavenly disaster will strike you. You must be mindful and clear-hearted to avoid it. If you can avoid it, you will live as long as heaven; if not, you will perish."

This indicates that Bodhi Patriarch's longevity technique cannot break free from the constraints of the sun, moon, and stars and must abide by the laws of the three realms. Therefore, Bodhi Patriarch also taught Sun Wukong the 72 transformations to help him cope with the heavenly disasters that occur every 500 years.

I believe that Bodhi Patriarch's master is the "teacher of the heart," which is the universe that nurtures the sun, moon, and stars. This explains why Bodhi Patriarch's teaching has a "thunderous resonance that shakes the nine heavens," but the nine heavens are still within the universe, indicating that both Bodhi Patriarch and his magic cannot transcend the limitations of the universe.

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