72 Feats Of The Monkey King

[Whitehawk]

Hi Bums,

 

I was studying the other day, and I ran across a reference to a taoist dream yoga practice that sounded pretty interesting. There were only a few sentences to describe it, but gist of it is that during lucid dreaming you duplicate the 72 magical feats of the Monkey King, you know, from The Journey To The West.

 

It sounded as though practicing the feats during dreamtime would help open energy channels and maybe even develop super-cool wizard powers in real life. Which is all well and good, but really I'm just interested in having some structure for my dream training. I've got some natural lucid dreaming ability, but I want to develop this skill as much as possible.

 

Anyway, I've been trying to find a list of these 72 feats, and I'm having no luck. Has anyone ever heard of this training before? And does anyone know were I could find a list of the Monkey King's magic feats?

 

And are the feat's described in The Journey To The West? I've never read it, so I have no clue.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Chris

[scaife]

Hello Chris!

 

Although I haven't read Journey to the West, I've read about it. It's about 2000 pages long. The Monkey King faces challenges, and defeats them by changing into various things, shapeshifting. The 72 feats are just the 72 things he changes into, so far as I can tell. I didn't find a list of them, though. So it sounds like lucid shapeshifting is the goal; I don't know if the specific feats of the Monkey King will bring special results, but the practice of shapeshifting in Lucid dreams helps to solidify lucidity and control. That is, it's one thing to be aware of being in the dream, but frequently at this point you still are just in the dream. Practicing changing yourself, and the environment, is an essential step in being able to direct the lucid state, which allows you to get from the dream world of subconscious regurgitation to the astral realms - anywhere, really.

 

I love the idea of doing the Monkey King feats. Let me know if you find any specifics, and if you have any success with it. I'll do the same.

 

Best,

Jim

[Mal]

thoughts?

[Pietro]

thoughts?

I don't think the 72 are just 72 version of basically the same (shapeshifting).

For example monkey king could fly, right?

That would be a standard one. +1

He could change his size (very big and very small), +1

He could multiply in many copies of itself at once (I don't know if he could do it, but it happened to me in a dream time ago, so I assume he could as well) +1

become invisible? +1

wisthand heat (remember when they tried to burn him in the pakua?)

Also there where a bunch of things he could do with his wand. Would they coun?

 

Essentially Idon't know, apart the first few. But maybe we could read the book monkey kind and just take note. Then next to each we could cite the passage where it is refered to. Those are the situations where Stig. wiki might come out as being invaluable!

[Sloppy Zhang]

I haven't read the entire journey to the west story, but I did read a lot of excerpts from it for a literature class.

 

The flying thing I believe was one of the things taught to him by his master, not one of the 72 transformations. At least, the impression I got was that it was a distinct skill from the 72 transformations.

 

Furthermore, a lot of his other abilities, like his rock hard body, came as a result of him drinking some heavenly elixir or immortality or something like that, then being cooked in some furnace, if I recall correctly.

 

The 72 heavenly transformations were taught to him so that the heavens wouldn't strike him down for being an immortal. Apparently the deal was immortality wasn't very cool, so the heavens would try and strike you down three times (I think) before giving up and letting you be really immortal. The 72 transformations were so that you could avoid that.

 

He was given a choice between the 32 heavenly transformations and the 72 earthly transformations, and he chose the 72 earthly transformations because, as he put it, he's always grasping for more fish.

 

The changing the size of the staff I believe was a special ability of the staff, and not something the the Monkey King did to it.

 

But I could be wrong on some of the details, it's been a while

 

In any case, I don't think there's a comprehensive listing anywhere of all 72 of his abilities.

Edited August 28, 2009 by Sloppy Zhang

[Mal]

I think Monkey knew the 72 transformations, Pigsy the 36 and Sandy didn't know any.

 

No list of what they were though http://www.damo-qigong.net/xiyou-part3.htm another translation also talks about the 'Three Disasters'

 

Another

He has mastered seventy-two methods of transformation, though that does not mean he is limited to seventy-two different forms

http://www.canleyvale.hs.education.nsw.gov.../7ee/brenda.htm

 

Perhaps of relevance

Asian Mythologies

 

But I fear I'm getting out of my depth with the terminology so I'd better go back to the TV show

http://www.greatsage.net/

 

but I guess the real question is still if doing th e72 transformations as dream yoga is any more useful than wielding the magical wishing staff?

[Mal]

Not much info out there on dream yoga practices.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=10331

[Pietro]

Not much info out there on dream yoga practices.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=10331

 

I think I found the solution!

I was thinking about the number 72. Because 72 is not a random number. 72=9*8=8*8+8=64+8

 

So if you have 9 transformation for each direction of the ba gua, you have reached 72.

 

But that is like saying having a small bagua in each direction, and then the center, and for each of those composed directions, a transformation.

 

Now having a first choise of a direction, among 8, and then again one among 8, gives you 64. And with reason, for those are exactly like the hexagrams. You first chose a trigrm (among 8) for the earth, below, and then a trigram for heven above. So if each hexagram was related to a transformation, you would have 64 hexagram. If then you add to this a transfomration for each trigram, here you go, you have 72.

 

So this is my guess, that the 72 transformation is the ability to transform, and embody the energy of each of the hexagram (64), and then to also embody also the energy of each trigram (by itself) (8).

 

 

And if you can do this, then you can embody change, and thus whatever life, pardon, heaven throws at you, you will be able to flow with, through, and in it. You would be an immortal for sure.

 

And this is also interesting, because it is quite easy to have peak experiences. But unless you can embody change, you are going to lose it. So also this part of the story fits.

 

And the reason why you dn't find the list, is because it's obvious :-)

 

So, I don't know the answer. I have only read the beginning of the book, until the journey starts (but in a wonderful translation). But this is where I would put my money.

[Mal]

And the reason why you dn't find the list, is because it's obvious :-)

 

I like your thinking changes = transformations too.

 

So does this give us try to lucid dream the book of changes?

[Zhuo Ming-Dao]

I like your thinking changes = transformations too.

 

So does this give us try to lucid dream the book of changes?

 

This sounds fascinating, but I too am wondering what it would look like. It is not so difficult to transform into some animal, but to transform oneself into elemental fire, or a mountain, or wind, or thunder??, or the heavens...

 

If anyone has attempted or accomplished lucid dream shape-shifting into more abstract things like these, I would love some advice. I could see, though, how this practice could have a huge impact on breaking down ones view of self as something fixed and static.

 

I had also just thought that the Monkey King lucid dreaming technique was just for bi-location, flight, size changing, etc. What you guys have come up with presents some fascinating new possibilities for my practice.

[Sloppy Zhang]

I think I found the solution!

I was thinking about the number 72. Because 72 is not a random number. 72=9*8=8*8+8=64+8

 

So if you have 9 transformation for each direction of the ba gua, you have reached 72.

 

But that is like saying having a small bagua in each direction, and then the center, and for each of those composed directions, a transformation.

 

Now having a first choise of a direction, among 8, and then again one among 8, gives you 64. And with reason, for those are exactly like the hexagrams. You first chose a trigrm (among 8) for the earth, below, and then a trigram for heven above. So if each hexagram was related to a transformation, you would have 64 hexagram. If then you add to this a transfomration for each trigram, here you go, you have 72.

 

So this is my guess, that the 72 transformation is the ability to transform, and embody the energy of each of the hexagram (64), and then to also embody also the energy of each trigram (by itself) (8).

And if you can do this, then you can embody change, and thus whatever life, pardon, heaven throws at you, you will be able to flow with, through, and in it. You would be an immortal for sure.

 

And this is also interesting, because it is quite easy to have peak experiences. But unless you can embody change, you are going to lose it. So also this part of the story fits.

 

And the reason why you dn't find the list, is because it's obvious :-)

 

So, I don't know the answer. I have only read the beginning of the book, until the journey starts (but in a wonderful translation). But this is where I would put my money.

 

That was awesome

 

This sounds fascinating, but I too am wondering what it would look like. It is not so difficult to transform into some animal, but to transform oneself into elemental fire, or a mountain, or wind, or thunder??, or the heavens...

 

If anyone has attempted or accomplished lucid dream shape-shifting into more abstract things like these, I would love some advice. I could see, though, how this practice could have a huge impact on breaking down ones view of self as something fixed and static.

 

I had also just thought that the Monkey King lucid dreaming technique was just for bi-location, flight, size changing, etc. What you guys have come up with presents some fascinating new possibilities for my practice.

 

Haven't tried shape shifting in lucid dreaming states.... my focus right now is just to move around in a controllable manner and interacting with things I see in my dream. But I will add this to my list of things to do

[Pietro]

This sounds fascinating, but I too am wondering what it would look like. It is not so difficult to transform into some animal, but to transform oneself into elemental fire, or a mountain, or wind, or thunder??, or the heavens...

 

If anyone has attempted or accomplished lucid dream shape-shifting into more abstract things like these, I would love some advice. I could see, though, how this practice could have a huge impact on breaking down ones view of self as something fixed and static.

 

I had also just thought that the Monkey King lucid dreaming technique was just for bi-location, flight, size changing, etc. What you guys have come up with presents some fascinating new possibilities for my practice.

 

 

Maybe it would make sense to start with changing in animals, and bilocation, and so on. But having multiple selves, and the hexagram the army or the hexagram number 8, are they really so different.

 

Try to embody a revolution. Or the young fool! Haven't we said in the other thread that the young fool is P'o?

 

Actually in my understanding of the water methods, alchemy comes after dissolving. And then you learn to change your body of individuality into the various bodies of individuality available in this universe. This to move from understanding who are you to understanding who is the universe.

 

So it seems that all this work would fit well just over there.

 

Have you ever met people that seem to fully embdoy a principle? Like Gandhi with Truth. Some Christian saints with Love. I remember an old neopagan who had the energy of an oak tree. And a big round female shaman who had the energy of the whole earth.

I would say those are people who are at the point of working on this really. For me it does feel a bit over my limits .

[nac]

I've read it, but I can't name all 72 feats. Wikipedia's External Links section lists several online resources including a complete e-book in English, if that helps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_th...#External_links

 

His most common "feat" that I remember is taking hairs from his body and transforming them into copies of himself. He also (allegedly) changed himself into bugs and birds, leaped onto a cloud that transported him great distances, and boasted incessantly about having 72 transformations!

Edited September 1, 2009 by nac