This time we open with the arrival of the Goddess of Mercy, Bodhisattva Guanyin, who is a kind of Virgin Mary figure for the East. She fills many similar roles in Eastern religion, acting as an infinite fount of mercy and compassion, and even appears in many depictions with a child, similar to depictions of Mother Mary with baby Jesus.
But it’s no ordinary child that you often see with Guanyin, it’s her disciple Moksa. Brother of Nata, the fiery-ring rider of the earlier chapters who failed to defeat Sun Wukong:
Moksa’s younger brother doesn’t fare much better against Wukong and he retreats back to Guanyin’s side.
But the Jade Emperor has another trick up his sleeve: calling on heaven’s monster-subduing specialist: the divine Erlang. Often depicted with an open Phoenix Eye or third eye because Erlang can do what most other beings in this world can’t–see through magical deception. Fabled to be a real person with a remarkable devotion to his mother, Erlang is righteous, selfless and many things Wukong is not. In some depictions, he’s kind of a bland character because he’s just a good, nice young man who excels at everything he does. Great qualities for a local deity, but pretty basic compared to an impulsive monkey who demands equal rights with all of heaven. Then again, you can be a good person while also being a super-interesting, even sexy person as well. Just think of Keanu Reeves, aka John Wick. If I was to cast a character to play Erlang, he’d be my top pick. Like Mr. Wick, he’s even got a cool dog:
I like that most depictions have him wearing something with a collar because he totally seems like the kind of guy who would choose a polo or button-up even when he’s on vacation.
About that phoenix eye and it’s super-seeing abilities, it’s a commonly-held belief that through cultivation and meditation, one can open the third eye located between your visible eyes and thereby gain extra-sensory perception. The specifics aren’t clear, but descriptions range from the ability to see through others’ lies to catching glimpses into other dimensions and even ghosts and other supernatural elements!
The third eye’s location mirrors the pineal gland in the brain, an endocrine gland that releases melatonin into our minds and helps modulate our sleep. Because dreams and myths were thought by many ancients to be a way to access the world beyond our normal perception, where gods, ghosts and other spirits reside (remember the Monkey King’s first encounter with heaven’s bureaucrats was while sleeping off a boozy banquet), it would make sense that the activation of the third eye, i.e. the activation of one’s pineal gland, could be a way to consciously gain access to that world. While I’ve never opened my own third eye (at least, not that I know of), I can imagine how being able to consciously release the chemicals that modulate one’s subconscious perception could help us tell if things are off about the world around us, whether it’s a deceptive person or an unsafe environment. However, I’ve also read some scary accounts of what happens to people who’ve successfully done it… and the results aren’t always within your control. Suffice to say that not being able to shut off hallucinations in your day-to-day life is probably best left supernatural warriors like Erlang who can handle it!
Lastly, a note on Erlang’s best friend. Dogs are believed in China to have supernatural perception, making the link between Erlang and his dog extra-strong as they ‘see eye to eye’ on things us common mortals do not.
While it’s not recommended that you try to open your third eye or challenge the forces of chaos to open combat, Erlang as a heroic archetype does offer us a couple lessons on how to conduct ourselves against the vicissitudes of life. One is to be kind to animals, for you never know when one might help you out by biting an evil-doer in the leg. And the other is to cultivate your intuition, as a lot of what we know isn’t always directly related to our senses.
Journey on!