Several Corroborations of the Prophecy That Buddhism Will Flourish, Embodied in the Number 13,500

Nantai

The number 13,500 associated with the Golden Cudgel is not the only prophecy of Buddhism’s impending prosperity. The armor and helmet that Sun Wukong obtained as complementary gear after seizing the Golden Cudgel from the Dragon King of the East China Sea also serve as supporting evidence.

For instance, the Dragon King of the West China Sea presented him with a golden chain mail. Armor is a protective garment, and gold, which does not oxidize, symbolizes the eternal and unchanging True Dharma. This signifies that Sun Wukong was now safeguarded and bound by the True Dharma.

To what extent was this "truth" embodied? The Dragon King of the South China Sea brought a purple-gold phoenix-winged helmet. "Purple gold" alludes to the "violet-golden hue" of the Buddha’s physical form, while "phoenix wings" represent the ability to soar through the heavens. It implies that with the protection of the True Dharma, one is destined to ascend to the celestial realm.

What the Dragon King of the North China Sea offered is even more thought-provoking: a pair of lotus-thread cloud-stepping shoes. Note that "cloud-stepping" refers to the great Dharma of ascending to heaven, whereas "lotus thread" carries the connotation of "lingering connections even when separated, like broken lotus roots whose threads still cling". This suggests that although the True Dharma enables one to ascend and attain Buddhahood, the initial attainment is that of a "partial true Buddha", not an "ultimate Buddha". As the saying goes, "Enlightenment of the principle can be sudden, but the elimination of habitual tendencies must be gradual." Attaining enlightenment is equivalent to becoming a Buddha, yet after enlightenment, afflictions and habitual tendencies still linger—they are not completely eradicated, and one remains inextricably linked to the mortal world. This aligns with the Buddhist verse: "The subtle store-consciousness gives rise to habitual tendencies that surge like a violent torrent." To eliminate these "lotus-thread" habitual tendencies entirely, one must undergo painstaking cultivation. Is this pair of "cloud-stepping shoes" not a profound metaphor? "Shoes" are for walking, indicating that the path ahead after enlightenment is still long—Buddhist practitioners must never grow complacent!

This is precisely what Journey to the West depicts. After acquiring the Golden Cudgel and the golden armor, why did Sun Wukong neglect his cultivation and instead associate with hordes of demons and ghosts, plunging the realm into chaos with demons dancing rampant? In fact, this is easily understandable. Beginners in Buddhist practice or qigong cultivation can relate to this experience: before practicing Buddhism or qigong, one’s mind may seem uncluttered, but once one starts cultivating—intending to achieve purity—the opposite often occurs, and the mind becomes more turbulent than ever.

Why is this the case? It is not that practicing makes things worse than not practicing at all. Rather, in the past, one’s mind was coarse and unaware of its own chaos. After taking up cultivation, one’s mental awareness becomes more refined, allowing one to perceive the chaos that has always existed. The chaos was not absent before; it simply went unnoticed. This is the reason why Sun Wukong’s attainment of the Dharma was followed by a surge of demonic activity—the demons were always there; their presence merely became apparent to him at that moment.

This analogy illustrates that even when Buddhism flourishes, there remains a great deal of work to be done in eliminating habitual tendencies. Buddhist practitioners must never let their guard down!