After Guanyin Bodhisattva revived the Ginseng Fruit tree, the Zhenyuan Immortal was overjoyed. He immediately brought out ten ginseng fruits for everyone to enjoy. The number “ten” symbolizes perfection, and also implies that a practitioner must be able to enter, to exit, to enlighten themselves, and to enlighten others to attain completeness.

 Nantai

Note that throughout this process, among the four members of the Tang Monk’s group, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Heshang each ate two fruits, while the Tang Monk ate only one. What does this mean? It means that the three brothers who came through the path of “Expedient Teachings” practice had to experience both “entering” and “exiting” — two tests of life and death for the seventh consciousness. They had to eat a “ginseng fruit” and also a “Grass Return Elixir”; they needed “two eatings” to achieve perfection. On the other hand, for those following the path of “Perfect Teachings” and cultivating the mind, there is no distinction between entering and exiting. “Only this mind” — entering is exiting, exiting is entering; they are non-dual. Therefore, the Tang Monk only needed “one eating.”

 

Apart from the story of the ginseng fruit at Wuzhuang Temple, there is an episode that is also quite interesting. When Sun Wukong traveled across the four seas and various islands seeking a way to revive the tree, he visited several high-profile immortals, none of whom had a remedy. Though this seems like a casual detail, it serves as a reminder that Guanyin Bodhisattva is truly the all-capable master. No matter how renowned other immortals or Taoists might be — including those in Buddhist practice who cultivate Chan but have not yet seen their true nature (the “Nine Elders” Sun Wukong finally visited refer to the nine realms: the Realm of Desire, the First Dhyana Heaven, the Second Dhyana Heaven, the Third Dhyana Heaven, the Fourth Dhyana Heaven, the Heaven of Infinite Space, the Heaven of Infinite Consciousness, the Heaven of Nothingness, and the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception) — in matters of life, death, and the path of realization, none can match the ultimate attainment of the Buddha’s teaching.

 

Setting that aside, the behavior of the Three Stars — Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity — presents another fascinating scene. These three stars represent the highest worldly aspirations. The fact that Sun Wukong could find them whenever he wished indicates that practitioners in the Expedient Teachings are aware of their own blessings and can obtain them if they seek — nothing extraordinary. As for the Tang Monk, a practitioner of the Perfect Teachings, he never had to seek at all; the Three Stars came to his aid on their own. What does that mean? It means the Perfect Teachings encompass everything — blessings, fortune, and longevity are all “obtained without seeking.” Everywhere the narrative reminds us how rare and complete the Perfect Teachings truly are.

 

Finally, before the Tang Monk and his disciples continued westward, the Zhenyuan Immortal swore brotherhood with Sun Wukong. This is not a casual detail — it represents the joining of “entering the stream” to become a sage and “leaving the stream” to save others; it is “freedom in both entering and exiting.” Zhenyuan Immortal was no longer a worldly being who merely “leaves the stream” (immortals may possess supernatural powers but without realizing their true nature, they remain ordinary beings) — he had become a sage capable of both “exiting” and “entering.” Sun Wukong, in turn, was no longer simply seeking Buddhahood for himself; he had become a Great Bodhisattva of the “Dedication Stage,” able both to “enter” for his own benefit and to “exit” to save others, thereby perfecting his merit and virtue (this is my personal reflection, not a formal prediction).

 

Included in Bodhisattva Literature. Author’s note: Personal views, for reference only. Reads 38, Ningxia.

 

The relationship between Zhenyuanzi and Patriarch Subodhi.