myths are not stories that are untrue
rather they are tales that don't fit
neatly into the historical record which
serve as a foundation to a culture on an
ancient island atop an enchanted
mountain there lived a Monkey King a
handsome monkey king he was playful he
was brave and he was a good ruler to his
monkey subjects but though he had
reached the heights of monkey greatness
and luxury he was destined to seek out
even more the secret of immortality
[Music]
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below atop the magnificent mountain of
flowers and fruit stood an enchanted
rock draped with magical mushrooms and
orchids since the dawn of creation this
magic Rock had absorbed the truth of
heaven the beauty of Earth the power of
the Sun and the mystery of the Moon then
one day the rock suddenly split open and
produced a stone egg and from that stone
egg hatched a stone monkey
this young stone monkey lived a charmed
life atop the mountain he explored its
peaks by day and had caves to sleep in
at night he ate and drank freely from
the splendid rivers and lush fruit trees
and befriended other monkeys and all
other sorts of animals one day while
playing in the water one of the other
monkey said I wonder where this water
comes from let's follow it until we find
the source coding and hollering the
troop of monkeys
clamoring up the mountain until they
found a mighty rushing waterfall then
another monkey in the group dared
everyone there to a challenge if any
monkey was brave enough to go through
the waterfall find out what was on the
other side and make it out alive they
would make him their king stone monkey
being eager for the adventure
volunteered immediately he squeezed his
eyes shut
braced himself and then lept through the
crashing waterfall with no idea what lay
on the other side he landed with a thud
and opened his eyes
he had survived but where was he he took
a moment to examine his surroundings
before him was a great iron bridge over
a mighty chasm and across the bridge
stood a magnificent great palace ready
and waiting for him filled with glee
he left back through the waterfall to
the amazement of all the other monkey's
they crowded around him and he told them
what he saw a mighty Palace with stone
rooms bowls of food plates and even beds
with room enough for a thousand monkeys
upon hearing all of this the entire
monkey band douve through the waterfall
to see for themselves upon landing they
rushed across the bridge and immediately
began wreaking havoc I mean they were
monkeys after all they grabbed plates
snatched bowls through food and fought
over who got which bed but amidst this
silly chaos stone monkey sat himself
down in the throne at the center of the
house and cleared his throat
the monkey stopped their mischief and
paid attention well he began you
promised whoever jumped through the
waterfall and survived would be your
king I mean I not only did that but I
found you this place as well huh
so can anyone explain why I'm not King
yet a little frightened now of their
fearless impulsive leader they dared not
go back on their word
so they bowed before him and proclaimed
he was to be great king of a thousand
years for his first official decree The
Monkey King declared that he would no
longer be known as stone monkey but
instead as handsome monkey king now that
is a proclamation I can get behind
for years handsome monkey king ruled
over all of the monkeys apes and Gibbons
in the water curtain cave governing them
and giving them titles and ranks as he
saw fit and it went on like this for
hundreds of years but after a while
handsome monkey king became depressed
sure life was fun now but what about the
future nothing lasts forever after all
what was going to happen when they got
old and died now none of the other
monkeys had ever thought about their own
monkey mortality before so upon handsome
monkey king relaying these thoughts they
all became depressed but then a Gibbon
had an idea what everyone dies the
Buddhist sages
mortals lived forever though they do
live in the human world handsome monkey
king cheered up instantly tomorrow then
I'll leave you all and go find these
beings and I won't return until I've
learned their secrets and find a way for
all of us to live forever the next day
the monkeys held a great feast then they
made the handsome monkey king a raft out
of pine trees and he set out on his
journey the winds were favourable and
for many days and nights they carried
him along until at last he finally
reached land he jumped up his raft and
saw humans for the first time fishing
and gathering clamps excitedly he ran up
to greet them but being that he was a
big monkey barreling toward them they
got real spooked and ran away as fast as
they could
dropping their nets and baskets but then
the Monkey King caught up to one
particularly slow person and stole all
his clothes in an attempt to look more
human kalasa k-- Terminator 2 approach
respect he spent several days after
perfecting human speech walking on two
feet and wandering the land asking
everyone he met about the Buddha's
immortals and sages but he was
disappointed to find that most humans
were more concerned with everyday things
like fame and fortune and not at all
concerned about their mortality for 10
years he wandered this land from one
coast to the other but found no
immortals frustrated he then built a
raft just like before and said to
himself surely across this ocean I will
find the secret to everlasting life
after many days of sailing he finally
spotted a high and beautiful mountain
and upon landing there he overheard
someone singing a song about the
immortals he knew he must be close the
handsome monkey king skipped along the
mountain path until he came to a great
cave yeah this had to be the place but
the doors were shut fast and he did not
dare knock cuz you know knocking might
interrupt the immortals and it's not
like they had the rest of eternity to
finish whatever they were doing or
anything so best not to be rude
instead he sat in a tree munching on
pinecones until eventually the doors to
the cave opened and someone emerged he
looked like a young boy but
the nobility of his bearing and the
purity of his features made it clear
that he was definitely an immortal the
handsome monkey king dropped his
pinecone and swung down from the tree
announcing that he had come to be a
disciple the boy smiled and invited the
handsome monkey king inside for you see
his master had been expecting him
the cave was filled with majestic
pavilions and towers of red Jade with
gates made of seashells and halls of
secluded rooms all leading to the dais
where the master sat as the handsome
monkey king bowed before him the master
asked what is your name and where do you
come from
when handsome monkey king told him that
he had come from the water curtain cave
on the mountain of flowers and fruit all
the way back on the Eastern continent
the master refused to believe him
because it was very hard to believe that
anyone could have come from two oceans
and a continent away but handsome monkey
king would not be dissuaded he told the
master tales of how he had built rafts
and sailed the oceans and then wandered
the lands for years before it last
finding the immortal the master was
impressed by his tale and proceeded to
ask what his surname was but the
handsome monkey king just looked at him
confused what he's a surname the master
clarified what name did you get from
your parents The Monkey King then
explained that he didn't have parents
and all that he remembered from his
birth was the great stone egg concealing
his delight the master realized that
this monkey was magical in origin and
agreed to teach him on the spot but if
the handsome monkey king was to study he
needed a name so the master bestowed
upon him the name Sun Wukong
now did sun wukong ever discover the
secret of immortality well to find out
you'll have to come back to the campfire
next time whoa but don't spoil it for
the mortals once again thank you so much
to our sponsor for this episode
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[Applause]
[Music]