20 The Drowned King

A prince discovers from his mother that the king has acted strangely for three years. He learns from Monkey, a powerful disciple accompanying a Chinese priest, that an evil wizard drowned his father in a well and usurped the throne. To expose this impostor, Monkey and Pigsy sneak into the royal garden, retrieve the perfectly preserved body from a well’s dragon king, and prepare to revive him using their powers. The king’s misfortune is explained as karmic retribution; Tripitaka notes that a wrongdoing in a forgotten existence led to this destruction. Compassion is emphasized as the root of the faith, driving Tripitaka’s grief and urge to help. Saving a human life is shown as a supreme act of merit, better than to build a seven-storeyed pagoda, allowing the soul to be born again after its penance.