22 The Cart Slow Kingdom

After restoring a resurrected king to his throne, Tripitaka and his disciples travel to Cart Slow Kingdom. There, Monkey discovers that Buddhists are enslaved by favored Taoist Immortals. He kills the oppressive supervisors, freeing five hundred Buddhist priests with protective magic hairs, and takes refuge at a Buddhist temple. At night, Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy sneak into the Taoist temple, throw the statues into a privy, and eat the offerings. This episode is an allegory of liberation from Saṁsāra. The enslaved priests represent sentient beings bound by the illusions of false teachings. Monkey acts as an agent of compassion using skillful means (upāya)—symbolised by his protective magic hairs—to grant refuge and hope. Throwing the Taoist statues into the privy dramatically illustrates the emptiness of material forms and false idols.