The Truth Behind the Loan of the Ruyi Jingu Bang: Yu’s Reincarnation
This is an incarnation story of Yu Menglong that he shared with us himself, through one of his secondary souls.
The truth about the dark industrial chain is too heavy, and the matter of the new universe key is rather serious — so Yu Menglong shared some amusing and lighthearted stories about the experiences of his Secondary Souls across their cycles of reincarnation, so that everyone's emotions and spirit would not be under prolonged strain. Yu wanted everyone to guess which role he played in these stories, with the answer to be revealed at the end.
Yu told Yu En that Journey to the West — one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, written in the mid-16th century during the Ming Dynasty — was actually based on real events. For those unfamiliar with the story: it follows a Buddhist monk named Tang Sanzang (also known as Tripitaka) on a legendary pilgrimage from China to India to retrieve sacred scriptures. He is accompanied by three disciples: Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, a powerful and mischievous immortal with magical abilities; Zhu Wuneng (also called Bajie or Pigsy), a pig-like figure who struggles with earthly desires; and Sha Wujing (also called Sandy), a quiet and steadfast water demon turned monk. Together they battle demons and overcome eighty-one tribulations along the way.
Yu explained that this was not merely a work of fiction, but the story of a real cultivator — someone on a spiritual path of self-refinement — facing genuine hardships and elevating his moral character. The author Wu Cheng'en took this cultivator's story and divided his inner journey and character development into these four figures, each representing a different aspect of spiritual growth.
These four characters represent the stages of a cultivator's moral elevation: first one must "Wu Jing" (awaken to purity), then "Wu Neng" (awaken to ability), then "Wu Kong" (awaken to emptiness), and finally become "Sanzang" — achieving the fullness of wisdom — before attaining true enlightenment. This is the complete path of cultivation.
Yu therefore says that the Ruyi Jingu Bang — the legendary weapon at the heart of this next story — was in fact borrowed by a real cultivator. Western readers may recognize it as the magical staff wielded by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, in Journey to the West. In the novel, it is described as an immense divine pillar that once stabilized the seas, capable of shrinking to the size of a sewing needle and expanding to reach the heavens. Sun Wukong discovers it in the underwater palace of the Dragon King of the East Sea and takes it as his weapon. But according to Yu, the true origin of how this staff came to leave the Dragon Palace is a story quite different from what the novel describes — and far more moving.
At that time, the East Sea Dragon Palace was presided over by two dragon deities: a Main Deity and a Deputy Deity who assisted the Main Deity. Because the Main Deity was the greatest of the dragon gods (the Sea Dragon King), the Deputy Deity always deferred to him, working alongside the Main Deity both in the heavens and beneath the sea.
Of course, there were many more dragon deities than just these two. Every place where water existed — mountains and rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, snow, and mist — had dragon deities standing guard. The Dragon King's role was to receive the will from above (the edicts of the Jade Emperor) and to formulate policy, deciding all matters great and small for the dragon clan.
One day, a cultivator used his spiritual powers to project his Secondary Soul out of his body and traveled to the bottom of the sea to visit the East Sea Dragon Palace. He explained that in the human world, the number of people with genuine faith in the divine had dwindled, while demons and evil spirits ran rampant, possessing humans and causing harm — gravely affecting people's righteous faith and cultivation.
This cultivator had not acted on a hot-headed impulse to do something grand. Rather, he had been continually pestered by someone who practiced the same cultivation method, being asked to do this and that — all things unrelated to cultivation.
Using his spiritual abilities to investigate, he discovered that this person had been possessed by a demonic entity seeking to corrupt the cultivator's moral character and turn him away from righteous faith in the divine toward belief in demons. Upon seeing this, the cultivator was alarmed. Ancient cultivators possessed powerful spiritual abilities, and he used them to try to cleanse the demonic entity, hoping to guide this person back to the right path.
But for some reason, he was never able to fully eliminate the demon.
One night while sleeping, a divine being showed this cultivator a vision: his cultivation method had inherent limitations. Even if he cultivated to the point of gaining spiritual powers, those powers would never be strong enough to vanquish demons.
This was because the universe is structured in layers, from top to bottom — each cultivation method occupies its own layer, and demonic power too exists in layers. The layer this cultivator's method reached was insufficient to eliminate demons from a higher layer. The only way past this limitation was to cultivate a method of a higher level.
But the cultivator had practiced this method for so long that many of his concepts had become fixed. To ask him to switch to a higher-level method and begin again was no easy transformation.
Yu En could deeply relate to this. As a child, Yu En had followed the adults in her life in practicing Christianity. Then one day as an adult, she had a dream in which a divine being instructed her to change her faith to Falun Dafa.
After waking, Yu En had to go to work. While riding her scooter and waiting at a red light, she looked up and saw a large display board bearing the words "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." For Yu En, whose beliefs had long been set, this was extraordinary to behold.
It was not until ten years later that Yu En truly entered the practice of Falun Dafa. If changing the mindset of an ordinary person like Yu En was already so difficult, how much harder must it be to change the mindset of someone who had cultivated for many years?
In the dream, the divine being instructed the cultivator that if he was willing, he could shift his faith to the dragon deities, and by following the dragon clan's cultivation method, he would receive the protection of the dragon clan — for the dragon clan is a divine race of extremely high level and formidable power, capable of helping cultivators vanquish demons.
Of course, the ultimate purpose of cultivation is to elevate one's moral character and ultimately achieve enlightenment and attain a divine position. But when obstacles arise along the path of cultivation, the dragon clan's powerful spiritual abilities can be called upon to clear them away.
This cultivator had excellent spiritual roots and strong comprehension. He recognized that his long-practiced method had reached its ceiling — there was nowhere further to go — and so, following the divine being's guidance, he transitioned to a Taoist method of the dragon deity tradition.
The dragon deity's Taoist method required the practice of still meditation: sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, hands forming a specific mudra. The cultivator entered a deep meditative state quickly.
Because he had previously practiced other righteous methods, his Secondary Soul had reached a high level. Whenever he sat in still meditation with hands in the mudra, his Secondary Soul could leave his physical body.
On this particular day, the cultivator's Secondary Soul passed through the ocean waters and arrived at the East Sea Dragon Palace, stating that he needed a spiritual instrument of the dragon clan to vanquish demons, for he had encountered demonic obstacles in his cultivation.
In addition to cultivators being possessed by demons, there were also demons who had taken human form to seduce cultivators.
Not long before, a young female devotee had come to stay at the monastery of the dragon clan's cultivators.
In ancient times, among cultivators of all methods, the vast majority were male, though a small number were female. To prevent the arising of attachments, they were generally not permitted to marry, and men and women practiced and lived separately.
There were exceptions, of course — men or women who had already married before entering a cultivation method. Even so, they were required to cultivate the heart and sever desire, cutting off past emotional ties in order to cultivate wholeheartedly.
Yet into this male cultivation space, a young and beautiful woman suddenly arrived seeking lodging, causing quite a stir. Some cultivators who could not hold firm to their moral character grew curious about the woman and began engaging her in conversation, even disturbing her rest.
Some of the more morally steadfast cultivators verbally advised the woman not to remain here and to instead move to a cultivation space designated for female members of the dragon deity tradition. Yet this woman showed no concern, displayed no intention of leaving, and instead smiled coyly, casting flirtatious glances, seducing the men of the monastery and gravely disrupting the peace of the place and the cultivation of its residents.
Our protagonist cultivator, upon entering deep meditation, discovered that this young woman who had come to lodge there was in fact a demon in disguise.
He used his spiritual powers to try to eliminate the demon, but without a powerful spiritual instrument to amplify his abilities, he found himself at a disadvantage in every confrontation. Fortunately, under the protection of the dragon deities, neither his body nor his cultivation was depleted.
Then one night, the cultivator dreamed of a divine being again — one whose entire form was enveloped in a powerful golden radiance, features impossible to discern. The divine being indicated to him that he should go to the East Sea Dragon Palace and borrow a spiritual instrument: one that could expand and contract, growing large enough to reach the heavens, and shrinking small enough to bore through the earth. This instrument could drive away the evil entity in the monastery and even eliminate demons invading the human world.
And so the cultivator, in meditation, projected his Secondary Soul and traveled to the East Sea Dragon Palace. Upon hearing of his dream and his request to borrow the instrument, the Dragon King was greatly astonished, and instructed the Deputy Deity to send the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to bring forth all manner of weapons.
To everyone's surprise, none of these weapons could extend or contract. The cultivator asked whether there was a more powerful instrument. The Dragon King stroked his long beard and shook his head. But at that moment, the Deputy Deity stepped forward and whispered to the Dragon King that there was indeed one more powerful weapon in the palace that could be lent to the cultivator to vanquish demons in the human world.
It turned out this weapon was a golden dragon pillar from within the Dragon Palace — also known as the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle. It was an extraordinary weapon that could extend and contract: at full extension it could serve as a pillar supporting the sea floor, and when contracted it could become finer than the tip of a needle. The Dragon King naturally knew of this weapon, but he shook his head and refused to lend it.
Why? Because this Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle was the supporting pillar of the sea floor. If the cultivator took it away, finding a replacement pillar of equal power would be nearly impossible. And without its pillar, the sea floor would be left defenseless and unable to withstand calamity or upheaval, leaving the Dragon Palace unprotected.
The Deputy Deity stepped forward and appealed to the Dragon King to lend the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle to the cultivator, for in the human world, those who believed in the righteous path were fewer and fewer, and with demons turning the age to chaos, the pillars supporting the human world were on the verge of collapse. The Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle could help righteous cultivators clear away evil and restore people's hearts to the right path.
The Dragon King of course understood what the Deputy Deity meant, but he wished only to manage the affairs of the sea. The affairs of the human world were not his concern, nor did he have the time for them. Even if the pillars upholding the human world crumbled and countless people perished, it had nothing to do with the affairs of the sea floor.
The cultivator understood that the Dragon King's answer was effectively a refusal to lend the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle. He told the Deputy Deity that he would have to seek another way. Time was running short — he was nearly coming out of his meditative state, and his Secondary Soul had to return to his body. For his previous method of cultivation had been focused on cultivating the Secondary Soul, and if the Secondary Soul could not return, and the Main Soul did not know how to cultivate (or chose not to), he would be unable to achieve enlightenment.
The Deputy Deity was deeply anxious. He knew that once the cultivator's Secondary Soul returned to the body, there was no telling when it might leave again. Moreover, the situation in the human world — overrun and occupied by demons — had become extremely dire. He appealed to the Dragon King once more.
The Deputy Deity knelt before the Dragon King: "Your Majesty, if the Dragon Palace loses the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle, the sea floor will instantly lose its pillar and invite danger. Therefore — would Your Majesty permit this humble one to gather all his power and transform into that pillar, so that Your Majesty may lend the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle?"
The Dragon King was furious and rebuked the Deputy Deity: "Outrageous! Do you know that transforming into a dragon pillar means losing your freedom — being trapped in the Dragon Palace forever?!" The Deputy Deity shed tears — tears of compassion for a human world on the brink of destruction: "This humble one understands. But if this is not done, once the pillars supporting the human world fall, humanity will face annihilation. This humble one cannot bear it. I beg Your Majesty's consent."
All the living beings in the sea — including the shrimp soldiers and crab generals — upon hearing this, knelt as one and cried out: "We beg Your Majesty's consent!"
The Dragon King furrowed his brow. "You… you are all putting this deity in a most difficult position!" The Deputy Deity remained kneeling, continuing to beseech the Dragon King. "We beg Your Majesty's consent!" The sea of beings kneeling behind him echoed the call: "We beg Your Majesty's consent!"
In the end, the Dragon King could not hold out against the Deputy Deity and the living beings of the sea, and reluctantly agreed to lend the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle — but said he must first ascend to the Heavenly Palace to report the matter to the Jade Emperor.
Yu En asked Yu why it had to be so complicated. Was the Dragon King not the greatest dragon deity of the sea? Why could he not decide the matter himself? Yu said: well, the Jade Emperor was the Dragon King's superior — a decision of this magnitude required the approval of one's superior before it could be carried out.
Before long, the Dragon King returned from the Heavenly Palace to the sea floor and informed everyone that the Jade Emperor, upon hearing of the matter, had consented to lending the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle to the cultivator for the purpose of vanquishing demons. With a wave of the Dragon King's great hand, the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle shrank smaller and smaller, and was handed by the Deputy Deity to the cultivator to take back to the human world.
The Deputy Deity had by now prepared himself to transform into a dragon pillar and stand eternally within the Dragon Palace. He bowed in gratitude to the Main Deity, rose to his feet, and gathered all his power into a beam of golden light.
But then, unexpectedly, the Dragon King suddenly produced from his sleeve a wooden stick no larger than a toothpick, blew upon it with a single breath, and the stick stretched longer and longer, until it became a full dragon pillar standing upright in the very spot where the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle had been.
"Deputy Deity, hear this decree!" The Dragon King smiled warmly and produced an imperial edict. "Your compassionate spirit has moved heaven and earth, and you have passed the test set by the Main Deity. The Jade Emperor has specially commended you and hereby promotes you to become the new Dragon King of the East Sea!"
The Main Deity, laughing heartily, handed the edict to the Deputy Deity. "This deity is now heading back to the Heavenly Court — this position is yours!" With a whoosh, the Main Deity flew away in high spirits, leaving behind the Deputy Deity — still kneeling on the ground, utterly bewildered... but no, now he was the Main Deity, the Dragon King!
Yu En found the whole thing rather baffling and asked Yu: "Wait — what just happened?" Yu explained that this entire episode of the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle had been the Main Deity's test for the Deputy Deity and the living beings of the sea. Had the Deputy Deity also refused to lend the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle, he would not have possessed the qualities befitting a Sea Dragon King: compassion, kindness, tolerance, the ability to discern good from evil, the courage to speak up to one's superior, and the capacity for leadership.
"Surely your past life was that Deputy Deity?" Yu En asked curiously. "And who was the Main Deity in a past life? Is it someone I know?" Yu simply smiled and said: "Why don't you guess?"
As for the cultivator who had borrowed the Divine Sea-Stabilizing Needle — he did indeed use that spiritual instrument to vanquish demons and reinforce the pillars of the mortal world. The people of the human world were thereby kept safe, and cultivators were able to strengthen their righteous faith and elevate their cultivation.