Why great sage monkey?

Monkey is an archetypal character from a chinese folk tale. The stories of his adventures are known under several names, such as 'Journey to the West,' 'The Monkey King,' and 'Monkey Magic.' The archetype is probably the same as Hanuman from the Ramayana (also a god in the Hindu pantheon.)

Monkey has a number of interesting characteristics: he can fly, change shape, and he keeps a needle behind his ear which changes into a huge iron cudgel. Using these powers, Monkey fights dragons, demons and monsters. He also gets into trouble with various immortals: after stealing Lao Tzu's elixir of immortality and escaping unpunished, Buddha catches up with him and challenges his powers. The Buddha tells Monkey that if he can jump off the palm of his hand, he will give Monkey a throne in paradise. Monkey leaps with all his strength, and lands among 5 pillars. Monkey, thinking he has succeeded, signs his name at the base of one of the pillars and leaps back to where he had come from. Buddha then shows him his signature, written in tiny letters at the bottom of his finger. Buddha imprisons Monkey in a mountain for 500 years, his body completely encased in stone except for his head and one paw.

A young Buddhist monk eventually frees him, and he begins his long journey to India. This journey includes the young monk, a dragon and a pig-monster. Their goal is to return to China with valuable sutras, and the tales end with Monkey reaching enlightenment.

We like Monkey because he is brilliant, impetuous, irreverent, and very stubborn. In spite of these qualities, Monkey eventually learns to be at peace with himself and his surroundings, without wreaking havoc everywhere he goes. Also, Monkey learns that even monsters and demons have reasons for being the way they are (often they are condemned because they made a mistake while serving the immortals in heaven, i.e. accidentally breaking a sacred wine glass). The characters are very complex. Through these Buddhist parables, we can see how we can value our own extraordinary qualities while not disturbing others or the course of nature.