Torsten Hewson
patreon
World of Beware of Chicken: Chun Ke's actions in v5c67: This Too Shall Pass
🕑 Added 2024-12-01 21:13:42 +0000 UTCOn What Chun Ke did in “This too Shall Pass”
During the Chow Ji fight, Chun Ke was nearly killed—and his soul partially separated from his body. He drifted in and out of this death-like state for a while, travelling the Spirit World, and absorbing thoughts and ideas from the Sea Between Worlds.
He was effectively enlightened here, and while enlightened, he received a choice. His virtuous and pure soul could transcend his body, and he could become a Buddha.
Chun Ke considered this, of wholly separating himself from his earthly desires. He would fly free.
However, ask Chunky gazed upon the world He realized that while he would be pure, he would not understand. He would leave behind somebody who loved him, without understanding the depths of that love himself.
Thus, Chun Ke committed himself to returning to the impure world. He willingly chose the path of suffering, so that he would truly and genuinely understand—and perhaps alleviate some of the suffering himself. So he bound himself in Tianlan's curious, grasping golden tendrils, and took on her suffering, in his bid to help her.
It was unimaginable agony. Yet Chun Ke stood stalwart, a helping hand, as Pi Pa helped him, as the others helped him.
Through This bond, through Tianlan getting better, through learning he fell in love with the world and made an oath to not fly free like he had. He made Himself a servant to Tianlan, a guide, a protector.
Thus did Chun Ke, knowing full well what Nirvana was, willingly turn and remain, to suffer and to live, never in defiance of either the heavens or the earth.
The heavens recorded this oath.
Now, what Chun Ke did in this chapter is he needed to ask. He needed permission to change, to see if the change alligned with his oaths.. If he could not, that meant that he could not make his wife happy, and to him, that was not a path worth following. Peppa would give up everything she had for him. What sort of man would he be if he did not do the same?
If it hadn't been Chun Ke would have gotten the worst tribulation lightning imaginable for breaking an oath with heaven.
So, Chun Ke went to petition. And the best place to petition is where the Heavens meet the earth. Mount Tai.
Now Mount Tai is more metaphysical in BOC than anything, but if one meditates, and casts their spirit out, they will be able to see the mountain, far off in the distance. It's impossible to miss if you look for it, and is often the first thing a cultivator sees when they “truly” meditate.
In Boc not being able to see mount Tai is a twofold insult. The first is “lol how do you miss a mountain” and “if you cant see mount Tai, then obviously you’re not a cultivator/you’re destined to never reach the heavens.”
Getting there however, is basically impossible. The journey again, is metaphysical. The more you want to get there the longer it takes, and the greater the obstacles become.
Chun Ke simply didn't care how long it took, and enjoyed the scenery the entire way. So his journey lasted forever, but at the same time, no time at all.
He set foot upon the mountain, and all his sins and deeds were weighed. His conviction Tested. Chun Ke strode through it all.without missing a step, because his deeds and actions were pure.
He stepped onto the summit… and then did the equivalent of knocking on the celestial bureaucracy’s door and handing them a petition, while he waited for their answer.
He was again judged, his oaths examined, His nature deliberated on… And his petition was accepted.
Chun Ke thanked them and left.
================
=========
A bit of lore to start the break!
Comments
D J Meigs
If you go to the membership tab there’s a link to the discord there.
Mrtotoro
Discord link pls
Hoobs2
Chun Ke the bodhisattva
Harish
Chun Ke was not born enlightened. If you read the early paragraphs again, it is stated that Chun Ke's spirit wandered the Sea Between Worlds. While a timeline is not stated, considering the metaphysical nature of the Spiritual World, it is likely that Chun Ke spent a considerable amount of time there before he achieved englightenment AND THEN TURNED AWAY FROM IT to return for Peppa and Tianlan and the rest of his family, to help alleviate their suffering. I believe the idea of "You must know suffering to know Nirvana" is quite cliche. In many ways, children with little knowledge of the world are far more likely to reach Nirvana than the grown-ups who have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Because the latter entangle themselves in a hundred different complexities while the former truly the ability to live in the present without letting a hundred things bog them down.
Harish
Pretty sure they would believe that Buddha himself had descended onto the mortal world to show them how Nirvana really works.
Akki
I want Chunky to meet the Buddhist-type cultivators that Gramps mentioned. That would be an interesting meeting.
Akki
Shaggy 2 wants to object to this but cannot, since he is a good boy.
Guy L.
Not so much defying the heavens, as checking in with them to see if everything's cool.
BelligerentGnu
For my part, I didn't even know the term, but it was clear to me that that was what Chunky was. Someone who'd achieved nirvana on earth.
Michael Beard
Thars the vibe i got... but ive also read that the Empire is huge.... so maybe? Maybe not? Or..... are ALL mountains in BOC a potential physical representation of Mount Tai?
Xander Williams
Chunk, according to the lore, is in fact the goodest boy there can be.
Longhaul
Woops to much Dragon ball and to many years since journey to the west lol
ABTelford
Love this! This should be added as a footnote to the novel with a “footnote” asterisk at the end of the chapter where Chunke asks “please”. As written b this info doesn’t fit into the book in its chapters but I LOVE the info given. Thx!😀
N0ct3m
Kinda touched on when Gramps first saw Chun Ke, commented on how he was absolutely at peace with world
Nicholas Tran
Does anyone else realize his choices or are these all in the background? Is anyone able to see the greatness he was offered or are they just happy that he lives?
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
matthew gilley
That would be AMAZING
matthew gilley
I always assumed he was somehow bonded with Jin or got the missing fragments of his sole or something since he knew English puns. I didn't realize he knew ALL the worlds
Umut Numanoglu
Honestly I think they will get so strong very soon that there will not be a thing to kill them. In cultivation every stage you get your life expectancy increases. Also their strength. Jin has a limit as he is earth-bound but it shouldn't apply to others and I think in the end even if he can't ascend with the whole farm, his life expectancy will be as long as the world exists, so it is not something that will happen easily.
D. Hymas
I'm not even sure what you're trying to say. My point is that being karmically pure only has meaning when it's a choice. I feel like, narratively, it's more meaningful for a character to make choices that lead to an outcome, not just be born a particular way
Harish
ROFL!!! Only Chun Ke boy can make the impossible come true
giann flroesca
the absolute gigachunk himself. imagine ACTUALLY ASCENDING not once but twice (since he basically reached Buddahood AND the metaphysical peak of mount tai that cultivators strive to reach) then saying...nah fam I'm good, my wifey is waiting for me. bro literally reached the peak of 2 different religions and said k thnx byeeee.
Maks
Brother Chun Ke is truly based
StarBat
What weight do you give purity? Pure is pure. Adding weight is impure.
Alex
@Longhaul Technically it's Sun Wukong, not Son Goku, but I'll allow it.
MatrixM
I think the only thing was Chunky knowing English and the references. But I and others just assumed he was like Jin, transmigrated from Earth when Chow Ji attacked him, it doesn't really hint at 'bodhisatva'
MatrixM
This should definitely be explained in the main text, I think. Idk where or how, though.
MatrixM
I think Spirit Beasts might be born with an instinctual kind of morality. Like Tigger was a violent and arrogant cat as soon as she was aware.
Longhaul
This is kind of how it is in the original journey to the west. It's piss easy to become "just" an immortal. The real goal is to become enlightend. Son Goku was a violent dumbass and so he was punished, thus was the prolouge of the story.
MatrixM
Ohhh so Chunky wasn't reincarnated from Earth, he just knows of every world after he was almost killed.
Ryan Kaiser
Too pure
Lonnie
There's another reason that everyone loves Chun ke.
Emily Gurnavage
Yay
Nick Brakhage
Thanks for explaining the you cant see mt tai insult. I always took it just as the you cannot see a mountain so you're blind aspect
Pope Yoda I
If you're serious, and your head actually is so far up your own ass that you feel duty-bound to lecture people on the internet, I genuinely despair for anyone who is forced to interact with you in real life.
Southmonk
If it follows the standard Chinese lore where there's a heavenly bureaucracy, there's also a hell bureaucracy so soul goes to hell, queues and gets judged by one of the judges of hell, then for heavy sinners they suffer in hell first to cleanse their karma while most people get sent to reincarnation. Cross the bridge, get forced to drink grandma mengpo soup to forget previous life, then get sent back to the living world to be reborn whether as human insect animal etc depending on your previous karma.
Just A Dude
If that's seriously your takeaway from this, and not just a joke, then I'm sad for you and hope you will one day grow enough to understand what actually happened.
Just A Dude
So Chunkyboy really is a Bodhisattva. Well dang.
Akki
Man, I would love a POV from a Celestial bureaucrat as Chun Ke made his petition.
Zeromaru2
I wanna imagine when the Celestial bureaucracy got his petition they went: "Why can't more cultivators do this? Why does everyone of them have to break down our doors when you can just knock smh"
Laura Hemly
Thanks for the very helpful lore, CF. I'm far more familiar with the Hindu spiritual world, so had kind of guessed that at some point Chun Ke had left in spirit and learned about other worlds, but I really had no understanding of the whole Chinese system. It's been thoroughly obvious that Chun Ke is a bodhisatva, but I hadn't realized it was a result of Chow Ji. As a perfect half of a perfect couple, I assumed his continued earthly existence was based on his and Pi Pa's shared love. So learning he came back for Tianlan surprised me. I know he's helped her out and I'm sure she knows his spirit had wandered, but it's nice to learn *why* he's her constant friend. I agree that a lore chapter about Chun Ke and Pi Pa, as well as his relationship with Tianlan, would be a terrific addition to the story. I hope you add it because you did a great job here of explaining SO clearly and thoroughly!
Old Dog
Thank you for the lore. Pity people who are part of Patreon don't get this. Could it be put in the the book you just finished as an addendum?
Laura Hemly
Kind of like Lu Ri's shock at Jun following the Founders' departure provisions, which was also rare.
Road Trips
I love this background. It would be awesome if it could be incorporated into a chapter. Either a future chapter or an additional epilogue could work. It could be like the Tainlan perspective chapter from the first book that goes back and revisits some of the previous scenes from Chunky’s perspective (or someone from the Celestial bureaucracy if that isn’t too over the top). Just a thought. I love the background. Thank you for posting it!
D. Hymas
How long had Chunky been awakened when he fought Chow Ji though? He was less than a year old if my memory serves. It's hardly a feat for a baby to be pure; all children are pure in the karmic sense. It takes time and effort to cultivate evil. I get what your going for, but the whole Enlightenment angle makes far more sense if you extend it over more time.
jord
I'd like to think the poor guy who's in charge of receiving petitions was equal parts delighted and confused. "Finally, someone who's just asking nicely, oh it's for his wife? Okay let's take a look at his records," *Opens Chunky's scroll* *Glowing golden light bursts from the page with an accompanying angelic choir* "Ok, I think we're good here, and what's his petition? To have a human form so 'wife be happy'... wait what's his current form? He's a pig... A pig... Became a Bodhisattva... " *Processing implications* "Yeah, I'm just going to log this under 'minor corrections' and pretend this didn't happen."
Elijah Overland
Bodhisattva Chu-ke so based
Alex Rahr
Providing you are a blameless supplicant who can take an infinitely long journey without signposts. It's a step past putting the plans in a disused basement toilet marked "Beware of the Leopard" IMO.
Havefeith
Chunky is definitely a good boy. I hope this actually gets out to Jin/Chunky's whole family, so he and his family can celebrate with him. Because if the Celestial Beauracracy approves of you... you're bound for a wonderful afterlife/reincarnation when it comes your time. My hope is that he and Peppa are now considered bound together, so she can't die before he does. And considering he's bound himself to Tianlan, he's gonna live for a long time. So his oath is twofold, in a sense, live for Peppa, and live to help Tianlan understand human feelings again. So if Peppa dies before he does, part of his oath to the Beauracracy is broken. So, yeah, I hope for both their sakes, their lives are tied together. Although... this now puts a whole new meaning to "when pigs fly", eh?
FreakShow
Shieeeet! Chunky really said “those guys ain’t never escaping samsara.” And then went back to help.
Alex Rahr
Cool. I had not guessed this, or my interpretations of what was happening were wrong.
Beggar of Freedom
Divines bless your kind heart!
Chuck Haeberle
Book ain't published yet. Could do a fair bit of rework to give it more support through the other events.
Chuck Haeberle
It probably would help if I knew more about this genre in general. My perspective is from one who doesn't know anything about this type of story. I had similar reactions to the carp/waterfall thing though I felt CF did a little better expressing that it *had* a foundation and I just didn't know it.
BelligerentGnu
Agree to disagree. The shape of it has been hinted since Chao Ji.
Hound
And let us not forget.....he remembered to bring pants.
Patanahi
Thanks for the lore CF !
Chuck Haeberle
This is a fair bit of directly relevant lore to shoehorn in after the fact. I like it, don't get me wrong, but it's right out of left field imo.
ItWasIDIO!!
This is good lore dump we love it but... now we live in a world without you writing this out on the side more in depth 😢
BelligerentGnu
There's always lore that doesn't make it into the story. This is all completely consistent with what's been written - in particular, it explains Chunky's 'distant' episodes where he wrestled with unknown torments.
The Grey Mage
Wait, so he’s literally a Bodhisatva? Ksitigarbha style?
Synova Vitale
O!! My heart!! I want to give him all the hugs and scratches.
Cranky Otter
awww
Chuck Haeberle
It's a nice backstory with absolutely nothing that leads up to it anywhere.
WannaBeATree
Reminds me of some real word bureaucrats who don't want to do any work, so they make the applicant go through dozens of hoops. Not sure what it says about them to have the hoops take infinity and be potentially deadly.
Daniel Mountain
A feat beyond imagining, only accomplishable by those utterly without ambition. Chunky-boy earned his human shape in the most awesome way possible.
Jesper
Chunky is a bodhisattva?
Rockinalice
Man the Celestial Bureaucracy must have been so happy that someone followed the proper Procedure with Paperwork finally
Joseph Snyder
I believe it would be best to reright this and put in the book. It is great information and really strikes home his willpower. You could formulate it as the celestial bureaucracy writing the information and background of his petition so that they may record their deliberations. Just a chapter.
Bryan
Question about Chunky. Do his oaths align with the Path of Shennong?
leopard eye
He did not strive for royalty thus achieved it rather easily.
WarStrider72
Huh, so there's no physical Mount Tai in BOC?
Aki_Iokua18
Thanks for the lore. If you feel like answering, I have a question about souls in the BoC universe. Perhaps it’s my lack of knowledge regarding Chinese mythology, but, if they neither are consigned to the Hells or are able to ascend to the Heavens, what happens to a person’s soul after they die? Are they recycled like some sort of reincarnation cycle, or does the soul just sort of disperse out into the world and disappear? Again, feel free to ignore me, or just say it’s not something you’ve thought about and don’t really have any answers. It’s just a thought that came to me.
Red Viking
Chunky out gere walking the true path of enlightenment, heading for uber-nirvana.
WarStrider72
Oh side story! Thanks so much boss!
mhaj58
Please don’t end this here. At the very least we need to know about Yulong and Meis bloodline and how the heavenly demons came to exist. And why Jin was the first one to notice them in the empire
Silvris
Chunky acting in the one way that the heavens actually approve of. Instead of presuming that he had any right to anything, he went and did the actual proper steps to inform heaven of his intentions and waited for their answer, likely ready to request guidance if it was rejected in order to earn the right to what he petitioned for. Being Chunky, he already fulfilled everything needed without compromising his heavens-bound oaths.
this will work
This was a really good and needed explanation because I didn't really understand how he was so mystical now I know thank you
Pope Yoda I
Booty > Enlightenment
Angel
Love this so much, thank you for all the happy feels! It makes sense now how he seems to know Jin is from Before, knows his language, etc.
jeis final
Too pick
Michael Beard
Ok... thank you I was wondering how he knew who sailor moon was... and the Chunky Mountain joke in book 2
Deathlokke
This was an absolutely beautiful write-up. Thanks CF!
Andrew Denton
Witness the power of heaven, that even their bureaucracy is responsive and efficient!
Rene Christensen
That is awesome.
jeffrey niski
Hey god. Id like to become human so my wife can be happy and we can have babies. Are you cool with that?
Menthewarp
Finally, Love me some good lore and clear answers!!! 💕
tim
Casualfarmer and not actually taking a break. Name a more iconic duo. Thanks and enjoy the holidays! And the upcoming maple season
Sean Ulrich
Once again. Chunky is best boi
