The distance between us

Monkey Magic as an analogy for working together

Did you ever watch a Japanese TV series called Monkey or Saiyuki when you were a child?

Here in Australia, we nicknamed it Monkey Magic. If you did see it then perhaps you remember characters including a greedy pig-monster, an intellectually pretentious fish-spirit, and the titular character of a cheeky, brave, violent but lovable monkey-god. They were accompanying a delicate Buddhist priest – as a sort of semi-divine bodyguard - on a mission to fetch scriptures that had the power to save the souls of humankind.

The episodes of the show contained a dynamic mixture of slapstick, action, and fantasy that was bookended by rather lyrical snatches of Buddhist philosophy. In one episode, the narrator states that “Identity is the distance between us” as part of an introduction to an episode about shapeshifting monsters.

And this is why I am rewatching Monkey on DVD today. Behind the goofy plots about demon-bashing lie snippets of something deeper; like many myths and fairytales, Monkey contains some salient truths about the human condition that can be applied to current life.

As the characters of Monkey wend their way on an epic journey they are forced to endure each other’s company under adverse conditions. Under pressure from fatigue, a mendicant lifestyle, and the ever-present demons and monsters who want to catch and eat the priest, the characters bicker, joke, shun, embrace, betray, and rescue each other.

Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy are always boasting about how great they once were – former guardian angels or “The Great Sage Equal of Heaven” – and bemoan their fall from heaven and what they have become: They are now the novices and “nursemaids” of a young priest, and they have to sleep on the ground and beg for their food. Their priestly master also demands changes of behaviour – no killing, no flirting, and the embracing of vegetarianism as an alternative to eating people. Monkey, once leader of a nation of monkeys in The Kingdom of Fruit and Flowers, finds submitting to a “holy fool” to be particularly onerous but, during the journey, finds a growing affection for his master and comrades.

As the journey proceeds, these characters find that their initial sense of identity is assailed. Their mission demands things that they hadn’t reckoned on providing and the conditions under which they travel challenge them to shift and evolve. Their proximity to each other, as well, provides further challenges – they did not choose each other as colleagues but were bound to their joint mission by Buddha as an atonement for past bad behaviour. They must find a way of working together to not only reach their destination but also to just survive.

“Identity is the distance between us.”

As the journey proceeds, the characters in Monkey are constantly faced with the choice of seeing each other as “brothers,” as equally important and deserving of compassion, empathy, respect, and trust. Plots hinge on whether they can do this or whether superficial markers of identity – perceived entitlements or superiorities - will broaden the emotional distance between them to the extent that they cannot carry on together.

Now I come to think about the theme of identity in regards to this series, I remember how often its magical characters engage in shapeshifting. Sometimes they choose to do this to escape or to deceive. Sometimes it happens to them against their will, as a result of being hexed by another character or by evolving in response to circumstances beyond their control. In one episode, a character who starts off as human devolves into a demon when his greed and lust for gold compels him to eat the metal – he chooses an unnatural appetite and sacrifices his humanity because of this. In another, a demon falls in love with a human woman and has a child with her; his love for them sees him start to transcend his demonic nature and begin to morph into human form. I tend to see all of this as analogous to the ways in which we can all evolve and devolve, depending on the ‘appetites’ we choose to indulge. There is also something to ponder here in regards to the influence we have on each other: Are we inhibiting someone else’s ability to evolve and change via ‘cursing’ them through bullying, manipulation, or even the denial of opportunity?

It is possible to identify and attach many themes to the TV series Monkey. Just one of them is the theme of identity, and how that can be influenced and even put under pressure by the conditions with which the characters are faced. Of course, how a character reacts to this pressure is always up to them. The titular character Monkey chafes at being forced to be a Buddhist follower when he was used to being a warrior-king and throughout the series we see him try out several ways of reacting to this. He sulks, rebels, and throws tantrums. He also advises, encourages, and rescues his comrades.

When I think about my experience of working with other people, I often mentally liken our progress toward our shared objectives and goals as being on a journey, of being part of a jumble of individuals who have been brought together and who need to understand and perhaps to broach the distance between our separate identities to form a collective mission.

When this collective mission is challenged by changes in the conditions that surround us then that pressure can reveal what the differences between us are and whether we are equipped to broach them. How can we help the people we work with to navigate this distance in a way that keeps the demons at bay? How can we inspire ourselves and others to keep edging towards personal evolution, collective progress, and the salvation of souls?