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Thread: Do you think that late in life, Hui Juk became a monk once again?

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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Default Do you think that late in life, Hui Juk became a monk once again?

    Many wuxia characters spend the first part of their lives as secular people, then end up becoming Buddhist monks or Taoists priests as they arrive at some kind of spiritual enlightenment. Hui Juk did it backwards: he spent the first part of his life as a Buddhist monk, fell for the temptations of the secular world, and finally gained all the fruits that secular life had to offer, including power and romance.

    Even as a youth, however, Hui Juk did have a measure of uncommon enlightenment. It wasn't perfect, of course, and hence, he gave into temptations. One has to wonder, however, that if Hui Juk did live to a ripe old age, if he would have had a change of heart and decided to resume his search for enlightenment. We know that Hui Juk's sworn brother, Deun Yu, eventually gave up his royalty and his women to become a monk as per Dali royal tradition. Do you think the elderly Hui Juk followed suit and returned to the life of a monk in his later years?

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    Senior Member sheraldine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    Do you think the elderly Hui Juk followed suit and returned to the life of a monk in his later years?
    no lah.. he probably kept a harem

    seriously ken, you asked several very "difficult" questions to "answer" throughout this forum

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    Default Laying down the sword of slaughter

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    Do you think the elderly Hui Juk followed suit and returned to the life of a monk in his later years?
    I'd speculate that it's possible. In Chapter 50, Duan Yu - seeing that Xuzhu's "expression always carried a hint of depression" despite his "happy marital fate" - asks him why he's "still not happy" and suggests it's perhaps because of the death of his parents. Xuzhu replies: "The unhappiness in my heart is because ultimately, I can't be a monk." (However, DY afterwards seems to persuade him that enlightenment as an end is more important than the means.)

    Earlier, in Chapter 44, Xiao Feng is amused when Xuzhu practically appears "envious" of Ding Chunqiu (whose punishment, Xuzhu moans, is to "engage in tranquil cultivation at the Shaolin Temple" - something which Xuzhu wants to do and can't). But after XF cheers him up in his big brotherly way, Xuzhu has a moment of inspiration and conceives a big project: "There'll be a day when I get Vulturespirit Temple to change into Vulturespirit Convent, and make all those grandmothers, aunts and girls become Buddhist nuns."

    So maybe, after 'Tian Long Ba Bu', Xuzhu converted Tianshan Tonglao's entire organisation to Buddhism. If this was done sincerely - which you'd expect of Xuzhu - then this might explain why Xuzhu's awesome martial heritage left no great legacy.

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