After our Pilgrim and Sha Monk kowtowed to take leave of the Bodhisattva, they rose on two beams of auspicious light and departed from the South Sea. Now, the cloud somersault of Pilgrim, you see, was much faster than the mere cloud soaring of Sha Monk. He therefore wanted to speed ahead, but Sha Monk pulled him back, saying, “Elder Brother, you need not try to cover up or hide your tracks by getting there first. Let me travel right beside you.” The Great Sage, of course, was full of good intentions, whereas Sha Monk at that moment was filled with suspicion.
So, the two of them rode the clouds together and in a little while, they spotted the Flower-Fruit Mountain. As they lowered their clouds to glance around, they found indeed outside the cave another Pilgrim, sitting high on a stone ledge and drinking merrily with a flock of monkeys. His looks were exactly the same as those of the Great Sage: he, too, had a gold fillet clamped to his brownish hair, a pair of fiery eyes with diamond pupils, a silk shirt on his body, a tiger kilt tied around his waist, a golden-hooped iron rod in one of his hands, and a pair of deerskin boots on his feet. He, too, had
A hairy face, a thunder god beak,
An empty jowl unlike Saturn’s;
Two forked ears on a big, broad head,
And huge fangs that have outward grown.
His ire aroused, our Great Sage abandoned Sha Monk and rushed forward, wielding his iron rod and crying, “What sort of a fiend are you that you dare change into my appearance, take my descendants captive, occupy my immortal cave, and assume such airs?” When that Pilgrim saw him, he did not utter a word of reply; all he did was meet his opponent with the iron rod. The two Pilgrims closed in, and you could not distinguish the true one from the false. What a fight!
Two iron rods,
Two monkey sprites,
This fight of theirs is truly no light thing!
They both want to guard the royal brother of Tang,
Each seeking merit to acquire great fame.
The true ape accepts the poverty faith;
The specious fiend utters false Buddhist claims.
Their magic gives them transformations vast:
They’re exact equals, that’s the honest truth!
One is the Equal to Heaven Sage of the unified breath of Composite Prime;2
One is a long-cultivated sentient spirit, able to shorten the ground.
This one is the compliant golden-hooped rod;
That one is the acquiescent staff of iron.
They block and parry and fight to a draw;
They buck and resist and neither can win.
They join hands at first outside the cave;
Soon they rise to do battle in midair.
Treading on the cloudy luminosity, the two of them rose into the sky to fight. On the side, Sha Monk did not have the courage to join the battle, for he found it truly difficult to distinguish between the two of them. He wanted very much to lend his assistance, but he feared that he might inadvertently inflict harm on the real Pilgrim. After waiting patiently for a long while, he leaped down from the mountain cliff and wielded his fiend-routing staff to disperse the various fiends outside the Water-Curtain Cave. He then overturned the stone benches and smashed to pieces all those eating and drinking utensils before searching for his two blue woolen wraps. They were, however, nowhere to be seen. The cave, you see, was located actually behind a huge waterfall, which had the entrance neatly hidden as if it were behind a white curtain. That was the reason for the name, Water-Curtain Cave. Sha Monk, of course, had no idea of its history or its layout, and it was therefore difficult for him to make his search.
Unable to recover his wraps, Sha Monk again mounted the clouds to rush up to midair. He held high his treasure staff, but he simply dared not strike at either of the combatants. “Sha Monk,” said the Great Sage, “if you can’t help me, go back to Master and tell him about our situation. Let old Monkey do battle with this fiend all the way to the Potalaka Mountain of South Sea so that the Bodhisattva can distinguish the true from the false.” When he finished speaking, the other Pilgrim also said the same thing. Since both of them had exactly the same appearance and there was not even the slightest difference even in their voices, Sha Monk could not distinguish one from the other. He had no choice but to change the direction of his cloud and go back to report to the Tang Monk. We shall now leave him for the moment.
Look at those two Pilgrims instead! They fought as they journeyed; soon they arrived at the Potalaka Mountain in the South Sea, trading blows and insults all the time. All the continuous uproar quickly alerted the various guardian deities, who rushed inside the Tidal Sound Cave to say, “Bodhisattva, there are indeed two Sun Wukongs who have arrived fighting!” The Bodhisattva immediately descended from her lotus platform to go out of the cave with her disciples Mokṣa, the Boy Skilled in Wealth, and the Dragon Girl. “Cursed beasts,” she cried, “where do you two think you are going?” Still entangled together, one of them said, “Bodhisattva, this fellow indeed resembles your disciple. We started our battle from the Water-Curtain Cave, but we have not yet reached a decision even after such a long bout. The fleshy eyes of Sha Wujing were too dim and dull to tell us apart, and thus he couldn’t help us even if he had the strength. Your disciple told him to go back to the road to the West and report to my master. I have fought with this fellow up to your treasure mountain because I want you to lend us your eyes of wisdom. Please help your disciple to distinguish the true from the false, the real from the perverse.” When he finished speaking, the other Pilgrim also repeated the same words. The various deities and the Bodhisattva stared at the two for a long time, but none could tell them apart. “Stop fighting,” said the Bodhisattva, “and stand apart. Let me look at both of you once more.” They indeed let go of each other and stood on opposite sides. “I’m the real one,” said one side. “He’s a fake!” said the other.
Asking Mokṣa and Goodly Wealth to approach her, the Bodhisattva whispered to them this instruction: “Each of you take hold of one of them firmly, and let me start reciting in secret the Tight-Fillet Spell. The one whose head hurts is the real monkey; the one who has no pain is specious.” Indeed, the two disciples took hold of the two Pilgrims as the Bodhisattva recited in silence the magic words. At once the two of them gripped their heads and rolled on the ground, both screaming, “Don’t recite! Don’t recite!” The Bodhisattva stopped her recital, and the two of them again became entangled together, fighting and shouting as before. Unable to think of anything else, the Bodhisattva asked the various deities and Mokṣa to go forward to help, but the gods were afraid that they might hurt the real person and they, therefore, dared not raise their hands. “Sun Wukong,” called the Bodhisattva, and the two of them answered in unison. “When you were appointed Bimawen,” she said, “and when you brought chaos to Heaven, all those celestial warriors could certainly recognize you. You go up to the Region Above now and they should be able to distinguish between the two of you.” This Great Sage thanked her and the other Pilgrim also thanked her.
Tugging and pulling at each other, screaming and hollering at each other, the two of them went before the South Heaven Gate. The Devarāja Virūpākṣa was so startled that he led Ma, Zhao, Wen, and Guan, the four great celestial warriors, and the rest of the divine gate attendants to bar the way with their weapons. “Where are you two going?” they cried. “Is this a place for fighting?”
The Great Sage said, “I was accompanying the Tang Monk on his way to acquire scriptures in the Western Heaven. Because I slayed some thieves on the way, that Tripitaka banished me, and I went to tell my troubles to the Bodhisattva Guanyin at the Potalaka Mountain. I have no idea when this monster-spirit assumed my form, struck down my master, and robbed us of our wraps. Sha Monk went to look for our things at the Flower-Fruit Mountain and discovered that this monster-spirit had taken over my lair. Thereafter, he went to seek the assistance of the Bodhisattva, and when he saw me standing at attention beneath the platform, he falsely accused me of using my cloud somersault in order to cover up my faults. The Bodhisattva, fortunately, was righteous and perceptive; she didn’t listen to Sha Monk and told me to go with him instead to examine the evidence at the Flower-Fruit Mountain. I discovered there that this monster-spirit indeed resembled old Monkey. We fought just now from the Water-Curtain Cave to the place of the Bodhisattva, but even she found it difficult to tell us apart. That’s why we came here. Let all of you deities take the trouble of using your perception and make distinction between the two of us.” When he finished speaking, that Pilgrim also gave exactly the same account. Though the various gods stared at them for a long time, they could not tell the difference. “If all of you can’t recognize us,” the two of them shouted, “stand aside and let us go see the Jade Emperor!”
Unable to resist them, the various deities had to let them through the Heaven Gate, and they went straight up to the Treasure Hall of Divine Mists. Marshal Ma dashed inside with Zhang, Ge, Xu, and Qiu, the Four Celestial Masters, to memorialize, saying, “There are two Sun Wukongs from the Region Below who have fought their way into the Heaven Gate. They claim they want to see the Emperor.” Hardly had they finished speaking when the two monkeys brawled their way in. The Jade Emperor was so taken aback that he stood up and came down the treasure hall to ask, “For what reason did the two of you enter the celestial palace without permission? Are you seeking death with your brawling before us?”
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” cried our Great Sage. “Your subject has already made submission and embraced the vow of poverty. I would never dare be so audacious as to mock your authority again. But because this monster-spirit has changed into the form of your subject, . . .” whereupon he gave a thorough account of what had taken place, ending with the words, “I beg you to do this for your subject and distinguish between the two of us.” That Pilgrim also gave exactly the same account.
Issuing a decree at once to summon Devarāja Li, the Pagoda-Bearer, the Jade Emperor commanded: “Let us look at those two fellows through the impreflecting mirror, so that the false may perish and the true endure.” The devarāja took out the mirror immediately and asked the Jade Emperor to watch with the various celestial deities. What appeared in the mirror were two reflections of Sun Wukong: there was not the slightest difference between their golden fillets, their clothing, and even their hair. Since the Jade Emperor found it impossible to distinguish them, he ordered them chased out of the hall.
Our Great Sage was laughing scornfully, while that Pilgrim also guffawed jovially as they grabbed each other’s head and neck once more to fight their way out of the Heaven Gate. Dropping down to the road to the West, they shouted at each other, “I’ll go see Master with you! I’ll go see Master with you!”
We now tell you about that Sha Monk, who since leaving them at the FlowerFruit Mountain, traveled again for three nights and days before he arrived at the mountain hut. After he told the Tang Monk all that had taken place, the elder was filled with regret, saying, “I thought at that time that it was Sun Wukong who gave me a blow with his rod and who robbed us of our wraps. How could I know that it was a monster-spirit who had assumed the form of Pilgrim?” “Not only did that fiend do that,” said Sha Monk, “but he had someone change into an elder, and another into Eight Rules poling our wraps. In addition to a white horse, there was still another fiend who changed into the likeness of me. I couldn’t restrain my anger and killed him with one blow of my staff. He was actually a monkey spirit. I left in a hurry to go to inform the Bodhisattva, who then asked Elder Brother to go with me to see for ourselves back at the WaterCurtain Cave. When we arrived, we discovered that that fiend was indeed an exact copy of Elder Brother. I couldn’t tell them apart and it was difficult, therefore, for me to lend any assistance. That’s why I came back first to report to you.” On hearing this, Tripitaka paled with fright, but Eight Rules laughed
uproariously, saying, “Fine! Fine! Fine! The Popo of our patron’s house has
spoken true! She said that there had to be several groups of pilgrims going to procure scriptures. Isn’t this another group?”
The members of that family, old and young, all came to ask Sha Monk, “Where have you been these last few days? Did you go off to seek travel money?” “I went to the place of my Big Brother,” said Sha Monk with a laugh, “at the Flower-Fruit Mountain of the East Pūrvavideha Continent to look for our luggage. Next I went to have an audience with the Bodhisattva Guanyin at the Potalaka Mountain of South Sea. Then I had to go back to the Flower-Fruit Mountain again before I came back here.”
“What was the distance that you had to travel?” asked the old man. “Back and forth,” replied Sha Monk, “it had to be about two hundred thousand miles.” “Oh, Sire,” said the old man, “you mean to tell me that you have covered all that distance in these few days? You must have soared on the clouds, or you would never have made it.” “If he didn’t soar on the clouds,” said Eight Rules, “how could he cross the sea?” “We haven’t covered any distance,” said Sha Monk. “If it were my Big Brother, it would take only a couple of days for him to get there and return.” When those family members heard what he said, they all claimed that their visitors had to be immortals. “We are not immortals,” said Eight Rules, “but the immortals are really our juniors!”
As they were speaking, they suddenly heard a great uproar in the middle of the sky. They were so startled that they came out to look, and they found two Pilgrims locked in battle as they drew near. On seeing them, Eight Rules’s hands began to itch, and he said, “Let me see if I can tell them apart.”
Dear Idiot! He leaped into the air and cried, “Elder Brother, don’t fret! Old Hog’s here!” The two Pilgrims cried out at the same time, “Brother, come and beat up this monster-spirit!” The old man was so astonished by the sight that he said to himself, “So we have in our house several arhats who can ride the clouds and mount the fog! Even if I had made a vow to feed the monks, I might not have been able to find this kind of noble people.” Without bothering to think of the cost, he wanted at once to bring out more tea and rice to present to his visitors. Then he muttered to himself, “But I fear that no good can come out of these two Pilgrims fighting like that. They will overturn Heaven and Earth and cause terrible calamity who knows where!”
When Tripitaka saw that the old man was openly pleased, though he was, at the same time, full of secret anxiety, he said to him, “Please do not worry, old Patron, and don’t start any lamentation. When this humble cleric succeeds in subduing his disciple and in inducing the wicked to return to virtue, he will most certainly thank you.” “Please don’t mention it! Please don’t mention it!” said the old man repeatedly. “Please don’t say anything more, Patron,” said Sha Monk. “Master, you sit here while I go up there with Second Elder Brother. Each of us will pull before you one of them, and you can start reciting that little something. We’ll be able to tell, for whoever has pain will be the real Pilgrim.” “You are absolutely right,” said Tripitaka.
Sha Monk indeed rose to midair and said, “Stop fighting, the two of you, and we’ll go with you to Master and let him distinguish the true from the false.” Our Great Sage desisted, and that Pilgrim also dropped his hands. Sha Monk took hold of one of them and said, “Second Elder Brother, you take the other one.” They dropped down from the clouds and went before the thatched hut. As soon as he saw them, Tripitaka began reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell, and the two of them immediately screamed, “We’ve been fighting so bitterly already. How could you still cast that spell on us? Stop it! Stop it!” As his disposition had always been kind, the elder at once stopped his recitation, but he could not tell them apart at all. Shrugging off the hold of Sha Monk and Eight Rules, the two of them were again locked in battle. “Brothers,” said our Great Sage, “take care of Master, and let me go before King Yama with him to see if there could be any way of discriminating us.” That Pilgrim also spoke to them in the same manner. Tugging and pulling at each other, the two of them soon vanished from sight.
“Sha Monk,” said Eight Rules, “when you saw the false Eight Rules poling the luggage in the Water-Curtain Cave, why didn’t you take it away?” Sha Monk said, “When that monster-spirit saw me slaying his false Sha Monk with my treasure staff, he and his followers surrounded me and wanted to seize me. I had to flee for my life, you know. After I told the Bodhisattva and went back to the entrance of the cave with Pilgrim, the two of them fought in midair while I went to overturn their stone benches and scattered the little fiends. All I saw then was a huge cascade flowing into a stream, but I could not find the cave entrance anywhere nor could I locate the luggage. That’s why I came back to Master empty-handed.” “You really couldn’t have known this,” said Eight Rules. “When I went to ask him to return that year,3 I met him first outside the cave. After I succeeded in persuading him to come, he said he wanted to go inside to change clothes. That was when I saw him diving right through the water, for the cascade is actually the cave entrance. That fiend, I suppose, must have hidden our wraps in there.” “If you know where the entrance is,” said Tripitaka, “you should go there now while he is absent and take out our wraps. Then we can go to the Western Heaven by ourselves. Even if he should want to join us again, I won’t use him.” “I’ll go,” answered Eight Rules. “Second Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “there are over a thousand little monkeys in that cave of his. You may not be able to handle them all by yourself.” “No fear, no fear,” said Eight Rules, laughing. He dashed out of the door, mounted the cloud and fog, and headed straight for the Flower-Fruit Mountain to search for the luggage.
We tell you now instead about those two Pilgrims, who brawled all the way to the rear of the Mountain of Perpetual Shade. All those spirits on the mountain were so terrified that they, shaking and quaking, tried desperately to hide themselves. A few managed to escape first and they rushed inside the fortified pass of the nether region and reported in the Treasure Hall of Darkness: “Great Kings, there are two Great Sages, Equal to Heaven, who are fighting their way down from the Mountain of Perpetual Shade.” King Qinguang of the First Chamber was so terrified that he at once passed the word to King of the Beginning River in the Second Chamber, King of the Song Emperor in the Third Chamber, King of Complete Change in the Fourth Chamber, King Yama in the Fifth Chamber, King of Equal Ranks in the Sixth Chamber, King of Tai Mountain in the Seventh Chamber, King of City Markets in the Eighth Chamber, King of Avenging Ministers in the Ninth Chamber, and King of the Turning Wheel in the Tenth Chamber. Soon after the word had passed through each chamber, the ten kings assembled together and they also sent an urgent message to King Kṣitigarbha to meet them at the Hall of Darkness. At the same time, they called up all the soldiers of darkness to prepare to capture both the true and the false. In a moment, they felt a gush of strong wind and then they saw dense, dark fog rolling in, in the midst of which were two Pilgrims tumbling and fighting together.
The Rulers of Darkness went forth to stop them, saying, “For what purpose are the Great Sages causing trouble in our nether region?” “I had to pass through the State of Western Liang,” replied our Great Sage, “because I was accompanying the Tang Monk on his way to procure scriptures in the Western Heaven. We reached a mountain shortly thereafter, where brigands attempted to rob my master. Old Monkey slaughtered a few of them, but my master took offense and banished me. I went instead to the Bodhisattva at South Sea to make known my difficulties. I have no idea how this monster-spirit got wind of it, but somehow he changed into my likeness, struck down my master in midjourney, and robbed him of his luggage. My younger brother, Sha Monk, went to my native mountain to demand the wraps, but this fiend falsely claimed that he wished to go to seek scriptures in the Western Heaven in the name of Master. Fleeing to South Sea, Sha Monk informed the Bodhisattva when I was standing right there. The Bodhisattva then told me to go with him to look for myself at the Flower-Fruit Mountain, and I discovered that indeed my old lair was occupied by this fellow. I strove with him until we reached the place of the Bodhisattva, but in truth his appearance, his speech, and the like are exactly like mine. Even the Bodhisattva found it hard to distinguish us. Then we fought our way up to Heaven, and the gods couldn’t tell us apart. We next went to see my master, and when he recited the Tight-Fillet Spell to test us, this fellow’s head hurt just like mine. That’s why we brawl down to the nether region, in hopes that you Rulers of Darkness will examine for me the Register of Life and Death and determine what is the origin of the specious Pilgrim. Snatch away his soul at once, so that there will not be the confusion of two Minds.” After he finished speaking, the fiend also repeated what he said in exactly the same manner.
On hearing this, the Rulers of Darkness summoned the judge in charge of the register to examine it from the beginning, but there was, of course, nothing written down that had the name “specious Pilgrim.” He then studied the volume on hairy creatures, but the one hundred and thirty some entries under the name “monkey,” you see, had already been crossed out by the Great Sage Sun with one stroke of the brush, in that year when he caused great havoc in the region of darkness after he had attained the Way.4 Ever since that time, the name of any species of monkey was not recorded in the register. After he finished examining the volume, he went back to the hall to make his report. Picking up their court tablets to show their solemn intentions, the Rulers of Darkness said to both of the Pilgrims, “Great Sages, there is nowhere in the nether region for you to look up the impostor’s name. You must seek discrimination in the world of light.”
Hardly had they finished speaking when the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha said, “Wait a moment! Wait a moment! Let me ask Investigative Hearing to listen for you.” That Investigative Hearing, you see, happens to be a beast that usually lies beneath the desk of Kṣitigarbha. When he crouches on the ground, he can in an instant perceive the true and the false, the virtuous and the wicked among all short-haired creatures, scaly creatures, hairy creatures, winged creatures, and crawling creatures, and among all the celestial immortals, the earthly immortals, the divine immortals, the human immortals, and the spirit immortals resident in all the cave Heavens and blessed lands in the various shrines, rivers, and mountains of the Four Great Continents. In obedience, therefore, to the command of Kṣitigarbha, the beast prostrated himself in the courtyard of the Hall of Darkness, and in a little while, he raised his head to say to his master, “I have the name of the fiend, but I cannot announce it in his presence. Nor can we give assistance in capturing him.” “What would happen,” asked Kṣitigarbha, “if you were to announce his name?” “I fear then,” replied Investigative Hearing, “that the monster-spirit might unleash his violence to disturb our treasure hall and ruin the peace of the office of darkness.”
“But why,” asked his master again, “can’t we give assistance in capturing him?” Investigative Hearing said, “The magic power of that monster-spirit is no different from the Great Sage Sun’s. How much power do the gods of the nether region possess? That’s why we cannot capture him.” “How, then, shall we do away with him?” asked Kṣitigarbha. Investigative Hearing answered, “The power of Buddha is limitless.” Waking up all at once, Kṣitigarbha said to the two Pilgrims, “Your forms are like a single person, and your powers are exactly the same. If you want clear distinction between the two of you, you must go to the Thunderclap Monastery, the abode of Śākyamuni.” “You are right! You are right!” shouted both of them in unison. “We’ll go to have this thing sett led before the Buddhist Patriarch in the Western Heaven.” The Rulers of Darkness of all Ten Chambers accompanied them out of the hall before they thanked Kṣitigarbha, who returned to the Jade Cloud Palace. The ghost attendants were then told to close up the fortified passes of the nether region, and we shall leave them for the moment.
Look at those two Pilgrims! Soaring on cloud and darting on fog, they fought their way up to the Western Heaven, and we have a testimonial poem. The poem says:
If one has two minds, disasters he’ll breed;
He’ll guess and conjecture both far and near.
He seeks a good horse or the Three Dukes’5 office,
Or the seat of first rank there in Golden Chimes.
He’ll war unceasing in the north and south;
He’ll not keep still assailing both east and west.
You must learn of no mind in the gate of Chan,
And let the holy babe6 be formed thus quietly.
Tugging and pulling at each other, the two of them brawled in midair as they proceeded, and finally, they reached the Thunderclap Treasure Monastery on the Spirit Vulture Mountain in the great Western Heaven.
At that time the Four Great Bodhisattvas, the Eight Great Diamond Kings, the five hundred arhats, the three thousand guardians of the faith, the mendicant nuns and the mendicant monks, the upāsakas and the upāsikās—all this holy multitude was gathered beneath the lotus seat of seven jewels to listen to a lecture by Tathāgata. His discourse had just reached the point on
The existent in the nonexistent;
The nonexistent in the non-nonexistent;
The form in the formlessness;
The emptiness in the nonemptiness.
For the nonexistent is the existent,
And the non-nonexistent is the nonexistent.
Formlessness is verily form;
Nonemptiness is verily emptiness.
Emptiness is indeed emptiness;
Form is indeed form.
Form has no fixed form;
Thus form is emptiness.
Emptiness has no fixed emptiness;
Thus emptiness is form.
The knowledge of emptiness is not emptiness;
The knowledge of form is not form.
When names and action mutually illuminate,
Then one has reached the wondrous sound.
As the multitude bowed their heads in submission and chanted in unison these words of the Buddha, Tathāgata caused celestial flowers to descend upon them in profusion. Then he said to the congregation, “You are all of one mind, but take a look at two Minds in competition and strife arriving here.”
When the congregation looked up, there were indeed two Pilgrims locked in a clamorous battle as they approached the noble region of Thunderclap. The Eight Great Diamond Kings were so aghast that they went forward to bar the way, crying, “Where do you two think you are going?”
“A monster-spirit,” replied our Great Sage, “has assumed my appearance. I want to go below the treasure lotus platform and ask Tathāgata to make distinction between us.” The Diamond Kings could not restrain them, and the two monkeys brawled up to the platform. “Your disciple,” said our Great Sage as he knelt before the Buddhist Patriarch, “was accompanying the Tang Monk to journey to your treasure mountain and to beg you for true scriptures. I have exerted I don’t know how much energy on our way in order to smelt demons and bind fiends. Some time ago, we ran into some bandits trying to rob us, and in truth, your disciple on two occasions did take a few lives. Master took offense and banished me, refusing to allow me to bow with him to the golden form of Tathāgata. I had no choice but to flee to South Sea and tell Guanyin of my woes. Little did I anticipate that this monster-spirit would falsely assume my voice and my appearance and then strike down Master, taking away even our luggage. My younger brother, Wujing, followed him to my native mountain, only to be told by the crafty words of this fiend that he had another true monk ready to be the scripture pilgrim. Wujing managed to escape to South Sea to inform Guanyin of everything. Whereupon the Bodhisattva told your disciple to return with Wujing to my mountain, as a result of which the two of us fought our way to South Sea and then to the celestial palace. We went also to see the Tang Monk as well as the Rulers of Darkness, but no one could tell us apart. For this reason I make bold to come here, and I beg you in your great compassion to fling wide the great gate of means. Grant unto your disciple your discernment of the right and the perverse, so that I may again accompany the Tang Monk to bow to your golden form in person, acquire the scriptures to bring back to the Land of the East, and forever exalt the great faith.”
What the congregation heard was one statement made by two mouths in exactly the same voice, and none of them could distinguish between the two Pilgrims. Tathāgata, however, was the only one who had the perception; he was about to make his revelation when a pinkish cloud floating up from the south brought to them Guanyin, who bowed to the Buddha.
Pressing his palms together, our Buddha said, “Guanyin, the Honored One, can you tell which is the true Pilgrim and which is the false one?” “They came to your disciple’s humble region the other day,” replied the Bodhisattva, “but I truly could not distinguish between them. They then went to both the Palace of Heaven and the Office of Earth, but even there they could not be recognized. I have come, therefore, especially to beg Tathāgata to do this on the true Pilgrim’s behalf.”
Smiling, Tathāgata said, “Though all of you possess vast dharma power and are able to observe the events of the whole universe, you cannot know all the things therein, nor do you have the knowledge of all the species.” When the Bodhisattva asked for further revelation, Tathāgata said, “There are five kinds of immortals in the universe, and they are: the celestial, the earthbound, the divine, the human, and the ghostly. There are also five kinds of creatures, and they are: the short-haired, the scaly, the hairy, the winged, and the crawling. This fellow is not celestial, earthbound, divine, human, or ghostly, nor is he short-haired, scaly, hairy, winged, or crawling. But there are, however, four kinds of monkeys which also do not belong to any of these ten species.” “May I inquire,” said the Bodhisattva, “which four kinds they are?”
“The first,” said Tathāgata, “is the intelligent stone monkey, who
Knows transformations,
Recognizes the seasons,
Discerns the advantages of earth,
And is able to alter the course of planets and stars.
The second is the red-buttocked baboon, who
Has knowledge of yin and yang,
Understands human affairs,
Is adept in its daily life
And able to avoid death and lengthen its life.
The third is the bare-armed gibbon, who can
Seize the sun and the moon,
Shorten a thousand mountains,
Distinguish the auspicious from the inauspicious,
And manipulate planets and stars.
The fourth is the sixth-eared macaque,7 who has
A sensitive ear,
Discernment of fundamental principles,
Knowledge of past and future,
And comprehension of all things.
These four kinds of monkeys are not classified in the ten species, nor are they contained in the names between Heaven and Earth. As I see the matter, that specious Wukong must be a six-eared macaque, for even if this monkey stands in one place, he can possess the knowledge of events a thousand miles away and whatever a man may say in that distance. That is why I describe him as a creature who has
A sensitive ear,
Discernment of fundamental principles,
Knowledge of past and future,
And comprehension of all things.
The one who has the same appearance and the same voice as the true Wukong is a sixth-eared macaque.”
When the macaque heard how Tathāgata had announced his original form, he shook with fear; leaping up quickly, he tried to flee. Tathāgata, however, at once ordered the Four Bodhisattvas, the Eight Diamond Kings, the five hundred arhats, the three thousand guardians of the faith, the mendicant monks, the mendicant nuns, the upāsakas, the upāsikās, Guanyin, and Mokṣa to have him completely encircled. The Great Sage Sun also wanted to rush forward, but Tathāgata said, “Wukong, don’t move. Let me capture him for you.” The macaque’s hair stood on end, for he supposed that he would not be able to escape. Shaking his body quickly, he changed at once into a bee, flying straight up. Tathāgata threw up into the air a golden almsbowl, which caught the bee and brought it down. Not perceiving that, the congregation thought the macaque had escaped. With a smile, Tathāgata said, “Be silent, all of you. The monster-spirit hasn’t escaped. He’s underneath this almsbowl of mine.” The congregation surged forward and lifted up the almsbowl; a sixth-eared macaque in his original form indeed appeared. Unable to contain himself anymore, the Great Sage Sun raised his iron rod and killed it with one blow on the head. To this day this species of monkey has remained extinct.
Moved to pity by the sight, Tathāgata exclaimed, “My goodness! My goodness!” “You should not have compassion on him, Tathāgata,” said our Great Sage. “He wounded my master and robbed us of our wraps. Even according to the law, he was guilty of assault and robbery in broad daylight. He should have been executed.” Tathāgata said, “Now you go back quickly to accompany the Tang Monk here to seek the scriptures.”
As he kowtowed to thank the Buddha, the Great Sage said, “Let me inform Tathāgata, that it is certain that my master will not want me back. If I go to him now and he rejects me, it’s simply a waste of effort. I beg you to recite the Loose-Fillet Spell instead so that I can give back your golden fillet. Let me return to secular life.” “Stop such foolish thought,” said Tathāgata, “and don’t be mischievous! If I ask Guanyin to take you back to your master, you should have no fear that he will reject you. Take care to protect him on his journey, and in due time
When merit’s done and Nirvāṇa’s home,
You, too, will sit on a lotus throne.”
When she heard that, Guanyin pressed together her palms to thank the sage’s grace, after which she led Wukong away by mounting the clouds. They were followed at once by her disciple, Mokṣa, and the white cockatoo. Soon they arrived at the thatched hut, and when Sha Monk saw them, he quickly asked his master to bow at the door to receive them. “Tang Monk,” said the Bodhisattva, “the one who struck you the other day was a specious Pilgrim, a sixth-eared macaque. It was our good fortune that Tathāgata recognized him, and subsequently he was slain by Wukong. You must now take him back, for the demonic barriers on your journey are by no means entirely overcome, and only with his protection can you reach the Spirit Mountain and see the Buddha for scriptures. Don’t be angry with him anymore.” Kowtowing, Tripitaka replied, “I obey your instruction.”
At that moment when he and Sha Monk were thanking the Bodhisattva, they heard a violent gust of wind blowing in from the east: it was Zhu Eight Rules, who returned riding the wind with two wraps on his back. When Idiot saw the Bodhisattva, he fell on his knees to bow to her, saying, “Your disciple took leave of my master the other day and went to the Water-Curtain Cave of the FlowerFruit Mountain to look for our luggage. I saw indeed a specious Tang Monk and another specious Eight Rules, both of whom I struck dead. They were two monkeys. Then I went inside and found the wraps, and examination revealed that nothing was missing. I mounted the wind to return here. What, may I ask, has happened to the two Pilgrims?” The Bodhisattva thereupon gave him a complete account of how Tathāgata had revealed the origin of the fiend, and Idiot was thoroughly delighted. Master and disciples all bowed to give thanks. As the Bodhisattva went back to South Sea, the pilgrims were again united in their hearts and minds, their animosity and anger all dissolved. After they also thanked the village household, they put in order their luggage and the horse to find their way to the West once more. Thus it is that
Midway parting upsets the Five Phases;
The fiend’s defeat fuses primal light.
Spirit returns to Mind and Chan is still.
Six senses subdued, elixir’s in sight.
We do not know when Tripitaka will be able to face the Buddha and ask for the scriptures; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.