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38 The Kingdom of Tianzhu

On the road west to fetch the scriptures, the Tang Monk and his disciples one day spied a temple rising ahead of them. Neither too large nor too small, the mountain gate bore four great characters: "Bujin Chan Temple." Dismounting, the Tang Monk began, "As for the two characters 'Bujin,' there is a tale behind them. Long ago, an elder named Gudu, in order to invite the Buddha to preach, paved the whole garden with gold without a second thought." "What a stroke of luck!" cried Bajie. "Let us hunt around and find a brick of gold to give away." After a good laugh, the company walked into the temple together. At the foot of the gate a great crowd had gathered: porters with shoulder-poles, travellers with packs, cart-pushers, and even some who were dozing. When they saw the ugly features of Wukong and his brothers, the people were frightened and scrambled aside to let them pass. Past the Hall of Heavenly Kings, an elder came out to greet them. Hearing that the travellers were monks from the great Tang of the East, he welcomed them warmly into the abbot's quarters.

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