But let us say no more of how the four of them freed themselves and rose on the wind with the vajra guardians. Instead the story tells how, at the Monastery of Rescue in the Village of Chen, many of the villagers rose at daybreak and, as always, prepared fruits and delicacies to offer up. But when they came to the foot of the tower, the Tang monk was nowhere to be seen. One came asking, another went searching, all in a flurry, at their wits' end, crying out in their misery: "In broad daylight we have let a living Buddha slip away!" After a while, having no other recourse, they carried all the prepared offerings up into the tower and made sacrifice there, burning paper money. From that time on there were four great sacrifices and twenty-four lesser ones every year; and besides, those who sought cures for their illnesses, protection and peace, marriage and the fulfillment of vows, wealth and sons, came burning incense and making offerings at every hour of every day. Truly, in the golden censer the thousand-year flame never went out, and in the jade lamp the ten-thousand-year light shone ever bright. Of this we say no more.
The story now tells how the eight vajra guardians, riding their second gust of fragrant wind, carried the four of them back to the Eastern Land in less than a day, until gradually the towers of Chang'an came into sight. It turned out that after Taizong had seen the Tang monk out of the city in the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, three days before the full moon of the ninth month, in the sixteenth year he had dispatched officers of the Ministry of Works to build the Scripture-Watching Tower just outside the city's west gate, where the scriptures were to be received, and every year Taizong came there in person.
As it happened, on this very day he had driven out in state and had just come up into the tower again, when suddenly, in the direction of the true west, he saw auspicious mists filling the sky and gusts of fragrant wind. The vajra guardians halted in mid-air and called out: "Holy Monk, this is the city of Chang'an. It would not be fitting for us to descend—the folk here are too clever, and might let our true forms be known. The Great Sage Sun and the other two need not go either. Go you alone, deliver the scriptures to your sovereign, and return at once. We shall wait for you here in the sky, and together we shall report the fulfillment of our command."
"What you say, Venerable One, is fitting," said the Great Sage, "but how is my master to carry the load of scriptures? How is he to lead the horse? We must all go with him to see him off. I beg you to wait a little while in the sky; I trust we shall not delay you." "The day before yesterday the Bodhisattva Guanyin petitioned the Tathagata," said the guardian, "and the whole going and coming was set at eight days, so that the number of the canon might be fulfilled. Now more than four days have already passed. I fear only that Bajie, greedy for wealth and rank, may let the appointed time slip by." "Master is to become a Buddha," laughed Bajie, "and I too hope to become a Buddha—how could there be any thought of greed in that! You rude, coarse brute! Wait here for us all; once the scriptures are delivered, I'll come back and report along with you." The blockhead shouldered the load, the Sha Monk led the horse, and the Pilgrim escorted the Holy Monk, as they all brought down their clouds and landed beside the Scripture-Watching Tower.
When Taizong and all his officers saw them, he came down from the tower at once to welcome them, saying: "Have you come, my sworn brother?" The Tang monk at once bowed down to the ground, and Taizong raised him up, then asked: "Who are these three?" "Disciples I accepted along the way," said the Tang monk. Taizong was overjoyed, and at once ordered his attendants: "Harness the horses to my imperial carriage, ask my sworn brother to mount, and ride back to court with Us."
The Tang monk gave thanks for the favor, mounted the horse, and rode off, with the Great Sage twirling his gold-banded cudgel close behind, and Bajie and the Sha Monk beside the horse, the load upon their shoulders, following in the imperial train as all entered Chang'an together. Truly:
In those old days of feasting the realm rejoiced in peace; The civil and the martial stood serene, their talents on display. On the field of the Land-and-Water Mass the monk preached the Law, And from the golden throne the sovereign sent his ministers away. By decree of the throne the passport was granted to Tang Sanzang, And the scripture rolls, by destiny, were matched with the Five Elements' way. With bitter toil he quelled the fierce demons, every one undone— His merit achieved, today he rejoices to enter the imperial city.
The Tang monk and his four companions followed the imperial procession into court, and in all the city there was not a single soul who did not know that the seekers of the scriptures had come.
The story now tells how the monks, young and old, of the Monastery of Great Blessing in Chang'an, where the Tang monk had once lodged, saw that the crowns of several pine trees had all turned toward the east, and cried out in astonishment: "How strange! How strange! There was no wind this night—how is it that the crowns of these trees have all twisted round?"
Among them a former disciple of Tripitaka said: "Quick, fetch our robes! The old master who went for the scriptures is coming back!" The monks asked: "How do you know?" The former disciple said: "When the master left that year, he spoke these words: 'After I am gone, in three or five years, or six or seven, watch the crowns of the pines—if they have turned to the east, then I am on my way back.' My master's words were the holy words of a Buddha, and so I know." He threw on his robe in haste and went out, and by the time he reached West Street there were already people spreading the word: "The scripture seekers have but this moment arrived; His Majesty has welcomed them into the city." Hearing this, the monks came running in haste and just met them; but catching sight of the imperial train, they dared not come near, and followed behind all the way to outside the court gate.
The Tang monk dismounted and entered court with the rest. He had the dragon horse and the loads of scriptures, together with the Pilgrim, Bajie, and the Sha Monk, stand below the jade steps. Taizong gave the summons: "Let my sworn brother come up the hall." A seat was offered him, and the Tang monk thanked him for the favor and sat down, then ordered the scripture rolls brought up. The Pilgrim and the others took them out, and the attendants nearest the throne presented them. Taizong asked again: "How many scriptures are there? And how did you bring them back?" Tripitaka said:
"Your servant the monk reached the Spirit Mountain and had audience with the Buddha Ancestor, who sent the two venerable ones, Ananda and Kasyapa, to lead us first to the jeweled tower, where a vegetarian meal was conferred upon us, and then to the precious pavilion, where the scriptures were imparted. Those venerable ones asked for a gratuity, but as I had made no provision for it and had given them nothing, they handed over scriptures without a single word. We bowed in thanks for the Buddha Ancestor's grace and set out eastward, when suddenly a demon wind snatched the scriptures away. Fortunately my little disciple had some magic powers and gave chase, fighting to win them back; but they had been scattered and tossed about in disarray, and when we unrolled them to look, they were all blank volumes without a single word.
"Alarmed, we went back to bow before the Buddha Ancestor and plead with him, and he said: 'When this scripture was accomplished, a holy bhikshu was about to descend the mountain to recite it once for the household of Elder Zhao of the kingdom of Shravasti, that the living of that family might be kept safe and the dead delivered. For his trouble he asked only three pecks and three pints of rice-grain gold, and even then he thought it sold too cheap, so that his descendants in later ages had no money to spend.' We knew then that those two venerable ones had asked for a gratuity with the Buddha Ancestor's full knowledge, and we had no choice but to present them with the purple-gold alms bowl conferred by imperial favor. Only then were the true scriptures, complete with words, imparted. These scriptures comprise thirty-five divisions; of each division a few volumes were selected and brought back—five thousand and forty-eight volumes in all, a number that makes up exactly one Tripitaka."
Taizong was all the more delighted, and ordered: "Let the Court of Imperial Entertainments prepare a banquet; throw open the Eastern Pavilion, that we may feast and reward them."
Suddenly he noticed his three disciples standing below the steps with their extraordinary appearance, and asked: "Are your worthy disciples truly foreigners, then?" The elder prostrated himself and said: "My eldest disciple is surnamed Sun, with the religious name Wukong, whom I also call Sun Wukong the Pilgrim. He was originally a native of the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit in the country of Aolai on the Eastern Continent of Superior Body. Because five hundred years ago he made havoc in Heaven, he was imprisoned by the Buddha Ancestor within the stone casket of the Mountain of Two Frontiers in the western marches; and it was through the Bodhisattva Guanyin's persuasion to good that he willingly took refuge in the faith. It was I who went there and rescued him, and I owe a great deal to this disciple's protection. My second disciple is surnamed Zhu, with the religious name Wuneng, whom I also call Zhu Bajie the Eight Precepts. He was originally a native of the Cloud-Fold Cave on Mount Fulin. Because he worked evil at Gao Village in Wu-si-zang, the Bodhisattva converted him to goodness and the Pilgrim took him in; all along the road he has borne the load with strength and rendered good service in fording the waters.
"My third disciple is surnamed Sha, with the religious name Wujing, whom I also call the Sha Monk. He was originally a monster that worked evil in the Flowing Sands River, and he too was converted to goodness by the Bodhisattva, and now keeps the teachings of the Buddhist order. As for that horse—it is not one that Your Majesty bestowed."
"The markings of its coat are the same—how can it not be?" asked Taizong.
"When your servant came to the ford at Eagle Sorrow Ravine on Serpent-Coil Mountain," said Tripitaka, "the original horse was swallowed by this one. Thanks to the Pilgrim, who invited the Bodhisattva to ask after this horse's history, it turned out to be a son of the Dragon King of the Western Sea. Because it had committed a crime, the Bodhisattva rescued and redeemed it, and ordered it to serve as your servant's mount. At the time it transformed itself into the very likeness of the original horse, coat and markings identical. Thanks to it we have climbed mountains and crossed ridges, toiled over rough and rugged ways—riding it when we set out westward, and having it bear the scriptures on our return—and we have depended greatly upon its strength." At these words Taizong praised him without end, and asked again: "After such a distant journey to the West, what truly is the length of the road?" Tripitaka said: "Recalling the Bodhisattva's words, it is 108,000 li. On the way I kept no count of the distance, and know only that we passed through fourteen rounds of cold and heat. Day after day of mountains, day after day of ridges; we came upon forests of no small size and crossed rivers broad and vast. We also passed through several kingdoms, and in each of them the passport was examined and sealed."
He called out: "Disciples, bring up the travel passport and deliver it to His Majesty." They presented it at once, and Taizong examined it: it had been issued in the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, three days before the full moon of the ninth month. Taizong laughed: "Long has been your toil, far has been your journey—and now it is already the twenty-seventh year of the Zhenguan reign."
On the passport were the seals of the Kingdom of Baoxiang, the Black Rooster Kingdom, the Kingdom of Chechi, the Women's Kingdom of Western Liang, the Kingdom of Jisai, the Kingdom of Zhuzi, the Lion Camel Kingdom, the Kingdom of Bhikshu, and the Dharma-Destroying Kingdom; and also the seals of Fengxian County, the Prefecture of Yuhua, and the Prefecture of Jinping. When Taizong had finished examining them all, he put the passport away.
An officer in attendance had already invited them to the banquet, and Taizong at once came down from the hall and walked along holding the elder's hand, asking: "Do your worthy disciples know how to observe the courtesies?" "My disciples are all demon bodies from mountain villages and the wild open country," said Tripitaka, "unversed in the rites and usages of Your Majesty's sacred court. I earnestly beg Your Majesty to pardon their offenses." "I shall not hold it against them, I shall not hold it against them," laughed Taizong. "Invite them all to the Eastern Pavilion for the feast." Tripitaka thanked him again for the favor and beckoned his three companions, and they all went into the pavilion to look around.
Truly this was a great nation of China, quite unlike any ordinary country. Just look:
At the gates hung colored embroideries, and the ground was spread with red felt. Strange fragrances dense and rich; rare delicacies fresh and fine. Amber cups and glass goblets, inlaid with gold and studded with emerald; Golden platters and white-jade bowls, set about with woven brocade. Turnips boiled soft and melting, sweet taro candied with sugar. Mushrooms sweet and savory, sea vegetables clear and rare. Again and again came ginger-spiced bamboo shoots in hot broth, And time and again were served sunflower hearts dressed with honey. Gluten fried with toon leaves, black fungus and sheets of beancurd.
Stone-flower immortal greens, fern-starch and dried ferns. Peppercorn-stewed turnips, cucumber shreds tossed with mustard. A few plates of vegetarian fare were fine enough, But several kinds of rare and strange fruits took the crown: Walnuts and persimmon cakes, longans and lychees. Cocoon-chestnuts from Xuanzhou and jujubes from Shandong, Ginkgo nuts of Jiangnan and hare-head pears. Hazelnuts, pine nuts, lotus seeds, and great fat grapes, Torreya nuts, melon seeds, and water caltrops in full array. Olives and crabapples, apples and sand pears, Arrowheads and tender lotus roots, crisp plums and red bayberries. Nothing that was not provided, nothing that was lacking.
And there were steamed pastries and honeyed sweets along with fine viands, With fine wines, fragrant teas, and delicacies rare and strange. Tongue cannot tell of the hundred flavors of true delicacies— Truly this great nation of China surpassed the western lands. The four of master and disciples stood in attendance on either side with the civil and military officers, While the emperor Taizong sat in state in the very midst; Songs and dances, pipes and strings, all orderly and stately, And so they made merry for the whole of one day. Truly: The sovereign's grand assembly rivaled the courts of Yao and Shun; Having won the true scriptures, his blessings are in overflow. Through a thousand ages shall it be told, through a thousand ages shall it flourish, And the Buddha's light shines far upon the sovereign's abode.
When evening fell, the banquet of thanks broke up. Taizong returned to his palace, the officers to their mansions, and the Tang monk and his party returned to the Monastery of Great Blessing, where the monks of the monastery were kowtowing to welcome them.
No sooner had they entered the mountain gate than the monks reported: "Master, this morning the crowns of all these trees suddenly turned to the east. We remembered your words, and so we came out of the city to meet you—and here you truly are!" The elder was overjoyed beyond measure, and went in to the abbot's quarters. At this time Bajie no longer clamored for tea and rice, nor played his tricks; the Pilgrim and the Sha Monk were each sedate and steady. Because the fruit of the Way was now accomplished, they were naturally quiet and still. That night they slept.
The next morning, when Taizong mounted the throne to hold court, he said to his assembled ministers: "We have pondered the merits of Our sworn brother, deep and great beyond measure, and have nothing with which to repay him. All night We could not sleep, and extemporized a few lines of plain talk [Translator's note: literally "rustic talk"—a self-deprecating term for a humble composition] as a makeshift token of Our thanks, but they have not yet been written out." He called: "Let the officer of the Secretariat come; We shall recite it to you, and you shall write it all down." The text read:
"We have heard that the Two Principles possess form, manifesting their covering and supporting in order to contain all living things; the Four Seasons are without form, working secretly through cold and heat to transform all things. Thus, gazing up at Heaven and down at Earth, even the dull and the foolish can recognize their beginnings; but to illumine yin and fathom yang, even the wise and the sagely rarely exhaust their workings. Now Heaven and Earth encompass yin and yang, and yet are easy to recognize, because they have form; yin and yang dwell within Heaven and Earth, and yet are hard to fathom, because they are without form.
"Thus we know that where form is manifest, it may be verified, and even the foolish are not deceived; but where form lies hidden and cannot be seen, even the wise remain in the dark. How much more, then, with the Way of the Buddha, which exalts the void and rides the abstruse, steers the hidden and commands the still! It rescues in boundless measure all the ten thousand kinds of beings, and holds sovereign sway over the ten directions. Lift up its dread majesty—nothing is above it; press down its divine power—nothing is beneath it. In its greatness it fills the whole universe; in its fineness it is contained within a hair's breadth. It is neither extinguished nor born; it endures through a thousand kalpas from ages most remote; now hidden, now manifest, it has borne a hundred blessings and flourishes to this very day. The wondrous Way congeals in mystery, and those who follow it cannot perceive its borders; the stream of the Dharma lies deep and still, and those who draw from it cannot fathom its source.
"So we know that among the teeming, dull, and foolish common folk—the petty, vulgar herd—if they cast themselves upon its import, how could they remain without doubt or confusion? Yet the rise of the Great Teaching is grounded in the Western Land. It soared into the Han court in a shining dream, and shining upon the eastern regions, poured forth its compassion. In the ancient age when forms and traces were yet divided, it worked its transforming influence before a single word had spread abroad; in the age when it was sometimes seen and sometimes hidden, the people looked up to its virtue and knew to revere it.
"And when at last it veiled its shadow and returned to truth, moving through the ages and crossing the generations, the golden countenance concealed its radiance and no longer mirrored its light upon the three thousand worlds [Translator's note: according to Buddhist teaching, the light of the Buddha's golden countenance could illumine the great trichiliocosm—the cosmos of three thousand worlds]; yet its glorious image unfolded its picture, and in the void displayed the thirty-two marks. Then its subtle words spread far and wide, rescuing the creatures of the animal realm from the three evil destinies; its heritage of instruction was proclaimed afar, guiding the multitude of beings toward the ten stages. The Buddha has scriptures, by which the Greater and Lesser Vehicles may be distinguished, and he has a Law, by which the arts of the false and the true are transmitted.
"As for Our monk, the Dharma Master Xuanzang, he is the very leader of the gate of the Dharma. In childhood he cherished prudence and acuteness, and early awakened to the merit of the Three Emptinesses; in manhood he was attuned to spiritual purity, and was foremost in embracing the practice of the Four Forbearances. The wind in the pines and the moon on the water are not enough to match his pure and brilliant excellence; the dew of immortals and the bright pearl—how could they rival his radiance and luster! Thus by wisdom he penetrated without obstruction, and by spirit he fathomed what had not yet taken form. Rising far above the Six Dusts [Translator's note: the six sense objects—form, sound, fragrance, flavor, touch, and mental objects], he soars aloof, making his fragrance pass down through a thousand ages.
"He fixed his mind upon the realm within, grieving that the True Dharma had sunk into decline; he lodged his thoughts at the gate of mystery, sighing that the profound texts had fallen into corruption. He wished to sort out the branches and restore the principles, to enlarge what earlier ages had heard; to cut away the false and continue the true, and open the way for later learners. Therefore he set his heart toward the Pure Land, and made his pious journey through the Western Regions. Braving danger he traveled far, staff in hand, journeying alone. By morning, flying snow buried the road before him; by evening, startling sand rose and blurred the sky beyond the void. Through ten thousand li of mountains and rivers he pressed forward, parting the mist and haze; through a hundred turns of cold and heat he traced his way onward through frost and rain. Truly he weighed his toil light against the weight of his purpose, and in his deep seeking he was resolved to attain. He roamed through all the Western Lands for fourteen years, visited every strange kingdom to the very end, and sought out the orthodox teaching. At the Twin Groves and the Eight Waters he savored the flavor of the Dharma and fed upon the wind; at the Deer Park and Vulture Peak he gazed upon wonders and paid homage to marvels.
"He received the supreme words from the former sages, and the true instruction from the highest worthies. He explored the depths of the wonderful gate and studied to the utmost its mysterious enterprises. The Way of the Three Vehicles and the Six Disciplines galloped across the field of his mind; the texts of a single canon in a hundred caskets surged like waves from his mouth. The countries he traversed were without limit, yet the scriptures he fetched were of a fixed number. In all he obtained the essential texts of the Greater Vehicle—thirty-five divisions, five thousand and forty-eight volumes—and these he translated and spread throughout China, proclaiming the glorious enterprise.
"He drew the cloud of compassion from the far West, and poured the rain of the Dharma upon the eastern frontier. The Holy Teaching, once impaired, is now made whole; the host of living beings, once guilty, returns to blessing. The dry flames of the burning house are moistened and quenched, and all are lifted together from the path of delusion; the murky waves of the golden water are made bright [Translator's note: in the Diamond Realm, wisdom is likened to water, hence "golden water"], and all cross together to the further shore. From this we know that evil falls through the agency of karma, and goodness rises through its causal conditions. The grounds of rising and falling are of a man's own making. As the cassia grows upon the high ridge, the clouds and dew can make its blossoms glisten; as the lotus rises from the green waves, flying dust cannot stain its leaves. It is not that the lotus is by nature pure and the cassia by nature chaste, but rather that what they cling to is high, and so no trifling thing can burden them; what they rest upon is clean, and so no turbid thing can touch them. Now the very herbs and trees, which have no awareness, still draw upon the good to become good—how much more, then, humankind, which has awareness; will it not, through auspicious conditions, attain auspiciousness? We may hope that the true scriptures, spread abroad, shall be without end, like the sun and the moon, and that abundant blessings, extended far and wide, shall endure forever, great as Heaven and Earth!"
When it was written out, the Holy Monk was summoned at once. The elder was already waiting outside the court gate to give thanks; hearing the summons, he hastened in and performed the prostration. Taizong had him invited up into the hall, and handed him the text to read through. When he had finished, the elder came down again to give thanks, and reported: "Your Majesty's style is lofty and ancient, and its reasoning is deep and subtle; but I do not know what title it bears." "It is what We composed extempore last night," said Taizong, "to answer and thank my sworn brother. It is called the Preface to the Holy Teaching. I wonder whether it is acceptable." The elder kowtowed and thanked him without end.
Taizong said further: "Our talent is ashamed before the scepter of jade, and Our words fall short of metal and stone. As for the sacred canon within, We have never so much as heard of it. The preface We extemporized is indeed rustic and clumsy; We have defiled the golden tablets with Our brush and ink, and set up tiles and pebbles in a grove of pearls. Examining Ourself in reflection, We blush for shame. It is scarcely worth your praise, and your thanks are but wasted courtesy."
At that, all the officers offered their congratulations together, and made obeisance to the imperial composition, the Preface to the Holy Teaching, which was passed about within the court and without.
"Would my sworn brother expound the true scriptures for us a while?" asked Taizong. "Your Majesty," said the elder, "to expound the true scriptures one must seek a land of the Buddha; the precious hall is no place for recitation." Taizong was delighted, and asked the officers in attendance: "Among the monasteries of Chang'an, which one is pure and clean?" Grand Secretary Xiao Yu stepped forth from the ranks and memorialized: "In the city there is the Goose Pagoda Monastery, which is pure and clean." Taizong at once ordered all his officers: "Let each of you reverently take up a few volumes of the true scriptures, and come with Us to the Goose Pagoda Monastery, where we shall ask my sworn brother to expound them." The officers accordingly took up their volumes and followed Taizong's procession to the monastery, where a high platform was raised and everything was laid out in good order.
The elder gave his orders: "Bajie and the Sha Monk are to lead the dragon horse and put the luggage in order, and the Pilgrim is to stay at my side." He said to Taizong: "If Your Majesty wishes the true scriptures to be transmitted throughout the world, you should have copies transcribed, and only then may they be distributed. The originals should be treasured and kept, and must not be treated lightly." "My sworn brother's words are very fitting, very fitting!" laughed Taizong. He then summoned the officers of the Hanlin Academy and the Secretariat to make fair copies of the true scriptures. He also had a monastery built in the east of the city, named the Copying Monastery [Translator's note: the name literally means "transcribing the imperial yellow"—a monastery set apart for making fair copies].
The elder clasped a few volumes to his breast and mounted the platform, and was just about to begin chanting when suddenly there came the swirling of a fragrant wind, and the eight vajra guardians appeared in mid-air in their true forms, calling aloud: "You who chant the scriptures—put down your volumes and come back to the West with us!" Below, the Pilgrim and his two companions, together with the white horse, rose straight up from the level ground; the elder, too, flung down his scripture volumes and rose from the platform into the ninth heaven, following them up through the air. In consternation, Taizong and all his officers bowed low toward the sky. Truly:
With all his might the Holy Monk strove for the scriptures' text, Through the Western Lands he wandered, fourteen years from end to end. Bitter was the road he traveled, sore the trials and the distress; Many the hills and streams he crossed, many the hardships pressed. His work at eight-and-nine, one nine still more, the tally full; His conduct spanned the three thousand worlds and reached the vast chiliocosm's crest. The subtle truths of the Great Awakening returned to the land of the East, And in the Eastern Land from age to age they evermore are blessed.
After Taizong and the officers had finished bowing, he selected eminent monks and held a Mass of Land and Water in the Goose Pagoda Monastery, where the Great Treasury of the True Scriptures was chanted, to deliver the guilty ghosts of the dark underworld and spread blessings far and wide; and the transcribed scriptures were distributed throughout the world. Of this we say no more.
The story tells how the eight vajra guardians, riding their fragrant wind, led the elder and his four companions—five mouths in all, counting the horse—back again to the Spirit Mountain. Going and coming, the whole journey fell exactly within the eight days. At this time all the gods of the Spirit Mountain were before the Buddha listening to his discourse. The eight vajra guardians led master and disciples in, and said to the Tathagata: "Your disciple, having received your golden command, escorted the Holy Monk and the others to the land of Tang, where the scriptures were delivered. We have now come especially to return the command." They then bade the Tang monk and the others come forward to receive their offices.
The Tathagata said: "Holy Monk, in your former life you were originally my second disciple, named Golden Cicada. Because you would not listen to the exposition of the Dharma and treated my great teaching with contempt, I banished your true spirit to be reborn in the Eastern Land. Now I am glad that you have taken refuge, upheld my precepts, and, riding upon my teaching, fetched away the true scriptures. This is no small merit and virtue; I promote you to the high rank of the true fruition, and you shall be the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit. Sun Wukong, because you made havoc in Heaven, I pressed you with my profound dharma power beneath the Five Elements Mountain. Happily the punishment of Heaven is now fulfilled, and you have returned to the Buddhist faith. I am pleased that you have hidden the evil and spread abroad the good, and that on the road you had merit in tempering demons and subduing monsters, constant from beginning to end. I promote you to the high rank of the true fruition, and you shall be the Buddha Victorious in Strife. Zhu Wuneng, you were originally a water god of the Milky Way, Marshal Tianpeng. Because at the Peach Banquet you got drunk and teased the immortal maidens, you were banished to the lower world to be reborn, with a body like a beast. Happily you kept your love of the human form. After working evil at the Cloud-Fold Cave on Mount Fulin, you were glad to return to the great teaching and enter my Buddhist gate, protecting the Holy Monk upon the road. Yet still you have a stubborn heart, and the lust of the passions is not extinguished in you. Because you have had merit in bearing the load, I promote you to the true fruition of your office, and you shall be the Altar Purifier."
Bajie cried out: "They are all to become Buddhas—how is it that you make me the Altar Purifier?" "Because your mouth is mighty and your body is lazy, and your appetite is enormous," said the Tathagata. "In the four great continents under heaven, those who look up to my teaching are very many. At all Buddhist services you are to purify the altars—a rank with real benefits. How could that be bad! Sha Wujing, you were originally the Curtain-Raising General. At the Peach Banquet you broke the crystal cup, and were banished to the lower world; you fell into the Flowing Sands River and committed sins by harming lives and devouring men. Happily you took refuge in my teaching, reverently upheld the precepts, and protected the Holy Monk, with merit in climbing the mountains and leading the horse. I promote you to the high rank of the true fruition, and you shall be the Golden-Bodied Arhat." He then called to the white horse: "You were originally the son of the Dragon King Guangjin of the great Western Sea. Because you defied your father's command and committed the crime of unfilial conduct, you were fortunate to take refuge in body and in the Dharma, and to return to my Buddhist gate. Day after day we are indebted to you for bearing the Holy Monk to the West, and again for bearing the holy scriptures back to the East; you too have merit. I promote you to the true fruition of your office, and you shall be the Horse of the Eight Classes of Heavenly Dragons." The elder and his four companions all kowtowed to give thanks.
When the horse too had finished giving thanks, the Tathagata ordered a Revealer to lead it down to the Dragon-Transforming Pool beside the rear cliff of the Spirit Mountain and push it into the pool. In a moment the horse stretched itself out—it sloughed off its hide and hair, changed its head and horns; golden scales grew over its whole body, and silver whiskers sprouted beneath its jaws and chin. Wrapped in an aura of auspiciousness, its four claws treading auspicious clouds, it flew up out of the Dragon-Transforming Pool and coiled around the heaven-supporting ornamental pillar within the mountain gate, while all the Buddhas sang the praises of the Tathagata's great Dharma.
The Pilgrim then said to the Tang monk: "Master, now that I have become a Buddha, just as you are—surely I cannot still be wearing this golden band? You're not going to recite some Band-Tightening Spell to squeeze me anymore, are you? Recite a Band-Loosening Spell while there is still time, so I can take it off and smash it to pieces—and don't let that Bodhisattva of yours go and play her tricks on anyone else with it again!" "In those days it was only because you were so hard to manage," said the Tang monk, "that I used this device against you. Now that you have become a Buddha, it has naturally gone—how could it still be on your head? Feel for yourself."
The Pilgrim raised his hand and felt his head—sure enough, it was gone. At this time the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit, the Buddha Victorious in Strife, the Altar Purifier, and the Golden-Bodied Arhat had all taken the true fruition of their appointed places, and the Horse of the Eight Classes of Heavenly Dragons had likewise returned to truth. There is a poem in proof:
One body of true Thusness turned and fell to the world's dust; Uniting the four marks, it built its body anew. Within the Five Elements, form and emptiness return to stillness; The empty fame of a hundred fiends is no more a thing to pursue. The true fruit of Sandalwood attained, he returns to the Great Awakening; His rank accomplished and fulfilled, from the depths of sinking he drew. The scriptures spread through all the world, their gracious light burns wide; The five sages sit exalted in the gate of Non-Duality.
When the five sages took their places in their fruition, all the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, holy monks, arhats, revealers, bhikshus, and lay men and women; the immortals and great gods of every mountain and every cave; the Six Dings and Six Jias, the Duty Officers, the Protectors of the Faith, and the local deities—all the teacher-immortals who had attained the Way, who had come at the outset to listen to the discourse—now each returned to his own position. Just look:
On Vulture Peak's summit the colored mists gather; In the Land of Utmost Bliss the auspicious clouds assemble. The golden dragon lies at ease; the jade tiger rests in peace. The golden crow and the jade hare come and go as they will; The tortoise and the serpent coil and circle as they please. The scarlet phoenix and the azure simurgh are bright and gay; The black ape and the white deer are serene and content. Wondrous flowers of the eight festivals, immortal fruits of the four seasons. Lofty pines and ancient junipers, emerald cypresses and tall bamboos. The five-colored plum flowers and fruits in their season; The ten-thousand-year peaches ever ripe, ever fresh. A thousand fruits and a thousand flowers vying in beauty, And auspicious mists drifting in confusion over all the sky. The great assembly pressed their palms together in devotion, and all chanted: "Homage to the Ancient Buddha Dipankara! Homage to the King Buddha of Healing, of the Light of Lapis Lazuli! Homage to the Buddha Shakyamuni!
"Homage to the Buddha of Past, Future, and Present! Homage to the Buddha of Pure Joy! Homage to the Buddha Vairocana! Homage to the King Buddha of the Jeweled Banner! Homage to the Venerable Buddha Maitreya! Homage to the Buddha Amitabha! Homage to the Buddha of Immeasurable Life!
"Homage to the Buddha Who Guides and Leads to Truth! Homage to the Buddha Indestructible as Diamond! Homage to the Buddha of Precious Light! Homage to the Buddha-King of Dragons! Homage to the Buddha of Zealous Goodness! Homage to the Buddha of Jewel Moonlight! Homage to the Buddha Who Manifests Without Folly! Homage to the Buddha Varuna! Homage to the Buddha Narayana! Homage to the Buddha of the Flower of Merit! Homage to the Buddha of Abundant Merit! Homage to the Buddha of Gracious Wandering! Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Light! Homage to the Buddha of the Mani Banner! Homage to the Buddha Who Illumines with the Torch of Wisdom!
"Homage to the Buddha of Oceanic Virtue and Radiant Light! Homage to the Buddha of Great Compassionate Light! Homage to the King Buddha of Compassionate Power! Homage to the Buddha Foremost in Wisdom and Goodness! Homage to the Buddha of Broad Dominion and Solemn Majesty! Homage to the Buddha of Golden Flower Light! Homage to the Buddha of Abundant Radiant Light! Homage to the Buddha Victorious in Wisdom! Homage to the Buddha of World-Stilling Light! Homage to the Buddha of Sun-and-Moon Light! Homage to the Buddha of the Pearl Light of Sun and Moon!
"Homage to the Victorious King Buddha of the Banner of Wisdom! Homage to the Buddha of Wondrous Sound! Homage to the Buddha of the Banner of Constant Light! Homage to the Buddha of the Lamp That Gazes on the World! Homage to the King Buddha Victorious in the Law! Homage to the Buddha of Sumeru Light! Homage to the King Buddha of Great Wisdom and Might! Homage to the Buddha of the Golden Sea of Light! Homage to the Buddha of Great Penetrating Light! Homage to the Buddha of Abundant Light! Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit!
"Homage to the Buddha Victorious in Strife! Homage to the Bodhisattva Guanyin! Homage to the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta! Homage to the Bodhisattva Manjusri! Homage to the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra! Homage to the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Great Sea Assembly! Homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Ocean Assembly of the Lotus Pool! Homage to all the Bodhisattvas of the Western Land of Utmost Bliss! Homage to the Great Bodhisattvas, the Three Thousand Revealers! Homage to the Great Bodhisattvas, the Five Hundred Arhats! Homage to the Bodhisattvas among monks and nuns! Homage to the Bodhisattvas of the Boundless and Immeasurable Dharma! Homage to the Holy Bodhisattvas, the Great Vajra Heroes!
"Homage to the Bodhisattva, the Altar Purifier! Homage to the Bodhisattva, the Golden-Bodied Arhat of the Eight Treasures! Homage to the Bodhisattva of Broad Power, the Horse of the Eight Classes of Heavenly Dragons!
"To all the Buddhas of every world such as these, may we take this merit to adorn the Buddha's pure land: to repay the fourfold grace above, and to relieve the suffering of the three evil destinies below.
"If any who see or hear this, may they all awaken the thought of bodhi; together may they be born in the Land of Utmost Bliss, and thereby requite this very body.
"To all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three ages, and to all the venerable Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas: Maha Prajna Paramita!"
And here, at last, the Journey to the West comes to its end.