Wealth and rank, fame and fortune, are fixed by destiny's decree; Let no man deceive his own heart. Be upright and open in the light of day— The fruits of loyalty and goodness grow ever deeper. A little arrogance draws down Heaven's chastisement; If success comes not today, wait for its season. Ask the Lord of the East, the sun god, why it is That calamity and harm now press upon him. Only because his proud heart schemed beyond all bounds, Flouting high and low alike, defying every rule.
We tell now how the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was escorted by the celestial soldiers to the Demon-Beheading Platform and bound to the Demon-Subduing Pillar. Blades hacked and axes chopped at him, spears stabbed and swords carved him, yet not one could wound his body. The Star of the Southern Dipper ordered the divinities of the Fire Department to set fires and roast him, but they could not singe him. Then the divinities of the Thunder Department were told to pelt him with thunderbolts and thunder-nails, and still they could not harm him by so much as a hair.
The Great King of the Demon Ghosts of Great Strength and the others memorialized: "Your Majesty, this Great Sage must have learned this body-protecting method somewhere, for with hacking and chopping, thunder and fire, we cannot damage him by a hair. What are we to do?"
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor said: "This wretch being thus, how then shall we deal with him?"
The Supreme Old Lord Laozi stepped forward and memorialized: "That monkey has eaten the peaches of immortality, drunk the imperial wine, and stolen the elixir besides—all five pots of my cinnabar pills, ripe and raw alike, he has swallowed into his belly. Fusing them with the fire of samadhi, he has tempered them into a single mass, and so his whole body has become an adamantine frame that cannot quickly be harmed. Better that you deliver him to me, the Old Lord, to place in the Furnace of Eight Trigrams and refine with gentle and fierce fire. When my elixir has been refined out of him, his body will itself turn to ash."
The Jade Emperor consented, and ordered the Gods of the Six Cyclical Combinations to take him down from the pillar and deliver him to the Old Lord.
The Old Lord received the command and departed. At the same time, Erlang the Sagely and Miraculous was summoned and rewarded with a hundred golden flowers, a hundred flasks of imperial wine, a hundred grains of the Returned Elixir, rare treasures and bright pearls, brocades and embroideries, with orders to share them with his sworn brothers. The True Lord gave thanks for the favor and returned to Guanjiangkou—but of him we say no more.
The Old Lord went to the Tushita Palace, untied the Great Sage's ropes, removed the hook-blades from his collarbones, and thrust him into the Furnace of Eight Trigrams, ordering the Daoist who tended the furnace and the boys who fed the fire to fan the flames and refine him. Now that furnace bore the eight trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui. The Great Sage planted himself in the position of Xun, the trigram of Wind. Where there is wind, there is no fire. But the wind churned up smoke, which smoked his two eyes red, giving him a chronic inflammation of the eyes. And that is why he came to be called "fiery eyes and golden pupils."
Truly time flies swiftly. Unnoticed, seven times seven—forty-nine days—had passed, and the Old Lord's firing was complete. Suddenly one day he opened the furnace to take out the elixir. The Great Sage, both hands pressed over his eyes, was rubbing them and weeping, when he heard a sound at the furnace mouth. Fiercely opening his eyes and seeing the light, he could not hold back: with one spring of his body he leaped out of the elixir furnace, and with a great crash kicked over the Furnace of Eight Trigrams and bolted for the door.
The fire-tenders, the furnace-keeper, and the whole company of the Gods of the Six Cyclical Combinations rushed in terror to seize him, but he knocked them over one by one, like a mad white-browed tiger in a frenzy, like a crazed one-horned dragon. The Old Lord ran up and grabbed at him, but the Great Sage flung him off with one jerk, leaving the Old Lord tumbling head over heels, and made good his escape.
He drew the As-You-Will staff from his ear, waved it in the wind to the thickness of a rice bowl, and held it once more in his hand. Making no distinction of friend or foe, he threw the Heavenly Palace into chaos yet again, beating the Nine Luminaries until they shut their doors and barred their windows, and scattering the Four Heavenly Kings without shadow or shape. What a monkey spirit! There is a poem in proof:
A body of primal chaos, matched to the state before heaven, Through myriad kalpas and a thousand turns remains but natural. Vast and inactive, wholly one with the Great Monad, Still and unmoving, styled the First Mystery. Long refined in the furnace—not by lead or mercury; Life eternal beyond all things—this is the true immortal. Transformations without end, transforming still again— Speak no more of the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts.
Another poem:
A single point of numinous light pierces the Great Void; That pilgrim's staff is just the same: Now long, now short, as its user wills; Laid crosswise, ranged upright, rolled or unfurled at will.
Another poem:
The ape's body of the Way matches the human heart; The heart is the ape—how deep the meaning! Great Sage Equal to Heaven is no empty title; The office of "Protector of Horses" was a kindred spirit's word. Horse and ape together make heart and mind; Bind them fast and tether them—seek not outside. The myriad forms return to truth through one principle; Like Tathagata, he shall dwell at rest in the Twin Trees.
This time the Monkey King, defying all above and below, wielded his iron staff, striking east and parrying west, and not one divinity could stand against him. He fought his way straight into the Hall of Universal Brightness, outside the Hall of Divine Mists. Fortunately the True Lord who Protects the Sage had his aide, the numinous official Wang, on watch at the hall.
Seeing the Great Sage rampaging, he grasped his golden whip, drew near, and blocked the way: "Where do you run, vile monkey! I am here—rage no further!"
Without a word of argument the Great Sage raised his staff and struck. The numinous official raised his whip to meet him, and the two locked together before the Hall of Divine Mists. What a battle:
One loyal and true, of boundless fame; One who deceived Heaven, his name undone. One low, one high, they grappled close; Heroes and champions wagered all. The iron staff fierce, the golden whip swift— How could the upright and selfless endure it? This one, the Honored One of Thunder's Voice, the Responding Transformation of the Great Monad; That one, the Monkey King, the Great Sage, a demon ape. Golden whip and iron staff—both masters of their art, Both weapons of divine palaces and immortal halls. This day before the Hall of Divine Mists they flaunted their might, Each displaying heroic gifts—truly a sight to love. One, false of heart, would seize the Palace of the Dipper; One, straining every nerve, upheld the realm of the Sagely Mystery. Bitterly they struggled, yielding nothing, showing their powers; Whip and staff flew back and forth with neither victory nor defeat.
The two fought together, victory undecided, when the True Lord who Protects the Sage sent yet another dispatch to the Thunder Ministry, summoning all thirty-six thunder generals, who came and ringed the Great Sage about in the very center, each displaying his fierceness in pitched battle. The Great Sage showed not the slightest fear: wielding his one As-You-Will staff, he parried left and blocked right, fended behind and met them before.
Presently, seeing the thunder generals' blades, spears, swords, halberds, whips, maces, claws, hammers, battle-axes, golden melons, mowing-sickles, and crescent spades pressing in upon him thick and fast, he shook his body and transformed into a form with three heads and six arms. He waved his As-You-Will staff, and it became three staffs; his six hands wielded the three staffs like a spinning wheel, whirling round and round as he danced in the heart of the melee. None of the thunder divinities could come near him. Truly:
Round and complete, gleaming and bright, Existing from eternity—how can men learn this? Enter fire and be not burned; Enter water and never drown. A shining pearl of mani [Translator's note: mani, Sanskrit for "jewel"], Which sword, halberd, blade, and spear cannot wound. It can be good, and it can be evil; The good and evil of the world are his to work. When good, he becomes a Buddha or an immortal; When evil, he wears fur and bears horns. With boundless transformations he wrecked the Heavenly Palace, And thunder generals and divine soldiers could not seize him.
By then the assembled divinities had crowded the Great Sage into one place, yet none could come near his body. Their clamor and combat soon alarmed the Jade Emperor, who issued a decree dispatching the Numinous Official of the Wandering Contest and the True Lord who Aids the Sage to the West, to invite the Buddha to come and subdue the monster.
The two worthies received the decree and traveled straight to the blessed realm of Vulture Peak, before the precious sanctuary of Thunderclap, where they bowed to the four Vajra kings and eight Bodhisattvas and asked them to convey their message. The divinities accompanied them to the foot of the precious lotus throne to make their announcement, and Tathagata summoned them in. The two worthies circled the Buddha three times in homage and stood in attendance below the platform.
"Why has the Jade Emperor troubled you two worthies to descend here?" asked Tathagata.
The two replied: "Some time ago, on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a monkey was born who has been wielding magic powers there, gathering a host of monkeys and throwing the world into chaos. The Jade Emperor issued an edict of pacification and made him Protector of Horses, but he despised the office as lowly and rebelled. Li the Heavenly King and Prince Nezha were sent to take him, but failed. He was pacified again and given the title 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven,' an office at first without stipend. Set over the Garden of Peaches, he stole the peaches; then he went to the Jade Pool, stole the dishes and the wine, and ruined the grand assembly. Emboldened by drink, he stole into the Tushita Palace by stealth and stole the Old Lord's elixir, then broke out of the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor sent a hundred thousand celestial soldiers, who could not subdue him. Then the Bodhisattva Guanyin recommended the True Lord Erlang with his sworn brothers to hunt him down. He transformed himself a hundred ways, and only when the Old Lord hurled the Diamond Snare and struck him a heavy blow did Erlang manage to seize him. He was escorted before the throne and condemned to death—but blades, axes, fire, and thunder could all do him no harm. The Old Lord memorialized and was granted leave to take him away and refine him in fire. When the furnace was opened on the forty-ninth day, he leaped out, beat back the heavenly warriors, and fought his way into the Hall of Universal Brightness, outside the Hall of Divine Mists. The True Lord who Protects the Sage's aide, the numinous official Wang, blocked him and fought him bitterly; then the thirty-six thunder generals were summoned and trapped him in the center, yet still none could come near. The matter is urgent, and so the Jade Emperor has come especially to beg the Tathagata to save his throne."
Hearing the summons, Tathagata said to the assembled Bodhisattvas: "Sit firmly here in the hall of the Law; do not disturb your meditation seats. Wait while I go to subdue the demon and save the throne."
Tathagata called the two venerable ones, Ananda and Kasyapa, to accompany him, left Thunderclap, and went straight to the gates outside the Hall of Divine Mists. There he heard a deafening clamor: the thirty-six thunder generals had the Great Sage surrounded.
The Buddha proclaimed his decree: "Let the thunder generals cease their warfare and open their ranks. Summon the Great Sage forth, that I may ask him what powers he has."
The generals indeed fell back. The Great Sage withdrew his magic form, showed his true body, and came forward, his fury towering, crying in a stern voice: "What good man are you, from what region, that dares halt the weapons and question me?"
Tathagata laughed: "I am the Venerable Sakyamuni of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss. Homage to Amitabha Buddha! I hear you have run wild and rustic, rebelling against the Heavenly Palace again and again. Where were you born? In what year did you attain the Way? Why are you so violent and unruly?"
The Great Sage said: "This is what I am:
Heaven and earth begot a numinous immortal of chaos, An old ape from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The Water Curtain Cave he made his home and trade; He sought out friends and masters, grasped the Great Mystery. He refined the many arts of long life, Learned transformations boundless beyond measure. Only, the mortal world below he found too narrow, So he set his heart on dwelling in the jade heaven. The Hall of Divine Mists was never his for long— Kings of men through all the ages held it in succession. The strong are honored: it should be mine; Only the hero dares to claim the first place."
Hearing this, the Buddha gave a cold laugh: "You wretch—you are nothing but a monkey become a spirit. How dare you deceive yourself so far as to covet the honored throne of the Jade Emperor, the Lord of Heaven? From youth he has practiced cultivation, enduring one thousand seven hundred and fifty kalpas of bitter discipline. Each kalpa lasts one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years. Reckon it yourself: how many years must that be, before one may enjoy this boundless Way? You beast, newly reborn in human form—how can you utter such wild words! Shameful! Shameful! You have forfeited your allotted years! Submit at once and speak no more nonsense! I fear only that if you meet with cruel hands, your life will end in an instant, and it would be a pity for your original face!"
"Long though he has cultivated," said the Great Sage, "he has no right to hold this place forever. As the proverb says: 'Emperors take turns; next year it comes to my house.' Just tell him to move out and yield the Heavenly Palace to me, and all will be well. If he will not yield, I swear to stir up such chaos that there will never be peace again!"
The Buddha said: "Apart from your arts of growth and transformation, what other powers have you, that you dare occupy the blessed realm of the Heavenly Palace?"
"My powers are many!" said the Great Sage. "I have the seventy-two transformations, and ageless immortality through myriad kalpas. I can ride the Somersault Cloud, leaping one hundred and eight thousand li in a single bound. Why should I not sit upon the throne of Heaven?"
"Let us wager a bet," said the Buddha. "If you have the skill to somersault clear out of the palm of my right hand, you win: no blades need move, no bitter battles be fought, and I will invite the Jade Emperor to go dwell in the West and yield the Heavenly Palace to you. But if you cannot leap out of my palm, you will return to the lower world as a demon, cultivate a few more kalpas, and come back to quarrel then."
Hearing this, the Great Sage chuckled secretly: "This Tathagata is a simpleton indeed! Old Monkey's single somersault carries me one hundred and eight thousand li. His palm is not a foot across—how could I fail to leap out of it?"
He cried out at once: "Since you say so, can you stand by it?"
"I can! I can!" said the Buddha, and stretched out his right hand, no bigger than a lotus leaf.
The Great Sage put away his As-You-Will staff, shook out his divine might, sprang with all his force, and stood in the very center of the Buddha's palm, calling: "Here I go!" And look at him—one streak of cloud-light, formless and shadowless, gone.
The Buddha's eye of wisdom watched the Monkey King spinning like a windmill, ever onward. As the Great Sage traveled, he suddenly saw five fleshy-red pillars standing against a mass of blue vapor.
"This is the road's end," he said. "When I return, Tathagata will be my witness—the Hall of Divine Mists is surely mine."
Then he thought again: "Wait! Let me leave some mark, so I'll have proof to show Tathagata." He plucked a hair, blew on it a magic breath, and cried "Change!" It became a brush of thick double-tufted ink, and on the middle pillar he wrote a line of great characters: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven made a pilgrimage here." Writing done, he restored his hair. And still not solemn, at the foot of the first pillar he pissed a monkey's piss.
Turning his Somersault Cloud, he returned straight to where he had been and stood in Tathagata's palm: "I went, and now I've come back. Tell the Jade Emperor to yield the Heavenly Palace to me."
Tathagata cursed: "You piss-spirit of a monkey! You never left my palm at all!"
"You don't know," said the Great Sage. "I went to the end of Heaven, saw five fleshy-red pillars against a mass of blue vapor, and left a mark there. Dare you come with me and look?"
"No need to go," said Tathagata. "Just lower your head and look for yourself."
The Great Sage opened wide his fiery eyes with golden pupils and looked down—and there, on the middle finger of the Buddha's right hand, was written "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven made a pilgrimage here." And from between the thumb and forefinger came the reek of monkey piss.
The Great Sage was thunderstruck: "Such a thing! Such a thing! I wrote those words on the pillar that upholds heaven—how did they come to be on his finger? Can he have some art of knowing the future? I refuse to believe it! I don't believe it! Let me go once more!"
What a Great Sage—he sprang up to leap out again, but the Buddha flipped his palm and clapped it down, flinging the Monkey King out beyond the West Gate of Heaven. His five fingers became five mountains joined in one—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—named the Mountain of Five Elements, and gently it pressed him down. All the thunder divinities, with Ananda and Kasyapa, pressed their palms together and cried: "Excellent! Excellent!
Once hatched from an egg, he took on human form, Resolved to cultivate the truth and won the fruit of the Way. Through myriad kalpas unmoved, he dwelt in realms of blessedness, Till in one morning of change his spirit was scattered. Deceiving Heaven, defying his lord, he schemed for high place; Trampling the holy, stealing the elixir, he shattered the great order. His cup of evil now brimming full, retribution has come— Who knows what day he shall rise again?"
Tathagata, having extinguished the demon monkey, summoned Ananda and Kasyapa to return with him to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss.
But Marshal Tianpeng and Marshal Tianyou hurried out of the Hall of Divine Mists, crying: "We beg the Tathagata to wait a moment—our sovereign's great procession is coming!"
Hearing this, the Buddha turned his head and looked up. In a moment there indeed appeared the phoenix carriage of the eight scenes, the precious canopy of nine radiances; mystic songs and wondrous music sounded, chanting measureless divine verses; rare flowers were strewn and true incense sprayed, as the procession came straight to the Buddha to give thanks: "Much are we indebted to your great Law for extinguishing the demon evil. We beg the Tathagata to linger one day, that the immortals may hold a banquet in your honor."
Tathagata dared not refuse. Pressing his palms together, he replied: "This old monk came only at the summons of the Great Celestial Worthy—what magic power have I? It was the boundless fortune of the Celestial Worthy and all the divinities. How could I accept thanks?" The Jade Emperor issued a decree ordering the divinities of the Cloud Ministry to go separately and invite the Three Pure Ones, the Four Sovereigns, the Five Elders, the Six Ministries, the Seven Luminaries of the Northern Dipper, the Eight Extremes, the Nine Luminaries, the Ten Capitals, and the thousand truths and ten thousand sages to attend the feast and join in thanking the Buddha.
He further ordered the Four Heavenly Teachers and the nine heavenly maidens to fling wide the golden gates of the Jade Capital, the precious palace of the Great Mystery, and the jade halls of the Brilliant Yang, and to seat the Tathagata on high upon the numinous terrace of seven treasures. Seats were arranged for every rank, and dragon livers and phoenix marrow, jade nectar and immortal peaches were laid out.
Before long there arrived the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning of the Jade Clarity, the Celestial Venerable of the Numinous Treasure of the Upper Clarity, the Celestial Venerable of the Way and its Virtue of the Great Clarity, the True Lords of the Five Peaks, the Star Lords of the Five Measures, the Three Officials and Four Sages, the True Lords of the Nine Luminaries, the Left Assistant and the Right Aide, the Heavenly Kings, Nezha, and the whole company of divinities of the Profound Void—pair after pair with banners, two by two with canopies, all bearing bright pearls and rare treasures, longevity fruits and wondrous flowers. Coming before the Buddha, they bowed and presented their gifts: "We are grateful to the Tathagata, whose boundless magic power subdued the demon monkey. Now the Great Celestial Worthy has set this feast and called us all to offer our thanks. We beg the Tathagata to give this assembly a name—what say you?"
Tathagata, accepting the charge of the assembled divinities, said: "If a name must be made, let it be called the 'Assembly for the Pacification of Heaven.'"
The aged immortals, with one voice, all cried: "A fine 'Assembly for the Pacification of Heaven'! A fine 'Assembly for the Pacification of Heaven'!"
With that, they all took their seats, wine-cups passed, flowers pinned in hair and zithers strummed—truly a splendid assembly. There is a poem in proof:
The feast of peaches the monkey wrecked; The Pacification feast outshone the peaches. Dragon banners and phoenix carriages, auspicious light abundant; Precious scepters and canopies, lucky vapors floating. Immortal music and mystic songs, sounds of wondrous beauty; Phoenix flutes and jade pipes ring out on high. Jade fragrance swirls as the host of immortals gathers, And all the cosmos, at peace, hails the sagely reign.
All were delighting in the feast when the Queen Mother of the West, leading a troupe of immortal maidens, nymphs, fair beauties, and lovely damsels, came dancing gracefully before the Buddha. Making obeisance, she said: "Formerly the demon monkey wrecked our Peach Banquet; now, thanks to the Tathagata's great Law, the stubborn monkey is chained and bound. To celebrate this Assembly for the Pacification of Heaven, I have nothing worthy to offer in thanks, but today I have with my own clean hands plucked several peaches from the great trees and present them here." Truly:
Half red, half green, breathing sweet fragrance, A lovely immortal root ten thousand years grown. One laughs at those planted on the Peach Blossom Spring's banks— How can they match these wonders of the heavenly court! Purple-veined, tender—rare in all the world; Pale-husked, cool and sweet—unmatched anywhere. Prolonging years, extending life, it can transform the body; Those fated to eat it shall surely be no common souls.
The Buddha pressed his palms together and thanked the Queen Mother, who then bade her nymphs and maidens sing and dance. The whole assembly of immortals praised and admired them. It was truly:
Ethereal heavenly fragrance fills every seat; Immortal buds and blossoms flutter down. The Jade Capital's golden gates blaze with splendor, Rare delights and wondrous treasures beyond price. Pair by pair, their years equal Heaven's; Two by two, lengthened through myriad kalpas. Let mulberry fields turn to ocean and back again— They themselves know neither fear nor surprise.
The Queen Mother was just having her nymphs sing and dance, cups and tallies passing briskly [Translator's note: a classic phrase describing a lively, crowded drinking party], when suddenly there came:
A waft of strange fragrance to the nose, Startling the stars and constellations filling the hall. Celestial immortals and the Buddha paused their cups, Each raising his head, watching and waiting. Amid the empyrean there appeared an old man, Holding a lingzhi mushroom, flying through embroidered haze. In his gourd, ten-thousand-year elixir stored; In his precious register, names written with a thousand years of life. In his grotto, heaven and earth at his own free will; In his pot, sun and moon follow his accomplishment. He roams the four seas, delighting in leisure, Idling through the ten isles, gathering friends wherever he goes. How many times drunk at the Peach Banquet— Waking to find the bright moon still as of old. Long head, great ears, short of body, In the southmost quarter he is called the Old Star of Longevity.
The Star of Longevity had also arrived. After bowing to the Jade Emperor, he greeted the Tathagata and expressed his thanks: "At first I heard that the demon monkey had been taken by the Old Lord to the Tushita Palace for refining, and supposed the matter settled in peace—never expecting he would break out again. It was your work, Tathagata, that subdued this monster so well; a feast has been spread in thanks, and so I came as soon as word reached me. I have nothing else to offer, but I have specially prepared purple lingzhi and jasper grass, green lotus root and golden elixir, to present." In verse:
Green lotus root and golden elixir are offered to Sakyamuni; The Tathagata's myriad years are like the sands of the Ganges. Pure peace and lasting joy—the brocade of the Three Vehicles; Health and long life—the flowers of the nine grades. In the gate of formlessness, the true Dharma King; In the heaven of emptiness and form, an immortal house. Heaven, earth, and the great lands all call him Ancestor— His golden body of sixteen feet, blessed beyond measure.
Tathagata accepted gladly. The Star of Longevity took his seat, and again the cups went round. Then the Great Immortal Barefoot arrived as well. Having bowed before the Jade Emperor, he thanked the Buddha: "Deep am I grateful for your magic power in subduing the demon monkey. I have nothing with which to express my reverence, but I have specially prepared two crossing pears and a few fire dates to offer." In verse:
The Barefoot Immortal's dates and pears breathe fragrance, Reverently offered to Amitayus for lengthened years. The lotus terrace of seven treasures, steady as a mountain; The flower seat of a thousand golds, adorned like brocade. Longevity equal to heaven and earth—no idle claim; Blessings like the vast waves—how could it be boasting? Blessings and long life arriving as foretold—truly so! Leisure, ultimate bliss—such is the Western Paradise.
Tathagata gave thanks again, and bade Ananda and Kasyapa collect the various offerings one by one. Then he went before the Jade Emperor to thank him for the feast.
All were deep in their cups when a patrolling numinous official came to report: "That Great Sage has stuck his head out!"
"No matter, no matter," said the Buddha. From his sleeve he took out a single strip of paper bearing six golden characters: "Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum." He handed it to Ananda and bade him paste it on the summit of the mountain. The venerable one took the strip, went out through the Gate of Heaven, and on the summit of the Mountain of Five Elements pressed it firmly upon a square boulder.
The mountain at once took root and closed its seams, but such air as the prisoner could breathe allowed him to work his hands free and squirm a little. Ananda returned and reported: "The paper has been pasted."
Tathagata then took leave of the Jade Emperor and the divinities, and with the two venerable ones went out beyond the Gate of Heaven. Moved once more by compassion, he recited true words and spells, summoned a local earth-god to the Mountain of Five Elements, and together with the Revealing Protectors of the Five Quarters, set them to dwell on the mountain as his jailers. When he is hungry, they are to give him iron pellets to eat; when he is thirsty, molten copper to drink. When his term of suffering is fulfilled, someone will come to save him. Truly:
The demon monkey, reckless, rebelled against the Heavenly Palace, But Tathagata subdued him with a turn of his hand. Thirsty, he drinks molten copper, enduring the months and years; Hungry, he eats iron pellets, passing the time away. Heaven-sent disasters besiege and torment him, Cold and alone in the world of men—yet his life is long. If the hero can but struggle free once more, In years to come he shall serve the Buddha and go to the West.
Another poem:
Relying on his might, he raised a great affair, Subduing dragons and tigers, showing his clever arts. Stealing peaches, stealing wine, he roamed the heavenly courts; Receiving office and favor, he dwelt in the Jade Capital. His cup of evil brimming full, his body was trapped; But his root of goodness unbroken, his spirit still rises. If he truly escapes the Tathagata's hand, Then wait for the Tang dynasty, when a holy monk shall come.
If you would know in what year, what month, his sufferings would end, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.