Ask of the gate of Chan: how countless are those who seek it, Yet so often they grow old in vain at the end. Polishing bricks to make mirrors, piling snow to store as grain— How many youths have these delusions ensnared? A hair swallows the great sea; a mustard seed holds Mount Sumeru [Translator's note: a Buddhist image for the omnipresence of the Dharma]; The golden elder breaks into a smile. Enlightened, one surpasses the Ten Stages and the Three Vehicles; Bewildered, one stagnates among the Four Births and Six Paths. Who has heard, before the Cliff of Severed Thought, beneath the Shadeless Tree, The cuckoo's single cry at spring's dawn? The road to Cao Creek is perilous; the clouds on Vulture Peak are deep— Here old friends' voices fall silent. On a thousand-fathom cliff of ice, five lotus leaves unfold; In the ancient hall the curtains hang, incense curling. At that season, when one sees through to the source, The Dragon King's Three Treasures shall appear.
This set of verses is to the tune "Su Wu Man." We tell now how our Buddha Tathagata took leave of the Jade Emperor and returned to the precious sanctuary of Thunderclap, where the three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight great Vajra kings, and boundless Bodhisattvas—each bearing canopies, banners, rare treasures, and immortal flowers—were arrayed in the blessed realm of Vulture Peak beneath the twin sala trees to welcome him.
Tathagata reined in his auspicious clouds and addressed the assembly: "With the deepest prajna wisdom I have surveyed the Three Realms. The fundamental nature of things is, in the end, quiet extinction. It has the aspect of empty space, wholly without existence. The subduing of that rebellious monkey is a thing beyond ordinary understanding—it is called the beginning of birth and death; such is the nature of dharmas."
As he finished speaking, he gave forth the light of his relics, and forty-two white rainbows filled the sky, joining south to north. The great assembly beheld this and bowed in homage. Presently he gathered auspicious clouds and colored mists about him, ascended the lotus terrace of the highest grade, and sat down with perfect composure.
The three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight Vajra kings, and four Bodhisattvas pressed their palms together, drew near, paid homage, and asked: "What of the one who wrecked the Heavenly Palace and ruined the Peach Banquet?"
Tathagata said: "That wretch was a demon monkey born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, whose crimes against Heaven were beyond naming. All the divine generals of the heavens could not subdue him. Though Erlang captured him and the Old Lord refined him in fire, neither could harm him. When I arrived, he was in the midst of the thunder generals, flaunting his might and showing off his powers. I halted their weapons and asked him his history. He claimed magic powers, mastery of transformation, and the Somersault Cloud that carries one a hundred and eight thousand li at a bound. I made a wager with him: he could not escape my hand. I seized him in one grip, transformed my fingers into the Mountain of Five Elements, and sealed him beneath it. The Jade Emperor flung wide the golden gates and jade palaces, seated me in the place of honor, and held the 'Assembly for the Pacification of Heaven' to thank me—only then did I take my leave and return." Hearing this, the assembly rejoiced and praised him with one voice.
Their thanks given, each returned to his station and his duties, sharing the joy of natural truth. Truly:
Auspicious vapors spread over India; Rainbow light attends the World-Honored One. In the West he is accounted first— The gate of the Dharma King who is beyond all form! Often one sees black apes offering fruit, And deer carrying flowers in their mouths; Blue luan birds dance, and phoenixes sing; Numinous turtles present longevity, immortal cranes pluck lingzhi. Peacefully they enjoy the pure land of the Jetavana garden And partake of the Dharma realm of the dragon palace. Flowers open every day; fruits ripen every hour; Quietude returns to truth, and meditation bears its fruit. Neither destroyed nor born, neither increased nor diminished. Mist and rosy clouds drift as they come and go; Cold and heat never invade, and years go uncounted.
In verse:
Coming and going free, roaming at will, With neither terror nor sorrow. In the field of ultimate bliss all is open and bright; In the great cosmos there is no spring or autumn.
The Buddha dwelt in the great sanctuary of Thunderclap on Vulture Peak. One day he summoned the assembly—the Buddhas, Arhats, Revealing Protectors, Bodhisattvas, Vajra kings, monks and nuns—and said: "Since I subdued the rebellious ape and pacified Heaven, we have kept no count of years here; I reckon half a thousand years have passed in the mortal world. Today is the full-moon day of early autumn. I have a precious basin laid with a hundred kinds of flowers and a thousand rare fruits and other things. Let us enjoy together this Feast of the Ullambana Bowls—what say you?"
The assembly, each pressing palms together, circled the Buddha three times in homage and accepted. Tathagata then had Ananda carry away the flowers, fruits, and delicacies from the precious basin, and Kasyapa distribute them among the host, who were grateful, each offering poems of thanks.
The Poem of Fortune:
Fortune's sage shines bright before the Honored One; Fortune receives him, deep and far extending. Fortune's virtue boundless, lasting as the earth; Fortune's destiny blessed, joined to Heaven itself. Fortune's fields widely sown flourish year upon year; Fortune's ocean vast and deep grows firmer with the ages. Fortune fills heaven and earth with abundant shade; Fortune increases past all measure, forever complete.
The Poem of Emolument:
Emolument heavy as mountains, and the phoenix sings; Emolument follows peace, beholding the Evening Star. Emolument adds ten thousand bushels, the body in health; Emolument enjoys a thousand measures, and all is at peace. Emolument's stipend reaches Heaven and stands secure; Emolument's fame, like the sea, grows ever clearer. Emolument's thought reaches far, much looked up to; Emolument's rank boundless—the glory of ten thousand lands.
The Poem of Longevity:
The Star of Longevity offers brightness to Tathagata; The realm of long life opens its radiance from this day. Long-life fruits fill the plates, breeding auspicious mist; Long-life flowers newly picked adorn the lotus terrace. Long-life poems, pure and elegant, full of marvels; Long-life songs, tuned by accomplished skill. Long life extended, equal to sun and moon; Long life like mountains and seas—how carefree!
When the Bodhisattvas had finished their offerings, they begged Tathagata to explain clearly the root and origin of things. Then Tathagata opened his gracious mouth, expounded the great Dharma, and proclaimed the true fruit, teaching the wondrous canon of the Three Vehicles and the strict observance of the Five Aggregates. The heavenly dragons circled about him and rain of flowers fluttered down. Truly:
"The meditating heart shines bright as the moon in a thousand rivers; The true nature holds ten thousand miles of sky."
When Tathagata had finished his discourse, he said to the assembly: "I now observe the four great continents: the beings there are good and evil, each in different measure. In the Eastern Continent of Superior Body, they honor Heaven and worship Earth, their hearts serene and their spirits at peace. In the Northern Continent of Kuru, though they love their own kin, they merely scratch out a living; their natures are simple, their feelings drift, and they do little harm. In my Western Continent of Cattle-Gift, they are neither greedy nor murderous; they nourish the vital spirit and hide their numinosity. Though they have no supreme truths, everyone enjoys long life. But in the Southern Continent of Jambudvipa, they are greedy for lust and delight in calamity; there is much killing and much strife—truly a battlefield of tongues and an evil sea of right and wrong. I have here the true scriptures in three collections, which can persuade men to goodness."
The Bodhisattvas pressed their palms together in homage and asked before the Buddha: "Which three collections of true scriptures does the Tathagata have?"
Tathagata replied: "I have a collection of Dharmas, which discourses on Heaven; a collection of Treatises, which speaks of Earth; and a collection of Sutras, which saves ghosts. The three collections comprise thirty-five works in all, containing fifteen thousand one hundred forty-four scrolls. They are the path of true cultivation and the gate of right goodness. I would deliver them to the Eastern Land, but alas, the beings of that region are foolish and stupid; they slander the true words, fail to grasp the essentials of my gate of Dharma, and neglect the true lineage of Yoga. What I need is someone with magic power to go to the Eastern Land, find a man of good faith, and have him bitterly trek over a thousand mountains and journey far across ten thousand waters, to come to me and seek the true scriptures, that they may be transmitted forever in the East and persuade its beings to goodness. That would be a blessing great as a mountain and a goodness deep as the sea. Who is willing to make this journey?"
Then the Bodhisattva Guanyin drew near the lotus terrace, circled the Buddha three times in homage, and said: "Your disciple, though unskilled, is willing to go to the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker."
The assembled host raised their heads to look upon that Bodhisattva:
Her principle complete in the Four Virtues [Translator's note: constancy, bliss, self, and purity], her wisdom filling her golden body. Pendant necklaces hang with pearls and kingfisher jade; Incense rings are tied with bright treasures. Her raven hair deftly coiled in a dragon's-coil knot; Her embroidered sash lightly floats with phoenix plumes. Buttons of green jade, a robe of white silk, Veiled in auspicious light; A skirt of brocade velvet, golden pendants, Greeted by lucky vapors. Brows like the little moon, eyes like twin stars. A jade face born to gladness, red lips a single point of red. Her pure vase holds sweet dew, filled year after year; The drooping willow, slant-planted, green age after age. She frees from the Eight Perils, delivers the host of beings, Great in compassion and pity. Of old she guards the sacred mountain, dwelling in the Southern Sea, Saving the suffering, heeding every cry— Answered ten thousand times when called ten thousand times, A thousand sages, a thousand spirits. Her orchid heart delights in the purple bamboo; Her iris nature loves the fragrant vine. She is the compassionate Lord of Potalaka Peak, The living Guanyin of the Grotto of Tidewater Sound.
Tathagata beheld her and was greatly pleased: "No other could go; it must be the Venerable Guanyin, whose powers are vast—only she can make this journey."
The Bodhisattva said: "Since your disciple is going to the Eastern Land, what instructions do you give?"
Tathagata said: "On this journey you must survey the road. Do not travel in the high empyrean, but must go half in cloud and half in mist, passing over mountains and rivers. Note carefully the numbers of the journey's distances, that you may instruct the scripture-seeker. But I fear the man of good faith will find the road hard; I will give you five treasures."
He bade Ananda and Kasyapa bring out one brocade cassock and one ringed monk's staff of nine rings, and said to the Bodhisattva: "This cassock and this staff you may give to the scripture-seeker for his own use. If he will come with resolute heart, wearing my cassock he shall escape the wheel of rebirth; holding my staff, he shall suffer no deadly harm."
The Bodhisattva bowed and received them. Tathagata then took out three hoops and handed them to her: "These treasures are called 'tightening fillets.' Though the three are alike in appearance, their uses differ. I have three spells of 'gold, tight, and forbidden.' If on the road you meet demons of vast magic power, you must persuade them to reform and become disciples of the scripture-seeker. If they will not obey, put one of these fillets on their heads, and it will take root in their flesh at once. Recite the spell proper to each, and their eyes will swell and their heads ache, their skulls nigh splitting—this will surely bring them into my gate."
Hearing this, the Bodhisattva leapt for joy, made obeisance, and withdrew. She summoned the Pilgrim Hui'an to accompany her. Hui'an wielded a wrought-iron staff of a thousand catties, serving as a mighty demon-subduing guardian at her side. The Bodhisattva wrapped the brocade cassock into a bundle and had him carry it, hid the golden fillets, took up the ringed staff, and went straight down from Vulture Peak. This journey had its destiny:
The Buddha's son shall return to fulfill his former vow; The Elder Golden Cicada shall be wrapped in sandalwood.
When the Bodhisattva reached the foot of the mountain, the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit of the Jade Truth Temple met her at the temple gate and invited her in for tea. Not daring to linger, the Bodhisattva said to the Immortal: "Today I have received the Buddha's decree and go to the Eastern Land to find a scripture-seeker."
"When will the scripture-seeker arrive here?" asked the Immortal.
"That is not fixed—perhaps within two or three years he may reach this place."
So she took leave of the Great Immortal and traveled on, half in cloud and half in mist, keeping count of the distances. There is a poem in proof:
Seeking each other across ten thousand miles, without a word— Yet who, you ask, can have his wishes whole? If seeking others must be like this, How could it be mere chance in all my life? When the Way is transmitted by right means, the words ring true; Without good faith, even explanation is empty rumor. I would pour out heart and liver to find the one foreknown— I reckon that ahead there surely waits a destiny.
As master and disciple were walking along, they suddenly beheld three thousand li of Weak Water—it was the boundary of the River of Flowing Sand. The Bodhisattva said: "Disciple, here is a hard passage. The scripture-seeker, with his turbid bones and mortal flesh, how shall he cross?"
Hui'an said: "Master, see how far the river runs."
The Bodhisattva paused her cloud-step to look, and this is what she saw:
East it joins the sand wastes; west it reaches the foreign tribes; South it stretches to Wuge, north to the Tartar lands. Eight hundred li across, up and down a thousand ten thousand li. The water churns as if the earth itself were rolling over; The waves heave as if a mountain raised its back. Vast and surging, boundless and dim— Ten li away one hears the ten-thousand-fathom flood. No immortal raft could reach this place; Not even a lotus leaf could float upon it. Withered grass and slanting sun along the winding shores; Yellow clouds shadow the sun, darkening the long dikes. Where here would merchants come and go? When has a fisherman ever dwelt there? On the level sands no wild geese alight; On the far banks gibbons cry. Only the red knotweed flowers in bloom tell the season, And the white duckweed breathes its faint fragrance, drifting close.
As the Bodhisattva was surveying this, there came a great splash from the river, and out of the waves leaped a demon monster, exceedingly ugly and fierce. He looked like this:
Not blue, not black—a face of ill fortune; Not long, not short—a barefoot, sinewy frame. His eyes gleamed and flickered like twin lamps at the stove's bottom; The corners of his mouth, forked and gaping, Like the fire-basin of a butcher's shop. Tusks bristled like sword blades, red hair in wild disorder. One roar of his voice like thunder; His two legs scurrying like rolling wind.
The monster gripped a precious staff, strode up the bank, and made to seize the Bodhisattva, but Hui'an raised his wrought-iron staff and blocked him, shouting: "Stand!" The monster steadied his staff and met him. The two fought beside the River of Flowing Sand—a terrible battle, truly startling:
Muozha's wrought-iron staff displays its guardian powers; The monster's demon-quelling staff strains in heroism. Two silver serpents dance beside the river; A pair of divine specters charge upon the bank. One holds the Flowing Sand with all his skill; One guards Guanyin and builds a mighty deed. One leaps the waves and churns the billows; One breathes out fog and sprays the clouds. Churning waves turn heaven and earth dark; Breathing fog and spraying clouds blind sun and moon. That demon-quelling staff is like a white tiger come down from the mountains; This wrought-iron staff is like a yellow dragon lying across the road. That one, wielded, parts the grasses seeking serpents; This one, flung open, strikes at hawks and parts the pines. They fight till all is dim and blurry, yet the stars shine bright; Mist billows up, and heaven and earth go hazy. That one, long dwelling in the Weak Water, none so fierce as he; This one, fresh from Vulture Peak, scores his first great deed.
The two of them fought back and forth several dozen rounds without victory or defeat. The monster held off the iron staff and asked: "Whence comes a monk like you, daring to stand against me?"
Muozha said: "I am Muozha, the Pilgrim Hui'an, second prince of the Pagoda-Bearer Heavenly King, now guarding my master on her journey to the Eastern Land to find a scripture-seeker. What monster are you, daring so boldly to block the road?"
Then the monster remembered: "I recall you—you practiced cultivation with Guanyin of the Southern Sea in the Purple Bamboo Grove. Why have you come here?"
Muozha said: "Is that not my master on the bank?"
Hearing this, the monster murmured assent again and again, put away his precious staff, and let Muozha lead him to Guanyin, before whom he bowed to the ground.
He pleaded: "Bodhisattva, forgive my crime, and hear my plea. I am no demon fiend—I was the Curtain-Raising General who attended the phoenix carriage beneath the Hall of Divine Mists. At the Peach Banquet I lost my grip and shattered a glass cup. The Jade Emperor had me beaten eight hundred blows and banished to the lower world, where I took on this shape. Moreover, every seven days flying swords come and pierce my chest and sides a hundred-odd times before departing; hence this torment of mine. There was no help for it—hunger and cold were unbearable, and every two or three days I would come out of the waves to seize a traveler for food. Little did I know that today, in my ignorance, I would give offense to the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion."
The Bodhisattva said: "You sinned in Heaven, were banished hither, and now take life yet again—sin heaped upon sin. I have received the Buddha's decree to go to the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker. Why not enter my gate, embrace the good fruit, and become a disciple of the scripture-seeker, going to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures? I will teach the flying swords to pierce you no more. When the work is done, your crime shall be forgiven and your old post restored. What say you?"
The monster said: "I am willing to embrace the true fruit." He came forward again: "Bodhisattva, I have devoured countless people here. Several times scripture-seekers came by, and I ate them all. The heads of those I ate I flung into the Flowing Sand, and they sank straight to the bottom—even a goose feather cannot float on this water. But nine skulls of scripture-seekers floated upon the surface and would never sink. Thinking them wondrous things, I strung them on a cord and play with them when I am idle. Only, if the scripture-seeker does not come here, will this not rather ruin my future prospects?"
"How could he not come?" said the Bodhisattva. "Hang those skulls about your neck and await the scripture-seeker; they will have their use."
The monster said: "Since it is so, I willingly accept your instruction." The Bodhisattva laid her hand upon his head, bestowed the precepts upon him, gave him the surname Sha from the river sand, and bestowed his religious name: Sha Wujing, "Sand Awakened to Purity."
At that time he entered the monastic order, escorted the Bodhisattva across the river, cleansed his heart and purged his thoughts, took life no more, and waited solely for the scripture-seeker.
The Bodhisattva bade him farewell, and with Muozha hurried on toward the East. After traveling a long while, they saw a high mountain wreathed in baleful mists that barred all passage on foot. As they were about to ride their clouds over it, a fierce wind sprang up without warning, and another demon monster flashed forth—of a most savage appearance:
A tangled lotus-pod mouth that droops and dangles; Ears like cattail fans, eyes of gleaming gold. Tusks sharp as steel files; A long snout gaping like a fire basin. A golden helmet bound tightly by cheek straps; The silken cords of his armor like a python shedding scales. In his hands a rake with dragon-claw prongs; At his waist a bent bow like ten rounds of the moon. Fierce and martial, his awe bullies the Lord of the Year; Proud and high, his spirit crushes the heavenly gods.
He charged up, friend and foe undistinguished, raised his rake, and made to rake the Bodhisattva, but the Pilgrim Muozha blocked him, roaring: "Vile monster, no more insolence! Taste my staff!"
The monster said: "This monk knows not whether he lives or dies! Taste my rake!" The two charged and clashed at the foot of the mountain, wagering victory and defeat. Truly a fierce fight:
The monster fierce and raging, Hui'an mighty in power. The iron staff pounds for the heart; The rake's prongs meet him face to face. Earth flung up and dust flying, heaven and earth darkened; Sandstorm and flying stones startle gods and demons. The nine-toothed rake gleaming bright, its twin rings ringing; A single staff, black and glossy, flying between two hands. This one is a Heavenly King's prince; That one a marshal's impish spirit. One serves as guardian at Potouka; The other works demonry in a mountain cave. In this encounter they contend for high and low— Who knows which shall lose and which shall win?
Just as the two fought at the height of it, Guanshiyin, from midair, threw down a lotus blossom that parted the rake and the staff.
The monster saw it, was startled at heart, and asked: "What monk are you, daring to trick me with 'flowers before my eyes'?"
Muozha said: "You pitchfork-armed wretch, all fleshly eyes and mortal body! I am the disciple of the Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea. This is the lotus my master has thrown—do you not even recognize that?"
"The Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea," said the monster—"is she the Guanshiyin who sweeps away the Three Disasters [Translator's note: war, pestilence, and famine] and saves from the Eight Perils?"
"Who else should she be?" said Muozha.
The monster flung aside his rake, bowed to the ground, and said: "Elder brother, where is the Bodhisattva? I beg you, introduce me." Muozha lifted his face and pointed: "Is that not she?" The monster kowtowed toward them and cried in a loud voice: "Bodhisattva, forgive my offense! Forgive my offense!"
Guanyin pressed down her cloud and came forward, asking: "Where were you transformed into a wild boar spirit? From what region do you, an old swine, run wild, daring to block me here?"
The monster said: "I am no wild boar, nor any old swine. I was originally the Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds in the River of Heaven. Only, flushed with wine, I flirted with Chang'e the moon goddess. The Jade Emperor had me beaten two thousand mallet blows and banished me to the dust of the mortal world. My one numinous true nature went straight to seize a womb and be reborn—but I lost my way, and entered the womb of a sow, taking on this shape. I bit the sow to death, killed the litter of piglings, seized this mountain territory, and have lived here eating men. Little did I expect to run into the Bodhisattva. I beg you most earnestly: deliver me, deliver me!"
"What is this mountain called?" asked the Bodhisattva.
"It is called the Mountain of Blessing Ridge," said the monster. "In the mountain there is a cave called Cloud Pathway Cave. In the cave there lived one called Second Sister Egg. Seeing I had some skill at arms, she took me as head of her household—what's called 'marrying into the wife's house.' Within a year she died, and the whole cave's estate came to me to enjoy. Here, as the days and years dragged on, I had no honest trade to sustain me, and so I merely carried on eating men to get by. I beg the Bodhisattva's forgiveness."
The Bodhisattva said: "The ancients said: 'If you would have a future, do not do what ruins your future.' You broke the law in the Upper World, and now you do not mend your savage heart but slay the living and create new karma—shall you not suffer for both crimes together?"
"Future! Future!" said the monster. "If I follow you, you'll have me chewing the wind! As the proverb says: 'Follow the law of the officials, and be flogged to death; follow the law of the Buddha, and be starved to death.' Away with it! Away with it! Better to catch a traveler and eat him, fat and greasy, mother's son though he be! What care I for two crimes, three crimes, a thousand crimes, ten thousand crimes!"
The Bodhisattva said: "'When a man has a good desire, Heaven must follow it.' If you are willing to embrace the true fruit, you shall surely have means to sustain your body. The five grains of the world can all relieve hunger—why must you eat men to live?"
Hearing this, the monster woke as if from a dream. He bowed to the Bodhisattva and said: "I wish to follow the true way; but alas—'having sinned against Heaven, there is nowhere left to pray'!"
The Bodhisattva said: "I have received the Buddha's decree to go to the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker. You may become his disciple and make one journey to the Western Heaven, atoning for your crimes with merit; I will surely deliver you from your plagues."
The monster cried with full mouth: "I'll follow! I'll follow!" Only then did the Bodhisattva lay her hand upon his head and bestow the precepts. She gave him the surname Zhu, "Swine," from his body, and his religious name: Zhu Wuneng, "Swine Awakened to Power."
Thereafter he accepted the command and returned to the truth, kept the fast and ate only vegetable food, renounced the five pungent herbs and the three forbidden meats [Translator's note: the pungent herbs—garlic, small garlic, onions, leeks, and shallots—by Buddhist precept, and the goose, dog, and black fish forbidden in Daoist practice], and waited solely for the scripture-seeker.
The Bodhisattva and Muozha, having taken leave of Wuneng, pressed on through half-cloud and half-mist. As they traveled, they saw a jade dragon crying out in the sky.
The Bodhisattva drew near and asked: "What dragon are you, that suffers punishment here?"
The dragon said: "I am the son of Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea. Because I set a fire that burned the luminous pearl in the palace hall, my father memorialized the celestial court and accused me of filial rebellion. The Jade Emperor hung me up in the sky and had me beaten three hundred blows; within days I am to be executed. I beg the Bodhisattva to save me, to save me!"
Hearing this, Guanyin went at once with Muozha through the South Gate of Heaven. The two Heavenly Teachers Qiu and Zhang met her and asked: "Where bound?"
"This humble monk would see the Jade Emperor," said the Bodhisattva. The two Heavenly Teachers hurried to announce her, and the Jade Emperor came down from his hall to welcome her.
The Bodhisattva came forward, paid her courtesies, and said: "This humble monk has received the Buddha's decree to go to the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker. On the road I met a sinful dragon hanging in punishment, and have come especially to memorialize: spare his life and bestow him on me, that he may serve as the scripture-seeker's mount."
The Jade Emperor issued an edict of pardon, dispatched heavenly generals to release him, and gave him to the Bodhisattva. She gave thanks and came out. The little dragon kowtowed in thanks for the favor of his spared life and submitted to the Bodhisattva's direction. She placed him in a deep ravine, to wait only for the scripture-seeker, when he would become the white horse and win merit on the road to the West. The little dragon received his charge and hid himself away—but of him we say no more.
The Bodhisattva led the Pilgrim Muozha past this mountain and hurried on toward the East. Before they had gone far, they suddenly saw ten thousand rays of golden light and a thousand streams of auspicious vapor.
"Master," said Muozha, "the place where that light bursts forth is the Mountain of Five Elements; Tathagata's 'sealing paper' is there."
"That must be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven," said the Bodhisattva, "who ruined the Peach Banquet and wrecked the Heavenly Palace—he is pressed beneath it now."
"Just so, just so," said Muozha. Master and disciple climbed the mountain together and looked at the paper: it bore the six true words, "Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum." When the Bodhisattva had read it, she sighed with pity and composed a poem:
Alas, that demon monkey who would not honor the law, In those years so wild, so proudly heroic! Deceitful of heart, he wrecked the Peach Banquet; Bold beyond shame, he broke into the Tushita Palace. Among a hundred thousand troops no hand could match him; In the ninefold heavens his might was feared. But since my Buddha Tathagata trapped him, What day shall he stretch his limbs and show his powers again?
While master and disciple were talking, they aroused the Great Sage, who called out loudly from the foot of the mountain: "Who is up there reciting poetry and exposing my faults?"
Hearing this, the Bodhisattva came straight down the mountain to find him. Beneath the rock cliff, the local earth-god, the mountain god, and the heavenly generals who guarded the Great Sage all came to bow and welcome her, and led her before him. Looking, she saw that he was pressed within a stone box: his mouth could speak, but his body could not move.
"You whose name is Sun," said the Bodhisattva, "do you know me?"
The Great Sage opened his fiery eyes with golden pupils, nodded his head, and called out: "How could I not know you? You are that Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea, of Potalaka Peak, the Great Compassionate One Who Saves from Suffering and Peril, the Homaged Guanshiyin! Much obliged for looking in! Much obliged! Here I count the days like years, and not one old acquaintance has come to see me. Where do you come from?"
"I have received the Buddha's decree," said the Bodhisattva, "to go to the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker. Passing this way, I lingered these few steps to see you."
"Tathagata fooled me," said the Great Sage, "and pressed me beneath this mountain more than five hundred years, unable to stretch or struggle. I beg the Bodhisattva, by some means or other, to save old Monkey!"
"Your sins are deep," said the Bodhisattva. "If I save you out, I fear you will only breed new calamity—that would be worse, not better."
"I know my repentance now," said the Great Sage. "I only pray, Great Compassionate One, to point me out a road—I willingly embrace the practice of the Way."
Truly it is:
When one thought stirs in the human heart, Heaven and earth all come to know it. If good and evil went unrewarded, Then heaven and earth would surely play favorites.
Hearing this, the Bodhisattva was filled with joy, and said to the Great Sage: "The sacred classics say: 'When one's words are good, they are answered from a thousand li away; when one's words are not good, they are opposed from a thousand li away.' Since such a heart is yours, wait till I reach the Great Tang Empire in the Eastern Land and find a scripture-seeker, and I shall have him save you. You may become his disciple, keep the faith and receive its sustaining power, and enter the gate of our Buddha, cultivating the true fruit once more. What say you?"
The Great Sage cried out again and again: "I'll go! I'll go!"
"Since this good fruit is yours," said the Bodhisattva, "I will give you a religious name."
"I already have one," said the Great Sage. "I am called Sun Wukong."
The Bodhisattva was delighted: "Two others have already submitted to me, both ranked in the word 'Wu.' Yours too is 'Wu'—it matches theirs exactly. Excellent, excellent! Then I need give you no instructions. I am going now."
The Great Sage, seeing his nature and clarifying his mind, turned to the Buddha's teaching; and the Bodhisattva, her heart set upon her search, went on seeking the divine register.
She and Muozha left that place and pressed straight eastward, and in less than a day they reached the Great Tang Empire and the city of Chang'an. Gathering in the mists and reining back the clouds, master and disciple transformed themselves into two scabby, scurfy wandering monks and entered the city of Chang'an, until unknowingly it grew late. Walking beside the great market street, they saw a shrine of the local earth-god, and the two walked straight in, frightening the earth-god into a panic and his ghost soldiers into trembling. Knowing it was the Bodhisattva, they kowtowed and welcomed her in.
The earth-god then ran hastily to report to the City God, the shrine gods, and all the divinities of every temple in Chang'an, who all came to pay their respects, saying: "Bodhisattva, forgive the guilt of your assembled gods in greeting you late."
"You must not let the news leak out," said the Bodhisattva. "I have received the Buddha's decree and come here especially to seek out the scripture-seeker. I borrow your temple to lodge a few days; when I have found the true monk, I shall return at once." The gods each returned to their stations, packing the earth-god off to lodge temporarily in the City God's temple, while master and disciple hid away their true forms.
If you would know whom they found to fetch the scriptures, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.