Journey to the West 8

8/8/2019 Journey to the West 8

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Chapter 8Our Buddha Creates the Scriptures and Passeson Perfect Bliss

Guanyin Obeys a Decree and Goes to Chang'anIf you try to ask about the dhyanaOr investigate the innumerable

You will waste your life and achieve nothing.Polishing bricks to make mirrors,Or piling up snow to turn it into grainHowever many years have you wasted like that?A hair can contain an ocean,A mustardseed can hold a mountain,And the golden Kasyapa only smiles.When you are awakened you will surpass theTen Stages and the Three Vehicles,And stop the four kinds of birth and the sixtypes of reincarnation.Who has ever heard, before the cliff of thoughtsextinguished,Under the tree that has no shadow,The sound of the cuckoo in a spring dawn?The path by the Cao Stream is dangerous,The Vulture Peak is high in the clouds:Here the voice of the ancients was a mystery.On a cliff ten thousand feet highFiveleaved lotuses bloom

As scent coils round the shutters of the oldpalace.At that time

Your knowledge smashes all the currents ofthought;


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The Dragon King and the Three Treasures canbe seen.This lyric poem is set to the tune Su Wu Man.Our story goes on to how our Buddha, the

Tathagata, left theJade Emperor and went back to the ThunderMonastery, where he saw the three thousandBuddhas, fivehundred Arhats, eight great Vajrapanis andcountless Bodhisattvas standing under thepairs of sala trees at thefoot of the Vulture Peak, all holding banners,canopies, jewels and magical flowers. TheTathagata brought hispropitious cloud to a halt and addressed themthus:"With my deep insightI surveyed the Three Worlds.The origin of natureIs ultimately emptiness,Like the great void,Containing nothing at all.The subjection of this evil monkeyWas a mystery beyond understanding.It is called the beginning of life and death:Such is the appearance of things.When he had spoken a sacred light filled the sky

with fortytwo rainbows that linked North andSouthtogether. All who saw them bowed, and amoment later the Buddha gathered togethersome felicitous cloud


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and climbed to the supreme Lotus Throne,where he seated himself in majesty.Then the three thousand Buddhas, the fivehundred Arhats, the eight Vajrapanis and the

four Bodhisattvascame forward to bow to him with their handstogether and ask, "Who was it who wrecked theHeavenlyPalace and ruined the Peach Banquet?""The wretch was a monkey fiend born on theMountain of Flowers and Fruit," the Buddhareplied, "whosetowering crimes would beggar description.None of the heavenly generals were able tosubdue him, and whenLord Lao Zi refined him with fire after Erlanghad captured him, he was unharmed. When Iwent there he wasin the middle of the thunder generals, giving agreat display of his martial prowess and hisspirit. I stopped thefighting and asked him what it was all about. Hesaid that he had divine powers, was able to dotransformations, and could ride a somersaultcloud for thirtysix thousand miles at a single

jump. I made awager with him that he could not jump out of my

hand, then grabbed him, turned my fingers intothe FiveElements Mountain, and sealed him under it.The Jade Emperor opened wide the goldengates of the Jade


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Palace, and invited me to be the guest of honourat a Banquet to Celebrate Peace in Heaven hegave to thankme. After that I took my leave of him and came

back here." They were all delighted by the newsand theycongratulated him effusively, after which theywithdrew group by group, each to go about hisduties as allrejoiced in the divine truth. Indeed:Propitious vapours filled Paradise,Rainbows surround the Venerable One.The Western Paradise, known as the best,Is ruled by the dharma King ofnonphenomenon.Black apes are always offering fruit,Deer hold flowers in their mouths;Blue phoenixes dance,Coloured birds call;Sacred turtles offer long life,Immortal cranes present magic mushrooms.Here they peacefully enjoy the Pure Land of theJetavana Park,The infinite realms of the Dragon Palace.Every day flowers bloom,Fruit is always ripe.Through practicing silence they return to the

truth,Achieving reality by contemplation.There is no birth nor death;They neither wax nor wane.Mists follow them as they come and go;


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Untouched by heat or cold, they do not noticethe years.One day, as the Buddha dwelt in the ThunderMonastery on the Vulture Peak, he called

together all the otherBuddhas, Arhats, guardian deities,Bodhisattvas, Vajrapanis, monks and nuns andsaid, "As we are beyondtime, I don't know how long it has been sincethe crafty ape was subdued and Heavenpacified, but by earthlyreckoning it must be about five hundred years.As today is a fine early autumn day and I have aprecious bowlfilled with a hundred kinds of rare flowers and athousand varieties of exotic fruit, what wouldyou say to ourhaving an Ullambana Feast?" They all put theirhands together and performed the reverence ofgoing roundhim three times in acceptance. The Buddha thenordered Ananda to hold the bowl of flowers andfruit whileKasyapa laid them out. The hosts were movedto gratitude, which they expressed in verse.The poem on happiness went:The Star of Happiness shines bright before the

Venerable One;Gifts of happiness spread wide and deep, everricher.Fortune is boundless and lasts as long as theEarth;


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A happy fate has the luck to be linked withHeaven.Fields of happiness are widely sown andflourish every year;

The sea of happiness is mighty and deep, neverchanging.Happiness fills Heaven and Earth, leavinglegacies of happinessHappiness grows beyond measure, eternallycomplete.The poem on official rank went:With rank as high as a mountain, colouredphoenixes call;With rank ever increasing, we praise theevening star.Salary raised to ten thousand bushels, and ahealthy body;Salary raised to a thousand tons, and the worldat peace.Rank and salary equaling Heaven, and eternaltoo;Rank and fame as great as the sea, and evenclearer.Rank and favour continuing for ever, greatly tobe admired;Rank and nobility without bounds, like tenthousand kingdoms.

The poem on longevity went:The Star of Longevity shines towards theBuddha;The glories of the land of longevity start fromhere.


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Fruits of longevity fill the bowls, glowing withgood omen;Journey to the WestChapter 8 103

Longevity's flowers are newly plucked andplaced on the lotus throne.Poems of longevity, pure and elegant, full ofrare conceits,Songs of longevity sung with exquisite talent.Life as long as sun and moon,Life that will outlast both mountains and seas.When the Bodhisattvas had presented all thepoems they asked the Buddha to expound thefundamentals tothem. Then the Tathagata opened his excellentmouth and expounded the great Law andretribution. He spokeabout the wonderful scriptures of the ThreeVehicles and the theory of the Five Aggregatesas contained in theSurangamasutra; the deities and nagasgathered round, and flowers came raining downin profusion. Indeed:The meditating heart shines like the moon in athousand rivers;The true nature embraces ten thousand miles ofsky.

When the Buddha had finished his sermon hesaid to the host, "I have observed that themorality of the livingcreatures of the four continents varies. In theEastern Continent of Superior Body theyworship Heaven and


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Earth, their minds are livery and they areeventempered. In the Northern Kuru Continentthey are given tokilling living things, but they only do it to feed

themselves; they are stupid and lazy by nature,but they do nottrample much on others. Our Western Continentof Cattlegift has people who neither covet norkill. Theynourish the vital essence and submerge thespirit; and although they produce no saints ofthe highest order,they all live to a ripe old age. But in theSouthern Jambu Continent they are greedy andlecherous and delightin the sufferings of others; they go in for a greatdeal of killing and quarrelling. That continentcan with truthbe called a vicious field of tongues and mouths,an evil sea of disputation. I now have ThreeStores of TrueScriptures with which they can be persuaded tobe good."On hearing this, all the Bodhisattvas put theirhands together in submission, then wentforward to ask, "WhatThree Stores of True Scriptures does the

Tathagata have?""I have one store of the Vinaya, the law, which isabout Heaven; one of Sastras, expositionswhich are


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concerned with Earth; and one of Sutras, orscriptures, which save ghosts. The Three Storesconsist of fifteenthousand one hundred and fortyfour scrolls in

thirtyfive classes. They are the scriptures forcultivating thetruth, and the gate to real goodness. I want tosend them to the Eastern lands because it isintolerable that thebeings of that quarter should all be such stupidwretches who slander and defame the trueword, do notunderstand the gist of my Law, and have lapsedfrom the orthodox Yogacara Sect. How am I tofind one withthe magic powers to go to the East, choose aworthy believer and bid him make the arduouscrossing of athousand mountain and ten thousand rivers insearch of the scriptures until he finally comes tothis abode ofmine to receive them? When he does come theywill be sent to the East for ever to convert allliving beings,which will be a blessing as big as a mountain, acause for congratulation as deep as the sea. Isanyone willing

to go and find him?"Journey to the WestChapter 8 104The Bodhisattva Guanyin went up to the lotusthrone, and after going round the Buddha threetimes by way of


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salutation she said, "Your untalented disciplewishes to go to the East to find a man to comeand fetch thescriptures." All present raised their heads to

look at the Bodhisattva:Her understanding filling out the four virtues,Wisdom filling her golden body.From her necklace hang pearls and jade,Her bracelet is made of jewels.Her hair is black clouds skillfully piled likecoiling dragons;Her embroidered girdle lightly sways, a phoenixwing.Seagreen jade buttons,A gown of white silk gauze,Bathed with sacred light;Brocade skirts,A girdle of gold,Shielded by propitious vapours.Eyebrows like crescent moons,Eyes like a pair of stars.A jade face full of heavenly happiness,Scarlet lips making a touch of red.Her pure bottle of sweet dew is ever full,The willow twigs in it are always green.She delivers from the eight disasters,Saves all living beings,

Great is her compassion.She stays on Mount Tai,Lives in the Southern Sea,Journey to the WestChapter 8 105


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Rescues the suffering when she bears theircries,Never failing to answer every call,Infinitely divine and miraculous.

Her orchid heart admires the purple bamboo;Her orchid nature loves the fragrant creeper.She is the merciful ruler of Potaraka Island,The living Guanyin of the Tide Cave.The Buddha was very pleased to see her."No one but the venerable Guanyin, whosedivine powers are so great, will do for thismission," he said."What instructions have you for your disciple asshe goes to the East?" Guanyin asked."You must watch the route all the way," said theBuddha. "You may not go via the Milky Way, butifnecessary you may have a little cloud or mist.As you cross mountains and rivers you mustnote the distancescarefully to enable you to give full instructionsto the man who will come to fetch thescriptures. But that truebeliever will, I'm afraid, have a difficult journey,so I shall give you five treasures for him." TheBuddhaordered Ananda and Kasyapa to bring out a

brocade cassock and a nineringed monk'sstaff."Give this cassock and staff to him who willcome to fetch the scriptures: they are for him touse. If he is


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determined to come here, he can avoid theWheel of Reincarnation by wearing thiscassock, and he will befree from evil if he carries this staff." The

Bodhisattva bowed and took them. The Buddhathen produced threebands."These precious things are called 'tight bands,'"he told the Bodhisattva as he handed them toher. "Althoughall three of them look the same, they havedifferent uses. I also have threeBandTightening Spells. If youmeet any devils with great magic powers onyour journey you should persuade them toreform and become thedisciples of the pilgrim who will come to fetchthe scriptures. If they do not do as they are toldthese bandsshould be put on their heads, where they will ofthemselves take root in the flesh. If theappropriate spell foreach one is recited the victim's eyes will bulge,his head will ache, and his forehead will splitopen. He willthus be certainly induced to adopt our religion."When he finished speaking the Bodhisattva

bowed eagerly and withdrew. She told Huian theNovice toaccompany her, and he took his iron staffweighing a thousand pounds with him so thathe could as a


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demonquelling strongman for the Bodhisattva.The Bodhisattva wrapped the cassock up in abundle andgave it to him to carry. She then put the golden

bands away safely and went down the VulturePeak with thestaff in her hand. This journey was to haveconsequences:The Buddha's disciple comes back to hisoriginal vow;The Venerable Golden Cicada is dressed insandalwood.When the Bodhisattva reached the foot of themountain the Goldheaded Immortal of the JadeTruth Templestopped her at the temple gate and invited herto take some tea. But she dared not stop forlong, and so shesaid, "I have been given a sacred command bythe Tathagata to go to the East and find a manwho will cometo fetch the scriptures.""When will he arrive?" the Immortal asked."It is not definite," the Bodhisattva replied, "buthe will probably reach here in two or threeyears' time." Shetook her leave of the Immortal and as she

traveled amid cloud and mist she estimated thedistances. There aresome verses to prove it:She cared nothing of the journey of tenthousand miles to find him,But worried about finding the right man.


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Looking for the man seemed to be very chancy,But how can it be a mere coincidence?One who teaches the Way for the wrong motiveswill distort it;

He who explains it without faith will preach invain.Whoever will try and know it with his wholebeing,Is bound to have a future ahead of him.As the teacher and her disciple were on their

journey they suddenly noticed a thousand milesof weak water,which was the River of Flowing Sands."Disciple," said the Bodhisattva, "this will behard to cross for the man who will come to fetchthe scriptures,as he will be of impure bone and mortal flesh.How will he do it?""Teacher, how wide does the river look to you?"asked Huian. The Bodhisattva stopped hercloud toinvestigate. She saw:Joining up with the deserts to the East,Reaching the foreign kingdoms in the West,Wuge in the SouthThe Tatars in the North.It was about three hundred miles across,

And three million miles long.As the waters flowed it was like the earthturning over,The waves were like rearing mountains.Broad and boundless,Vast and mighty:


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From three miles' distance the mighty flood isheard.Immortals' rafts do not reach here,Lotus leaves cannot float on it.

The sun slants through withered plants andbathes the crooked shore;Brown clouds block its light and darken thelong bank.How could merchants pass this way?Has a fisherman ever moored here?No geese alight on the sandbanks,But apes cry on the distant shore.Its color comes from bountiful red smartweed,While delicate white duckweed drifts together.As the Bodhisattva was surveying the sceneshe heard a splash and saw a hideous ogre leapout of the waves.He wasNot really blue,Not really black,With an evil face;Neither tall,Nor short,Bare legs and a muscular body.His eyes flashedLike a pair of tortoiseshell lanterns;The comers of his mouth were as sinister

As a butcher's cauldron.Protruding fangs like swords,Red hair, matted and unkempt.He roared like a clap of thunder,And ran across the waves with the speed ofwind.


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This ogre climbed up the bank with a pole in hishands to catch the Bodhisattva, but wasstopped by Huian'sstaff.

"Don't run away," Huian shouted as the ogreadvanced towards him. The battle that ensuedbetween them wasquite terrifying:Moksa with his iron club,Using his divine powers to protect theBodhisattva;The ogre with his demonquelling poleDisplaying his valour for all be was worth.A pair of silver dragons dancing by the river;Two holy monks in battle on the bank.The one used his skill to control the River ofFlowing SandsThe other had distinguished himself inprotecting Guanyin.The one could make the waves leap and roll,The other could breathe out fogs and gales.When the waves leapt and rolled, Heaven andEarth were darkened;In the fogs and gales, sun and moon weredimmed.The demonquelling poleWas like a white tiger coming down from the

mountain;The iron clubWas like a crouching yellow dragon.When one goes into actionIt beats the undergrowth to start the snakes;When the other lashes out,


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It parts the pines to flush the sparrowhawks.They fight till the sky goes darkAnd the stars twinkle.Then the mist rises,

And earth and sky are dim.The one has long been unrivalled in the WeakWaters;The other has always been the hero of VulturePeak.When the pair of them had fought several dozenrounds inconclusively the ogre blocked hisopponent's ironstaff and asked, "Where are you from, monk,that you dare to take me on?""I am Prince Moksa, the second son of thePagodabearing Heavenly King Li," the otherreplied. "I am alsoHuian the Novice. I am now protecting myteacher on her journey to the East to find theman who will fetchthe scriptures. Which monster are you? Howdare you stand in our way?" The ogre thenrealized who he was."I remember," he said, "you used to cultivateyour conduct with Guanyin of the Southern Seain the PurpleBamboo Grove. Why have you come here?"

"Can't you see my teacher standing there on thebank?"When the ogre heard this he chanted "naaaw"several times to show his respect, withdrew hispole and let


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Moksa seize it. Then he bowed to Guanyin andsaid, "Forgive me, Bodhisattva, and listen towhat I have totell you. I am not a demon, but the Curtain

Raising General who used to stand inattendance by the imperialchariot in the Hall of Miraculous Mist. Justbecause I accidentally smashed a crystal dish ata Peach Banquetthe Jade Emperor had me given eight hundredstrokes of the rod, exiled me to the lower world,and made melook like this. And on top of it all every sevendays he sends a flying sword here to stab mychest over ahundred times before it goes back again. It'sagony. I get so unbearably cold and hungry thatI have to emergefrom the waves every two or three days todevour a traveler. I never thought that in myignorance I wouldinsult the merciful Bodhisattva today.""You were exiled here for a crime againstHeaven, but now you are deepening your guiltby harming livingbeings. I am now going to the East on theBuddha's orders to find the man who will fetch

the scriptures. Whydon't you become one of us and ensure yourselfgood retribution in future by accompanying thepilgrim as a


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disciple and ascending to the Western Heavento pay homage to the Buddha and seek thescriptures? I will seeto it that the flying sword stops coming to

pierce you, and when you are successful youwill be forgiven yourcrimes and your old job will be given back toyou. What do you think of that?""I am willing to return to the truth," the ogrereplied, then went closer as he continued,"Bodhisattva, I havelost count of the number of people I have eatenhere, and I have even devoured some pilgrimswho weretrying to fetch scriptures. I throw the heads ofall my victims into the river, and they all sink tothe bottom asnot even goosedown will float on this water.But the skeletons of those nine pilgrims floatedand would notsink. I was so impressed by this that I threadedthem together with rope and play with them inmy spare time.But I am afraid that the man who is to fetch thescriptures may not get this far, which wouldwreck myfuture."

"Of course he'll get here," the Bodhisattvareplied. "You should hang those skeletons fromyour head and waitfor him. They will come in useful."


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"In that case," the ogre said, "I shall await yourinstructions." The Bodhisattva then laid herhands on his headand administered the monastic rules to him,

chose for him the surname Sha ("Sand") andgave him theBuddhist name of Wujing ("Awakened toPurity"). Then he entered monkish life and tookthe Bodhisattvaacross the river. He washed his heart, cleansedhis thoughts, and stopped killing livingcreatures. All he didnow was to wait for the pilgrim who would cometo fetch the scriptures.After leaving him the Bodhisattva and Huianhurried on towards the East. When they hadbeen travelling for along time they saw a high mountain veiled withan evil mist, and they were unable to climb it onfoot. Justwhen they were intending to cross the mountainby cloud, a gale wind blew up and a monstersuddenlyappeared. He too was very menacing to behold:His entrails hung from his mouth, rolled up andknotted;His ears were like rush fans, his eyes shone

gold.His teeth were sharp as steel files,And when he opened his mouth it was like abrazier.His golden helmet was tied firmly round hischeeks;


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His armour, bound with a silken sash, was apython's sloughedoff skin.In his hands he held a nailed rake like adragon's claw,

At his waist hung a curved bow the shape of ahalfmoon.His martial might overawed the Year Planet;His overweening spirit threatened the heavenlygods.He rushed upon them, and without a secondthought smote at the Bodhisattva with his rake.Moksa the Noviceparried his blow, and shouted at the top of hisvoice, "Remember your manners, damnedmonster, and watchout for my staff.""Monk," the other replied, "you don't know howto keep yourself in one piece. Mind my rake!" Atthe foot ofthe mountain the pair of them rushed upon eachother as they struggled for supremacy. It was afine battle:The fierce and murderous ogre;Huian, imposing and able.The iron staff could pulverize the heart;The rake struck at the face.The dust thrown up darkened Heaven and Earth;

The flying sand and stones startled gods andghouls.The ninetoothed rakeGleamed and flashedAs its pair of rings resounded;The lone staff


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Was ominously blackAs it whirled in its owner's hands.One was the heir of a Heavenly King,One defended the Law on Potaraka Island.

The other was an evil fiend in a mountain cave.In their battle for mastery,None knew who the winner would be.Just when the fight was getting really good,Guanyin threw down a lotus flower from midairto separate thetwo weapons. The monster, shocked at the sightof it, asked, "Where are you from, monk? Howdare you tryto fool me with a 'flower in front of the eyes?'""I'll get you, you stinking, flesheyed mortal,"replied Moksa. "I am a disciple of theBodhisattva of theSouthern Sea, and this lotus was thrown downby her. Don't you know that?""By the Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea do youmean Guanyin Who Eliminates the ThreeCalamities andSaves from the Eight Disasters?" the monsterasked."Who else could I mean?" retorted Moksa. Themonster threw down his rake, bowed to him,and asked,

"Where is the Bodhisattva, elder brother? May Itrouble you to introduce me?" Moksa looked upand pointed."There she is," he said. The monster kowtowedto her and shouted in a shrill voice, "Forgiveme, Bodhisattva,


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forgive me." Guanyin brought her cloud down toearth, went over to him and asked, "Are you awild boarbecome a devil or a pig turned monster? How

dare you block my way?""I'm neither a wild boar nor a pig," the monsterreplied. "I used to be Marshal Tian Peng in theMilky Way.Because I took some wine to seduce the moonmaiden, the Jade Emperor sentenced me to twothousandhammer blows and exile in the mortal world. Myspirit had to find a womb to occupy, but I lostmy way andentered the womb of a sow. That's why I looklike this. I ate up my sow mother, drove all theother pigs away,and seized this mountain, where I keep myselfby eating people. I never meant to offend you,Bodhisattva.Save me, save me, I beg you.""What is this mountain called?" the Bodhisattvaasked."It's called the Mount of Blessing, and the cavein it is called the Cloud Pathway Cave. SecondSister Luan,who used to live there, saw that I knew how to

fight and asked me to be the head of herhousehold as herhusband, but she died within a year and all herproperty became mine. As the days lengthenedinto years I


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found that I had no way of supporting myself, soI had to eat people to keep myself going as I haddonebefore. Forgive me my sins, I beg of you,

Bodhisattva.""There is an old saying," the Bodhisattvareplied, "that goes, 'If you want to have a future,don't do anythingwith no future in it?' You broke the law in theupper world, and since then your vicious naturehas not beenreformed. You have further sinned by taking life,so this surely means that you will be doublypunished.""Future!" said the monster angrily. "Accordingto you I should have lived on air! As the sayinggoes, 'By thegovernment's law you're beaten to death, andby the Buddha's law you starve to death.' Clearoff! Clear off! Ifyou don't I'll capture this pilgrim and eat thisplump and tender old woman. I don't give a hootif it's doublesinning, triple sinning, or sinning a thousand orten thousand times over.""'If a man wishes to be good, Heaven willcertainly allow him to be,'" said the Bodhisattva.

"If you areprepared to submit to the truth, there are ofcourse, ways to feed yourself. There are the fivekinds offoodgrains, and they are sufficient to assuagehunger, so why eat people to keep alive?"


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When the monster heard these words it was asif he awoke from a dream, and he said to theBodhisattva, "Iwould love to reform, but isn't it true that 'a

sinner against Heaven has nowhere to prayto?'""I'm going to the East on the orders of theBuddha to find the man who will fetch thescriptures," she replied."You can be a disciple of his and make this

journey to the Western Heaven; thus you willgain merit and atonefor your crimes, and I will see to it that you arefreed from disaster.""I'll go with him, I'll go with him," the monstersaid over and over again. The Bodhisattva thenlaid her handson his head and he accepted the monastic rules.She gave him the surname Zhu ("Pig") becauseof hisappearance, and gave him the Buddhist nameZhu Wuneng ("Pig Awakened to Power"). Sheordered him toadhere to the truth and eat only vegetarian food,cutting out the five pungent vegetables as wellas the threeforbidden things; wild goose, dog and fish. He

was now to wait singlemindedly for the pilgrimwho wouldcome to fetch the scriptures.The Bodhisattva and Moksa then took theirleave of the Pig Awakened to Power andcontinued on their way


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by lowaltitude cloud. As they were travellingalong they heard a jade dragon call to them inmidair."Which dragon are you?" the Bodhisattva asked

as she went up to him. "And why are youundergoingpunishment here?""I am the son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of theWestern Sea. Because I burnt up the brightpearls in thepalace, my father reported me to the court ofHeaven as a rebel. The Jade Emperor had mehung up in midairand given three hundred strokes, and I am to beexecuted any day now. I beg you to save me,Bodhisattva."When she heard his plea the Bodhisattva wentin through the Southern Gates of Heaven withMoksa. Herethey were met by the Heavenly Teachers Qiuand Zhang, who asked them, "Where are yougoing?""I would like an audience with the JadeEmperor." The two Heavenly Teachers hurriedin to announce her,and the Jade Emperor came out of his palace toreceive her. The Bodhisattva went forward to

greet him andsaid, "On my way to the East on the orders ofthe Buddha to find the man to fetch thescriptures, I met a


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wicked dragon suspended in midair.. I havecome here especially to ask you to spare his lifeand give him tome so that I can teach him to serve the pilgrim

with his legs." On hearing this the JadeEmperor issued adecree pardoning him, and he sent a heavenlygeneral to release him and give him to theBodhisattva. TheBodhisattva thanked him for his generosity andleft. The young dragon kowtowed to show howgrateful hewas for having his life spared, and he obedientlydid what the Bodhisattva told him to. She tookhim to a deepravine, where he was to wait until the pilgrimcame. When that happened he was to turn into awhite horse andachieve merit by going to the Western Heaven.On receiving his orders the young dragon hidhimself.The Bodhisattva led Moksa the Novice acrossthis mountain, and they hurried on towards theEast. Beforethey had gone much further they suddenly sawten thousand beams of golden light and athousand wisps of

propitious vapour."Teacher," said Moksa, "the place where all thelight is coming from is the Five ElementsMountain, wherethe Tathagata's restriction order is posted."


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"This must be cause that Great Sage EqualingHeaven who wrecked the Peach Banquet andthrew theHeavenly Palace into chaos is imprisoned

there.""That's right," Moksa replied, and teacher andpupil climbed the mountain together to look atthe paper. On itwere written the true words Om mani padmebum, and when the Bodhisattva saw them shesighed deeply andcomposed a poem that went:"Pity the evil monkey who did not obey the lordIn his arrogance he showed off his valour in theold days,

In his folly he wrecked the Peach Banquet,And he had the effrontery to sin in the TushitaPalace.In the army of a hundred thousand there wasnone to match him;His might was felt above the ninefold heavens.But now he has been caught by our Tathagata,the Buddha:Will he ever be able to unleash his talents andwin more glory?"The conversation between teacher and disciple

had disturbed the Great Sage, who shoutedfrom under theroots of the mountain, "Who's that up there?"When she heard this the Bodhisattva hurrieddown the mountain


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to visit him. At the foot of the mountainside thelocal gods, the mountain gods and the heavenlygenerals whowere guarding the Great Sage all bowed to the

Bodhisattva in greeting and took her to theGreat Sage. Shesaw that he was pressed down inside a stonebox, so that he could speak but could not movehis body."Monkey," the Bodhisattva said, "do you knowwho I am?" The Great Sage opened wide hisfiery eyes withtheir golden pupils, nodded his head andshouted at the top of his voice, "Of course Irecognize you. You,thank goodness, are the AllCompassionate.AllMerciful Deliverer from Suffering, theBodhisattva Guanyinfrom Potaraka Island in the Southern Sea.

You're a very welcome visitor. Every day hereseems like a year,and nobody I know has ever come to see me.Where have you come from?""I have received a mandate from the Buddha togo to the East and find the man who will fetchthe scriptures,"she replied, "and as I was passing this way I

decided to come over and see you.""The Buddha fooled me and crushed me underthis mountainI haven't been able to stretchmyself for fivehundred years. I desperately hope that you willbe obliging enough to rescue me, Bodhisattva."


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"You wretch," she replied, "you have such anappalling criminal record that I'm afraid you'donly make moretrouble if I got you out."

"I have already repented," he said, "and hopethat you will show me the road I should follow. Iwant tocultivate my conduct." Indeed:When an idea is born in a man's mindIt is known throughout Heaven and Earth.If good and evil are not rewarded and punishedThe world is bound to go to the bad.The Bodhisattva was delighted to hear what hehad to say."The sacred scriptures say," she replied, '"Ifone's words are good, they will meet with aresponse from even athousand miles away; if they are bad, they willbe opposed from the same distance.' If this isyour state ofmind, then wait while I go to the East to find theman who will fetch the scriptures; I'll tell him torescue you.

You can be his disciple, observe and uphold thefaith, enter our Buddha's religion, and cultivategoodretribution for yourself in the future. What do

you say to that?""I'll go, I'll go," the Great Sage repeated overand over again."As you have reformed," she said, "I'll give youa Buddhist name."


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"I've already got a name. It's Sun Wukong." TheBodhisattva, very pleased, said, "I made twoconverts earlier,and their names both contained Wu

('Awakened'). There's no need to give you anyfurther instructions, so I'llbe off." The Great Sage, now aware of his ownBuddhanature, was converted to the Buddha'sreligion; andthe Bodhisattva devotedly continued her searchfor a saintly monk.After leaving that place she and Huian carriedstraight on to the East, and before long theyreached Chang'an,the capital of the Great Tang. Putting away theirmists and clouds, teacher and pupil turnedthemselves into apair of scabby itinerant monks and went insidethe city of Chang'an. It was already dark, andbeside the greatmarket street they saw a shrine to a localtutelary god and went in. The local god wasthrown into confusion atthe sight of them, and the devil soldiers quakedwith terror; they knew that she was aBodhisattva, andkowtowed to her in greeting. The local god then

scurried off to tell the City God, the Lord of theAlter, andthe gods of all the other shrines in Chang'an.When they knew that the Bodhisattva had comethey all went to


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report to her and said, "Bodhisattva, pleaseforgive us for our crime in being late to welcomeyou.""You mustn't let a whisper of this get out," she

said. "I have come here on a decree from theBuddha to findsomeone to fetch the scriptures. I shall beborrowing your temple for a few days while Ifind this true monk,and then I shall go back." All the gods returnedto their own shrines, and they took the local godto stay in thetemple of the City God. Teacher and discipledisguised their true appearances. If you don'tknow whom theyfound to fetch the scriptures, listen to the

explanation in the next installment.

Journey to the West 8

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Transcript of Journey to the West 8