Chapter 100

Straight Back to the Eastern Land; the Five Saints Attain the Truth

To say nothing of how the four made their escape and rose on the wind with the vajras: in the Monastery of the Saved Life at the Chen Family Village the people, rising at daybreak, made ready fruit and dishes to offer, and coming below the tower found the Tang monk gone. This one came asking, that one went searching, all in a flutter, not knowing what to do, crying out to heaven: “Clean away we let a living Buddha slip from us!” Having no remedy, they carried the things prepared up into the tower, made offering, and burned paper. Ever after, each year, there were the four great sacrifices and the twenty-four small ones; and those who told of sickness, who sought safety, who begged marriage or made vows, prayed for wealth or for sons—no day, no hour, but some came to burn incense and offer sacrifice. Truly, the golden censer keeps its fire of a thousand years unbroken; the jade lamp of ten thousand years burns ever bright. But no more of that.

Now the eight great vajras, with a second wind of fragrance, bore the four to the Eastern Land, and in no long time they saw Chang'an afar. Now Emperor Taizong, since he had seen the Tang monk out of the city on the third day before the full moon of the ninth month of the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, had in the sixteenth year sent officers of the Board of Works to build the Scripture-Watching Tower beyond the Xi'an gate, to receive the scriptures, and year by year the emperor came in person to the spot. On the very day the carriage came again to the tower they saw in the west a sky full of auspicious haze and wave on wave of fragrant wind. The vajras stopped in mid-air and called: “Holy monk, this is the city of Chang'an. We cannot well go down—the people here are sharp-witted, and might let our shapes be seen. Nor need the Great Sage Sun and the two others go. Go you, hand the scriptures to your sovereign, and come straight back; we await you in the empyrean, to go together and hand back the decree.” The Great Sage said: “Your words are just, venerable ones; but how could our master carry the loads of scripture? How could he lead this horse? We must go along to see him delivered. Be pleased to wait a little in the air; we shall not delay, I reckon.” The vajras said: “The other day the Bodhisattva Guanyin laid it before the Tathagata: out and back in eight days, to fill the count of the store. Four days are gone already—only we fear Bajie's hankering after rank and riches may miss the term.” Bajie laughed: “Master becomes a Buddha, and I hope to become a Buddha—where is the hankering in that? You brazen hulk! Wait for us here; when the scriptures are handed over we come straight back to answer to you.” The Idiot shouldered the loads, Sha Monk led the horse, Pilgrim led the holy monk, and all pressed down their cloud heads and landed beside the Scripture-Watching Tower.

Taizong and his officers saw them all together and came down from the tower to meet them: “Is it my imperial brother?” The Tang monk bowed his body to the ground. Taizong raised him, and asked: “Who are these three?” The Tang monk said: “Disciples taken up on the road.” Taizong rejoiced greatly and ordered his attendants: “Saddle my own carriage horses, and let my imperial brother mount and come to court with me.” The Tang monk thanked him for the grace and mounted. The Great Sage whirled the gold-banded staff close behind; Bajie and Sha Monk steadied the horse and carried the loads, following the carriage into Chang'an together. Truly:

In those years of quiet, the age knew peace; civil and military rested, men of worth and mettle.In the hall of the mass the monks expounded the law; from the golden chime hall the sovereign sent forth his minister.The rescript of passage was bestowed on Tripitaka Tang; the scrolls of scripture from the first were matched to the five elements.Bitterly refined, the cruel demons one and all destroyed; the work complete, today with joy he comes up to the capital.

The Tang monk's four followed the carriage into the court, and in all the city there was no one who did not know the scripture seekers had come.

Now at Hongfu Monastery in Chang'an, where the Tang monk had lived of old, the monks great and small saw that the tops of several pine trees all turned east, and cried out in wonder: “Strange, strange! No wind blew last night—how have the tree tops all twisted around?” One of Tripitaka's old disciples said: “Bring robes quickly—the master who went for the scriptures has come.” The monks asked: “How do you know?” The old disciple said: “When our master left, he said: ‘After I go, whether three years or five, six or seven, watch the tops of the pine branches: if they turn east, I am back.’ My master's word, from the Buddha's mouth, is holy; so I know.” He threw on his robes in haste and hurried out. By the west street the news had already spread: “The scripture seekers have just arrived, and His Majesty has brought them into the city!” The monks, hearing, ran pell-mell, and met them coming; but not daring to come near the royal carriage, they followed behind to outside the palace gates.

The Tang monk dismounted and entered the court with the rest. He set the dragon horse and the loads of scripture down, and with Pilgrim, Bajie, and Sha Monk stood below the jade steps. Taizong proclaimed his imperial brother up into the hall and gave him a seat. The Tang monk thanked him for the grace and sat, and had the volumes of scripture brought up. Pilgrim and the others brought them out, and the attendants bore them up. Taizong asked: “How many scriptures? How did you win them?” Tripitaka said: “Your servant monk reached Vulture Peak and saw the Buddha, who sent the two venerable ones Ananda and Kasyapa, who first led us to the Precious Tower and bestowed a meal, then to the jeweled pavilion to give the scriptures. Those venerable ones demanded a gift; because we had prepared none and gave none, they gave us the scriptures as they were. We were thanking the Buddha's grace and going east when a demon wind snatched the scriptures away. Happily my young disciple had some powers to pursue and win them back, but they were flung and scattered. On looking into them, they were all wordless empty books. Your servants, dismayed, went back to bow and beg again. The Buddha said: When these scriptures were made, a holy monk went down the mountain and recited them through in the house of Squire Zhao of Sravasti, keeping his living safe and delivering his dead, and asked only three pecks and three pints of gold in grains of rice—and was thought to have sold too cheap, leaving his descendants without money to spend. We knew those venerable ones demanded a gift, and the Buddha knew it well; so we could only give them the imperial gift, the purple-gold alms bowl, and only then received the true scriptures with words. They are in thirty-five divisions; several volumes were picked from each division, five thousand forty-eight volumes in all—a number that fills one store.”

Taizong rejoiced the more, and ordered: “Let the Court of Imperial Entertainments lay a feast in the eastern pavilion to give thanks.” Then he saw the three disciples standing below the steps, their looks beyond the common, and asked: “Are these noble disciples in truth men of foreign lands?” The elder bowed: “The eldest disciple is surnamed Sun, his name in the law Wukong; your servant calls him Sun Pilgrim. He was born, it seems, of the Water Curtain Cave on Mount Flower-Fruit, in the country of Aolai of the Eastern Continent of Divine Strength. Because five hundred years ago he wrecked the Heavenly Palace, the Buddha pinned him within the stone casket of Two-Bounds Mountain in the western marches, until the Bodhisattva Guanyin persuaded him to the good, and he was willing to take refuge. It was your servant who freed him there; for my protection I have owed much to this disciple. The second disciple is surnamed Zhu, his name in the law Wuneng; your servant calls him Zhu Bajie. He was born, it seems, of the Cloud-Ladder Cave on the Mountain of the Blessed Mound. Because he worked mischief at Gao Village in Wusizang, the Bodhisattva persuaded him to the good too, and Pilgrim took him in. On the road his strength has carried the loads, his toil has forded the waters. The third disciple is surnamed Sha, his name in the law Wujing; your servant calls him Sha Monk. He was born, it seems, of the mischief-maker of the Flowing Sand River; the Bodhisattva persuaded him too to the good, and he took the teaching of the Sangha. That horse is not the one your Majesty bestowed.” Taizong said: “The coat is the same—how not?” Tripitaka said: “When your servant forded the water at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine of Coiled-Snake Mountain, this horse swallowed the horse I had. Happily Pilgrim begged the Bodhisattva to ask its origin: it was the son of the Dragon King of the Western Sea, and for a fault it too found grace and deliverance from the Bodhisattva, who bade it serve your servant for a mount. It then took the shape of my former horse, the same in coat. Happily it climbed the mountains and crossed the ridges, trudged the rough ways; going I rode it, returning it bore the scriptures—much have I owed to its strength.”

Taizong, hearing, praised him without end, and asked: “Far as you went into the west—how long the road, in truth?” Tripitaka said: “By the Bodhisattva's word, a hundred and eight thousand li in all. On the road I did not keep count; I only know we passed fourteen rounds of winter and summer. Hills every day, ridges every day; the woods we met were never small, the waters broad and deep. We passed through the lands of several kings, each with seals and tokens to be verified.” He called: “Disciples, bring up the rescript of passage, to hand in to our sovereign.” It was handed up. Taizong read: given on the third day before the full moon of the ninth month of the thirteenth year of Zhenguan. Taizong laughed: “Long toil and far travel—and now it is the twenty-seventh year of Zhenguan.” On the rescript were the seals of the Kingdom of Baoxiang, of the Black-Rooster Kingdom, of the Kingdom of Chechi, of the Kingdom of Western Liang of Women, of the Kingdom of Saizai, of the Crimson-Purple Kingdom, of the Monks' Kingdom, of the Kingdom that Extinguishes the Law, and further the seals of Phoenix-Blossom Prefecture, of the Jade Flower Prefecture, of Jinping Prefecture, and of the kingdom of India. Taizong read it through and put it away.

The officers of the carriage were already inviting to the feast; he came down from the hall and led them along by the hand, and asked: “Can your noble disciples keep courteous forms?” Tripitaka said: “My young disciples are all of them demon bodies of mountain villages and open wilds, unskilled in the courtesies of the holy court of China; I beg your Majesty to pardon them.” Taizong laughed: “No offense taken, no offense taken. Let us all to the feast in the eastern pavilion.” Tripitaka thanked him for the grace again, called his three, and they all went into the pavilion and looked about. Truly it was the great land of China, unlike the common run. See:

Doors hung with colored silks, the floor spread with red felt. Strange fragrances thick and rich; rare fare fresh from the kitchen. Cups of amber, glasses of glass, rimmed with gold and set with kingfisher plumes; plates of gold, bowls of white jade, inlaid with brocade and wound with flowers. Tender-boiled mangel-wurzels, taro sweetened with sugar. Mushrooms delicate and sweet; sea greens rare and clean. Again and again they brought bamboo shoots with ginger and spice; time and again they served mallows dressed with honey. Wheat gluten and leaves of the tree-of-heaven; wood ears and skins of bean curd. Stone-ear and the immortals' greens; fern-root flour and dried vetches. Radishes boiled with Sichuan pepper; melon shreds tossed with mustard. Several dishes of vegetarian fare were well enough, but the kinds of rare fruit bore off the prize: walnuts and dried persimmons, longans and litchis. Cocoon chestnuts of Xuanzhou, dates of Shandong; ginkgoes of Jiangnan, pears of the rabbit's head. Hazelnuts, pine nuts, lotus seeds, great grapes; fir nuts, melon seeds, water-caltrops in their ranks. Olives and crabapples, rose apples and blunt pears. Arrowroot and tender lotus root; crisp plums and bayberries. Nothing lacked, and of every kind there was enough. There were steamed pastries and honeyed sweets and fine dishes besides, and goodly wine, fragrant tea, and rare things more. Beyond telling, a hundred tastes of rare fare, the very first grade—truly the great land of China, strange beyond the western tribes.

Master and disciples, with the civil and military officers, attended in rows at left and right, while Emperor Taizong still sat in state in the middle. Songs and dances, pipes and strings, all in order and gravity; thus they made their day of music. Truly:

A king's felicitous meeting, a match for the lords of Tang and Yu; the true scriptures won, blessings overflow.Through a thousand ages handed down, a thousand ages flourishing; the Buddha's light shines everywhere on the sovereign's abode.

That day, evening coming, they gave thanks and the feast broke up. Taizong returned to the palace, the officers to their houses, and the Tang monk's party to Hongfu Monastery, where the monks knocked their heads in welcome. They had but entered the mountain gate when the monks reported: “Master, the tops of the trees all turned east this morning of a sudden. We remembered your word and came out of the city to meet you—and here you are.” The elder, overjoyed past bearing, went into the abbot's quarters. Bajie this time called for neither tea nor food, nor played any tricks; Pilgrim and Sha Monk were each of them steady and grave. Only because the fruit of the Way was complete, all was naturally quiet. That night they slept.

The next morning Taizong held court and said to his ministers: “I ponder the merit of my imperial brother, so deep, so great, that nothing can requite it. All night I slept not, and made a few homely lines in my mouth to show my thanks in some small measure—but they are not yet written.” He called: “Let the secretaries come. I will dictate, and you write it word by word.” The document ran thus:

It has been heard that the two principles have their images, displaying overshadowing and upbearing to contain the living; the four seasons have no form, hiding cold and heat to transform things. Hence, to scan heaven and mirror earth, even the dull and stupid know the beginnings; to pierce the dark and fathom the light, the wise and sage rarely exhaust the reckoning. Yet heaven and earth embrace the dark and the light and are easily known, because they have images; the dark and the light dwell within heaven and earth and are hard to exhaust, because they have no form. So it is known: where the image is manifest, proof may be had, and the dull are not bewildered; where the form is hidden and cannot be seen, even the wise are perplexed. How much more the Way of the Buddha, which soars vacant, rides the hidden, is void and still: vastly succoring the ten thousand kinds, canonically ruling the ten quarters. Its majesty raised, there is nothing above it; its spirit power restrained, there is nothing beneath it. Great, it fills the universe; fine, it gathers in a hair. No perishing, no birth, it spans a thousand fathoms and all antiquity; now hidden, now manifest, it conveys a hundred blessings and endures to today. The wondrous Way congeals the mystery: follow and be guided by it, and none knows its bounds; the stream of the law runs deep and still: draw at it, and none can sound its source. Hence it is known that the wriggling multitude of the dull and common, the petty and the mean—could they cast themselves on its purport and be without doubt? Yet the arising of the great teaching had its base in the western lands. It soared over the court of Han as a shining dream, and shone on the eastern regions flowing with mercy. Of old, when men divined by shape and divined by trace, the word had not yet sped and the transforming was done; in that age of the ever-seen and ever-hidden, the people looked up to virtue and knew to follow it. And when the darkened shadow returned to the true, and he passed beyond the world, the golden countenance veiled its color and no longer mirrored the light of three thousand; the lovely image opened in pictures, and idly sketched the marks of two and thirty. Then the subtle word spread wide, rescuing the creatures from the three paths; the bequest of teaching was proclaimed afar, guiding the hosts of the living through the ten grounds. The Buddha has scriptures, that divide the greater and the lesser vehicle; there are laws besides, that hand down arts of the false and the true. My monk Xuanzang, master of the law, is the leader of the gate of the law. In childhood he cherished truth and quickness, and early woke to the work of the three emptinesses; grown, he joined with the spirit's clarity, and first embraced the practice of the four forbearances. Pine wind and water moon are not enough to liken his clear splendor; the dew of immortals and the bright pearl—how could they match his luster? Therefore, with wisdom unentangled, his spirit plumbed what had not yet taken form: above the six dusts he towered forth, to hand his fragrance down a thousand ages. His heart fixed on the inward realm, his pity guarded the hidden spirit; his thoughts lodged in the dark gate, where many paths lead into error. He wished to sort them thread by thread; so he lifted his heart to the Pure Land, took his staff, and journeyed alone. At dawn the piled snow flew, and on the road he lost the ground; at dusk the startled sands rose, and beyond the void he lost the sky. Ten thousand li of mountains and rivers, he pushed through mist and haze with advancing step; a hundred rounds of cold and heat, he pressed his way through frost and rain. Truly weighty was his charge and light his toil; deep his seeking, fervent his desire to arrive. He roamed the western lands fourteen years, traversed strange kingdoms to the end, and sought the true teaching. At the Twin Grove and the Eight Waters he tasted the Way and fed on the wind; at the Deer Park and the Vulture Peak he gazed on wonders and looked upon marvels. He received the final word from the former sages, and the true teaching from the worthies above; he probed the subtle gate, and searched to the bottom the hidden work. The way of the three vehicles and the six perfections galloped across the field of his heart; the writings of one store and a hundred chests surged like waves at the mouth of the sea. And since the lands he traversed are without bound, the scriptures he sought have their count. In all he won the essential writings of the Great Vehicle, thirty-five divisions, amounting to five thousand forty-eight volumes, to translate and spread through China, publishing the surpassing work: to draw the cloud of mercy from the west's far rim, and pour the rain of the law on the eastern marches. The sagely teaching, deficient, is made whole again; the sins of the people are turned back to blessing. It quells the dry flame of the burning house, and with one accord plucks them from the dark road; it brightens the mingled waves of the golden waters, and together they reach the other shore. Thus it is known: evil sinks by its deeds, good rises by its deeds; the hinge of rising and sinking, man works for himself. It is like the cassia growing on the high ridge: only aloft in the clouds does it drip its blossom; the lotus rising from the green wave: the flying dust cannot stain its leaf. It is not that the lotus's nature is of itself pure or the cassia's substance of itself chaste: because what they bear is high, the small thing cannot burden them; because what they rest on is pure, the turbid kind cannot touch them. That things without knowledge, the plants and trees, still rely on the good to become good—how much more man, who has consciousness: dare he fail to achieve blessing by relying on blessing? Now we hope that these scriptures, spread abroad, may endure with sun and moon without end; and that far-flung felicity may extend forever, great as with heaven and earth!

When it was written he summoned the holy monk. The elder was already waiting outside the palace gates to give thanks; hearing the summons he hastened in and made his obeisance prone. Taizong had him asked up into the hall and handed him the writing. The elder read it through, came down, thanked him for the grace, and said: “Your Majesty's phrasing is lofty and ancient, its sense and savor deep and subtle. But I know not by what name it is called?” Taizong said: “I dictated it last night, to answer the debt of thanks to my imperial brother; it is titled the Preface to the Sagely Teaching. I know not whether it is good.” The elder knocked his head and thanked him without end. Taizong said further: “My talent is ashamed before jade tablets, my words before metal and stone. As for the inner classics, I have heard them least of all. To dictate a preface with my mouth is in truth crude and clumsy: it sullies ink and brush on tablets of gold, sets rubble among groves of pearls. I bend and examine my thoughts, and my face burns with shame within. It merits no such praise; your thanks are spent in vain.”

The officers then all congratulated, bowing to the sagely teaching and the imperial writing, and it was spread within and without. Taizong said: “Imperial brother, will you expound the true scriptures through once?” The elder said: “Sovereign, to expound the true scriptures one must seek the Buddha's ground; the precious hall is no place for chanting.” Taizong was greatly pleased, and asked the officers of the carriage: “In the city of Chang'an, what monastery is clean?” From the ranks stepped forth the grand academician Xiao Yu, who memorialized: “In the city there is the Wild Goose Pagoda Monastery, clean.” Taizong then ordered the officers: “Each bear devoutly several volumes of the true scriptures, and come with me to the Wild Goose Pagoda Monastery, that my imperial brother may discourse on the scriptures.”

The officers bore them each in turn and followed the imperial carriage to the monastery, where a high platform was raised and the appointments made in order. The elder still gave his orders: “Bajie, Sha Monk, lead the dragon horse and keep the baggage; Pilgrim at my right and left.” And he said to Taizong: “If your Majesty would hand the true scriptures down through the world, copies must be transcribed before they can be dispersed; the originals should be treasured, not lightly profaned.” Taizong laughed again: “Imperial brother, your words are right, quite right.” He summoned the officials of the Hanlin Academy and the Bureau of the Secretariat to transcribe the true scriptures. And he built a monastery east of the city, called the Monastery of the Transcribed in Yellow.

The elder bore several volumes up the platform and was on the point of chanting when a winding wind of fragrance was heard, and in mid-air the eight great vajras showed themselves, calling aloud: “Chanters of the scriptures, lay down the volumes, and come back west with us.” Below, Pilgrim's three, with the white horse, rose from the level ground; the elder too let fall the volumes and rose from the platform into the ninefold heavens, and in a train they soared away and were gone. Taizong and the officers, in consternation, bowed toward the sky. And this was it:

The holy monk strove to win the roll of scriptures; fourteen years he went his round in the western lands.Bitterly he fared the road, meeting troubles and calamities; many the mountains and waters, many the straits endured.The work complete: eight nines, and nine again; the practice full: three thousand worlds and the great thousand.The wondrous writings of the great awakening returned to the upper country—to this day in the Eastern Land they remain handed down.

Taizong and the officers, their bows done, chose monks of eminence, and in the Wild Goose Pagoda Monastery held the Grand Mass of the Waters and the Lands, to read through the true scriptures of the great store, to deliver the guilty ghosts of the dark, and to spread blessing on all. The transcribed scriptures were dispersed through the world—but no more of that.

Now the eight great vajras, riding the fragrant wind, led the elder's four, with the horse five lives together, back again to Vulture Peak; out and back was just within eight days. At that time the gods of Vulture Peak were all before the Buddha hearing the preaching. The eight vajras led master and disciples in and said to the Tathagata: “Your disciples, bearing the golden decree, escorted the holy monk to the land of Tang and handed over the scriptures, and now come specially to hand back the decree.” He then called the Tang monk's party near to receive their offices. The Tathagata said: “Holy monk, in your former life you were my second disciple, named Golden Cicada. Because you gave no heed to the preaching and slighted my great teaching, your true spirit was banished and reborn in the Eastern Land. Now you have happily turned back to refuge, held by my upholding grace, and further carried my teaching, fetching the true scriptures—a work of great merit. Raised to the great office and the true fruit: you are the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit.—Sun Wukong: because you wrecked the Heavenly Palace, I pinned you beneath Five Elements Mountain with my deep powers of the law; happily your heaven-sent calamity was filled full, and you returned to the Buddha's teaching; and it delights me that you hid evil and made good shine, and on the road had merit refining demons and quelling fiends, keeping the end with the beginning. Raised to the great office and the true fruit: you are the Buddha Victorious in Strife.—Zhu Wuneng: you were the water god of the Heavenly River, the Marshal Tianpeng; because at the Peach Banquet you grew drunk on wine and teased the fairy maidens, you were banished to the world below to enter a womb, with a body like a beast's. Happily you remembered and loved the human form; you did wickedness in the Cloud-Ladder Cave on the Mountain of the Blessed Mound, then happily turned to the great teaching, entered my Sangha, and guarded the holy monk on the road—yet still your stubborn heart was there, and lust was not extinguished in you. Because your carrying of the loads had merit, I raise your office to the true fruit: you shall be the Cleanser of the Altars.” Bajie cried out: “They all become Buddhas—how is it you make me a Cleanser of the Altars?” The Tathagata said: “Because your mouth is mighty and your body slothful, and your belly is of the widest. In the four great continents under heaven they who look up to my teaching are many, and in all the works of the Buddha you are to cleanse the altars—it is a rank with its enjoyments; how is that not good?—Sha Wujing: you were the Curtain-Raising General. Because at the Peach Banquet you broke the glass cup, you were banished below, and falling into the Flowing Sand River you took life and ate men, heaping up sin. Happily you took refuge in my teaching, held the upholding in sincerity and reverence, guarded the holy monk, and have merit for climbing mountains and leading the horse: raised to the great office and the true fruit, you are the Arhat of the Golden Body.” And he called to the white horse: “You were the son of the Dragon King Guangjin of the Western Ocean; because you disobeyed your father's command you were guilty of unfiliality. Happily you gave your body to refuge, gave it to the law, gave it to my Sangha; day by day it was you who bore the holy monk westward, and you again who bore the true scriptures eastward—you too have merit. Raised to your office and the true fruit: you are the Heavenly Dragon Horse of the Eight Divisions.”

The elder's four knocked their heads each and all and thanked him for the grace, and the horse too gave its thanks. He then ordered the revealers to lead the horse down to the pool of transformation by the back cliff of Vulture Mountain, and push the horse into the pool. In a moment the horse stretched itself, shed hide and hair, changed head and horns; over its whole body golden scales grew, and from its jaws silver whiskers sprouted; wrapped in auspicious vapor, treading blessed cloud on four claws, it flew out of the pool of transformation and coiled about the pillar of the heaven-bearing column within the mountain gate. And the Buddhas all praised the Tathagata's great law.

Sun Pilgrim then said to the Tang monk: “Master, now I am a Buddha, the same as you: surely you will not still wear the gold fillet, nor still recite the Tight-Fillet Spell to squeeze me? Say quickly a Loosening-Fillet Spell, take it off, and beat it to powder—and never let that Bodhisattva come to trick anyone again.” The Tang monk said: “At the time it was only because you were hard to govern that I used that art to master you. Now you are a Buddha, of course it is gone—how could it still be on your head? Feel and see.” Pilgrim raised his hand and felt: truly it was not there.

Then the Buddha of Sandalwood, the Buddha Victorious in Strife, the Cleanser of the Altars, and the Arhat of the Golden Body all made good the true fruit of their stations, and the Heavenly Dragon Horse too returned to the truth. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

One body of true thusness turned and fell into the dust; joined with the four forms, it refined itself anew.Of the five elements judged by color and emptiness, all returns to stillness; the hundred fiends' empty names are not to be spoken of.The true fruit of sandalwood returns to the great awakening; the office complete, it escapes the sunken and fallen.The scriptures handed through the world—the light of grace is wide; the five saints dwell high at the gate of not-two.

When the five saints took their seats of fruit, all the Buddhas and patriarchs, bodhisattvas, holy monks, arhats, revealers, monks, lay sisters and lay brothers, the immortals and great gods of every mountain and grotto, the Dings and Jias, the duty officers, the monastery guardians, the local earth gods, and all the masters and immortals who had won the Way, who at the first had all come to hear the preaching, now returned each to his station. See:

On the crown of Vulture Peak the mists of sunset gathered; in the world of perfect bliss the blessed clouds assembled. The golden dragon couched steady; the jade tiger rested at ease. The crow and the hare came and went at their pleasure; the tortoise and the serpent coiled at your bidding. The crimson phoenix and the blue luan were blithe of mood; the dark gibbon and the white deer glad of heart. Marvelous flowers for the eight seasons, immortal fruits for the four times. Tall pines and ancient junipers, gray cypresses and slender bamboos. The five-colored plum, now blossoming, now fruiting; the ten-thousand-year peach, now ripe, now new. A thousand fruits, a thousand flowers vied in beauty; a sky of blessed haze lay heaped in swirls.

The whole assembly pressed their palms and took refuge, and all recited:

“Homage to the Ancient Buddha Dipankara. Homage to the Buddha the King of the Light of the Lapis Lazuli Healer. Homage to the Buddha Sakyamuni. Homage to the Buddhas of past, future, and present. Homage to the Buddha of Pure Joy. Homage to the Buddha Vairocana. Homage to the Buddha King of the Jeweled Banner. Homage to the Reverend Buddha Maitreya. Homage to the Buddha Amitabha. Homage to the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. Homage to the Buddha who Guides Home to the Truth. Homage to the Buddha the Diamond Indestructible. Homage to the Buddha of Jeweled Light. Homage to the Buddha Dragon King of Reverence. Homage to the Buddha of Zealous Goodness. Homage to the Buddha of Jeweled Moonlight. Homage to the Buddha Manifest Without Folly. Homage to the Buddha Paluna. Homage to the Buddha Narayana. Homage to the Buddha of the Flower of Merit. Homage to the Buddha of Accomplished Merit. Homage to the Buddha of the Good Wanderer's Step. Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Mani Banner. Homage to the Buddha Shining with the Torch of Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of the Ocean's Virtue and Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Light of Great Mercy. Homage to the Buddha King of the Power of Mercy. Homage to the Buddha Head of Worthiness and Goodness. Homage to the Buddha of Vast Adornment. Homage to the Buddha of Golden Flower Light. Homage to the Buddha of Accomplished Radiance. Homage to the Buddha Victor of Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of the World's Pure Light. Homage to the Buddha of Sun and Moon Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Pearl Light of Sun and Moon. Homage to the Buddha Victor King of the Banner of Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of the Wondrous Sound. Homage to the Buddha of the Banner of Everlasting Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Lamp that Beholds the World. Homage to the Buddha Victor King of the Law. Homage to the Buddha of Sumeru's Light. Homage to the Buddha King of the Power of Great Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of the Golden Sea's Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Light of Great Penetration. Homage to the Buddha of Accomplished Light. Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit. Homage to the Buddha Victorious in Strife. Homage to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Homage to the Bodhisattva of Great Might Arrived. Homage to the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Homage to the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Homage to the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Assembly of the Sea. Homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Sea-Borne Gathering of the Lotus Pool. Homage to the Bodhisattvas of the Western Heaven of Perfect Bliss. Homage to the great bodhisattvas, the three thousand revealers. Homage to the great bodhisattvas, the five hundred arhats. Homage to the bodhisattvas, the monks and nuns and devout laity. Homage to the boundless, immeasurable bodhisattvas of the law. Homage to the holy bodhisattvas, the great vajra beings. Homage to the bodhisattva Cleanser of the Altars. Homage to the bodhisattva arhat of the Golden Body of the Eight Treasures. Homage to the bodhisattva of the Eight Divisions, the Heavenly Dragon of Vast Might. To all the Buddhas of all worlds such as these:May this merit adorn the Buddha's pure land;above, repay the fourfold grace; below, relieve the three paths' pain.May whoever sees or hears it put forth the bodhi heart,and be born together in the land of perfect bliss, to the end of this one life.All Buddhas of the ten quarters and the three times, all honored bodhisattvas, mahasattvas—great is the prajna-paramita.”

Here the Journey to the West ends.

They Return Directly to the Eastern Land; The Five Holy Travelers Attain Their Reward

While the four rose on the wind with the guardians, the people of Chen Village woke and prepared more fruit and food. When they brought it to the monastery tower, Tripitaka was gone. Everyone searched and asked about him, distressed that they had let a living Buddha leave. They put their offerings upstairs, burned paper, and worshiped him. From then on they held four major and twenty-four minor ceremonies each year. People came constantly to burn incense and make offerings, asking to recover from illness, stay safe, find a spouse, gain wealth, or have children. Incense burned for a thousand years, and lamps stayed lit for ten thousand.

The eight guardians raised another fragrant wind. In less than a day they carried the four to Tang, and Chang'an came into view. Emperor Taizong had sent Tripitaka away three days before the full moon of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of Zhenguan. In the sixteenth year, he had ordered a Scripture-Watching Tower built outside the Xian Gate to welcome him on his return. He visited it every year. That very day, he stood there when clouds of light and waves of fragrance appeared in the western sky. The guardians stopped above the city. “Holy monk, this is Chang'an. We cannot descend; its people are clever and might discover us. Nor do your three disciples need to go. Give the scriptures to your emperor, then return. We'll wait in the sky and report the completion of our orders together.” Pilgrim replied, “But Master can't carry the scriptures or lead the horse by himself. Let us go with him. We'll be quick.” “Guanyin said the round trip must take no more than eight days,” a guardian said. “More than four are gone already. Bajie may enjoy the riches here and delay us.” “Master will become a Buddha, and I hope to as well,” Bajie protested. “Why would I stay for wealth? Just wait while I hand over the scriptures.” Bajie carried a load, Sha Monk led the horse, and Pilgrim guided Tripitaka down beside the tower.

The emperor and his officials saw them and came down. “My sworn brother, you've returned!” Tripitaka bowed, and Taizong raised him. “Who are these three?” “Disciples I gained on the road.” Delighted, the emperor had a royal horse prepared for Tripitaka and escorted them back to court. Pilgrim followed with his gold-banded staff, while Bajie and Sha Monk carried the baggage and attended the horse. They entered Chang'an with the royal party. Truly:

Long ago, peace and happiness prevailed at court, with able civil and military officials.At a religious assembly monks preached; in the throne hall the emperor sent out the monk.Tripitaka Tang received his travel documents by imperial order; the scriptures awaited the help of all five elements.After hard training and defeating many monsters, he has completed his task and returned to the capital.

Soon everyone in Chang'an heard that the seekers of scriptures had returned with the emperor.

At Hongfu Monastery, where Tripitaka had once lived, the monks noticed that several pine trees had turned their branches eastward. “Strange! There was no wind last night. Why have the trees turned?” An old disciple of Tripitaka's called for his clothes. “Our master has returned!” “How do you know?” the others asked. “When he left, he said that in three, five, six, or seven years, if the pine branches pointed east, he'd be returning. His words have come true.” The monks hurried out. On the western street they heard that the emperor had welcomed the scripture seekers into the city. They ran to meet them, but dared not approach the royal procession and followed it to the palace gate.

Tripitaka dismounted and entered the court, leaving the dragon horse, scriptures, and three disciples below the steps. The emperor summoned him to the throne room and gave him a seat. Tripitaka thanked him and called for the scriptures. The disciples passed them to the attendants. “How many are there, and how did you obtain them?” the emperor asked. Tripitaka said, “At Vulture Peak I met the Buddha, who sent Ananda and Kashyapa to give us a meal and then bring scriptures from his treasury. They asked for a gift. I had none, so they gave us scrolls and we set out. A strange wind stole them. My disciple pursued the thief and retrieved the scattered scrolls, which turned out to have no writing. We returned to ask for written scriptures. The Buddha told us that monks had once recited these scriptures for a family named Zhao in Shravasti, keeping the living safe and freeing the dead. They had been paid only three dou and three sheng of gold grains, a price he thought too low to support their descendants. Since the Buddha knew what Ananda and Kashyapa wanted, I gave them the purple-gold begging bowl Your Majesty gave me. Only then did we receive written scriptures: several scrolls from each of thirty-five works, five thousand and forty-eight in all, the number of a collection.”

Pleased, Taizong ordered a banquet in the eastern pavilion. Noticing the unusual appearance of the three disciples, he asked whether they were foreigners. Tripitaka bowed. “My eldest disciple is Sun Wukong, whom I call Pilgrim Sun. He came from Water Curtain Cave on Mount Flower-Fruit in Aolai, on the continent of Purvavideha. Five hundred years ago he caused chaos in heaven, so the Buddha imprisoned him under a rock at Two-Realm Mountain. Guanyin urged him to change his ways. I freed him there, and he protected me throughout the journey. My second disciple is Zhu Wuneng, whom I call Bajie. He lived at Cloud Path Cave on Mount Fuling and had caused trouble for the Gao family in Gao Village. Guanyin urged him to reform, and Pilgrim took him as a disciple. He carried our loads and helped us across rivers. My third is Sha Wujing, whom I call Sha Monk. He was a monster at the Flowing Sand River before Guanyin led him to follow our teaching. This horse isn't the one Your Majesty gave me.” “It has the same coat,” said the emperor. “At Eagle Grief Stream on Serpent Coil Mountain, a creature ate my horse. Pilgrim asked Guanyin about it and learned it was the son of the Dragon King of the Western Ocean, punished for a crime. Guanyin changed him into a horse like my old one. He carried me through the mountains and later carried the scriptures back.”

The emperor praised the disciples and asked how far Tripitaka had traveled. “Guanyin said it was one hundred and eight thousand li. I didn't measure it, but I passed fourteen years among mountains, forests, and broad waters. Several kings stamped my travel papers.” He asked a disciple to bring the papers. Taizong saw they had been issued three days before the full moon of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of Zhenguan. “Now it's the twenty-seventh year,” he said. The papers bore seals from Precious Elephant Kingdom, Black Rooster Kingdom, Cart-Slow Kingdom, Women's Kingdom of Western Liang, Sacrifice Kingdom, the Kingdom of Vermilion Purple, Bhiksu Kingdom, Dharma-Destroying Kingdom, Fengxian District, Yuhua State, Jinping Prefecture, and Tianzhu. The emperor kept them.

An attendant announced the banquet. Walking hand in hand with Tripitaka, the emperor asked whether the disciples understood court etiquette. “They were once beings of the wild mountains, unfamiliar with our ways. Please forgive them.” “There's nothing to forgive. Bring them to the eastern pavilion too.” Tripitaka thanked him and summoned the three. The banquet showed all the wealth of China:

Embroidered cloth hung at the doors, and red felt covered the floors. Wonderful scents rose from fresh dishes. Amber cups and glass goblets were set with gold and green ornaments; golden plates and white jade bowls bore bright designs. There were cooked turnips, sweetened taro, mushrooms, sea vegetables, spicy shoots with ginger, and mallow seasoned with honey. Wheat gluten came with fragrant tree leaves, and wood-ear mushrooms with sheets of tofu. Seaweed and ferns were served with peppered radishes and shredded cucumber in mustard. The vegetarian dishes were delicious, and the rare fruits even better: walnuts, dried persimmons, longans, lychees, chestnuts from Xuanzhou, dates from Shandong, gingko nuts from the south, pears, hazelnuts, pine nuts, lotus seeds, grapes, torreya nuts, melon seeds, water chestnuts, olives, apples, crabapples, arrowhead roots, tender lotus roots, plums, and bayberries. There were also steamed pastries with honey, fine wine, fragrant tea, and countless other dishes, a feast worthy of China's great empire.

The four travelers and the civil and military officials attended the emperor, who sat in the center. Music, singing, and dancing continued all day:

The emperor's happy gathering rivaled the age of the wise kings Yao and Shun; the true scriptures brought blessings beyond measure.Passed down through the ages, they would bring lasting prosperity, and the Buddha's light would shine throughout the palace.

At evening the banquet ended. The emperor returned to his rooms, the officials to their homes, and the travelers to Hongfu Monastery, where the monks bowed in greeting. “Master, the pine branches turned east this morning. We remembered what you said and went to meet you, and here you are!” Tripitaka was delighted and went into the abbot's quarters. Bajie no longer clamored for food; all three disciples were calm. Their work was done, and they naturally felt at peace. That night they slept.

The next morning, Taizong told his ministers, “My brother's achievement is too great for me to reward properly. I lay awake last night and composed a few lines of thanks, though I haven't written them down.” He summoned a secretary to record his words:

“I have heard that heaven and earth have visible forms, covering and carrying all living things, while the four seasons have no visible form yet quietly transform them with heat and cold. Even ordinary people can see the signs of heaven and earth, but few wise people can fully understand the workings of darkness and light. Heaven and earth contain these forces and are easier to know because they have form; the forces themselves are harder to know because they cannot be seen. If even the wise struggle to understand what is invisible, how much harder is the Buddha's profound teaching? It acts through emptiness and silence, helps all beings, and reaches every direction. Its spiritual power is beyond all limits. Great enough to fill the universe, small enough to enter a hair, it neither begins nor ends. Across the ages it remains, sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed, bringing blessings to the present. None can find the limits of its mysterious Way or the source of its clear and peaceful teaching. How could ordinary people grasp its meaning without doubt? The great teaching began in the western lands. It appeared in a clear dream at the Han court and brought kindness to the eastern world. In ancient times, people learned from its signs even before its words spread. When its teacher sometimes appeared and sometimes remained hidden, people admired his virtue. After he departed this world and returned to truth, his golden body no longer shone over three thousand worlds. Images showing his thirty-two marks preserved his appearance. His subtle words then spread widely, rescuing beings from the three painful paths, and his remaining teachings led them toward the ten stages of enlightenment. His scriptures explain the greater and lesser vehicles, while his methods distinguish truth from error. Our monk, Master Xuanzang, is a leader in this teaching. As a child he understood its three forms of emptiness; as an adult he cultivated its four kinds of patience. The breeze among pines and the moon over water cannot match his purity; bright pearls and immortal dew cannot match the clarity of his spirit. His wisdom freed him from cares, and his insight reached beyond appearances. He rose above the dust of the six senses and earned a name that will last through the ages. Turning his mind inward, he felt compassion for those who had lost the true teaching amid many errors. He wanted to distinguish its parts, so he set his heart on the pure land and traveled alone with his staff. Morning snow hid the road, evening sand hid the sky. He crossed vast mountains and rivers through mist and cloud, through countless seasons of frost and rain. He valued his mission more than his own comfort. He spent fourteen years in the west, passing through foreign lands and asking after the true teaching. At the twin trees and eight rivers, at Deer Park and Vulture Peak, he sought its meaning and admired its wonders. He received the words of sages and the true teaching of the wise, studied its deep meaning, and mastered its difficult work. The three vehicles and six disciplines filled his mind, and the words of a whole collection of scriptures flowed from his mouth. His travels covered countless countries, but the scriptures he brought have a definite number: thirty-five works of the greater vehicle, five thousand and forty-eight scrolls. They will be translated and spread in China. He has brought a cloud of compassion from the far west and poured down a rain of teaching in the east. What was missing from our religious teaching is whole again, and people may turn from wrongdoing to happiness. Its warmth reaches those trapped in a burning house; its light guides those lost in dark waters to the far shore. We know that wrong actions bring suffering and good ones bring reward. Whether we rise or fall depends on ourselves. A cassia tree high on a mountain can extend its blossoms above the clouds; a lotus growing from green water remains untouched by dust. This isn't merely because the cassia is strong or the lotus naturally clean. What stands high cannot easily be harmed by small things, and what rests on purity cannot be stained by filth. If even plants benefit from good surroundings, surely thoughtful humans can gain blessings from good deeds. May these scriptures spread as endlessly as the sun and moon, and their blessings last as long as heaven and earth.”

When the secretary had finished, the emperor summoned Tripitaka, who was already outside the palace waiting to thank him. Tripitaka bowed, went to the throne, and read the document. He thanked Taizong and asked its title. “I composed it last night to thank you. It's called the Preface to the Holy Teaching. What do you think?” Tripitaka praised it. The emperor said, “My talent is small, my words unworthy. I know even less about Buddhist scriptures. I'm embarrassed to place such rough writing beside these precious texts. You needn't thank me.”

The officials congratulated the emperor and read his preface, which spread inside and outside the palace. “Will you read aloud from the true scriptures?” Taizong asked Tripitaka. “We should find a sacred place to read them. The throne hall isn't suitable.” The emperor asked which monastery in Chang'an was clean and quiet. Scholar Xiao Yu recommended Wild Goose Pagoda Monastery. Taizong told the officials each to carry several scrolls there with him to hear Tripitaka speak about them.

The officials carried the scriptures to the monastery. A high platform was prepared. Tripitaka told Bajie and Sha Monk to tend the dragon horse and baggage, and Pilgrim to stay beside him. He told the emperor, “To share the true scriptures throughout the land, copies must be made. The originals should be carefully stored and treated with respect.” Taizong agreed and ordered scholars and government secretaries to copy them. He also built a monastery east of the city called the Scripture-Copying Monastery.

Tripitaka climbed the platform holding several scrolls. Just as he was about to read, a fragrant wind rose and the eight warrior guardians appeared in the sky. “Put down the scriptures and return west with us!” they called. Pilgrim, Bajie, Sha Monk, and the white horse rose from the ground; Tripitaka dropped the scrolls and rose from the platform to join them. The emperor and his officials bowed toward the sky. Truly:

The holy monk worked hard for the scriptures, traveling through the west for fourteen years.He endured a difficult road, suffering through mountains and rivers.Even after eighty trials another was added; the work of his long journey was complete.He brought the teaching of awakening home, where it has been passed down ever since.

After bowing, Taizong appointed senior monks to hold a great Buddhist assembly at Wild Goose Pagoda Monastery. They read the scriptures to release suffering spirits and spread blessings. Copies were distributed throughout the land.

The eight guardians carried the four monks and their horse on a fragrant wind back to Vulture Peak. The outward and return journeys had taken exactly eight days. The holy beings were gathered before the Buddha, listening to him teach. The guardians brought in the travelers and reported that they had delivered the scriptures to Tang and completed their orders. The Tathagata called the travelers forward to receive their appointments. “Holy monk, in your former life you were my second disciple, the Golden Cicada. Because you did not listen attentively and slighted my teaching, I sent your spirit to be born in the east. You returned to our path, followed my teaching, and brought true scriptures to your homeland. For this achievement, you shall be the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit. Sun Wukong, after you caused chaos in heaven, I held you beneath Five Elements Mountain. When your punishment was complete, you joined our teaching. You have overcome your bad conduct and done good, defeating monsters throughout the journey and completing your duty. You shall be the Buddha Victorious in Battle. Zhu Wuneng, you were Marshal Tianpeng, a god of the River of Heaven. After you drank too much at the Peach Banquet and bothered an immortal woman, you were reborn below in an animal's body. On Mount Fuling you did harm, but you entered our teaching and protected the holy monk. Your unruly desires have not entirely gone away. Since you carried the baggage, you shall be the Altar-Cleaning Messenger.” Bajie complained, “They both become Buddhas, and I only clean altars?” The Tathagata answered, “You have a great appetite and a lazy body. My followers throughout the four continents hold many ceremonies, and you'll clear the offerings from their altars. You'll enjoy that work.” He continued, “Sha Wujing, you were the Curtain-Raising General. After you broke a crystal cup at the Peach Banquet, you were sent to the Flowing Sand River, where you harmed and ate people. You accepted our teaching and faithfully protected the holy monk, leading the horse through the mountains. You shall be a Golden-Bodied Arhat. White horse, you were the son of the Dragon King Guangjin in the Western Ocean. You disobeyed your father, but entered our teaching and carried the holy monk west and the scriptures east. You shall be a Heavenly Dragon Horse of the Eight Orders.”

The four monks bowed, and so did the horse. A guardian led him to the Dragon-Transformation Pool behind Vulture Peak and pushed him in. When he stretched, he shed his horse's coat, grew a dragon's head and horns, golden scales, and silver whiskers. With clouds beneath his four claws, he flew out of the pool and coiled around a high decorated pillar inside the monastery gate. The Buddhas praised the Tathagata's teaching.

Pilgrim asked Tripitaka, “Master, now I'm a Buddha like you. Is the tight fillet still on my head? Will you still use the spell to control me? Please recite a spell to loosen it, take it off, and smash it so Guanyin can't use it on anyone else.” “You were hard to control before, so I needed it,” Tripitaka replied. “Now that you're a Buddha, it has gone. Feel your head.” Pilgrim touched it. The fillet was gone.

Tripitaka was the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit, Pilgrim the Buddha Victorious in Battle, Bajie the Altar-Cleaning Messenger, and Sha Monk the Golden-Bodied Arhat. The dragon horse had returned to his true form too. A poem explains:

True nature fell into the dusty world; the four elements came together so the body could be trained anew.The five phases teach that form and emptiness return to stillness; the names of countless monsters no longer matter.Sandalwood Merit reaches awakening; the others take their places and leave suffering behind.The scriptures spread their blessing across the world, and the five holy travelers live beyond division.

As the five received their ranks, the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, monks, arhats, guardians, nuns, lay devotees, immortals, gods, spirits, and officials from mountains and caves who had gathered to listen returned to their own places. They saw:

Colored clouds gathered above Vulture Peak; blessed clouds covered the land of happiness. A golden dragon rested beside a jade tiger. Sun and moon came and went; turtle and snake coiled together. Red phoenixes and blue mythical birds were at ease, as were dark monkeys and white deer. Rare flowers bloomed in all eight parts of the year, and immortal fruit grew in all four seasons. Tall pines, old cypresses, and green bamboo stood together. Five-colored plum trees bloomed and bore fruit; the peaches of long life ripened and grew anew. Thousands of flowers and fruits competed in beauty, beneath a sky full of bright clouds.

Everyone joined their palms and recited:

“Homage to the Ancient Buddha Dipankara. Homage to the Medicine Buddha, King of Lapis Light. Homage to Shakyamuni Buddha. Homage to the Buddhas of past, future, and present. Homage to the Buddha of Pure Joy. Homage to the Buddha Pilushi. Homage to the Precious Banner King Buddha. Homage to the honored Buddha Maitreya. Homage to Amitabha Buddha. Homage to the Buddha of Boundless Life. Homage to the Buddha Who Receives and Returns Us to Truth. Homage to the Indestructible Vajra Buddha. Homage to the Buddha of Precious Light. Homage to the Dragon-Honored King Buddha. Homage to the Buddha of Diligent Goodness. Homage to the Buddha of Precious Moonlight. Homage to the Buddha Who Reveals Freedom from Ignorance. Homage to the Buddha Varuna. Homage to the Buddha Narayana. Homage to the Buddha of the Flower of Merit. Homage to the Buddha of Skilled Merit. Homage to the Buddha Who Walks Well. Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Light. Homage to the Buddha of the Jeweled Banner. Homage to the Buddha Whose Lamp of Wisdom Shines. Homage to the Buddha of Oceanic Virtue and Light. Homage to the Buddha of Great Compassionate Light. Homage to the Buddha, King of Compassionate Power. Homage to the Buddha, Foremost in Goodness and Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of Vast Adornment. Homage to the Buddha of Golden Flower Light. Homage to the Buddha of Brilliant Skill. Homage to the Buddha Victorious in Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of Peaceful World Light. Homage to the Buddha of Sun and Moon Light. Homage to the Buddha of Sun and Moon Pearl Light. Homage to the Buddha, King Victorious in the Banner of Wisdom. Homage to the Buddha of Wonderful Voice. Homage to the Buddha of the Ever-Bright Banner. Homage to the Buddha, Lamp of the World. Homage to the Buddha, King Victorious in the Dharma. Homage to the Buddha of Sumeru Light. Homage to the Buddha, King of Great Wisdom and Power. Homage to the Buddha of Golden Ocean Light. Homage to the Buddha of Great All-Pervading Light. Homage to the Buddha of Skilled Light. Homage to the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit. Homage to the Buddha Victorious in Battle. Homage to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Homage to the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. Homage to the Bodhisattva Manjushri. Homage to the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Homage to the Bodhisattvas of the Pure Great Ocean Assembly. Homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Lotus Pool Assembly. Homage to all Bodhisattvas of the Western Heaven. Homage to the Three Thousand Great Guardian Bodhisattvas. Homage to the Five Hundred Great Arhat Bodhisattvas. Homage to the Bodhisattvas among monks, nuns, and lay devotees. Homage to the Bodhisattvas of Boundless Teachings. Homage to the Holy Vajra Bodhisattvas. Homage to the Altar-Cleaning Messenger Bodhisattva. Homage to the Arhat Bodhisattva of the Eight Treasures and Golden Body. Homage to the Bodhisattva Heavenly Dragon of the Eight Orders and Great Power. To all Buddhas of all worlds:May this merit make the Buddha's pure land beautiful.May it repay the four great debts of gratitude and ease suffering in the three painful paths.May all who see or hear this find the desire for awakening.May they be born together in the land of happiness when this life is done.To all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times, to every great bodhisattva: may wisdom carry us to the far shore.”

Here ends Journey to the West.