Wu Cheng’en (attributed) · Complete work
Chapter 7
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第七回 八卦爐中逃大聖 五行山下定心猿
富貴功名，前緣分定，為人切莫欺心。正大光明，忠良善果彌深。些些狂妄天加譴，眼前不遇待時臨。問東君，因甚如今禍害相侵？只為心高圖罔極，不分上下亂規箴。
話表齊天大聖被眾天兵押去斬妖臺下，綁在降妖柱上，刀砍斧剁，槍刺劍刳，莫想傷及其身。南斗星奮令火部眾神放火煨燒，亦不能燒著。又著雷部眾神以雷屑釘打，越發不能傷損一毫。那大力鬼王與眾啟奏道：「萬歲，這大聖不知是何處學得這護身之法，臣等用刀砍斧剁，雷打火燒，一毫不能傷損，卻如之何？」玉帝聞言道：「這廝這等這等，如何處治？」太上老君即奏道：「那猴吃了蟠桃，飲了御酒，又盜了仙丹。我那五壺丹，有生有熟，被他都吃在肚裡。運用三昧火，鍛成一塊，所以渾做金鋼之軀，急不能傷。不若與老道領去，放在八卦爐中，以文武火鍛煉，煉出我的丹來，他身自為灰燼矣。」玉帝聞言，即教六丁、六甲將他解下，付與老君。老君領旨去訖。一壁廂宣二郎顯聖，賞賜金花百朵、御酒百瓶、還丹百粒、異寶明珠、錦繡等件，教與義兄弟分享。真君謝恩，回灌江口不題。
那老君到兜率宮，將大聖解去繩索，放了穿琵琶骨之器，推入八卦爐中，命看爐的道人、架火的童子，將火搧起鍛煉。原來那爐是乾、坎、艮、震、巽、離、坤、兌八卦。他即將身鑽在巽宮位下。巽乃風也，有風則無火。只是風攪得煙來，把一雙眼火煼紅了，弄做個老害病眼，故喚作「火眼金睛」。
真個光陰迅速，不覺七七四十九日，老君的火候俱全。忽一日，開爐取丹。那大聖雙手侮著眼，正自揉搓流涕，只聽得爐頭聲響。猛睜睛看見光明，他就忍不住，將身一縱，跳出丹爐，唿喇一聲，蹬倒八卦爐，往外就走。慌得那架火、看爐與丁甲一班人來扯，被他一個個都放倒，好似癲癇的白額虎，風狂的獨角龍。老君趕上抓一把，被他一捽，捽了個倒栽蔥，脫身走了。即去耳中掣出如意棒，迎風幌一幌，碗來粗細，依然拿在手中，不分好歹，卻又大亂天宮，打得那九曜星閉門閉戶，四天王無影無形。好猴精，有詩為證。詩曰：
混元體正合先天，萬劫千番只自然。渺渺無為渾太乙，如如不動號初玄。爐中久煉非鉛汞，物外長生是本仙。變化無窮還變化，三皈五戒總休言。
又詩：
一點靈光徹太虛，那條拄杖亦如之。或長或短隨人用，橫豎橫排任卷舒。
又詩：
猿猴道體配人心，心即猿猴意思深。大聖齊天非假論，官封弼馬豈知音。馬猿合作心和意，緊縛牢拴莫外尋。萬相歸真從一理，如來同契住雙林。
這一番，那猴王不分上下，使鐵棒東打西敵，更無一神可擋，只打到通明殿裡，靈霄殿外。幸有佑聖真君的佐使王靈官執殿，他看大聖縱橫，掣金鞭近前擋住道：「潑猴何往？有吾在此，切莫猖狂。」這大聖不由分說，舉棒就打；那靈官鞭起相迎。兩個在靈霄殿前廝渾一處，好殺：
赤膽忠良名譽大，欺天誑上聲名壞。一低一好幸相持，豪傑英雄同賭賽。鐵棒兇，金鞭快，正直無私怎忍耐？這個是太乙雷聲應化尊，那個是齊天大聖猿猴怪。金鞭鐵棒兩家能，都是神宮仙器械。今日在靈霄寶殿弄威風，各展雄才真可愛。一個欺心要奪斗牛宮，一個竭力匡扶玄聖界。苦爭不讓顯神通，鞭棒往來無勝敗。
他兩個鬥在一處，勝敗未分。早有佑聖真君又差將佐發文到雷府，調三十六員雷將齊來，把大聖圍在垓心，各騁兇惡鏖戰。那大聖全無一毫懼色，使一條如意棒，左遮右擋，後架前迎。一時見那眾雷將的刀槍劍戟、鞭簡撾鎚、鉞斧金瓜、旄鐮月鏟來的甚緊，他即搖身一變：變做三頭六臂；把如意棒幌一幌，變作三條；六隻手使開三條棒，好便似紡車兒一般，滴流流，在那垓心裡飛舞。眾雷神莫能相近。真個是：
圓陀陀，光灼灼，亙古常存人怎學？入火不能焚，入水何曾溺？光明一顆摩尼珠，劍戟刀槍傷不著。也能善，也能惡，眼前善惡憑他作。善時成佛與成仙，惡處披毛並帶角。無窮變化鬧天宮，雷將神兵不可捉。
當時眾神把大聖攢在一處，卻不能近身，亂嚷亂鬥。早驚動玉帝，遂傳旨著遊奕靈官同翊聖真君上西方請佛老降伏。
那二聖得了旨，徑到靈山勝境雷音寶剎之前，對四金剛、八菩薩禮畢，即煩轉達。眾神隨至寶蓮臺下啟知，如來召請。二聖禮佛三匝，侍立臺下。如來問：「玉帝何事，煩二聖下臨？」二聖即啟道：「向時花果山產一猴，在那裡弄神通，聚眾猴攪亂世界。玉帝降招安旨，封為弼馬溫，他嫌官小反去。當遣李天王、哪吒太子擒拿未獲，復招安他，封做齊天大聖，先有官無祿。著他代管蟠桃園，他即偷桃；又走至瑤池，偷殽、偷酒，攪亂大會；仗酒又暗入兜率宮，偷老君仙丹，反出天宮。玉帝復遣十萬天兵，亦不能收伏。後觀世音舉二郎真君同他義兄弟追殺，他變化多端，虧老君拋金鋼琢打中，二郎方得拿住。解赴御前，即命斬之，刀砍斧剁，火燒雷打，俱不能傷。老君奏准領去，以火鍛煉。四十九日開鼎，他卻又跳出八卦爐，打退天丁，徑入通明殿裡，靈霄殿外。被佑聖真君的佐使王靈官擋住苦戰，又調三十六員雷將把他困在垓心，終不能相近。事在緊急，因此玉帝特請如來救駕。」如來聞說，即對眾菩薩道：「汝等在此穩坐法堂，休得亂了禪位，待我煉魔救駕去來。」
如來即喚阿儺、迦葉二尊者相隨，離了雷音，徑至靈霄門外。忽聽得喊聲振耳，乃三十六員雷將圍困著大聖哩。佛祖傳法旨：「教雷將停息干戈，放開營所，叫那大聖出來，等我問他有何法力。」眾將果退。大聖也收了法象，現出原身近前，怒氣昂昂，厲聲高叫道：「你是那方善士，敢來止住刀兵問我？」如來笑道：「我是西方極樂世界釋迦牟尼尊者。南無阿彌陀佛！今聞你猖狂村野，屢反天宮，不知是何方生長，何年得道，為何這等暴橫？」大聖道：「我本：
天地生成靈混仙，花果山中一老猿。水簾洞裡為家業，拜友尋師悟太玄。煉就長生多少法，學來變化廣無邊。因在凡間嫌地窄，立心端要住瑤天。靈霄寶殿非他久，歷代人王有分傳。強者為尊該讓我，英雄只此敢爭先。」
佛祖聽言，呵呵冷笑道：「你那廝乃是個猴子成精，焉敢欺心，要奪玉皇上帝尊位？他自幼修持，苦歷過一千七百五十劫。每劫該十二萬九千六百年，你算他該多少年數，方能享受此無極大道？你那個初世為人的畜生，如何出此大言？不當人子，不當人子，折了你的壽算。趁早皈依，切莫胡說。但恐遭了毒手，性命頃刻而休，可惜了你的本來面目。」大聖道：「他雖年幼修長，也不應久占在此。常言道：『皇帝輪流做，明年到我家。』只教他搬出去，將天宮讓與我，便罷了；若還不讓，定要攪攘，永不清平。」佛祖道：「你除了長生變化之法，再有何能，敢占天宮勝境？」大聖道：「我的手段多哩：我有七十二般變化，萬劫不老長生；會駕觔斗雲，一縱十萬八千里。如何坐不得天位？」佛祖道：「我與你打個賭賽：你若有本事，一觔斗打出我這右手掌中，算你贏，再不用動刀兵，苦爭戰，就請玉帝到西方居住，把天宮讓你；若不能打出手掌，你還下界為妖，再修幾劫，卻來爭吵。」那大聖聞言，暗笑道：「這如來十分好獃。我老孫一觔斗去十萬八千里，他那手掌方圓不滿一尺，如何跳不出去？」急發聲道：「既如此說，你可做得主張？」佛祖道：「做得，做得。」伸開右手，卻似個荷葉大小。
那大聖收了如意棒，抖擻神威，將身一縱，站在佛祖手心裡，卻道聲：「我出去也。」你看他一路雲光，無形無影去了。佛祖慧眼觀看，見那猴王風車子一般相似不住，只管前進。大聖行時，忽見有五根肉紅柱子，撐著一股青氣。他道：「此間乃盡頭路了。這番回去，如來作證，靈霄宮定是我坐也。」又思量說：「且住，等我留下些記號，方好與如來說話。」拔下一根毫毛，吹口仙氣，叫：「變！」變作一管濃墨雙毫筆，在那中間柱子上寫一行大字云：「齊天大聖，到此一遊。」寫畢，收了毫毛。又不莊尊，卻在第一根柱子根下撒了一泡猴尿。翻轉觔斗雲，徑回本處，站在如來掌內道：「我已去，今來了。你教玉帝讓天宮與我。」
如來罵道：「我把你這個尿精猴子，你正好不曾離了我掌哩。」大聖道：「你是不知。我去到天盡頭，見五根肉紅柱，撐著一股青氣，我留個記在那裡，你敢和我同去看麼？」如來道：「不消去，你只自低頭看看。」那大聖睜圓火眼金睛，低頭看時，原來佛祖右手中指寫著「齊天大聖，到此一遊」。大指丫裡，還有些猴尿臊氣。大聖吃了一驚道：「有這等事？有這等事？我將此字寫在撐天柱子上，如何卻在他手指上？莫非有個未卜先知的法術？我決不信，不信。等我再去來。」
好大聖，急縱身又要跳出。被佛祖翻掌一撲，把這猴王推出西天門外，將五指化作金、木、水、火、土五座聯山，喚名「五行山」，輕輕的把他壓住。眾雷神與阿儺、迦葉一個個合掌稱揚道：「善哉，善哉！
當年卵化學為人，立志修行果道真。萬劫無移居勝境，一朝有變散精神。欺天罔上思高位，凌聖偷丹亂大倫。惡貫滿盈今有報，不知何日得翻身。」
如來佛祖殄滅了妖猴，即喚阿儺、迦葉同轉西方極樂世界。時有天蓬、天佑急出靈霄寶殿道：「請如來少待，我主大駕來也。」佛祖聞言，回首瞻仰。須臾，果見八景鸞輿，九光寶蓋，聲奏玄歌妙樂，詠哦無量神章，散寶花，噴真香，直至佛前謝曰：「多蒙大法收殄妖邪，望如來少停一日，請諸仙做一會筵奉謝。」如來不敢違悖，即合掌謝道：「老僧承大天尊宣命來此，有何法力？還是天尊與眾神洪福。敢勞致謝？」玉帝傳旨，即著雷部眾神，分頭請三清、四御、五老、六司、七元、八極、九曜、十都、千真、萬聖來此赴會，同謝佛恩。又命四大天師、九天仙女，大開玉京金闕、太玄寶宮、洞陽玉館，請如來高座七寶靈臺，調設各班坐位，安排龍肝鳳髓，玉液蟠桃。
不一時，那玉清元始天尊、上清靈寶天尊、太清道德天尊、五炁真君、五斗星君、三官四聖、九曜真君、左輔、右弼、天王、哪吒，玄虛一應靈通，對對旌旗，雙雙幡蓋，都捧著明珠異寶，壽果奇花，向佛前拜獻曰：「感如來無量法力，收伏妖猴。蒙大天尊設宴，呼喚我等皆來陳謝。請如來將此會立一名如何？」如來領眾神之託曰：「今欲立名，可作個安天大會。」各仙老異口同聲，俱道：「好個『安天大會』！好個『安天大會』！」言訖，各坐座位，走斝傳觴，簪花鼓瑟，果好會也。有詩為證。詩曰：
宴設蟠桃猴攪亂，安天大會勝蟠桃。龍旗鸞輅祥光藹，寶節幢幡瑞氣飄。仙樂玄歌音韻美，鳳簫玉管響聲高。瓊香繚繞群仙集，宇宙清平賀聖朝。
眾皆暢然喜會，只見王母娘娘引一班仙子、仙娥、美姬、美女飄飄蕩蕩舞向佛前，施禮曰：「前被妖猴攪亂蟠桃一會，請眾仙眾佛俱成功。今蒙如來大法鍊鎖頑猴，喜慶『安天大會』，無物可謝，今是我淨手親摘大株蟠桃數顆奉獻。」真個是：
半紅半綠噴甘香，艷麗仙根萬載長。堪笑武陵源上種，爭如天府更奇強。紫紋嬌嫩寰中少，緗核清甜世莫雙。延壽延年能易體，有緣食者自非常。
佛祖合掌向王母謝訖。王母又著仙姬、仙子唱的唱，舞的舞。滿會群仙又皆賞讚。正是：
縹緲天香滿座，繽紛仙蕊仙花。玉京金闕大榮華。異品奇珍無價。對對與天齊壽，雙雙萬劫增加。桑田滄海任更差。他自無驚無訝。
王母正著仙姬、仙子歌舞，觥籌交錯，不多時，忽又聞得：
一陣異香來鼻噢，驚動滿堂星與宿。天仙佛祖把杯停，各各擡頭迎目候。霄漢中間現老人，手捧靈芝飛藹繡。葫蘆藏蓄萬年丹，寶籙名書千紀壽。洞裡乾坤任自由，壺中日月隨成就。遨遊四海樂清閑，散淡十洲容輻輳。曾赴蟠桃醉幾遭，醒時明月還依舊。長頭大耳短身軀，南極之方稱老壽。
壽星又到。見玉帝禮畢，又見如來，申謝曰：「始聞那妖猴被老君引至兜率宮鍛煉，以為必致平安，不期他又反出。幸如來善伏此怪，設宴奉謝，故此聞風而來。更無他物可獻，特具紫芝瑤草、碧藕金丹奉上。」詩曰：
碧藕金丹奉釋迦，如來萬壽若恆沙。清平永樂三乘錦，康泰長生九品花。無相門中真法主，色空天上是仙家。乾坤大地皆稱祖，丈六金身福壽賒。
如來忻然領謝。壽星得座，依然走斝傳觴。只見赤腳大仙又至，向玉帝前頫顖禮畢，又對佛祖謝道：「深感法力，降伏妖猴。無物可以表敬，特具交梨二顆、火棗數枚奉獻。」詩曰：
大仙赤腳棗梨香，敬獻彌陀壽算長。七寶蓮臺山樣穩，千金花座錦般粧。壽同天地言非謬，福比洪波話豈狂。福壽如期真個是，清閑極樂那西方。
如來又稱謝了，叫阿儺、迦葉將各所獻之物，一一收起，方向玉帝前謝宴。眾各酩酊。只見個巡視靈官來報道：「那大聖伸出頭來了。」佛祖道：「不妨，不妨。」袖中只取出一張帖子，上有六個金字：「唵嘛呢叭咪吽」。遞與阿儺，叫貼在那山頂上。這尊者即領帖子，拿出天門，到那五行山頂上，緊緊的貼在一塊四方石上，那座山即生根合縫。可運用呼吸之氣，手兒爬出，可以搖掙搖掙。阿儺回報道：「已將帖子貼了。」
如來即辭了玉帝眾神，與二尊者出天門之外。又發一個慈悲心，念動真言咒語，將五行山召一尊土地神祗，會同五方揭諦，居住此山監押。但他饑時，與他鐵丸子吃；渴時，與他溶化的銅汁飲。待他災愆滿日，自有人救他。正是：
妖猴大膽反天宮，卻被如來伏手降。渴飲溶銅捱歲月，饑餐鐵彈度時光。天災苦困遭磨折，人事淒涼喜命長。若得英雄重展掙，他年奉佛上西方。
又詩曰：
伏逞豪強大勢興，降龍伏虎弄乖能。偷桃偷酒遊天府，受籙承恩在玉京。惡貫滿盈身受困，善根不絕氣還昇。果然脫得如來手，且待唐朝出聖僧。
畢竟不知向後何年何月方滿災殃，且聽下回分解。
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Chinese, passage for passage, covering all 100 chapters and 3,782 source paragraphs of the Traditional Chinese text.
The Great Sage Escapes from the Eight-Trigram Furnace; Beneath Five Elements Mountain the Mind-Monkey Is Stilled
Wealth and honor, achievement and fame, are fixed by former destiny: do not deceive your own heart. Uprightness, honesty, and loyalty bear the richest fruit. A little arrogance earns heaven's punishment, if not today then in due course. Ask the lord of spring why disaster comes now: the heart aspired beyond all limits and shattered the rules that divide high from low.
The heavenly soldiers bound the Great Sage to the demon-subduing pillar on the execution terrace. Axes, swords, and spears could not wound him. The Southern Dipper Star ordered fire gods to burn him; the flames did nothing. Thunder gods struck him with bolts, without harming a hair. The Mighty Ghost King reported: “Nothing touches him. What shall we do?” The Supreme Lord Lao said: “He ate immortal peaches, drank imperial wine, and swallowed all five gourds of my elixir, both ripe and unripe. The threefold fire fused it within him into a diamond body. Put him in my eight-trigram furnace and refine him with gentle and fierce fires. I'll recover my elixir and his body will turn to ash.” The Emperor gave Wukong to Lao, then rewarded the Illustrious Sage True Lord Erlang with a hundred golden flowers, a hundred bottles of wine, a hundred restorative elixir pills, jewels, and brocade for him and his brothers. Erlang thanked him and returned to the Guan River.
At Tushita Palace, Lao removed Wukong's bonds and shoulder hooks, thrust him into the eight-trigram furnace, and ordered the attendants to fan its fire. Its eight chambers represented Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui. Wukong sheltered beneath Xun, the wind chamber, where wind kept fire away. Smoke blew into his eyes, turning them red and inflamed. Thus he acquired fiery eyes with golden pupils.
Forty-nine days passed, completing the firing. When Lao opened the furnace to collect his elixir, the Great Sage was rubbing his stinging eyes. Hearing the lid, he saw daylight, sprang out, kicked the furnace over, and fled. He knocked down the attendants and the Six Ding and Six Jia like a maddened white-browed tiger or raging one-horned dragon. Lao reached for him, but Wukong threw him headfirst to the ground. Drawing and enlarging his staff, he stormed through heaven again. The Nine Luminaries barred their doors; the Four Heavenly Kings disappeared. A poem bears witness:
His body of primal unity accords with heaven before creation; through countless ages all proceeds by nature.Vast nonaction unites with Supreme Unity; his unmoving suchness is primal mystery.Long forged in the furnace, yet not of lead or mercury, he has innate immortality beyond the world.His endless changes go on changing; spare us the three refuges and five precepts.
Another poem:
One spark of numinous light reaches the empty sky; his staff does so as well.It grows or shrinks as he desires, turns sideways or upright, extends or contracts at will.
Another poem:
The ape's body of the Way matches the human heart: the heart is the ape, and deep is its meaning.Great Sage Equal to Heaven is no empty boast; was the title Keeper of the Horses worthy of him?Horse and ape, will and heart, must join; bind them fast and seek no farther.All appearances return to truth through one principle; the Tathagata, too, abides in the twin grove.
The Monkey King fought east and west without regard to rank, and no god could stop him. He reached the Hall of Pervading Light outside the Hall of Divine Mists, where Wang Lingguan, deputy to the True Lord Protecting the Sacred, stood guard. Drawing his golden whip, Wang cried: “Stop, brazen ape!” Wukong struck without a word. They clashed before the hall:
One, loyal and fearless, had a glorious name; the other, heaven's deceiver, was infamous. Fierce heroes met, golden whip against iron staff. One was the divine manifestation of Supreme Unity's thunder; the other the Great Sage monkey demon. Both wielded immortal arms with skill before the Hall of Divine Mists. One sought to seize heaven's palace, the other strove to defend the sacred realm. Whip and staff flew, with neither gaining victory.
The True Lord summoned thirty-six thunder generals to surround Wukong. The Great Sage blocked blades, spears, whips, axes, hammers, and spades on every side. As they pressed him, he grew three heads and six arms, multiplied his staff into three, and spun them like a wheel. None could approach. Truly:
Round and brilliant, enduring from ancient time: how could a human learn his art? Fire cannot burn him, water cannot drown him; a shining wish-granting jewel unharmed by blade or spear. Capable of good and evil, he chooses either at will: through goodness one becomes a Buddha or immortal, through evil a furred and horned beast. His endless transformations disrupt heaven, and no thunder general can capture him.
The gods could not get near him. Alarmed, the Jade Emperor sent a celestial officer and the True Lord Assisting the Sacred to the Western Heaven to request the Buddha's aid.
At Vulture Peak's Thunderclap Monastery they greeted the Four Vajras and Eight Bodhisattvas. Summoned before the Tathagata, they bowed three times. “Why have you come from the Jade Emperor?” he asked. They described the stone monkey of Mount Flower-Fruit, his appointment as Bimawen, rebellion against that low office, defeat of Li and Nezha, second appointment as Great Sage Equal to Heaven, theft of the peaches, banquet food and wine, Lao's elixir and imperial wine, his flight from heaven, the failure of 100,000 soldiers, his capture by Erlang and Lao's diamond snare, his resistance to weapons, fire, and thunder, and his escape from Lao's furnace after forty-nine days. “Now Wang Lingguan and thirty-six thunder generals cannot hold him outside the Hall of Divine Mists. The Emperor begs you to save him.” The Tathagata told the bodhisattvas: “Remain here quietly. I will go and subdue this demon.”
With his attendants Ananda and Kasyapa, the Tathagata came to the Hall of Divine Mists. He ordered the thunder generals to stand aside and summoned the Great Sage. Wukong resumed his own form. “Who are you to stop the fighting and question me?” “I am Shakyamuni of the Western Pure Land. Why do you repeatedly rebel? Where were you born, when did you attain the Way, and why are you so violent?” Wukong replied:
“Born of heaven and earth, a spirit of primal chaos, I am an old monkey from Mount Flower-Fruit.Water Curtain Cave is my home; I sought friends and teachers and awakened to profound mysteries.I cultivated many ways of eternal life and learned transformations without end.The mortal world was too small for me, so I resolved to live in heaven.The Hall of Divine Mists cannot belong to one ruler forever; earthly dynasties pass from one to another.The strongest should rule. I have the courage to claim my turn.”
The Buddha laughed coldly. “A monkey spirit dares covet the Jade Emperor's throne! He cultivated himself through 1,750 kalpas, each lasting 129,600 years. Count his ages before speaking of the boundless Way he has earned. You are barely born; such boasting will shorten your life. Submit, or you'll be killed and lose even the form you now possess.” “Even if he's lived so long, he cannot occupy heaven forever. As they say, ‘Emperors take turns; next year it will be my family's turn.’ Let him move out and leave the palace to me, or I'll keep disturbing it.” “Apart from longevity and transformation, what powers entitle you to rule?” “Seventy-two transformations, life through countless ages, and a somersault cloud that covers 108,000 li in one leap!” “Then wager with me. If you can somersault beyond the palm of my right hand, you've won: the Emperor shall move west and yield heaven. If not, return to earth and cultivate yourself for several more ages before challenging him again.” Wukong thought: “My cloud travels 108,000 li. His palm is less than a foot wide!” “Do you have the authority to promise that?” “I do.” The Buddha extended his hand, as large as a lotus leaf.
Wukong put away his staff and sprang into the Buddha's palm. “I'm off!” He sped away on his cloud like a whirling windmill, invisible in flight. At last he saw five flesh-red pillars supporting a current of blue air. “The end of heaven! Now I'll claim the palace. But I'll leave proof.” He turned a hair into an ink-filled brush and wrote on the middle pillar: “Great Sage Equal to Heaven visited here.” Then he urinated at the foot of the first pillar, turned back, and landed in the Buddha's palm. “I've gone and returned. Give me heaven.”
“You never left my hand, you pissy monkey.” “I went to heaven's edge and marked one of five red pillars beneath blue air. Come and see!” “Look down.” Wukong saw his writing on the Tathagata's middle finger and smelled urine between his fingers. “Impossible! I wrote that at the edge of heaven! Did you foresee it by magic? I don't believe it. I'll go again.”
As Wukong leaped, the Buddha turned his palm and pressed him out beyond the Western Gate of Heaven. His five fingers became five linked peaks of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, called Five Elements Mountain, pinning the Monkey King beneath. The thunder gods, Ananda, and Kasyapa joined their palms. “Excellent!
Hatched from an egg, he learned the ways of men and devoted himself to the true Way.He gained a glorious realm for countless years, then lost his freedom in a day.He defied heaven and stole the elixir, reaching for a higher throne.Now his crimes are answered; when will he rise again?”
The Tathagata prepared to return west with Ananda and Kasyapa, but heavenly ministers asked him to wait for the Jade Emperor. The Emperor approached in a splendid carriage beneath a jeweled canopy, with sacred music, scattered flowers, and incense. “Thank you for subduing the monster. Stay for a feast in your honor.” “I obeyed your summons. It is your majesty's good fortune and the gods' strength, not mine,” replied the Buddha. The Emperor summoned the Three Pure Ones, Four Sovereigns, Five Elders, Six Administrations, Seven Stars, Eight Poles, Nine Luminaries, Ten Capitals, a thousand perfected ones, and ten thousand sages. In the golden halls and jeweled pavilions the Celestial Masters and nine heavenly maidens seated the Tathagata on a seven-treasure lotus platform and arranged dragon liver, phoenix marrow, jade nectar, and peaches for all.
The Three Pure Ones—Celestial Worthy of the Primal Beginning, Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Treasure, and Celestial Worthy of the Way and Virtue—arrived with the five lords of vital breath, five Star Lords, three administrators, four sages, nine luminaries, royal counselors, Heavenly Kings, Nezha, and other gods. They carried flags, canopies, pearls, jewels, longevity fruit, and flowers. “Thank you for subduing the monkey. The Emperor calls us here to thank you. Will you name this feast?” “Let it be the Banquet for Peace in Heaven,” said the Tathagata. All agreed. Seated together, they passed cups, wore flowers, and played music. A poem bears witness:
The monkey ruined the Peach Banquet; the Banquet for Peace in Heaven surpasses it.Dragon banners and phoenix carriages shine auspiciously; jeweled flags and canopies float in blessed air.Immortal music and sacred song sound lovely; phoenix flutes and jade pipes ring clear.Jade incense curls among gathered immortals, rejoicing that peace has returned to the world.
The Queen Mother brought her maidens before the Buddha. “The monkey spoiled my banquet, but your mighty teaching has secured heaven. I have nothing worthy to thank you; please accept these great peaches I picked myself.” Indeed:
Half red and half green, they breathe sweet fragrance; their radiant immortal roots endure ten thousand years.What are the peaches of Wuling's hidden valley beside the wonders of heaven?Purple stripes so tender are rare in the world, pale yellow pits so sweet unmatched on earth.They prolong life and transform the body; blessed indeed are those who eat them.
The Buddha thanked her. She had the maidens sing and dance, to the delight of everyone present. Truly:
Celestial fragrance fills the seats; immortal flowers fall in bright profusion. The golden halls of Jade Capital glow with splendor, priceless treasures on every side.In pairs they live as long as heaven, their lives growing through countless ages. Land may turn to sea and sea to land; they remain untroubled.
Amid the singing and dancing, as guests passed wine cups, suddenly they heard:
A strange fragrance filled the hall and roused the stars and constellations.Immortals and Buddhas set down their cups and looked toward the sky.An old man appeared among the clouds, bearing a numinous mushroom.His gourd held elixir of ten thousand years, his register names of thousand-year lives.Free in his cave's own universe, he commands days and moons within a pot.He roams the four seas at ease and strolls among the ten continents.Often drunk at Peach Banquets, he wakes to the same bright moon.Long-headed, large-eared, short of stature: the Longevity Star of the Southern Pole.
The Longevity Star bowed to the Jade Emperor and thanked the Tathagata. “When the Supreme Lord took the monkey to his furnace, I thought peace was certain. But he escaped. Luckily you subdued him. Hearing of this feast, I came with purple mushrooms, jade grass, green lotus roots, and golden elixir for you.” A poem says:
Green lotus roots and golden elixir are offered to Shakyamuni; may the Tathagata live as long as countless grains of sand.Peace and joy forever adorn the three vehicles; health and long life flower in the nine ranks.Master of the true teaching beyond all appearances, immortal of the heaven of form and emptiness.Heaven and earth honor him as patriarch; blessed is his sixteen-foot golden form.
The Buddha thanked him and invited him to sit. The Barefoot Immortal arrived and bowed. “Thank you for subduing the monkey. Accept these two grafted pears and several fire dates as a mark of respect.” A poem says:
The Barefoot Immortal offers fragrant dates and pears, wishing the Buddha long life.His seven-treasure lotus terrace stands firm as a mountain, his golden seat adorned like brocade.He lives as long as heaven and earth; his fortune swells like a great tide.Blessed forever with peace and leisure in the Western Pure Land.
The Buddha thanked him and had Ananda and Kasyapa put away the offerings. As the guests grew merry with drink, an inspecting god reported: “The Great Sage's head has emerged from the mountain!” “No matter,” said the Buddha. From his sleeve he produced a seal inscribed with six golden syllables, “Om mani padme hum,” and sent Ananda to affix it to a square stone atop the mountain. At once the peaks settled and locked together. Wukong could still breathe, stretch his hand out, and struggle, but could not escape. Ananda returned with the news.
Taking leave of the Emperor, the Tathagata departed with his attendants. In compassion he summoned a local earth god and the Five Direction Guardians to watch over the mountain and prisoner. “Feed him iron pellets when hungry, molten copper when thirsty. When his sentence is complete, someone will come to free him.” And so:
The bold demon monkey rebelled against heaven, but the Tathagata subdued him beneath his hand.Molten copper quenches his thirst through the years; iron pellets sustain him when hungry.He suffers the bitterness of heaven's punishment, finding consolation only in his long life.If one day this hero can stretch free again, he will serve the Buddha and travel west.
Another poem says:
Proud of his strength, he subdued dragons and tigers and flaunted his powers.He stole heaven's peaches and wine after receiving rank and favor in the Jade Capital.His crimes brought imprisonment, yet his roots of goodness remain alive.To escape the Tathagata's hand he must await a holy monk of Tang.
In what year would his punishment end? Listen to the next chapter to find out.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Chinese, covering all 100 chapters and 3,782 source paragraphs of the Traditional Chinese text.
Out of the Eight-Trigrams Furnace the Great Sage Escapes; Under Five Elements Mountain the Mind-Monkey Is Settled
Riches and rank, fame and success are all fixed by fate gone before; a man must never cheat his own heart. Be straight and open, and the good fruit of loyalty grows deeper still. A little wildness brings heaven's reprimand; not met today, it waits its hour. Ask the Lord of the East why harm presses on him now: only because his heart climbed too high after boundless things, and he knew no above from below and trampled every rule.
The story goes that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was escorted by the soldiers of heaven to below the Demon-Executing Platform and bound to the demon-subduing pillar. Saber cuts and axe hacks, spear thrusts and sword slashes could not touch his body. The star of the Southern Dipper ordered the gods of the fire bureau to pile fire on and roast him, and the fire would not take him. Then the gods of the thunder bureau were ordered to nail him with filings of thunder, and they could not hurt him a hair. The Mighty Ghost King and the rest reported: "Your Majesty, we do not know where this Great Sage learned such a way of guarding his body. We have cut him with sabers, hacked him with axes, struck him with thunder, burned him with fire, and not one hair is hurt. What is to be done?" The Jade Emperor heard and said: "So this fellow, this fellow — how shall we deal with him?" The Supreme Lord Lao came forward and said: "That monkey ate the peaches, drank the imperial wine, and then stole the elixir. My five gourds of pills, raw and finished, he swallowed them all down. Working the fire of samadhi inside him, they have been forged into one piece, so that his whole body is diamond; no sudden blow can wound it. Better let your old priest take him, put him in the Eight-Trigrams Furnace, and temper him with civil and martial fire, till my elixir is drawn out of him and his body turns to ash." The Jade Emperor heard and ordered the six Dings and six Jias to unbind him and hand him over to the old lord, who took the edict and led him away. On the other hand the Illustrious Sage Erlang was summoned and given a hundred golden flowers, a hundred bottles of imperial wine, a hundred pills of the elixir of return, strange treasures, pearls, and brocades, and told to share them with his sworn brothers. The True Lord thanked him for the grace and went back to the mouth of the Guan River — but no more of that.
The old lord came to the Tushita Palace, untied the Great Sage's ropes, drew out the iron through his pipa bones, and pushed him into the Eight-Trigrams Furnace. He ordered the furnace-watching Daoists and the fire-tending pages to fan up the flames and temper him. Now the furnace was built on the eight trigrams: qian, kan, gen, zhen, xun, li, kun, and dui. The Great Sage bored in and crouched under the station of xun. Xun is wind, and where there is wind there is no fire. Only the wind stirred up smoke, and the smoke scorched both his eyes red, giving him a pair of old, sore, watering eyes — and that is why they are called his fiery eyes and golden pupils.
Truly the time ran fast, and before anyone knew it seven times seven, forty-nine days had gone by, and the old lord's fire had done its work. One day he opened the furnace to take out the elixir. The Great Sage had both hands over his eyes, rubbing them and weeping, when he heard a sound at the mouth of the furnace. He blinked hard and saw light, could not hold himself, gathered his body, and jumped straight out of the elixir furnace. With a crash he kicked the Eight-Trigrams Furnace over and marched out. The fire tenders, furnace watchers, and Dings and Jias hurried to grab him, and he floored them one by one, like a white-browed tiger in its fit, like a one-horned dragon gone mad. The old lord caught at him and got a handful of him, and the monkey hauled him and spun him head over heels, then got himself away. He pulled the As-You-Will staff from his ear, waved it in the wind to a bowl's thickness, held it in his fist, and reckoned nothing of right or wrong. Again he ran wild through the Heavenly Palace, hammering the nine Luminaries behind shut doors and putting the four heavenly kings out of all sight and shape. What a monkey spirit! There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:
One body of primal chaos, true to what was before heaven; through ten thousand ages and a thousand turns, only nature at work.Dim, dim, without action, all one with the Great One; thus, thus, unmoving, he is named the First Mystery.Long tempered in the furnace, he is no lead or mercury; long life beyond things is his nature as an immortal.Changes without end, and changes again; say nothing of the three refuges and the five precepts.
Another poem:
One spark of spirit light runs through the great void; that staff he leans on is just the same.Long or short, it serves the hand that holds it; across or end to end, rolled out or furled as he pleases.
Another poem:
The ape's way and the human heart are paired; the heart is the ape — how deep the meaning.The Great Sage's equality with heaven is no idle phrase; who knew the mind of him who titled him Keeper of Horses?Horse and ape together are heart and intent; bind them fast and tether them, and look nowhere else.The ten thousand forms return to truth in one principle; with the Tathagata in accord, he comes to dwell in the Twin Grove.
In this round the Monkey King, recking nothing of high or low, swung his iron staff east and west and stood against all comers, and not one god could stop him. He fought his way into the Hall of Bright Passing and out to the very door of the Hall of Divine Mist. There, by good luck, Wang the Spirit Officer, aide to the True Lord Yousheng, was on duty at the hall. Seeing the Great Sage careering at large, he swept out his golden whip and barred the way: "Where now, you brazen monkey? I am here — carry on no further." The Great Sage wasted no words, raised his staff, and struck; the Spirit Officer threw up his whip and met it. The two of them tangled together before the Hall of Divine Mist. What a fight:
The loyal red heart has a great name; to cheat heaven and hoodwink the throne blackens the name instead. One bends, one stands firm — good luck that they hold each other; hero against hero, the same wager laid. The iron staff is cruel; the golden whip is quick. For the straight and unselfish, how long can he hold? This one is the honored one of the Great One, the echo of thunder; that one is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the monkey monster. Golden whip and iron staff, both masters of their trade; both gear of the divine palace and the immortal's kit. Today before the Hall of Divine Mist they flaunt their strength, each unrolling his gift — a sight worth the seeing. This one, heart set on wrong, would storm the palace of the Ox-Dipper; that one spends his strength to shore up the sacred world of the Mystery. They fight bitterly and yield nothing, showing all their power; whip and staff come and go, and neither wins.
The two of them locked in one place, the victory still unsettled, when the True Lord Yousheng sent officers with dispatches to the court of thunder, calling out the thirty-six thunder generals. They came together and hemmed the Great Sage in at the center, and the fight raged fierce on every side. The Great Sage showed not a shade of fear. He worked his one As-You-Will staff, warding left, blocking right, guarding behind, meeting in front. When he saw the thunder generals' blades and spears, swords and halberds, whips and rods and mallets, battle-axes and golden melons, banners and sickles and moon-spades coming in thick, he shook himself and changed: three heads and six arms. He waved the As-You-Will staff, and it became three staffs. Six hands put three staffs to work, whirling like a spinning wheel, streaming round and round at the center of the press. No thunder god could come near him. Truly:
Round and whole, blazing bright: it has stood from the beginning of time — and how would a man learn it? Fire cannot burn it; when was water ever able to drown it? One shining mani pearl that sword and spear, blade and axe, cannot wound. It can do good, it can do evil; the good and evil before your eyes are its to do. In good it becomes a Buddha, becomes an immortal; in evil it grows hair and horns. Changes without end, and it wrecks the Heavenly Palace; the thunder generals and divine soldiers cannot take it.
The gods crowded the Great Sage into one spot but could not lay hands on him, and all was shout and struggle. The uproar reached the Jade Emperor, who passed an order that the Patrol Spirit Officer and the True Lord Yisheng go west and beg the Buddha to come and subdue him.
The two lords took the edict and went straight to the gates of the Thunderclap Monastery in the holy land of Vulture Peak, bowed to the four guardians and eight bodhisattvas, and begged them to carry the word in. The gods brought them below the precious lotus platform and told the news, and the Tathagata called them in. The two made three circuits in worship before the Buddha and stood waiting below the platform. The Tathagata asked: "What matter brings the Jade Emperor to send two lords down to me?" They reported: "Some time ago a monkey was born on Mount Flower-Fruit who used his magic power, gathered the monkeys, and threw the world into disorder. The Jade Emperor sent down an edict of amnesty and made him Keeper of the Heavenly Horses; he scorned the office as too small and turned against it. Then Heavenly King Li and prince Nezha were sent to seize him and failed, so he was granted amnesty again and titled Great Sage Equal to Heaven — an office without pay. He was put in charge of the Peach Garden and stole the peaches; then he went to the Jade Pool, stole the dishes and the wine, and wrecked the grand banquet; then, drunk, he slipped into the Tushita Palace, stole the old lord's elixir, and broke back out of the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor sent 100,000 heavenly soldiers, and they could not subdue him either. Then Guanyin named the True Lord Erlang, who hunted him with his sworn brothers; his changes were endless, but the old lord threw the Diamond Snare and struck him, and Erlang took him at last. He was brought before the throne, and the order was given to put him to death. Saber and axe, fire and thunder could not hurt him. The old lord asked leave to take him and temper him with fire. After forty-nine days the furnace was opened, and he leaped out of the Eight-Trigrams Furnace, beat back the soldiers of heaven, and fought his way into the Hall of Bright Passing and up to the door of the Hall of Divine Mist. Wang the Spirit Officer, aide to the True Lord Yousheng, barred the way and fought him bitterly, and the thirty-six thunder generals were called to trap him at the center — but they can lay nothing on him. The matter is desperate, and so the Jade Emperor begs the Tathagata to come to the rescue." When the Tathagata heard it, he said to the bodhisattvas: "Sit steady here in the hall of the Law and do not leave your places in chan. I will go tame the demon and rescue the throne."
The Tathagata called the two honored ones Ananda and Kasyapa to go with him, left the Thunderclap Monastery, and came straight to outside the gates of the Hall of Divine Mist. He heard shouting that filled the ears: the thirty-six thunder generals had the Great Sage hemmed in. The Buddha passed down his command: "Let the thunder generals stop the fighting and open the lines, and let that Great Sage come out. I will ask him what powers he has." The generals drew back as told. The Great Sage also folded away his giant shape and showed his own body, coming near in high wrath, bawling in a loud voice: "What worthy man are you, from what quarter, that you dare stop the war and question me?" The Tathagata laughed: "I am the Venerable Sakyamuni of the World of Bliss in the West. Homage to Amitabha Buddha! I hear you run wild and rude, turning again and again against the Heavenly Palace. Where were you bred, in what year did you find the Way, and why are you so violent?" The Great Sage said: "I am:
An immortal of spirit, made by heaven and earth; an old ape of Mount Flower-Fruit.My home and my estate are Water Curtain Cave; I bowed to friends, sought masters, and woke to the great mystery.I refined the arts of long life, who can say how many; I learned the changes, wide beyond all bound.Because the mortal world seemed too narrow for me, I set my heart on dwelling in the jade heavens.The Hall of Divine Mist is no place for him to keep forever; kings of men through the ages have had their turn and passed it on.The strong are honored — the seat ought to be handed to me; a hero, and only this: I dare to claim the first place."
The Buddha heard it and laughed out loud, coldly: "You there — you are a monkey turned spirit. How dare you cheat your own heart and try to seize the throne of the Jade Emperor, God on High? He has cultivated since his youth and borne with hardship through 1,750 kalpas. Each kalpa is 129,600 years. Reckon how many years that is, before a man could come into this boundless Way. You beast, new in your first life as a man — how do you dare such big talk? Shame on you, shame on you. You are shortening your own counted years. Submit quickly and say no more of this. Otherwise I fear you will meet a deadly hand, and your life will end in a moment — a pity to waste the face you were born with." The Great Sage said: "Young or long trained as he may be, he has no right to sit there forever. The saying goes: 'Emperors take their turns; next year the turn comes to my house.' Let him move out, hand the Heavenly Palace over to me, and there is an end of it. If he will not yield, there will be endless turmoil, and never peace again." The Buddha said: "Setting aside your arts of long life and of change, what else can you do, that you dare claim this heaven-palace, the choice of all grounds?" The Great Sage said: "My tricks are many: I have the 72 transformations, and ten thousand ages cannot age me; I ride the somersault cloud, and one jump covers 108,000 li. Why may I not sit the throne of heaven?" The Buddha said: "Then let you and me lay a wager. If you have the skill to leap out of this right palm of mine, you win: no more sword or spear, no more bitter war. I will ask the Jade Emperor to go and live in the west, and the Heavenly Palace is yours. If you cannot leap out of this palm, go back below and be a demon again, cultivate a few more kalpas, and come and quarrel then." The Great Sage heard and laughed to himself: "This Tathagata is a thorough fool. Old Sun's somersault carries 108,000 li, and his palm is not a foot square. How could I not jump out of it?" He answered quickly: "If that is your word, can you stand by it?" The Buddha said: "I can, I can," and opened his right hand — it was about the size of a lotus leaf.
The Great Sage put away the As-You-Will staff, braced all his power, gathered his body, and leaped, and stood in the very palm of the Buddha, calling: "Here I go!" Watch him: a wheel of cloud-light, without shape or shadow, away. The Buddha's eye of wisdom followed: the Monkey King went rolling like a pinwheel, ever onward. As he traveled he suddenly saw five flesh-red pillars holding up a mass of blue-green vapor. He said: "This is the road's end. When I go back this time, with the Tathagata for witness, the Hall of Divine Mist is mine to sit in for certain." Then he thought again: "Wait. Let me leave some mark, so I have something to say to the Tathagata." He plucked a hair, blew a mouthful of immortal breath, and cried: "Change!" It became a thick, double-brushed pen heavy with ink, and on the middle pillar he wrote a line of great characters: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here." When he had written, he took back the hair. And then, in no way dignified, he pissed a pot of monkey piss at the foot of the first pillar. He turned the somersault cloud and came straight back, and stood in the Tathagata's palm: "I have gone and come again. Tell the Jade Emperor to hand the Heavenly Palace over to me."
The Tathagata cursed: "You piss-spirit monkey — you never left my palm at all!" The Great Sage said: "You do not understand. I went to the very rim of the sky, saw five flesh-red pillars holding up a mass of blue vapor, and left my mark there. Do you dare come and look with me?" The Tathagata said: "No need to go. Only look down." The Great Sage opened his fiery eyes and golden pupils wide and looked down: there on the Buddha's middle finger was written "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here," and in the fork of the thumb the rank smell of monkey piss still hung. The Great Sage was startled: "Can such a thing be? Can such a thing be? I wrote those words on a pillar that props the sky — how have they come onto his finger? Can he have some art of knowing before divining? I will never believe it, never. Wait while I go again."
Brave Great Sage: he sprang up in haste to jump out again. But the Buddha turned his palm and pushed, and out the West Gate of Heaven the Monkey King went flying. The five fingers turned into five joined mountains — of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — called Five Elements Mountain, and settled down gently on top of him. The thunder gods and Ananda and Kasyapa put their palms together one by one and praised him: "Good! Good!
In those days an egg hatched and learned to be a man; he set his will on the practice, and the fruit of the Way was true.Ten thousand ages he sat unmoved in the blessed land; in one morning the change came, and his spirit scattered.He cheated heaven, hoodwinked the throne, and coveted the high place; he bullied the saint, stole the elixir, and broke the great order.His evil is full to the brim, and now the payment comes; who knows on what day he will turn himself over again."
The Tathagata Buddha, the demon monkey destroyed, called Ananda and Kasyapa to return with him to the World of Bliss in the west. At that moment Tianpeng and Tianyou hurried out of the Hall of Divine Mist and said: "Wait a little, Tathagata. Our sovereign's great carriage is coming." The Buddha heard, turned, and looked up. In a moment there indeed came the luan carriage of the eight scenes, the precious canopy of nine lights, with mystic songs and wondrous music sounding, hymns of measureless spirit-verses chanted, precious flowers scattered and true incense breathed, and it drew up before the Buddha with thanks: "We are much obliged to your great Law for destroying the demon evil. We beg the Tathagata to stay a day, so that all the immortals may hold a feast in thanks." The Tathagata did not dare refuse, put his palms together, and said: "Your poor monk came at the great sovereign's summons. What power is mine? It is the sovereign's and the gods' great good fortune. How dare you take this trouble to thank me?" The Jade Emperor passed the order: the gods of the thunder court were to go out and invite the Three Pure Ones, the Four Sovereigns, the Five Ancients, the Six Ministers, the Seven Origins, the Eight Limits, the Nine Luminaries, the Ten Capitals, the thousand Perfected, and the ten thousand saints to the feast, to thank the Buddha together. He also ordered the four great celestial masters and the nine heavenly maidens to throw open the Golden Gates of the Jade Capital, the Precious Palace of Great Mystery, and the Jade Lodge of the Opened Sun, to seat the Tathagata high on the seven-jeweled numinous terrace, set out the seats in their ranks, and serve dragon liver and phoenix marrow, jade liquor and immortal peaches.
Before long came the Primeval Lord of the Jade Clarity, the Lord Lingbao of the High Clarity, the Lord of the Way and Virtue of the Great Clarity, the True Lords of the Five Breaths, the Star Lord of the Five Bushels, the Three Officials and Four Saints, the True Lords of the Nine Luminaries, the Left Assist, the Right Support, the heavenly kings, and Nezha — every spirit-wonder of the mystery, pair by pair with banners, two by two with canopies — all bearing bright pearls and strange treasures, fruits of long life and rare flowers, to bow before the Buddha and offer them: "We thank the Tathagata for his measureless power, which has subdued the demon monkey. The great sovereign spreads this feast and calls us all to come and give thanks. We beg the Tathagata to give this assembly a name." The Tathagata, charged by the gods, said: "Since a name is wanted, let it be the Banquet of the Settling of Heaven." The immortals and ancients cried with one mouth: "A fine 'Banquet of the Settling of Heaven'! A fine 'Banquet of the Settling of Heaven'!" With that they took their seats, passed the cups round, wore flowers, and drummed and sang; a good feast indeed. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:
The feast at the Peach Banquet the monkey wrecked; the Banquet of the Settling of Heaven outshines the Peaches.Dragon banners and the luan carriage breathe a kindly light; precious staffs and streamers drift with lucky air.Immortal music and mystic song are sweet in tune; phoenix flutes and jade pipes ring out high.Jade perfume winds about where the immortals gather; the universe is calm, and all hail the sacred reign.
All were glad and merry in the feast, when the Queen Mother came gliding in with her troop of immortals, maidens, beauties, and fair women, dancing up before the Buddha, and said with a bow: "A little while ago the demon monkey wrecked our Peach Banquet, and the immortals and Buddhas went away without the full success. Now that the Tathagata's great Law has chained the stubborn monkey, and we keep the joyful 'Banquet of the Settling of Heaven,' I have nothing to offer in thanks. Today I have washed my hands and picked myself a number of peaches from the big trees to offer." Truly:
Half red, half green, breathing sweet perfume; lovely, the root of the immortals, ten thousand years long.One may laugh at the stock of the Peach-Blossom Spring; how can it match this stronger wonder of heaven's storehouse?Purple-veined and tender, few in all the world; yellow-kernelled and sweet, without a peer on earth.It stretches years and life and can renew the body; those with the fate to eat it are no common men.
The Buddha put his palms together and thanked the Queen Mother. Then she had her maidens and fairies sing and dance, and the immortals of the feast admired them all. Truly:
Heaven's perfume, faint and far, fills the seats; in bright confusion, immortal buds and immortal flowers. Gold gates of the Jade Capital in glory and grandeur. Strange wares and rare jewels beyond price.Pair by pair, they live as long as heaven; two by two, the ten thousand ages are added to them. Mulberry fields may turn to sea and sea to fields at will; they feel no fright, no wonder.
The Queen Mother was still setting her maidens and fairies to song and dance, the cups crossing briskly, when before long there came again:
A waft of strange perfume strikes the nose and stirs every star and mansion in the hall.Heavenly immortals and Buddhas set their cups down and lift their heads, every eye out to greet it.Between the heavens appears an old man, both hands holding magic fungus that flies like embroidered mist.His gourd stores the elixir of ten thousand years; the precious roll writes down his thousand-age span.Inside his cave, heaven and earth at his pleasure; sun and moon in his pot, ripe when he pleases.He roams the four seas in easy idleness, and drifts at ease among the ten isles.He has gone to the Peach Banquet and got drunk a round or two, and waking, finds the bright moon still as ever.Long head, big ears, squat little body — at the southern pole they call him the Old One of Long Life.
The Star of Longevity had arrived. He paid his respects to the Jade Emperor, greeted the Tathagata, and offered his thanks: "When I first heard that demon monkey had been taken to the Tushita Palace by the old lord for tempering, I thought all would be well. I never dreamed he would break out again. Happily the Tathagata has subdued the monster, and this feast is held in thanks, and so I came at the news. I have nothing else to offer, and have brought only purple fungus and jade grass, green lotus roots and golden elixir." The poem says:
Green lotus roots and golden elixir offered to Sakyamuni; the Tathagata's ten thousand years run long as Ganges sands.The brocade of the three vehicles, calm and joyful forever; the nine-graded lotus flower, in health and long life.In the gate of no-form, the true lord of the Law; in the heavens of form and emptiness, the home of the immortals.Heaven and earth and the great earth all name him ancestor; his body of golden flesh, a zhang and six, is rich in blessing and years.
The Tathagata gladly accepted and thanked him. The Star of Longevity took his seat, and the cups went round as before — when the Barefoot Immortal arrived. He bowed his head before the Jade Emperor, then turned to the Buddha and thanked him: "Deep thanks to your power of Law, which has subdued the demon monkey. I have nothing to show my respect, and have brought only two Pears of Exchange and a handful of Fire Dates." The poem says:
The Barefoot Great Immortal's dates and pears breathe perfume, offered in respect to Amitabha, to lengthen his counted years.The lotus terrace of seven treasures stands firm as a mountain; the flower seat worth a thousand gold is dressed like brocade.That his span equals heaven and earth is no empty word; that his blessing matches the great flood, is it wild talk?Blessing and long life in their season, truly so: calm, at ease, in that western world of bliss.
The Tathagata gave thanks again and told Ananda and Kasyapa to take the gifts, every one, and store them away, then went to thank the Jade Emperor for the feast. All were drunk to the dregs, when a patrol Spirit Officer came to report: "The Great Sage has stuck his head out." The Buddha said: "No matter, no matter." From his sleeve he took a paper with six golden characters on it: "Om mani padme hum," handed it to Ananda, and told him to paste it on the mountain top. The honored one took the paper, went out the gate of heaven, up to the top of Five Elements Mountain, and pasted it tight on a four-square stone. At once the mountain rooted and the seams closed. The captive could still work his breath, work his hands out, and strain and wiggle — but no more. Ananda reported back: "The paper is pasted on."
The Tathagata took leave of the Jade Emperor and the gods, and went out the gate of heaven with the two honored ones. Then his heart of pity stirred: he spoke the true words and the spell, summoned a local earth god to Five Elements Mountain, and set him with the guardians of the five quarters to live in the mountain and keep watch over the prisoner. When he was hungry, he was to be given iron pellets to eat; when thirsty, melted copper to drink. When the term of his punishment should run out, someone would come and save him. Truly:
The demon monkey, bold, turned against the Heavenly Palace; but the Tathagata's open hand brought him down.His thirst drinks melted copper through the months and years; his hunger chews iron pellets through the days.The calamity of heaven pins him down in grinding hardship; the world of men is cold to him — the joy is that his life is long.If the hero can but struggle to his feet again, some year he will serve the Buddha and go up to the west.
Another poem says:
His swagger grew and his great power swelled; he tamed dragons, trod down tigers, and showed off his tricks.He stole peaches, stole wine, and roamed the courts of heaven; he took the roll and the grace in the Jade Capital.His evil full to the brim, his body lies pinned; his root of good not cut off, his spirit will rise again.Truly, if he ever slips out of the Tathagata's hand, wait for the holy monk to come out of the Tang.
In what year and what month would his term of calamity run out? Listen to the next chapter to find out.