Wu Cheng’en (attributed) · Complete work
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 of 100. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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第八回 我佛造經傳極樂 觀音奉旨上長安
試問禪關，參求無數，往往到頭虛老。磨磚作鏡，積雪為糧，迷了幾多年少。毛吞大海，芥納須彌，金色頭陀微笑。悟時超十地三乘，凝滯了四生六道。誰聽得，絕想崖前，無陰樹下，杜宇一聲春曉。曹溪路險，鷲嶺雲深，此處故人音杳。千丈冰崖，五葉蓮開，古殿簾垂香裊。那時節，識破源流，便見龍王三寶。
這一篇詞，名《蘇武慢》。話表我佛如來辭別了玉帝，回至雷音寶剎。但見那三千諸佛、五百阿羅、八大金剛、無邊菩薩，一個個都執著幢幡寶蓋、異寶仙花，擺列在靈山仙境娑羅雙林之下接迎。如來駕住祥雲，對眾道：「我以甚深般若，遍觀三界。根本性原，畢竟寂滅。同虛空相，一無所有。殄伏乖猴，是事莫識。名生死始，法相如是。」說罷，放舍利之光，滿空有白虹四十二道，南北通連。大眾見了，皈身禮拜。少頃間，聚慶雲彩霧，登上品蓮臺，端然坐下。那三千諸佛、五百羅漢、八金剛、四菩薩，合掌近前禮畢，問曰：「鬧天宮攪亂蟠桃者，何也？」如來道：「那廝乃花果山產的一妖猴，罪惡滔天，不可名狀。概天神將，俱莫能降伏；雖二郎捉獲，老君用火鍛煉，亦莫能傷損。我去時，正在雷將中間揚威耀武，賣弄精神。被我止住兵戈，問他來歷。他言有神通，會變化，又駕觔斗雲，一去十萬八千里。我與他打了個賭賽，他出不得我手，卻將他一把抓住，指化五行山，封壓他在那裡。玉帝大開金闕瑤宮，請我坐了首席，立安天大會謝我，卻方辭駕而回。」大眾聽言喜悅，極口稱揚。
謝罷，各分班而退，各執乃事，共樂天真。果然是：
瑞靄漫天竺，虹光擁世尊。西方稱第一，無相法王門。常見玄猿獻果，麋鹿啣花；青鸞舞，彩鳳鳴；靈龜捧壽，仙鶴噙芝。安享淨土祗園，受用龍宮法界。日日花開，時時果熟。習靜歸真，參禪果正。不滅不生，不增不減。煙霞縹緲隨來往，寒暑無侵不記年。
詩曰：
去來自在任優游，也無恐怖也無愁。極樂場中俱坦蕩，大千之處沒春秋。
佛祖居於靈山大雷音寶剎之間。一日，喚聚諸佛、阿羅、揭諦、菩薩、金剛、比丘僧尼等眾曰：「自伏乖猿安天之後，我處不知年月，料凡間有半千年矣。今值孟秋望日，我有一寶盆，盆中具設百樣奇花、千般異果等物，與汝等享此盂蘭盆會，如何？」概眾一個個合掌，禮佛三匝領會。如來卻將寶盆中花果品物，著阿儺捧定，著迦葉佈散。大眾感激，各獻詩伸謝。
福詩曰：
福星光耀世尊前，福納彌深遠更綿。福德無疆同地久，福緣有慶與天連。福田廣種年年盛，福海洪深歲歲堅。福滿乾坤多福蔭，福增無量永周全。
祿詩曰：
祿重如山彩鳳鳴，祿隨時泰祝長庚。祿添萬斛身康健，祿享千鍾世太平。祿俸齊天還永固，祿名似海更澄清。祿恩遠繼多瞻仰，祿爵無邊萬國榮。
壽詩曰：
壽星獻彩對如來，壽域光華自此開。壽果滿盤生瑞靄，壽花新採插蓮臺。壽詩清雅多奇妙，壽曲調音按美才。壽命延長同日月，壽如山海更悠哉。
眾菩薩獻畢，因請如來明示根本，指解源流。那如來微開善口，敷演大法，宣揚正果，講的是三乘妙典，五蘊楞嚴。但見那天龍圍繞，花雨繽紛。正是：
禪心朗照千江月，真性清涵萬里天。
如來講罷，對眾言曰：「我觀四大部洲，眾生善惡，各方不一：東勝神洲者，敬天禮地，心爽氣平；北俱盧洲者，雖好殺生，只因糊口，性拙情疏，無多作踐；我西牛賀洲者，不貪不殺，養氣潛靈，雖無上真，人人固壽；但那南贍部洲者，貪淫樂禍，多殺多爭，正所謂口舌兇場，是非惡海。我今有三藏真經，可以勸人為善。」諸菩薩聞言，合掌皈依，向佛前問曰：「如來有那三藏真經？」如來曰：「我有法一藏，談天；論一藏，說地；經一藏，度鬼。三藏共計三十五部，該一萬五千一百四十四卷，乃是修真之經，正善之門。我待要送上東土，叵耐那方眾生愚蠢，毀謗真言，不識我法門之旨要，怠慢了瑜迦之正宗。怎麼得一個有法力的，去東土尋一個善信，教他苦歷千山，詢經萬水，到我處求取真經，永傳東土，勸化眾生，卻乃是個山大的福緣，海深的善慶。誰肯去走一遭來？」當有觀音菩薩行近蓮臺，禮佛三匝道：「弟子不才，願上東土尋一個取經人來也。」諸眾擡頭觀看，那菩薩：
理圓四德，智滿金身。纓絡垂珠翠，香環結寶明。烏雲巧疊盤龍髻，繡帶輕飄彩鳳翎。碧玉紐，素羅袍，祥光籠罩；錦絨裙，金落索，瑞氣遮迎。眉如小月，眼似雙星。玉面天生喜，朱脣一點紅。淨瓶甘露年年盛，斜插垂楊歲歲青。解八難，度群生，大慈憫：故鎮太山，居南海，救苦尋聲，萬稱萬應，千聖千靈。蘭心欣紫竹，蕙性愛香藤。他是落伽山上慈悲主，潮音洞裡活觀音。
如來見了，心中大喜道：「別個是也去不得。須是觀音尊者，神通廣大，方可去得。」菩薩道：「弟子此去東土，有甚言語吩咐？」如來道：「這一去，要踏看路道，不許在霄漢中行。須是要半雲半霧，目過山水，謹記程途遠近之數，叮嚀那取經人。但恐善信難行，我與你五件寶貝。」即命阿儺、迦葉取出錦襴袈裟一領。九環錫杖一根，對菩薩言曰：「這袈裟、錫杖，可與那取經人親用。若肯堅心來此，穿我的袈裟，免墮輪迴；持我的錫杖，不遭毒害。」這菩薩皈依拜領。如來又取出三個箍兒，遞與菩薩道：「此寶喚做緊箍兒，雖是一樣三個，但只是用各不同。我有金緊禁的咒語三篇。假若路上撞見神通廣大的妖魔，你須是勸他學好，跟那取經人做個徒弟。他若不伏使喚，可將此箍兒與他戴在頭上，自然見肉生根。各依所用的咒語念一念，眼脹頭痛，腦門皆裂，管教他入我門來。」
那菩薩聞言，踴躍作禮而退。即喚惠岸行者隨行。那惠岸使一條渾鐵棍，重有千斤，只在菩薩左右作一個降魔的大力士。菩薩遂將錦襴袈裟，作一個包裹，令他背了。菩薩將金箍藏了，執了錫杖，徑下靈山。這一去，有分教：
佛子還來歸本願，金蟬長老裹栴檀。
那菩薩到山腳下，有玉真觀金頂大仙在觀門首接住，請菩薩獻茶。菩薩不敢久停，曰：「今領如來法旨，上東土尋取經人去。」大仙道：「取經人幾時方到？」菩薩道：「未定，約摸二三年間，或可至此。」遂辭了大仙，半雲半霧，約記程途。有詩為證。詩曰：
萬里相尋自不言，卻云誰得意難全。求人忽若渾如此，是我平生豈偶然。傳道有方成妄說，說明無信也虛傳。願傾肝膽尋相識，料想前頭必有緣。
師徒二人正走間，忽然見弱水三千，乃是流沙河界。菩薩道：「徒弟呀，此處卻是難行。取經人濁骨凡胎，如何得渡？」惠岸道：「師父，你看河有多遠？」那菩薩停立雲步看時，只見：
東連沙磧，西抵諸番，南達烏戈，北通韃靼。徑過有八百里遙，上下有千萬里遠。水流一似地翻身，浪滾卻如山聳背。洋洋浩浩，漠漠茫茫，十里遙聞萬丈洪。仙槎難到此，蓮葉莫能浮。衰草斜陽流曲浦，黃雲影日暗長堤。那裡得客商來往？何曾有漁叟依棲？平沙無雁落，遠岸有猿啼。只是紅蓼花蘩知景色，白蘋香細任依依。
菩薩正然點看，只見那河中潑剌一聲響喨，水波裡跳出一個妖魔來，十分醜惡。他生得：
青不青，黑不黑，晦氣色臉；長不長，短不短，赤腳筋軀。眼光閃爍，好似灶底雙燈；口角丫叉，就如屠家火缽。獠牙撐劍刃，紅髮亂蓬鬆。一聲叱咤如雷吼，兩腳奔波似滾風。
那怪物手執一根寶杖，走上岸就捉菩薩，卻被惠岸掣渾鐵棒擋住，喝聲：「休走！」那怪物就持寶杖來迎。兩個在流沙河邊這一場惡殺，真個驚人：
木吒渾鐵棒，護法顯神通；怪物降妖杖，努力逞英雄。雙條銀蟒河邊舞，一對神僧岸上沖。那一個威鎮流沙施本事，這一個力保觀音建大功。那一個翻波躍浪，這一個吐霧噴風。翻波躍浪乾坤暗，吐霧噴風日月昏。那個降妖杖，好便似出山的白虎；這個渾鐵棒，卻就如臥道的黃龍。那個使將來，尋蛇撥草；這個丟開去，撲鷂分松。只殺得昏漠漠，星辰燦爛；霧騰騰，天地朦朧。那個久住弱水惟他狠，這個初出靈山第一功。
他兩個來來往往，戰上數十合，不分勝負。那怪物架住了鐵棒道：「你是那裡和尚，敢來與我抵敵？」木吒道：「我是托塔天王二太子木吒惠岸行者，今保我師父往東土尋取經人去。你是何怪，敢大膽阻路？」那怪方才醒悟道：「我記得你跟南海觀音在紫竹林中修行，你為何來此？」木吒道：「那岸上不是我師父？」
怪物聞言，連聲喏喏，收了寶杖。讓木吒揪了去見觀音，納頭下拜，告道：「菩薩，恕我之罪，待我訴告：我不是妖邪，我是靈霄殿下侍鑾輿的捲簾大將。只因在蟠桃會上失手打碎了玻璃盞，玉帝把我打了八百，貶下界來，變得這般模樣。又叫七日一次，將飛劍來穿我胸脅百餘下方回。故此這般苦惱。沒奈何，饑寒難忍，三二日間，出波濤尋一個行人食用。不期今日無知，衝撞了大慈菩薩。」菩薩道：「你在天有罪，既貶下來，今又這等傷生，正所謂罪上加罪。我今領了佛旨，上東土尋取經人。你何不入我門來，皈依善果，跟那取經人做個徒弟，上西天拜佛求經？我叫飛劍不來穿你。那時節功成免罪，復你本職，心下如何？」那怪道：「我願皈正果。」又向前道：「菩薩，我在此間吃人無數，向來有幾次取經人來，都被我吃了。凡吃的人頭，拋落流沙，竟沉水底。這個水，鵝毛也不能浮。惟有九個取經人的骷髏浮在水面，再不能沉。我以為異物，將索兒穿在一處，閑時拿來頑耍。這去，但恐取經人不得到此，卻不是反誤了我的前程也？」菩薩曰：「豈有不到之理？你可將骷髏兒掛在頭項下，等候取經人，自有用處。」怪物道：「既然如此，願領教誨。」菩薩方與他摩頂受戒，指沙為姓，就姓了沙；起個法名，叫做個沙悟淨。當時入了沙門，送菩薩過了河，他洗心滌慮，再不傷生，專等取經人。
菩薩與他別了，同木吒徑奔東土。行了多時，又見一座高山，山上有惡氣遮漫，不能步上。正欲駕雲過山，不覺狂風起處，又閃上一個妖魔。他生得又甚兇險，但見他：
捲臟蓮蓬吊搭嘴，耳如蒲扇顯金睛。獠牙鋒利如鋼剉，長嘴張開似火盆。金盔緊繫腮邊帶，勒甲絲絛蟒退鱗。手執釘鈀龍探爪，腰挎彎弓月半輪。糾糾威風欺太歲，昂昂志氣壓天神。
他撞上來，不分好歹，望菩薩舉釘鈀就築。被木吒行者擋住，大喝一聲道：「那潑怪，休得無禮，看棒。」妖魔道：「這和尚不知死活。看鈀。」兩個在山底下一衝一撞，賭鬥輸贏，真個好殺：
妖魔兇猛，惠岸威能。鐵棒分心搗，釘鈀劈面迎。播土揚塵天地暗，飛砂走石鬼神驚。九齒鈀，光耀耀，雙環響喨；一條棒，黑悠悠，兩手飛騰。這個是天王太子，那個是元帥精靈。一個在普陀為護法，一個在山洞作妖精。這場相遇爭高下，不知那個虧輸那個贏。
他兩個正殺到好處，觀世音在半空中拋下蓮花，隔開鈀、杖。怪物見了心驚，便問：「你是那裡和尚，敢弄甚麼眼前花兒哄我？」木吒道：「我把你個肉眼凡胎的潑物！我是南海菩薩的徒弟。這是我師父拋來的蓮花，你也不認得哩！」那怪道：「南海菩薩，可是掃三災救八難的觀世音麼？」木吒道：「不是他是誰？」怪物撇了釘鈀，納頭下禮道：「老兄，菩薩在那裡？累煩你引見一引見。」木吒仰面指道：「那不是？」怪物朝上磕頭，厲聲高叫道：「菩薩，恕罪，恕罪。」
觀音按下雲頭，前來問道：「你是那裡成精的野豕，何方作怪的老彘，敢在此間擋我？」那怪道：「我不是野豕，亦不是老彘，我本是天河裡天蓬元帥。只因帶酒戲弄嫦娥，玉帝把我打了二千鎚，貶下塵凡。一靈真性，徑來奪舍投胎，不期錯了道路，投在個母豬胎裡，變得這般模樣。是我咬殺母豬，打死群彘，在此處占了山場，吃人度日。不期撞著菩薩，萬望拔救拔救。」菩薩道：「此山叫做甚麼山？」怪物道：「叫做福陵山。山中有一洞，叫做雲棧洞。洞裡原有個卵二姐，他見我有些武藝，招我做了家長，又喚做倒蹅門。不上一年，他死了，將一洞的家當，盡歸我受用。在此日久年深，沒有贍身的勾當，只是依本等吃人度日。萬望菩薩恕罪。」菩薩道：「古人云，『若要有前程，莫做沒前程。』你既上界違法，今又不改兇心，傷生造孽，卻不是二罪俱罰？」那怪道：「前程，前程，若依你，教我喝風？常言道：『依著官法打殺，依著佛法餓殺。』去也，去也，還不如捉個行人，肥膩膩的吃他家娘，管甚麼二罪三罪，千罪萬罪！」菩薩道：「『人有善願，天必從之。』汝若肯歸依正果，自有養身之處。世有五穀，可以濟饑，為何吃人度日？」
怪物聞言，似夢方覺，向菩薩道：「我欲從正，奈何『獲罪於天，無所禱也』。」菩薩道：「我領了佛旨，上東土尋取經人。你可跟他做個徒弟，往西天走一遭來，將功折罪，管教你脫離災瘴。」那怪滿口道：「願隨，願隨。」菩薩才與他摩頂受戒，指身為姓，就姓了豬；替他起了法名，就叫做豬悟能。遂此領命歸真，持齋把素，斷絕了五葷三厭，專候那取經人。
菩薩卻與木吒辭了悟能，半興雲霧前來。正走處，只見空中有一條玉龍叫喚。菩薩近前問曰：「你是何龍，在此受罪？」那龍道：「我是西海龍王敖閏之子，因縱火燒了殿上明珠，我父王表奏天庭，告了忤逆。玉帝把我吊在空中，打了三百，不日遭誅。望菩薩搭救搭救。」
觀音聞言，即與木吒撞上南天門裡，早有丘、張二天師接著，問道：「何往？」菩薩道：「貧僧要見玉帝一面。」二天師即忙上奏。玉帝遂下殿迎接。菩薩上前禮畢道：「貧僧領佛旨上東土尋取經人，路遇孽龍懸吊，特來啟奏，饒他性命，賜與貧僧，教他與取經人做個腳力。」玉帝聞言，即傳旨赦宥，差天將解放，送與菩薩。菩薩謝恩而出。這小龍叩頭謝活命之恩，聽從菩薩使喚。菩薩把他送在深澗之中，只等取經人來，變做白馬，上西方立功。小龍領命潛身不題。
菩薩帶引木吒行者過了此山，又奔東土。行不多時，忽見金光萬道，瑞氣千條。木吒道：「師父，那放光之處，乃是五行山了，見有如來的壓帖在那裡。」菩薩道：「此卻是那攪亂蟠桃會、大鬧天宮的齊天大聖，今乃壓在此也。」木吒道：「正是，正是。」師徒俱上山來，觀看帖子，乃是「唵嘛呢叭𠺗吽」六字真言。菩薩看罷，嘆惜不已，作詩一首。詩曰：
堪嘆妖猴不奉公，當年狂妄逞英雄。欺心攪亂蟠桃會，大膽私行兜率宮。十萬軍中無敵手，九重天上有威風。自遭我佛如來困，何日舒伸再顯功？
師徒們正說話處，早驚動了那大聖。大聖在山根下高叫道：「是那個在山上吟詩，揭我的短哩？」菩薩聞言，徑下山來尋看。只見那石崖之下，有土地、山神、監押大聖的天將，都來拜接了菩薩，引至那大聖面前。看時，他原來壓於石匣之中，口能言，身不能動。菩薩道：「姓孫的，你認得我麼？」大聖睜開火眼金睛，點著頭兒高叫道：「我怎麼不認得你，你好的是那南海普陀落伽山救苦救難大慈大悲南無觀世音菩薩。承看顧，承看顧。我在此度日如年，更無一個相知的來看我一看。你從那裡來也？」菩薩道：「我奉佛旨，上東土尋取經人去，從此經過，特留殘步看你。」大聖道：「如來哄了我，把我壓在此山，五百餘年了，不能展掙。萬望菩薩方便一二，救我老孫一救。」菩薩道：「你這廝罪業彌深，救你出來，恐你又生禍害，反為不美。」大聖道：「我已知悔了，但願大慈悲指條門路，情願修行。」這才是：
人心生一念，天地盡皆知。善惡若無報，乾坤必有私。
那菩薩聞得此言，滿心歡喜，對大聖道：「聖經云：『出其言善，則千里之外應之；出其言不善，則千里之外違之。』你既有此心，待我到了東土大唐國尋一個取經的人來，教他救你。你可跟他做個徒弟，秉教迦持，入我佛門，再修正果，如何？」大聖聲聲道：「願去，願去。」菩薩道：「既有善果，我與你起個法名。」大聖道：「我已有名了，叫做孫悟空。」菩薩又喜道：「我前面也有二人歸降，正是『悟』字排行，你今也是『悟』字，卻與他相合，甚好，甚好。這等也不消叮囑，我去也。」那大聖見性明心歸佛教，這菩薩留情在意訪神僧。
他與木吒離了此處，一直東來，不一日就到了長安大唐國。斂霧收雲，師徒們變作兩個疥癩遊僧，入長安城裡，早不覺天晚。行至大市街傍，見一座土地廟祠，二人徑入。諕得那土地心慌，鬼兵膽戰，知是菩薩，叩頭接入。那土地又急跑報與城隍、社令，及滿長安各廟神祗，都知是菩薩，參見告道：「菩薩，恕眾神接遲之罪。」菩薩道：「汝等切不可走漏一毫消息。我奉佛旨，特來此處尋訪取經人。借你廟宇，權住幾日，待訪著真僧即回。」眾神各歸本處，把個土地趕在城隍廟裡暫住，他師徒們隱遁真形。
畢竟不知尋出那個取經人來，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.
Our Buddha Creates Scriptures to Carry Bliss Abroad; Guanyin Obeys His Command and Travels to Chang'an
Ask at the gate of meditation: countless searchers arrive only to grow old in vain. Grinding bricks into mirrors, storing snow for food—how many young people have lost their way? A hair swallows the sea, a mustard seed holds Mount Sumeru, and the golden ascetic smiles. In awakening one transcends the ten stages and three vehicles; clinging binds one to the four births and six ways. Who hears the cuckoo call at spring dawn before the cliff where thoughts end, beneath the tree without shade? The road to Caoxi is perilous, clouds hide Vulture Peak, and no familiar voice sounds here. Over an icy cliff a thousand zhang high, the five-petaled lotus opens, and incense curls behind the ancient temple's curtain. Then, understanding the source, one sees the Dragon King's three treasures.
That lyric is called “Su Wu Man.” The Tathagata returned from the Jade Emperor's court to the Thunderclap Monastery. Beneath the twin sala trees at Vulture Peak, three thousand Buddhas, five hundred arhats, eight Vajras, and numberless bodhisattvas greeted him with banners, jeweled canopies, precious gifts, and flowers. He stopped his cloud. “With profound wisdom I have seen through the three realms. At the root, original nature is utterly still, empty as space. Few understand what it means to subdue the unruly monkey: names begin with birth and death, and so do the forms of teaching.” He radiated relic light, sending forty-two white rainbows across the sky from north to south. All bowed. He settled on his lofty lotus seat, surrounded by brilliant clouds. The assembled Buddhas, arhats, Vajras, and bodhisattvas asked about the one who had disrupted heaven. He told them the story of Mount Flower-Fruit's demon monkey, his terrible offenses, Erlang's capture, the failure of Lao's furnace, and his own wager: “He could not leave my hand. I turned my fingers into Five Elements Mountain and confined him. The Jade Emperor then honored me with a Banquet for Peace in Heaven.” They praised his achievement.
After giving thanks, all returned to their duties, rejoicing in their true nature. Indeed:
Auspicious clouds fill India; rainbow light surrounds the World-Honored One. The West holds the foremost gate of the formless Dharma King. Dark apes present fruit, deer carry flowers, blue luan birds dance, colored phoenixes call, holy turtles bear tokens of longevity, and immortal cranes carry sacred mushrooms. They enjoy the pure land's Jeta Grove and the Dragon Palace's realm of teaching. Every day flowers bloom and fruit ripens. In stillness and meditation they return to truth. Neither born nor destroyed, neither increased nor diminished, they move among the mists beyond winter, summer, and the measure of years.
The poem says:
Free to come and go and roam at ease, they know no fear or sorrow.In the realm of perfect bliss all is open; the great world knows no changing seasons.
At the Thunderclap Monastery on Vulture Peak, the Buddha summoned the Buddhas, arhats, Guardians, bodhisattvas, Vajras, monks, and nuns. “Since the unruly ape was subdued and heaven pacified, some five hundred years must have passed on earth. This is the fifteenth day of the first autumn month. I have prepared a jeweled bowl with a hundred kinds of flowers and a thousand kinds of fruit for an Ullambana festival. Will you join me?” All bowed three times. Ananda held the bowl while Kasyapa distributed its contents. In gratitude the assembly offered verses.
A poem on blessings says:
Blessed stars shine before the World-Honored One; blessing grows deeper and reaches farther still.Blessed virtue without bounds endures like earth; blessed ties of joy join heaven.Fields of blessing sown wide flourish year by year; the sea of blessing deepens with each age.Blessing fills the world, sheltering all beneath it; blessings multiply without end.
A poem on prosperity says:
Prosperity weighs like a mountain as colored phoenixes sing; prosperous times bless the evening star.Ten thousand measures of prosperity bring bodily health; a thousand cups of abundance bless a world at peace.Heaven-high bounty endures forever; a sea-wide name remains clear.Far-reaching favor inspires reverence; limitless rank honors ten thousand lands.
A poem on longevity says:
The Longevity Star offers radiance before the Tathagata; the realm of long life opens in splendor.Fruit of longevity fills the dishes with blessed mist; freshly picked flowers of longevity adorn the lotus seat.Graceful verses of long life hold strange beauties; songs of longevity sound in lovely measures.Life extends as long as sun and moon, vast and free as mountains and sea.
After presenting their poems, the bodhisattvas asked the Tathagata to explain the root and its source. He expounded the great teaching and true fruit of the three vehicles, the five aggregates, and the Surangama. Heavenly dragons circled and flowers rained down. Truly:
The meditative mind lights a thousand rivers with the moon; true nature holds ten thousand miles of clear sky.
When he had finished, the Tathagata said: “I have surveyed the four continents and their different peoples. Eastern Superior Divine Continent honors heaven and earth and has peaceful hearts. Northern Kuru kills for food, but its people are simple and do little needless harm. Here in Western Cattle-Gift they neither covet nor kill, cultivating spirit and living long even without supreme truth. But Southern Jambu Continent is greedy, lustful, eager for disaster, slaughter, and strife: an arena of vicious tongues, a sea of wrongdoing. I have three collections of true scriptures to teach them goodness.” “What collections?” “One collection of Dharma concerning heaven, one of discourse concerning earth, and one of sutras delivering ghosts. Together they comprise thirty-five divisions and 15,144 scrolls, the path of cultivation and goodness. I would send them east, but its foolish inhabitants mock true words and slight the teaching of yoga. Who will go east, find a faithful person, and lead him over thousands of mountains and rivers to request my scriptures and spread them there forever? It would bring blessings as high as mountains and deep as seas.” Guanyin stepped forward and bowed. “I will go and find the pilgrim.” The assembly looked upon her:
Perfect in the four virtues, her golden body filled with wisdom; necklaces of turquoise and pearl, fragrant rings gleaming with gems. Dark hair coiled in a dragon knot, embroidered ribbons floating like phoenix wings. Jade clasps fastened a white silk robe in auspicious light; a brocade skirt with gold ornaments shone in blessed mist. Brows like the young moon, eyes twin stars, a joyful jade face, red lips. Her pure vase held nectar year after year, its willow sprig green through the ages. She frees people from the eight hardships and saves all beings in boundless compassion. Living beside the Southern Sea, she hears every cry of distress and answers a thousand, ten thousand prayers. Her orchid heart delights in purple bamboo, her fragrant nature in flowering vines. The compassionate lord of Mount Potala, living Guanyin of Tide-Sound Cave.
“Only Guanyin, with her great powers, can make this journey,” said the Buddha. “What instructions do you have?” she asked. “Survey the road. Do not fly high above it, but travel low through cloud and mist, note mountains, rivers, and distances, and tell the pilgrim what lies ahead. The journey will be hard, so I give you five treasures.” He had Ananda and Kasyapa bring an embroidered robe and a nine-ringed staff. “For the pilgrim. If he comes with steadfast heart, my robe will keep him from rebirth and my staff from mortal harm.” She received them reverently. Then he handed her three fillets. “Though alike in appearance, each has a different use, with its own spell: gold, tight, and forbidding. If you meet powerful demons, urge them to reform and follow the pilgrim as disciples. If they refuse obedience, put a fillet on their heads. It will root itself in their flesh. Recite its proper spell, and their eyes will swell and heads ache as if splitting. Then they will enter my school.”
Guanyin bowed and summoned Huian. He carried his thousand-catty iron staff as her guardian against demons. She wrapped the embroidered robe for him to carry, hid the fillets, took the nine-ringed staff, and descended from Vulture Peak. Her departure would bring this to pass:
A disciple of Buddha returns to his ancient vow; Elder Golden Cicada will wear sandalwood's sacred robe.
At the foot of the mountain the Golden-Crowned Immortal of Jade Truth Monastery welcomed her with tea. “I must seek a pilgrim in the east at the Buddha's command,” she said. “When will he arrive?” “Perhaps in two or three years.” She left and traveled low through cloud and mist, reckoning distances carefully. A poem bears witness:
I seek across ten thousand miles, though words cannot describe the journey; who will gain the goal in full?If finding a worthy soul were simple, would this lifelong mission be mere chance?Teaching without the right way is empty speech; explanation without faith is also wasted.I will offer all my heart to find a kindred spirit; surely destiny awaits ahead.
Guanyin and Huian reached the Flowing Sand River, its waters broad and treacherous. “How can a mortal pilgrim cross?” she asked. “How wide is it?” Huian wondered. They looked:
East it reached the sands, west the distant nations, south Wuge, north the Tatar lands. Eight hundred li across, ten million li along its course. The water churned like turning earth, its waves rose like mountain backs. Endless and vast, its thunder could be heard ten li away. No immortal raft could cross, no lotus leaf could float. Fading grass lined winding banks in the setting sun; yellow clouds shaded long embankments. No merchants passed, no fishermen settled. No geese landed on its sands, though apes called from the far shore. Red smartweed flowered in profusion and pale water grasses breathed fragrance.
While Guanyin surveyed it, a hideous monster sprang from the water:
A face neither blue nor black but grim and dark; a sinewy barefoot frame, neither tall nor short. Eyes flashing like two lamps beneath a stove, a mouth gaping like a butcher's brazier. Fangs like swords, wild red hair; his shout rolled like thunder and his feet rushed like wind.
He rushed at Guanyin with his enchanted staff, but Huian met him with his iron one. They fought beside the Flowing Sand River:
Muzha's iron staff guarded the teaching with divine power; the monster's demon-subduing staff displayed heroic might. Two silver serpents danced by the river, two warrior monks surged along its bank. One ruled the flowing sands, the other defended Guanyin. Waves leaped and fog rushed out, darkening heaven and earth. The monster's staff struck like a white tiger emerging from the mountain; Huian's like a yellow dragon coiled across the road. They drove and swept, struck and parried until stars glimmered through the dark and mist veiled all below. One had long ruled these treacherous waters; the other undertook his first battle after Vulture Peak.
After dozens of exchanges, neither had won. The monster blocked the staff. “What monk dares fight me?” “I am Muzha, second son of Heavenly King Li and Guanyin's disciple Huian, escorting my master east to find a pilgrim. Who are you?” “I remember you practicing with Guanyin in the Purple Bamboo Grove. What brings you here?” “My master stands on the bank.”
The monster laid down his staff and bowed before Guanyin. “Forgive me. I was the Curtain-Raising General who attended the heavenly throne. At the Peach Banquet I accidentally broke a crystal cup. The Jade Emperor gave me eight hundred blows and banished me here in this shape, then decreed that flying swords pierce my chest and sides more than a hundred times every seven days. Driven by cold and hunger, I eat a traveler every few days. I did not recognize you.” “Banished for a crime, you now kill and deepen your guilt. I am searching for a pilgrim to fetch scriptures from the West. Follow him as a disciple, seek the Buddha, and I will stop the swords. When the work is done, you can regain your former office.” “I willingly take refuge. But I have eaten countless people here, including several seekers of scripture. Every skull I throw into this water sinks, for even a goose feather cannot float on it. Only the skulls of nine pilgrims float. I've strung them on a cord and play with them. Will the pilgrim even reach this river?” “He will. Wear those skulls around your neck and wait; they will prove useful.” She laid a hand on his head, admitted him to the vows, gave him the surname Sha for sand, and named him Sha Wujing. He escorted them across the river, abandoned killing, and waited for the pilgrim with a purified heart.
Farther east, they came to a high mountain enveloped in malign vapors. As they prepared to fly over it, a fierce wind carried up another monster:
A snout hanging like an overturned lotus pod, ears like palm fans, golden eyes. Fangs sharp as steel files, wide mouth like a burning brazier. A golden helmet bound at the cheeks, armor belted with a snakeskin-patterned sash. A nine-toothed rake like dragon claws in his hand, a curved bow like a half-moon at his waist. His imposing air defied the Year God; his proud spirit challenged heaven's gods.
He swung the rake at Guanyin. Huian blocked it. “Mind your manners, demon!” They clashed beneath the mountain:
The demon fierce, Huian strong; iron staff thrust toward the heart, rake swung toward the face. Dust and sand darkened heaven and earth, startling ghosts and spirits. The nine-toothed rake flashed, its two rings clanging; the dark staff moved swiftly in both hands. One was the Heavenly King's son, the other a fallen marshal; one guarded the teaching at Potala, the other haunted this mountain. Who would win?
Guanyin tossed down a lotus to separate their weapons. “What monk plays flower tricks on me?” the demon demanded. “I am Guanyin's disciple. It was my master who threw that lotus!” “Guanyin who frees people from the three calamities and eight hardships?” “The very same.” The monster dropped his rake. “Please take me to her!” He bowed toward her cloud. “Forgive me, Bodhisattva!”
Guanyin descended. “What wild boar bars my way?” “I am not a wild boar. I was Marshal Tianpeng of the Milky Way. Drunk, I flirted with Chang'e; the Jade Emperor beat me two thousand times and banished me to earth. My spirit entered the wrong womb, a sow's, and I was born like this. I killed my mother and her piglets, occupied the mountain, and ate travelers. Please save me.” “What mountain?” “Mount Fuling. In its Cloud Path Cave lived Lady Egg, who married me for my fighting skill. She died within a year and left the cave to me. With no means of support I have eaten people ever since.” “As the old saying goes, ‘If you want a future, do not destroy it.’ You broke heaven's law, and now you kill. That's two offenses.” “A future? Will your law have me drink wind? Officials beat men to death and Buddhas starve them! I'd rather eat a fat traveler, whatever the number of my crimes.” “If a person wishes to do good, heaven answers. Grains can feed you; why kill people?”
As if awakened from a dream, he said: “I'd turn toward goodness, but having offended heaven, where can I pray?” “I am seeking a pilgrim to fetch scriptures from the Western Heaven. Go with him as a disciple, make amends through your service, and escape this suffering.” “Gladly!” She touched his head, received his vows, gave him the surname Zhu for his pig's body, and named him Zhu Wuneng. He adopted vegetarian discipline, abstained from forbidden meats and pungent foods, and waited for the pilgrim.
Guanyin and Huian continued east. A jade dragon hanging in the sky cried out. “Why are you punished here?” “I am the Western Sea Dragon King Ao Run's son. I burned a bright pearl in the palace, and my father accused me of disobedience. The Jade Emperor had me suspended here and beaten three hundred times. Soon I am to be executed. Save me!”
Guanyin went to the Southern Gate of Heaven. The Celestial Masters Qiu and Zhang announced her, and the Emperor came to meet her. “I am seeking a pilgrim in the east. Please spare the dragon I met on my way and give him to me as the pilgrim's mount.” The Emperor pardoned the dragon and released him to her. Grateful, the young dragon bowed. She placed him in a deep ravine to wait for the pilgrim, when he was to become a white horse and serve on the journey west.
Farther east, ten thousand golden rays shone through auspicious mist. “Five Elements Mountain,” said Huian. “The Tathagata's seal is there.” “And beneath it the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who disrupted the Peach Banquet.” They climbed the mountain and read the six-syllable mantra, “Om mani padme hum,” on the seal. Guanyin sighed and composed a poem:
Alas, the monkey obeyed no law, displaying wild heroism in former days.He broke into the Peach Banquet and boldly entered Tushita Palace.A hundred thousand troops could not defeat him, and his might rang through nine levels of heaven.Now trapped by the Tathagata, when will he stretch free and show his powers again?
The Great Sage heard her beneath the mountain. “Who's reciting poetry about my faults?” Guanyin descended, escorted by the earth god, mountain god, and celestial guards to the cleft in the rock where he lay. He could speak but not move. “Sun, do you know me?” “Of course! The compassionate Bodhisattva Guanyin of Mount Potala, savior from suffering! Thank you for coming. Each day here feels like a year; no friend has visited me. Where are you going?” “At the Buddha's command I seek a pilgrim in the east. I stopped to see you.” “The Tathagata tricked me and pinned me here for more than five hundred years. Please free me!” “Your sins are many. If released, you might wreak havoc again.” “I repent. Show me a way and I'll practice faithfully.” Indeed:
One thought arises in a human heart, and heaven and earth both know.If goodness and evil brought no reward, the universe itself would be unjust.
Delighted, Guanyin said: “A holy text says, ‘A good word finds an answer a thousand li away; a wicked word drives people away a thousand li.’ I shall find a pilgrim in Tang. He will free you. Serve him as disciple, observe the Buddha's teaching, and cultivate the true fruit. Will you?” “Gladly!” “Then I'll give you a religious name.” “I have one already: Sun Wukong.” “How fortunate! Two others I have enlisted have names of the same ‘Wu’ generation. Wait here for him.” Wukong recognized his true nature and turned toward Buddhism, while Guanyin went on to find the holy monk.
She and Huian traveled east and soon reached Chang'an. Descending, they changed into two shabby wandering monks and entered the city at dusk. At a local earth god's shrine near the market, the startled god and his ghost soldiers bowed. He called the city god and all the local deities of Chang'an. “Forgive our late welcome!” “Tell no one I am here,” Guanyin instructed them. “At the Buddha's command I seek a pilgrim. Let me stay here until I find him.” The gods returned to their shrines; the local earth god temporarily moved to the city god's temple. Guanyin and Huian hid their true forms.
Who would be chosen to fetch the scriptures? 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.
Our Buddha Makes the Scriptures and Hands Them Down for Bliss; Guanyin Bears the Edict to Chang'an
Ask at the gate of chan: seekers past counting, and most of them old and empty at the end. Grind a brick for a mirror, pile snow for grain — how many of the young have gone astray. A hair swallows the great sea; a mustard seed holds Mount Sumeru: the golden-headed monk only smiles. Wake, and you rise above the ten grounds and the three vehicles; lag, and you spin in the four births and six roads. Who will hear, before the Cliff of No Thought, under the Tree Without Shade, one cry of the cuckoo at spring's first light? The road to Caoxi is steep, the clouds over Vulture Peak are deep; the voice of an old friend here is faint and far. At the ice cliff of a thousand fathoms the five-petaled lotus opens; incense curls in the old hall behind the hanging curtain. At that hour, when you see through source and stream, you see the Dragon King's three treasures.
That lyric is called "Slow Song of Su Wu." The story turns now to our Buddha the Tathagata, who took leave of the Jade Emperor and came back to the Thunderclap Monastery. The 3,000 Buddhas, the 500 arhats, the eight great guardians, and the boundless bodhisattvas came out with canopies and banners, strange treasures and immortal flowers, and lined up under the twin sal trees of the holy land of Vulture Peak to greet him. The Tathagata stilled his lucky cloud and said to them: "With the deepest prajna I have looked through the three realms. The root and ground of nature ends in stillness and extinction. Its shape is like empty space; in it there is nothing at all. That I crushed and tamed the wayward monkey — no one knows how it was done. The name of birth and death begins; such is the form of the Law." With that he gave out the light of his relics, and through all the sky ran forty-two white rainbows linking south and north. The assembly saw it, bowed their bodies, and worshipped. Soon lucky clouds and colored mist gathered, and he mounted the lotus platform of the highest grade and sat in state. The 3,000 Buddhas, 500 arhats, eight guardians, and four bodhisattvas put their palms together, came near, bowed, and asked: "What was it that wrecked the Heavenly Palace and spoiled the Peach Banquet?" The Tathagata said: "That fellow was a demon monkey born on Mount Flower-Fruit, his sins heaped up to heaven, past all telling. Not all the gods and generals of heaven could subdue him. Erlang caught him, and the old lord tempered him with fire, and still he took no hurt. When I came, he was in the middle of the thunder generals, flaunting his might and showing off his spirit. I stopped the war and asked his history. He said he had magic power, could change his shape, and rode the somersault cloud, 108,000 li at a jump. So I laid a wager with him. He could not get out of my hand; I seized him at once, turned my fingers into Five Elements Mountain, and shut him up under it. The Jade Emperor threw open the golden gates and jade palace, seated me in the place of honor, and held the Banquet of the Settling of Heaven to thank me, and only then did I take leave and come back." The assembly heard and were glad, and praised him to the skies.
When the thanks were done they fell back into their ranks, each to his own work, all sharing the joy of innocence. Truly:
Lucky vapor floods India; rainbow light wraps the World-Honored One. The west names him first among all: the gate of the King of the Law, who has no form. Often you may see the dark ape bringing fruit, the elk carrying flowers; the blue luan dancing, the bright phoenix calling; the numinous turtle holding up long life, the immortal crane with magic fungus in its beak. He rests in the pure land of Jetavana and enjoys the bounds of the dragon palace. Day by day the flowers open; hour by hour the fruit ripens. He practices stillness and returns to truth; he sits in chan and the fruit turns right. Not dying, not born; not adding, not taking away. Mist and glow drift past him as they come and go; no cold or heat touches him, and no years are counted.
The poem says:
He comes and goes at ease, roaming as he will, without fear and without sorrow.In the ground of bliss all is open and level; in the great chiliocosm there is no spring and no fall.
The Buddha dwelt in the Thunderclap Monastery on Vulture Peak. One day he called together the Buddhas, the arhats, the guardians, the bodhisattvas, the guardians of the law, the monks and nuns, and said: "Since I tamed the wayward ape and settled heaven, I have lost count of months and years; I take it half a thousand years have passed in the world of men. Today is the full moon of the first month of autumn. I have a precious basin here, filled with a hundred kinds of rare flowers and a thousand kinds of strange fruits and other things. Let you all share in this Ullambana feast — how does that please you?" All of them put their palms together, made three circuits in worship before the Buddha, and accepted. The Tathagata then had Ananda hold the precious basin of flowers and fruits, and Kasyapa hand them out. The assembly, moved, each offered a poem of thanks.
The poem of Fortune says:
The star of Fortune shines before the World-Honored One; Fortune gathered deep runs far and long.Its stock of virtue has no bound, lasting as the earth; its ties of luck are blessed and reach to heaven.The field of Fortune, widely sown, thrives year by year; the sea of Fortune, deep past sounding, firms age by age.Fortune fills heaven and earth with sheltering shade; Fortune grows past measure and keeps all safe forever.
The poem of Emolument says:
Emolument heavy as a mountain: the bright phoenix calls; Emolument rides the peaceful times, blessing the Evening Star.Emolument added by the ten thousand pecks, the body hale and sound; Emolument enjoyed by the thousand bells, the world at peace.Its pay equal to heaven's, fixed forever; its name like the sea, grown clearer still.Its grace, handed down afar, draws every gaze; its rank without bound gives glory to ten thousand lands.
The poem of Long Life says:
The Star of Longevity offers his colors before the Tathagata; the land of long life opens its light from this day.Fruits of long life heap the plate and breathe lucky mist; flowers of long life, newly picked, stand on the lotus platform.Verses of long life, clean and graceful, full of wonder; songs of long life tuned to beauty and skill.The length of life runs on with sun and moon; long life like mountains and seas, at ease forever.
When the bodhisattvas had made their offerings, they begged the Tathagata to lay open the root and explain the source and stream. He parted his lips of goodness and set out the great Law, proclaiming the true fruit, expounding the wondrous canon of the three vehicles and the Surangama of the five skandhas. Heaven's dragons circled round, and flower rain fell in bright confusion. Truly:
The heart of chan shines bright as the moon on a thousand rivers; the true nature is clear as the sky over ten thousand li.
When the Tathagata had finished, he said to the assembly: "I have watched the four great continents: the good and evil of living beings differs from land to land. In the East Victory Divine Continent they honor heaven and reverence earth, and their hearts are easy and their breath calm. In the North Reed Continent they are fond of killing, but only to fill their mouths; their natures are clumsy and their feelings plain, and they do little wanton harm. In my West Ox-Gift Continent they neither covet nor kill; they nurture the breath and hide the spirit. Though there is no highest true one there, everyone lives out his years. But that South Jambu Continent: they lust and delight in calamity, killing and quarreling past measure — truly a bloody field of quarrels, a wicked sea of strife. I have here the true scriptures in three baskets, which can move men to goodness." The bodhisattvas heard, put their palms together, and bowed, and asked before the Buddha: "Does the Tathagata have those true scriptures in three baskets?" The Tathagata said: "I have one basket of Law, which speaks of heaven; one basket of Disquisition, which speaks of earth; one basket of Sutras, which ferries over ghosts. The three baskets together make thirty-five divisions, 15,144 scrolls in all: the canon of cultivating truth, the gate of right goodness. I wish to send them to the Land of the East, but that land's people are dull and slander the true word; they do not know the gist of my teaching, and would slight the true line of yoga. What I need is someone with power to go to the eastern land, find a believing soul there, and set him to struggle over a thousand mountains and ask his way across ten thousand waters, to come here and fetch the true scriptures, to hand them down forever in the east and convert the living. That would be a fate big as a mountain, a blessed hope deep as the sea. Who will make the trip?" Then the Bodhisattva Guanyin came near the lotus platform, made three circuits in worship, and said: "Unworthy as your disciple is, she is willing to go to the eastern land and find the one who will fetch the scriptures." All looked up at her: the Bodhisattva —
Her principle rounds the four virtues; her wisdom fills her golden body. Necklaces of pearl and kingfisher hang down; rings of incense wood knot their shining gems. Black clouds of hair are cleverly piled in a coiled-dragon knot; embroidered ribbons flutter with bright phoenix plumes. Jade-green buttons, a plain silk gown wrapped in lucky light; a brocaded wool skirt, gold-linked and ringed in lucky vapor. Brows like a little moon; eyes like a pair of stars. A jade face born to gladness, lips touched with one point of red. The pure vase of sweet dew brims year after year; the willow sprig set slantwise stays green age after age. She cuts through the eight hardships and ferries the host of living things, great in mercy: therefore she holds Mount Tai, dwells in the Southern Sea, saves from suffering and answers every cry; called on ten thousand times, she answers ten thousand times; a spirit for a thousand saints, a help in a thousand needs. The orchid heart delights in the purple bamboo; the kindreed nature loves the fragrant vine. She is the merciful lady of Mount Potalaka, the living Guanyin of the Tide-Sound Cave.
The Tathagata saw her and was delighted: "No other could go. It must be the Venerable Guanyin, whose power is so vast, to make this journey." The Bodhisattva said: "As your disciple goes to the eastern land, what instructions do you give her?" The Tathagata said: "On this trip you must survey the road, and you may not travel in the high heavens. You must go half in cloud, half in mist, with your eye on mountains and rivers, and mark well the lengths of the journey, to charge the scripture-seeker with them. I fear the believing soul will find it hard going, so I will give you five treasures." He ordered Ananda and Kasyapa to bring out a brocade kasaya and a nine-ring pilgrim staff, and said to the Bodhisattva: "This kasaya and this staff are for the scripture-seeker's own use. If he will set his heart firmly on coming here, let him wear my kasaya and he will not fall back into the wheel of rebirth; let him carry my staff and he will not meet with poison and harm." The Bodhisattva bowed and received them. The Tathagata then brought out three bands and handed them to her: "These treasures are called tight fillets. Though the three are alike, their uses differ. I have three spells: gold, tight, and forbid. If on the road you meet some demon of great power, you must urge him to mend and become a disciple of the scripture-seeker. If he will not obey, put one of these bands on his head, and it will root into his flesh of itself. Say the spell that fits the band once, and his eyes will swell and his head split, his skull will crack open — and he will come into our fold, never fear."
The Bodhisattva heard, leaped up in delight, saluted, and withdrew. She called Huian the Pilgrim to go with her. Huian carried an iron rod, a full thousand catties in weight, and served at her side as a mighty subduer of demons. She wrapped the brocade kasaya into a bundle and had him carry it on his back; she hid the gold band, took the staff in hand, and came straight down from Vulture Peak. This going had its lesson:
The child of the Buddha comes back to fulfill the first vow; Elder Golden Cicada is wrapped in sandalwood.
When the Bodhisattva reached the foot of the mountain, the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit of the Jade-True Abbey met her at the abbey gate and begged her in for tea. She would not linger: "I bear the Tathagata's command of Law and am going up to the eastern land to find the one who will fetch the scriptures." The Great Immortal said: "When will the scripture-seeker get here?" The Bodhisattva said: "That is not settled — perhaps two or three years before he can come this far." So she took leave of the Great Immortal, going half by cloud, half by mist, and marked the journey as she went. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:
To search over ten thousand li needs no words; yet to say who truly wins is hard to the full.If seeking a man were ever like this, is my whole life then only chance?A teaching with the right method turns to idle talk; fine words without trust are an empty passing on.I am ready to pour out my heart in search of one who knows; I believe that ahead there must be the fate for it.
As master and disciple went along, they suddenly saw the Weak Water, three thousand li of it: this was the border of the Flowing Sand River. The Bodhisattva said: "Disciple, this is a hard place to cross. The scripture-seeker has mortal bones and mortal flesh — how will he get over?" Huian said: "Master, look how far the river runs." The Bodhisattva stood still on her cloud and looked, and this is what she saw:
East it joins the sand wastes; west it reaches the barbarian lands; south it comes to Wuge; north it runs to the Tatar tents. Across it is a good 800 li, up and down it stretches thousands and thousands of miles. The water runs like the earth turning over; the waves roll like the backs of rearing mountains. Vast and swelling, hazy and dim, ten li away you hear the ten-thousand-fathom flood. An immortal's raft could never get here; a lotus leaf could not float. Withered grass and a slanting sun over the winding banks; yellow clouds shade the sun and darken the long dike. Where would a traveling merchant come from? When did a fisherman ever nest here? On the level sands no wild goose settles; on the far shores a gibbon cries. Only the red knotweed and the thick blossoms know the scene, and the white duckweed's faint scent lingers on and on.
The Bodhisattva stood taking it in when, from mid-river, came a loud slap and splash, and out of the waves leaped a monster, ugly past measure. Here is how he was made:
Not blue and not black, a face the color of bad luck; not long and not short, a barefoot body of tendon. His eyes flash and dart like twin lamps in the bottom of a stove; his mouth is forked at the corners like the fire basin of a slaughterhouse. Tusked teeth jut out like sword blades; red hair tangles loose and shaggy. One roar from him is like thunder; his two feet churn along like a rolling gale.
The monster carried a precious staff in his hand, came up the bank, and made to seize the Bodhisattva — but Huian swept his iron rod across and blocked him, shouting: "Stop there!" The monster turned his precious staff to meet him. The two of them fought a grim battle on the bank of the Flowing Sand River, truly dreadful to see:
Muzha's plain iron rod, guarding the Law and showing its power; the monster's demon-subduing staff, straining to play the hero. A pair of silver pythons dance at the river's edge; two divine warriors charge along the bank. That one holds the Flowing Sands in awe and shows his craft; this one shields Guanyin and works a great deed. That one flips the waves and leaps the billows; this one breathes out fog and sprays the wind. He flips the waves, and heaven and earth go dark; he breathes the fog, and sun and moon grow dim. That demon-subduing staff is like a white tiger coming out of the hills; this plain iron rod is like a yellow dragon lying across the road. That one swings to part the grass and hunt the snake; this one flings out wide to strike the hawk and split the pines. They fight till the haze is thick, and still the stars shine through; till the fog boils up, and heaven and earth blur into one. That one has haunted the Weak Water long, and savage he is; this one, fresh out of Vulture Peak, has won his first merit.
The two of them came and went, fighting dozens of rounds, and neither had the better. The monster caught the iron rod on his staff and said: "Monk, where are you from, that you dare stand up to me?" Muzha said: "I am Muzha, second son of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Huian the Pilgrim, now escorting my master east to the Land of the East to find the one who will fetch the scriptures. What monster are you, that you dare block the road?" The monster came to himself: "I remember you. You were cultivating with Guanyin of the Southern Sea in the purple bamboo grove. Why have you come here?" Muzha said: "Is not that my master on the bank?"
At the words the monster bowed and bowed, put away his staff, and let Muzha lead him to Guanyin. He threw his head to the ground and said: "Bodhisattva, forgive my fault, and hear my story. I am no demon. I was the Curtain-Raising General who attended the imperial chair below the Hall of Divine Mist. Only because my hand slipped at the Peach Banquet and I smashed a glass cup did the Jade Emperor beat me 800 blows and banish me to the world below, where I took on this shape. And he ordered that every seven days a flying sword come and pierce my chest and sides, a hundred and more strokes before it stops. That is my misery. There was nothing for it: hunger and cold grew past bearing, and every two or three days I came out of the waves to catch a traveler for food. Today, unknowing, I ran into the Bodhisattva of Great Mercy." The Bodhisattva said: "You sinned in heaven, and having been banished below, you now go on killing living things — as they say, crime upon crime. I now bear the Buddha's command and go to the eastern land to find the scripture-seeker. Why not enter my fold, turn to the good fruit, follow that scripture-seeker as his disciple, and go up to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and beg for the scriptures? I will see that the flying sword pierces you no more. When the work is done your sin will be cleared, and you will be restored to your old post. How does that suit you?" The monster said: "I am willing to turn to the true fruit." He came nearer: "Bodhisattva, I have eaten men past counting here, and several times the scripture-seekers came by and I ate them too. The heads of the men I ate I threw into the flowing sands, and they all sank to the bottom. On this water not even a goose feather can float. Only the skulls of nine scripture-seekers floated on the surface and would not sink. I thought them strange things, strung them on a cord, and play with them in my idle hours. But now, if the scripture-seeker never gets this far, will that not wreck my fortunes after all?" The Bodhisattva said: "Is there any doubt he will come? Hang the skulls about your neck and wait for the scripture-seeker; they will be of use." The monster said: "If it is so, I accept your teaching." Then the Bodhisattva laid her hand on his crown and gave him the precepts; she pointed to the sand for his surname, and he took the surname Sha; she gave him the religious name Sha Wujing. Then he entered the gate of the monkhood, ferried the Bodhisattva across the river, washed his heart clean of its old thoughts, never killed again, and waited only for the scripture-seeker.
The Bodhisattva took leave of him and pressed east with Muzha. They traveled a long while and saw another high mountain, its crest wrapped in evil vapor, so that they could not walk up it. Just as they made to cross it on the cloud, a wild wind rose, and another monster shot out at them. He too was savage and grim to look at:
A snout like a dangling lotus pod, curled and foul; ears like rush fans, and golden eyes agleam.Tusks sharp as steel files; the long mouth opens like a fire basin.A golden helmet strapped tight at his cheeks; a snake-shed silk sash binding his armor.In his fist the nail rake, like a dragon shooting out its claw; at his waist a bent bow, like half a moon.His swagger and menace bully the Year-Star; his head-high spirit bears down on the gods of heaven.
He charged up and, recking nothing, swung the nail rake straight at the Bodhisattva. The Pilgrim Muzha blocked him with a great shout: "You brazen monster, none of your rudeness — take the rod." The monster said: "This monk does not know death when it stares at him. Take the rake." The two of them charged and clashed at the mountain foot, staking the match on the bout — a fine fight truly:
The monster is fierce and wild; Huian is masterly and strong. The iron rod punches for the breast; the nail rake answers face to face. Earth flung up and dust raised darken heaven and earth; sand flies and stones roll, and ghosts and gods cry out. The nine-toothed rake flashes, its double rings ringing loud; the one rod, black and long, leaps in both his hands. This one is a son of the Heavenly King; that one is the spirit of a marshal. One served as guardian of the Law on Potalaka; one played the demon in a mountain cave. At this meeting they fight for mastery — and who will lose the day and who will win, who knows?
Just as the fight reached its height, Guanyin in mid-air threw down a lotus flower, which cut between rake and staff. The monster's heart jumped, and he asked: "Monk, where are you from, and what trick of the eye is this you play on me?" Muzha said: "You brazen thing, with mortal flesh and mortal eyes! I am a disciple of the Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea, and this is the lotus flower my master has thrown. Can you not even know it?" The monster said: "The Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea — is that Guanyin, who sweeps away the three calamities and saves from the eight hardships?" Muzha said: "If not her, who?" The monster dropped the rake, threw his head to the ground, and cried: "Old brother, where is the Bodhisattva? I beg you, take me in to see her." Muzha pointed up: "Is that not she?" The monster knocked his head toward the sky and called at the top of his voice: "Bodhisattva, forgive me, forgive me!"
Guanyin brought her cloud down and came near: "What wild pig turned spirit here, what old hog played his tricks, that he dares block my road?" The monster said: "I am no wild pig and no old hog. I was Marshal Tianpeng of the River of Heaven. Because I took wine and made free with Chang'e, the Jade Emperor gave me 2,000 hammer blows and banished me to the dust of the world. My one true spirit came straight to seize a body and enter the womb — but I took the wrong road and fell into a sow's womb, and so got this shape. I bit the sow to death and killed the litter of pigs, took this mountain for my own, and eat men to live. Now I have run into the Bodhisattva. I beg you, pull me out of this." The Bodhisattva asked: "What is this mountain called?" The monster said: "It is called Mount Fuling, and in it is a cave called the Cloud-Perch Cave. In the cave there lived a Second Sister Egg. Seeing I had some skill at arms, she took me for her husband, as master of her house — marrying into the wife's family, as we say. In less than a year she died, and the whole property of the cave came to me. I have lived here long years now with no trade to feed me, and only my old habit of eating men to live by. I beg the Bodhisattva to forgive me." The Bodhisattva said: "The ancients say: 'If you want a future, do not do the things that leave you none.' You broke the law in heaven above, and now below you will not give up your cruel heart but go on killing and piling up sin — is that not two crimes to be punished together?" The monster said: "Future, future! If I follow you, am I to drink the wind? The saying goes: 'Keep to the officials' law and be beaten to death; keep to the Buddha's law and starve to death.' Away, away! Better to catch some traveler and eat him fat and juicy, and let two sins or three sins, a thousand sins or ten thousand sins, look out for themselves!" The Bodhisattva said: "'If a man has a good wish in him, heaven is sure to grant it.' If you will turn to the true fruit, there will be a living for you. The world has its five grains to cure hunger — why live by eating men?"
At this the monster waked as if from a dream, and said to the Bodhisattva: "I want to follow the right. But 'having sinned against heaven, there is nowhere left to pray.'" The Bodhisattva said: "I bear the Buddha's command, going east to find the scripture-seeker. You can be his disciple and make the trip to the Western Heaven, and wipe out your sins with merit; I promise you shall be free of the calamity." The monster said with all his mouth: "I will follow, I will follow." Then the Bodhisattva laid her hand on his crown and gave him the precepts; she pointed to his body for his surname, and he took the surname Zhu; she gave him the religious name Zhu Wuneng. From then on he took the command and turned to the truth, keeping the fast on plain food, giving up the five pungent things and three forbidden meats, and waiting only for the scripture-seeker.
The Bodhisattva took leave of Wuneng, and she and Muzha came on, half riding cloud and mist. As they went they saw a jade dragon in the sky crying out. The Bodhisattva came near and asked: "What dragon are you, suffering here?" The dragon said: "I am the son of Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea. I set fire by accident and burned the bright pearl on the palace hall; my royal father sent up a memorial to the celestial court charging me with disobedience. The Jade Emperor has hung me in the sky and given me 300 blows, and in a few days I am to be put to death. I beg the Bodhisattva to save me."
Guanyin heard and went with Muzha straight in at the South Gate of Heaven, where the two celestial masters Qiu and Zhang met her and asked where she was bound. She said: "Your poor monk asks to see the Jade Emperor." The two masters reported at once, and the Jade Emperor came down from the hall to meet her. When she had bowed she said: "Your poor monk bears the Buddha's command to go east to find the scripture-seeker. On the way I found this wicked dragon hanging in the air, and I have come to beg for his life: give him to your poor monk, to be a mount for the scripture-seeker." The Jade Emperor heard and passed an edict of pardon at once, sent heavenly generals to loose him, and gave him to the Bodhisattva. She thanked him for the grace and went out. The little dragon knocked his head and thanked her for the gift of his life, ready to serve at her word. The Bodhisattva placed him in a deep ravine to wait for the scripture-seeker, then to change into a white horse and win his merit on the western road. The dragon took the order and hid himself — but no more of that.
The Bodhisattva led the Pilgrim Muzha past that mountain and pressed on east. Before long she saw ten thousand rays of golden light and a thousand streams of lucky vapor. Muzha said: "Master, where that light shines is Five Elements Mountain; the Tathagata's sealing paper is on it still." The Bodhisattva said: "Then that is where the Great Sage Equal to Heaven lies pressed — the one who wrecked the Peach Banquet and wrecked the Heavenly Palace." Muzha said: "Just so, just so." Master and disciple climbed the mountain and looked at the paper: the six words of truth, "Om mani padme hum." The Bodhisattva read it and sighed and grieved, and made a poem. The poem says:
Pity the demon monkey, who would not keep his place; in those days wild and reckless, he played the hero.He cheated his own heart and wrecked the Peach Banquet; boldly he broke of his own accord into the Tushita Palace.In an army of 100,000 no hand could match him; in the ninefold heavens his swagger filled the sky.Now my Buddha the Tathagata has him pinned — on what day will he stretch his limbs and show his power again?
While master and disciple talked, the sound woke the Great Sage. From under the mountain root he called: "Who is that up there chanting poems and raking up my old faults?" The Bodhisattva heard and came straight down the mountain to look. Below the stone cliff were the local earth god, the mountain god, and the heavenly generals set to guard the Great Sage; they all bowed to welcome the Bodhisattva and led her to him. Look: he lay pressed inside a stone case, able to speak, his body unable to move. The Bodhisattva said: "You surnamed Sun — do you know me?" The Great Sage opened his fiery eyes and golden pupils, nodded, and called: "How would I not know you? You are that Bodhisattva Guanyin of Mount Potalaka in the Southern Sea, the savior from suffering, of great kindness and great mercy, homage to her! Thank you for caring to look, thank you for caring. Here my days crawl like years, and not one soul who knows me has come to look at me. Where do you come from?" The Bodhisattva said: "I bear the Buddha's command and go to the eastern land to find the scripture-seeker. Passing this way, I stopped my steps a moment to see you." The Great Sage said: "The Tathagata fooled me and pressed me under this mountain more than five hundred years, and I cannot stir. I beg you, Bodhisattva, ease my case a little, and save old Sun." The Bodhisattva said: "Your sins are deep. If I got you out, you might breed new mischief, and that would be a pity." The Great Sage said: "I know my fault now. I only beg your great mercy to point me a way. I am willing to cultivate and mend." Then it was:
When a thought is born in a man's heart, heaven and earth know it every bit.If good and evil brought no return, then heaven and earth would play favorites.
The Bodhisattva heard and was glad through and through. She said to the Great Sage: "The scripture says: 'When a man's word is good, it wins an answer a thousand li away; when his word is not good, it meets refusal a thousand li away.' Since you have this mind, wait till I reach the Tang country in the east and find the man who will fetch the scriptures, and I will have him save you. You can be his disciple, hold to the Buddha's discipline, enter our gate, and cultivate the true fruit again. How does that suit you?" The Great Sage said over and over: "I will go, I will go." The Bodhisattva said: "Since there is good fruit in it, let me give you a religious name." The Great Sage said: "I have a name already: Sun Wukong." The Bodhisattva was pleased again: "I have just taken two others in, and their names run in the 'Wu' — Awake — generation. Yours has the 'Wu' too and fits with theirs. Very good, very good. Then there is no more to say. I am off." So the Great Sage saw his own nature and cleared his heart, turning to the Buddha's teaching; and the Bodhisattva kept her purpose set on finding the divine monk.
She and Muzha left that place, came on east, and in no time reached Chang'an, the capital of the great Tang. They folded away the mist and drew in the clouds, and master and disciple changed into two scabby wandering monks and entered the city of Chang'an, and before they knew it the day was late. As they came to the Great Market Street they saw an earth-god temple, and the two went straight in. The earth god panicked and his ghost soldiers trembled with fear; knowing her for the Bodhisattva, they bowed their heads and let her in. The earth god then ran in haste to report to the city god, the spirits of the altars, and all the gods of the temples of Chang'an, and all came to pay their respects, saying: "Bodhisattva, forgive the gods for being slow to welcome you." She said: "Not one word of this must leak out. I bear the Buddha's command and have come here to look for the one who will fetch the scriptures. Lend me your temple to stay in for a few days, and as soon as I have found the true monk I will go back." The gods went each to his place, and the earth god was moved off to lodge for the time in the city-god temple, while master and disciple hid their true shapes.
Who would the scripture-seeker turn out to be? Listen to the next chapter to find out.