Chapter 87

Phoenix Fairy Prefecture Offends Heaven and Brings the Drought; Sun the Great Sage Urges Goodness and Gives the Rain

The great Way is dark and deep; how shall its tidings be told? Spoken, they startle ghosts and gods. It clasps the universe in its bosom and splits open the dark light; its true joy has no peer in the world. Before Vulture Peak a precious pearl is held up, shining with fivefold radiance. It lights all beings above and below, and those who know it live as long as mountains and seas.

Tripitaka and his four took leave of the woodcutter, came down Hidden-Mist Mountain, and made for the great road. After some days they saw a city drawing near. Tripitaka said: "Wukong, is that city ahead the land of India?" The Pilgrim waved his hand: "No, no. Where the Tathagata dwells they call it bliss, but there is no city there: it is a great mountain, and in the mountain are towers and halls and palaces called Vulture Peak's Thunderclap Monastery. Even were it the land of India, it would not be the Tathagata's dwelling; who knows how far India still lies from Vulture Peak. That city must be an outlying prefecture of India; at the gate we shall know plainly."

Presently they came outside the city. Tripitaka dismounted and passed in through the threefold gate: the people's affairs forlorn, the streets deserted. At the market mouth too they saw many in blue garments ranged on this side and that, and several in cap and belt standing under the eaves. The four walked along the street, and the people did not stir to give way. Zhu Bajie, a village simpleton, cupped his long snout in his hands and bawled: "Make way! Make way!" The people looked up suddenly, saw the sight, and one and all went soft in the bones and slack in the sinews, staggering and tumbling, all crying: "A demon! A demon comes!" The cap-and-belt men under the eaves, trembling, bowed and asked: "From what quarter do you come?" Tripitaka, fearing his disciples would stir up trouble, took the lead with all his might and said to them: "Your poor monk is of the court of Great Tang in the Land of the East, a worshiper bound for the Thunderclap Monastery of Buddha in India to seek scriptures. Passing through your precious land, we knew not the place's name, nor had we yet put up at any house; entering the city just now we have failed grossly in courtesy, and beg you gentlemen to forgive us." The officer then returned the courtesy: "This is an outlying prefecture of India, named the Phoenix Fairy Prefecture. For years running there has been drought, and the prefect has sent us here to post a placard, seeking a master of the law to pray for rain and save the people." The Pilgrim heard and said: "Where is your placard?" The officers said: "Here it is; we have only just swept the corridor eaves, and not yet put it up." The Pilgrim said: "Let me see it." The officers unfolded the placard and hung it under the eaves. The Pilgrim and his four came up and read it together. On it was written:

The prefect Shangguan of the Phoenix Fairy Prefecture of Great India posts this placard to hire a wise master and seek the great art: Whereas our prefecture's lands are broad, its soldiers and people substantial; whereas for years the drought has lain on us, and season upon season the dearth; the people's fields are scorched and the soldiers' lands thin; the rivers run shallow and the channels empty. The wells hold no water; the springs yield no seep. The rich houses keep body and soul together; the poor cannot keep life. A peck of grain sells at a hundred gold; a faggot of firewood costs five taels. Ten-year-old girls are traded for three sheng of rice; five-year-old boys are led away by strangers. In the city, men fearing the law pawn clothes and goods to stay alive; in the country, defying the magistrates, they rob and eat men to save their own. Therefore this placard goes out, looking up to the worthies and sages of the ten quarters to pray for rain and rescue the people. Grace shall be repaid with weight: a thousand gold is promised in thanks, and the words are no idle boast. So runs the placard.

The Pilgrim read it out and said to the officers: "Who is this Prefect Shangguan?" The officers said: "Shangguan is a surname—the surname of our prefect." The Pilgrim laughed: "A rare surname." Bajie said: "Brother never went to school. At the back of the Hundred Surnames is the line 'Shangguan, Ouyang.'" Tripitaka said: "Disciples, no idle talk. Whoever can pray for rain, let him pray a sweet rain for them, to ease the people's misery—that is a work of every goodness; if none can, we go on, and do not miss the road." The Pilgrim said: "What difficulty is there in praying for rain? Your old Sun can turn rivers and churn seas, shift the Dipper and move the stars, kick heaven and play in wells, breathe fog and spout clouds, shoulder mountains and chase the moon, call rain and summon wind: which of these was not a boyhood plaything of mine? Why make a wonder of it?"

The officers heard, and sent two in haste to report in the prefecture: "My lord, ten thousand joys have come." The prefect was just burning incense in silent prayer; hearing the joyful report, he asked at once: "What joy?" The officer said: "Today, carrying the placard, we had just reached the market mouth to hang it when four monks appeared, saying they were sent by Great Tang of the eastern lands to the Thunderclap in India to worship Buddha and seek scriptures; and on seeing the placard they said at once they could pray down sweet rain; so we have come to tell you."

The prefect dressed himself at once and came on foot, without sedan or horse or retinue, straight to the market mouth, and begged them with all courtesy. Someone called: "The prefect, my lord, has come." The crowd drew aside. The prefect, seeing Tripitaka Tang, feared not the ugliness of his disciples, but flung himself down in the middle of the street and bowed: "Your servant is Shangguan, prefect of the Phoenix Fairy Prefecture; bathed and cleansed I bow and beg the teacher to pray for rain and save the people. I look to the teacher's great mercy: put forth your divine powers and deliver us, deliver us." Tripitaka returned the courtesy: "This is no place for talk; let your poor monk come to some temple, and there we can do the business." The prefect said: "Come with me to my humble yamen; there is a clean place there."

Master and disciples led the horse and shouldered the load and came straight to the yamen, where all were presented one by one. The prefect bade tea be served and a fast meal laid, and presently the meal came. Bajie ate at full stretch, swallowing like a hungry tiger; the tray bearers' hearts quaked and their galls trembled, running to and fro with more soup and more rice, like figures in a turning lantern—hardly set down before it was gone—until he had eaten his fill. The meal done, Tripitaka Tang thanked for it and asked: "Lord Prefect, how long has your land been drought-stricken?" The prefect said:

This land belongs to the great kingdom of India, an outlying prefecture where I keep the herds.Three years running the dearth has met us: no grass seed springs, and the five grains are gone.Great house and small can neither buy nor sell; of ten gates, nine households are in tears.Of three parts, two parts of the people have starved to death; the part remaining is a candle flame in the wind.Your servant posted placards seeking worthies far and wide, and happily true monks are come to my land.If they will shed an inch of rain to relieve the people, I will pay a thousand gold to honor so great a virtue!

The Pilgrim heard, his face all joy, and laughed aloud: "Say no more of the thousand gold: if the thanks are to be a thousand gold, you will not get half a drop of sweet rain. But speak of heaping merit and storing virtue, and your old Sun will give you a great rain." The prefect was in truth most upright and worthy, his love for the people deep; he begged the Pilgrim to the seat of honor and bowed his head: "If the teacher will indeed show mercy, your servant dare not fail in virtue." The Pilgrim said: "No more talk; rise. Only look well to my master, while your old Sun does the business." Sha Monk said: "Brother, how do we do the business?" The Pilgrim said: "You and Bajie come here, and stand by me below this hall as my wings, while your old Sun summons the dragons to make rain." Bajie and Sha Monk obediently took their places, and the three stood below the hall. The prefect burned incense and worshiped, and Tripitaka sat reciting scriptures.

The Pilgrim pronounced the true word and recited the charm, and at once out of the due east a black cloud came sinking down before the hall—the old Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Ao Guang. Ao Guang drew in the feet of his cloud, took human shape, came forward, bowed to the Pilgrim, and said: "The Great Sage summons this small dragon—to what use, in what quarter?" The Pilgrim said: "Rise, please. I am sorry to bring you so far; there is nothing else. This is the Phoenix Fairy Prefecture, drought-stricken year after year: how is it you do not come and rain?" The old dragon said: "I report to the Great Sage: though I can make rain, I am one whom Heaven employs and dispatches. If Heaven does not send me, dare I come here of my own will to rain?" The Pilgrim said: "I passed through this land and saw the people's misery in the long drought, and purposely called you to shed rain and relieve them—how can you put me off?" The Dragon King said: "Put you off? But when the Great Sage speaks the true word and summons, I dare not refuse to come. Only, first, I have no imperial decree of Heaven; second, I have brought no rain-making god generals—how should I set the Rain Office in motion? If the Great Sage has the heart to deliver them, let this small dragon go back to the sea and muster troops; and trouble the Great Sage to go to the Heavenly Palace and win the imperial sanction—a sacred decree for rain—and have the Water Officials let the dragons out; then I can rain according to the measure of the decree."

The Pilgrim, seeing him talk reason, could only dismiss the old dragon to the sea. He stepped out of the Dipper array and told Tripitaka Tang the whole matter of the Dragon King. Tripitaka Tang said: "Since it is so, go and do it, and tell no lie." The Pilgrim bade Bajie and Sha Monk: "Guard the master; I am going up to the Heavenly Palace." Good Great Sage: at the word "go" he vanished utterly. The prefect's gall shook and his heart trembled: "Where has Master Sun gone?" Bajie laughed: "Gone up to heaven on the clouds." The prefect, with all reverence, sent flying reports through the city, high street and low lane, ordering noble and commoner, soldier and citizen alike, every household to set up the Dragon King's tablet, to place a jar of clear water at the door with a willow sprig in it, to serve incense, and worship heaven—no more of that.

The Pilgrim, one stretch of the somersault cloud, was at once outside the West Gate of Heaven, where the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King was leading sky soldiers and strongmen to meet him: "Great Sage, is the scripture work done?" The Pilgrim said: "It is near done. We have come to the borders of India; there is an outlying prefecture named Phoenix Fairy. There it has not rained for three years, and the people suffer bitterly; your old Sun wants to pray for rain and save them. I called the Dragon King to the spot, and he says, no decree, dare not do it on his own; so I have come to court to beg the Jade Emperor's decree." The Heavenly King said: "Perhaps it is not fated to rain there. I have heard tell: that prefect played the wanton and offended heaven and earth; the God on High took offense, and has set up a mountain of rice, a mountain of flour, and a great lock of gold; only when these three things are done and ended will the rain be due." The Pilgrim, not knowing what this meant, would see the Jade Emperor. The Heavenly King dared not bar him, and let him in. He came straight to the Hall of Translucent Light, where again the four great Celestial Masters met him: "Great Sage, what business brings you here?" The Pilgrim said: "Guarding Tripitaka Tang, I came to the borders of India; in Phoenix Fairy there is no rain, and the prefect posts placards seeking a master to pray for rain. Your old Sun called the Dragon King, meaning to have him rain; he says he has no decree of the Jade Emperor and dare not act on his own; so I come to beg the decree, to ease the people's misery." The four Celestial Masters said: "That region is not to have rain." The Pilgrim laughed: "Rain or no rain, trouble yourselves to memorialize for me once, and see how your old Sun's face counts." Immortal Ge said: "The common saying goes: 'A fly wearing a net cap—what a big face it has!'" Xu Jingyang said: "No jabbering; take him in."

Qiu Hongji, Zhang Daoling, Ge, and Xu, the four true men, led him below the Hall of Numinous Clouds and memorialized: "Your Majesty, a Sun Wukong, come to Phoenix Fairy of India, wants to pray for rain for them, and begs the decree." The Jade Emperor said: "That fellow—on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month, three years ago, I went forth in progress to survey the ten thousand heavens and float through the three worlds. My carriage reached his place, and I saw that Shangguan was utterly unrighteous: he tipped over the plain offerings of the fast to heaven and fed them to his dogs, and belched out foul words, committing the crime of contempt. At once I set up three things in the Fragrant-Robe Hall. Take Sun Wukong to look: if the three things are done and ended, then issue the decree to him; if not ended, let him meddle no more in idle affairs."

The four Celestial Masters led the Pilgrim into the Fragrant-Robe Hall to look: there was a mountain of rice, some ten zhang high, and a mountain of flour, some twenty zhang high. Beside the rice mountain was a chicken the size of a fist, pecking fast and slow, nipping at the rice. Beside the flour mountain a golden-haired lapdog, lapping long and short at the flour. On the left hung an iron frame, and on the frame a golden lock, a foot three or four inches long, its shackle as thick as a finger; below burned a bright lamp, its flame licking at the shackle. The Pilgrim, not knowing the meaning, turned to the Celestial Master: "What does this mean?" The Master said: "That fellow offended high heaven, and the Jade Emperor set up these three things: only when the chicken has nipped the rice to the last grain, the dog licked the flour to the last dust, and the lamp flame burnt through the shackle, will rain be due there."

The Pilgrim heard, and went white with fright; he dared not memorialize further, but walked out of the hall, his face full of shame. The four Celestial Masters laughed: "Great Sage, no vexation. This matter is to be dissolved only by doing good: one thought of kindness, and it startles high heaven; the mountains of rice and flour topple at once, and the shackle breaks at once. Go and urge him back to goodness, and the blessing will come of itself." The Pilgrim did as they said: he did not go up to Numinous Clouds to take leave of the Jade Emperor, but came straight down to the world again, to the mortal man. In a moment he was at the West Gate of Heaven, where again was the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King. The King said: "How went the decree?" The Pilgrim told the whole business of the rice mountain, the flour mountain, and the golden lock, and said: "It is as you said; they would not convey the decree. Just now the Celestial Masters saw me out, and bade me urge that fellow back to goodness—that is the very spring of the blessing." So they parted, and he dropped his cloud to the lower world.

The prefect, with Tripitaka, Bajie, Sha Monk, and the officers great and small, met him, and came crowding to ask. The Pilgrim roared at the prefect: "It is because you, fellow, on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month three years ago offended heaven and earth, that the people are in trouble and heaven will not rain." The prefect, terrified, threw himself on the ground: "Teacher, how do you know a matter of three years ago?" The Pilgrim said: "The plain fast of offerings to heaven—how came you to tip it over and feed the dogs? Speak the whole truth." The prefect dared not hide it: "Three years ago, on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month, I laid the offerings of the fast to heaven in my own yamen; because my wife was unkind, we quarreled with foul words; in a sudden flash of ignorant rage I tipped over the offering table and spilled the plain food, and truly called the dogs to eat it. These two years the memory has lain on my heart, my spirit bewildered, nowhere to make amends. I did not know heaven had taken offense, and the harm fell on the people. Now that the teacher has come down to us, I beg you, tell me plainly: how does the world above intend to deal with it?" The Pilgrim said: "That day was the very day of the Jade Emperor's progress below; he saw you give the fast offerings to the dogs, and heard your foul words, and set up three things to mark you." Bajie asked: "What three things?" The Pilgrim said: "In the Fragrant-Robe Hall stands a mountain of rice, some ten zhang high, and a mountain of flour, some twenty zhang high. By the rice mountain is a chicken the size of a fist, pecking fast and slow at the rice; by the flour mountain a golden-haired lapdog, lapping long and short at the flour. On the left is an iron frame, on the frame a great lock of gold, its shackle as thick as a finger; below burns a bright lamp, its flame licking the shackle. Only when the chicken has nipped the rice to nothing, the dog licked the flour to nothing, and the lamp burnt through the shackle, will rain be due there." Bajie laughed: "No matter, no matter! If brother will take me, and we change out our doubles, one bout will eat up his rice and flour, and snap the shackle: rain, I warrant you." The Pilgrim said: "Idiot, no nonsense. This is heaven's own contrivance—how would you see it?" Tripitaka said: "If it is so, what is to be done?" The Pilgrim said: "No matter, no matter. As I was leaving, the four Celestial Masters told me: it is dissolved only by doing good." The prefect bowed to the ground and begged: "Only teach me, teacher, and your servant will follow it, point by point." The Pilgrim said: "If you turn your heart to goodness, lose no time in invoking Buddha and reading scripture, and I will still act for you; but if you go on as before, unchanged, I cannot dissolve it either: before long heaven will destroy you, and your life cannot be kept."

The prefect knocked his head and worshiped, vowing to take refuge. He called the monks and priests of the place at once, opened a field of the Way, and all wrote out documents and memorialized them to the three heavens. The prefect led the people, incense in hand, to gaze and bow, thanking heaven and answering earth, arraigning his own guilt. Tripitaka too recited scriptures with him. On the other side flying reports went out: within the city and beyond it, every house, great and small, men and women alike, must burn incense and invoke Buddha. From that moment a sound of goodness filled the ear. The Pilgrim rejoiced, and said to Bajie and Sha Monk: "You two guard the master well, while your old Sun goes once more and comes again." Bajie said: "Brother, where now?" The Pilgrim said: "The prefect has believed your old Sun's words, and truly taken instruction—reverent, kind, invoking Buddha with a true heart. I am going to memorialize the Jade Emperor again and beg some rain." Sha Monk said: "Brother, since you go, do not delay; it holds up our journey. Beg a full altar of rain, and our true fruit is made."

The Great Sage rode the cloud tops again, straight to the gate of heaven, and met the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King again. The King said: "What do you come for now?" The Pilgrim said: "The prefect has turned to goodness." The King too was glad. As they spoke, up came the tally envoys bearing the documents of the priests and the rescripts of the monks, to pass them in at the gate of heaven. Seeing the Pilgrim, the tally envoy saluted: "This is the Great Sage's work, urging men to goodness." The Pilgrim said: "Where do you carry these documents?" The envoy said: "Straight to the Hall of Translucent Light, to the Celestial Masters, to pass them up before the Jade Emperor, Great August Sovereign." The Pilgrim said: "Then go first; I follow." The envoy went in at the gate of heaven. The Nation-Guarding Heavenly King said: "Great Sage, you need not see the Jade Emperor. Go you only to the Mansion of the Response of the Ninefold Heaven, and borrow a few thunder gods; a roll of thunder and a flash of lightning, and the rain will come of itself."

Truly the Pilgrim did as he said: in at the gate of heaven, not up to the Hall of Numinous Clouds to seek the decree, but turning his cloud-steps straight to the Mansion of the Response of the Ninefold Heaven, where the messengers of the Thunder Gate, the officers of record and of inquiry came to meet him, saluting: "Great Sage, what brings you?" The Pilgrim said: "I have business with the Venerable Sovereign." The three messengers went in to announce him. The Sovereign came down at once from the screen of the nine phoenixes in rosy cloud, dressed himself, and came out to receive him. The courtesies done, the Pilgrim said: "I have one matter, and come specially to beg a favor." The Sovereign said: "What matter?" The Pilgrim said: "Guarding Tripitaka Tang I reached the Phoenix Fairy Prefecture and saw the depth of the drought there; I have promised to get them rain, and come to borrow your ministry's officers and generals to thunder there." The Sovereign said: "I know the prefect of that place offended high heaven, and three things were set up; is rain due there or not?" The Pilgrim laughed: "Yesterday I saw the Jade Emperor and begged the decree; the Emperor bade the Celestial Masters lead me to the Fragrant-Robe Hall to see those three things: a mountain of rice, a mountain of flour, a golden lock; only when the three things are done and ended is rain due. I fretted that they would never be ended, but the Celestial Master bade me exhort the prefect and the people to goodness—for if a man has a good thought, heaven will surely follow it—and so we may turn the heart of heaven and dissolve the calamity. Now the good thought has sprung up all at once, and the sound of goodness fills the ear; just now the tally envoy carried up the documents of their changed ways to the Jade Emperor. So I have come in person to your lordship's house to borrow the thunder ministry's officers and generals to help." The Sovereign said: "Since it is so, I dispatch Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao, leading the Lightning Damsel, to go down with the Great Sage and thunder over Phoenix Fairy."

The four generals with the Great Sage, in no time, reached the Phoenix Fairy borders, and there in mid-air they set the art working. They heard the roar and rumble of thunder, and saw the flash and glitter of lightning. Truly:

Lightning whips the violet-gold serpent; thunder crashes, and the hidden brood all clamor.Glaring, the firelight flies; the bolt bursts the mountain caves.The lightning's blaze lights all the sky; the shocks run leaping through the earth.One flash of the crimson silk, and the sprouts are stirring; ten thousand li of rivers and mountains all are shaken.

In the Phoenix Fairy city and beyond it, the officers great and small, soldiers and people, for three whole years had heard neither thunder nor lightning; today, hearing thunder and seeing the flash, they all knelt together, incense burners held above their heads, some with willow sprigs in their hands, all crying: "Homage to Amitabha! Homage to Amitabha!" And this one sound of a good thought truly startled high heaven. As the old verse says:

A single thought is born in the heart of man, and heaven and earth know it all.If good and evil had no recompense, then heaven and earth must play favorites.

To say nothing of the Great Sage Sun directing the thunder generals, flashing lightning and rolling thunder over Phoenix Fairy, till every man turned to goodness. The tally envoy of the world above carried the documents of monks and priests to the Hall of Translucent Light, and the four Celestial Masters presented them in the Hall of Numinous Clouds. The Jade Emperor saw them and said: "Since those fellows have good thoughts, how stand the three things?" As he spoke, the general keeping the Fragrant-Robe Hall reported: "The mountains of rice and flour set up there have both fallen; in an instant the rice and flour are all gone, and the shackle too is broken." Before the report was done, the heavenly officials of the carriage came leading the local earth god, the city god, and the gods of the soil altars of Phoenix Fairy, all together to bow and memorialize: "The lord of this prefecture and every house of the city, great and small, not one but has turned to the good fruit, worshiping Buddha and honoring heaven. We beg your descending mercy: let the sweet rain fall wide, and relieve the people." The Jade Emperor heard with great joy, and gave the decree at once: "Let the Wind Office, the Cloud Office, and the Rain Office each obey orders, go below, within the bounds of Phoenix Fairy, this very day, this very hour: roll the thunder, spread the clouds, and rain three chi and forty-two points." Then the four Celestial Masters bore the decree and passed it to the offices, and each went down to the lower world as the hour came, each showing his godlike might, all rousing together.

The Pilgrim was just maneuvering in the air with Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao, commanding the Lightning Damsel, when all the gods arrived, meeting as one heaven. Then wind and clouds converged, and the sweet rain poured. Good rain:

Vast the massed clouds, murky the black fog. The thunder chariot rumbles; the lightning glares. The wild wind rolls on; the sudden rain pours down. Truly one thought has turned heaven's face, and the hopes of ten thousand people are filled. All is owed to the Great Sage's putting forth of the primal motion; ten thousand li of rivers and mountains lie shadowed everywhere. The good rain pours as rivers and seas overturned, veiling the fields, blinding the sky. Before the eaves hangs a waterfall; beyond the window rings the tinkling. Ten thousand households, a thousand doors, invoking Buddha; through six streets and three markets the waters roll in flood. The channels east and west are brimful, every one; the brooks and bays of south and north run open everywhere. Parched sprouts drink their moisture; withered trees come to life. In the fields the hemp and wheat flourish; in the villages the beans and grain mount up. Travelers are glad to buy and sell along the roads; the farmers love their hoeing and plowing. From now the millet grows sleek and free, and sowing and reaping must come home in plenty. Winds seasonable, rains in season, the people at ease and glad; the seas calm, the rivers clear, and peace to enjoy.

In one day the rain fell its full three chi and forty-two points, and the gods by degrees drew back. The Great Sage Sun called in a stern, loud voice: "You gods of the four offices, stay your clouds a moment, while your old Sun has the prefect come bow and thank you. Do you part the mists and show your true forms, that this mortal may see with his own eyes; then he will believe, and worship." The gods heard, and could only stay in the air.

The Pilgrim brought down his cloud, went straight into the prefecture, and found Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Monk come out to meet him; the prefect, bowing at every step, came to thank him. The Pilgrim said: "Thank me not yet. I have kept the gods of the four offices; send and gather many people to bow and thank with you, that hereafter they may come and rain again." The prefect sent flying word, and gathered the multitude to give thanks together, every one with incense in hand bowing before them. And the gods of the four offices parted the clouds and mists, and each showed his true form. The four offices were Rain, Thunder, Cloud, and Wind. And behold:

The Dragon King shows his likeness; the thunder generals stretch their limbs; the cloud boys appear; the wind elder stands revealed. The Dragon King's likeness: silver whiskers, gray brow—without peer in the world; the thunder general's frame: hooked beak and awful face—past all compare. The cloud boys appear: who matches the jade face and golden crown? The wind elder revealed: ever like the bristled brows and staring eyes. All together they stand revealed above the blue empyrean, ranked side by side in sacred show. The people of Phoenix Fairy now believe: they bow their heads, hold their incense, and their wicked natures turn. Today they look up to the generals of heaven, and washing their hearts they turn to goodness, every one taking refuge.

The gods waited quietly a full watch, and the people bowed without ceasing. Sun the Pilgrim rose again into the cloud tops, saluted the assembly, and said: "You have toiled, you have toiled. Let each return to his own office. Your old Sun will further have the households of the prefecture keep and worship the high true ones, and at the seasons offer sacrifices of thanks. From this time forward, let there be wind one day in five and rain one day in ten, and come again to rescue them." The gods did as he said, and each returned to his office—no more of that.

The Great Sage dropped his cloud and said to Tripitaka: "The work is done and the people at rest; let us pack and take the road." The prefect heard, and hastened to make his obeisance: "Master Sun, what talk is this? This day's work is a grace beyond measure or bound. Your servant will send men to prepare a small banquet, to answer so great a kindness. Further, I will buy lands among the people, and build a monastery for you gentlemen, and raise a shrine to you living, with stone tablets cut and graved with your names, and offerings in all four seasons. Though I carved your graces on my bones and graved them on my heart, I could not repay one ten-thousandth—how can you speak of taking the road?" Tripitaka said: "My lord's words are fitting; but we are monks of the west, lodge-taking, foot-faring; we dare not stay long: in a day or two we go, without fail." The prefect would by no means let them go: all night he sent men to prepare the feast and raise the shrine.

Next day a great feast was spread; Tripitaka Tang sat in the place of honor, and the Great Sage Sun with Bajie and Sha Monk sat in the ranks. The prefect and the officers of his prefecture, great and small, held the cups and offered the dishes, with soft piping and gentle drumming, and entertained them the whole day. Truly it was a glad business. There is a poem to prove it:

The fields, long drought-stricken, meet the sweet rain; the channels are open everywhere to trade.Deep thanks to the god monks who came to the prefecture; great debt to the Great Sage who went up to the heavenly palace.He dissolved the three things and their ancient ill; one thought of refuge, and the good fruit spreads wide.Henceforth may it be as in the days of Yao and Shun: wind one day in five, rain one day in ten, plenty for ten thousand years.

One day a feast, two days a banquet; today in thanks, tomorrow in gratitude. They were held back near half a month, only waiting for the monastery and the living shrine to be finished. One day the prefect begged the four to come and see. Tripitaka Tang, amazed, said: "So vast a work—how was it finished so quickly?" The prefect said: "Your servant hurried on the workmen day and night without rest, and pressed it to completion, on purpose to invite you gentlemen to look." The Pilgrim laughed: "Truly a worthy and able prefect, a lover of the worthy." They all went to the new monastery at once, and saw the halls and towers lofty, the mountain gate grand, and praised without end. The Pilgrim begged the master to leave the monastery a name. Tripitaka said: "I have one: let it be called the Monastery of Universal Relief by Sweet Rain." The prefect applauded: "Very good, very good." He pasted up gold notices to gather monks widely, to serve the incense. On the left of the hall he raised the shrine of the four, with sacrifices in the four seasons of every year; and built temples too to the thunder gods and the dragon gods, to answer the divine work. When all was seen, he ordered them to hasten on.

The people of the whole prefecture, knowing they could not be held longer, made ready parting gifts, and not a copper would the four accept. So the officers and people of the whole prefecture set out drums and music in splendor, and unfurled banners and streamers, and saw them off some thirty li, still unable to bear the parting, wiping their eyes and gazing after them, and did not turn back till they were seen no more. And this was truly:

The god monk of towering virtue left behind Universal Relief;the Great Sage Equal to Heaven spread his graces wide.

How many days yet before they see the Tathagata? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

The Prefect of Fengxian Offends Heaven and Brings Drought; Sun the Great Sage Urges Goodness and Sends the Rain

The great Way is dark and deep — how does it stir and change? Spoken out plain, it startles ghosts and gods.It holds the universe within it and splits open the dark light; its true joy has no equal in the world.Before Vulture Peak the precious pearl is lifted up, shining out in five kinds of radiance,lighting all living beings above and below in heaven and earth; those who know it live as long as mountain and sea.

Now the Tang monk and his three disciples took leave of the woodcutter, came down Mist-Hidden Mountain, and made for the high road. After some days a city came in view. Tripitaka said: "Wukong, look — is that city ahead the land of India?" Pilgrim waved his hand: "No, no. Though the Tathagata's place is called the Land of Bliss, there is no walled city there — only a great mountain, and in the mountain towers, terraces, halls, and pavilions, called Vulture Peak, the Thunderclap Monastery. Even when you reach the land of India, that is still not where the Tathagata dwells; who knows how far the land of India itself lies from Vulture Peak. That city must be an outlying prefecture of India. We'll know for certain when we get to the edge of it."

Before long they were outside the city. Tripitaka dismounted, passed in through the three rings of gates, and saw the people's affairs desolate and the streets forlorn. Coming to the marketplace, they saw many people in black robes ranged on either side and several capped and belted men standing under the eaves. As the four walked along the street those people did not give way or make room. Zhu Bajie, a country fool, cupped his long snout in his hands and bawled: "Make way! Make way!" The people looked up in a flash, saw what he was, and every one went weak in the bones and numb in the sinews, stumbling and staggering, all crying: "A demon! A demon is coming!" The capped and belted men under the eaves, terrified, bowed and asked trembling: "From what quarter do you come?" Tripitaka, fearing his disciples would make trouble, pushed himself to the front and said to them all: "This humble monk was sent from the throne of Great Tang in the Land of the East to worship the Buddha at the Thunderclap Monastery in the land of India and seek the scriptures. Passing through your honored region, first we did not know the place's name, and second we had not yet found lodging, so we entered your city without the proper courtesies. I beg your pardons, gentlemen." The official then returned the salute and said: "This is an outlying prefecture of India called Fengxian. The drought has run for years on end, and the prefect sent us here to post this notice, seeking a master of the Law to pray for rain and save the people." Pilgrim said: "Where is your notice?" The officials said: "Here it is. We just swept clear the porch and eaves; it is not yet hung." Pilgrim said: "Hand it here for me to see." The officials spread the notice out and hung it under the eaves, and the four came up and read it together. It said:

The prefect of Fengxian Prefecture, Great India, surnamed Shangguan, posts this notice to engage a wise master and invite the great Law. Because this prefecture is broad and its soldiers and people were once prosperous, but year upon year the drought has scorched it, the fields of the people lie waste and the army lands are barren; the rivers run shallow and the ditches are empty. The wells have no water; the springs hold no moisture. The rich scrape by and keep themselves alive; the poor can hardly keep body and soul together. A peck of grain sells for a hundred gold; a bundle of firewood costs five taels. A ten-year-old girl is traded for three sheng of rice; a five-year-old boy is carried off by whoever will take him. In the city, for fear of the law, people pawn their clothes and goods to stay alive; in the country, defying the law, they rob and eat men to save their own lives. Therefore this notice is posted, looking up to the worthy and wise of the ten quarters, to pray for rain and rescue the people. The kindness shall be repaid heavily: one thousand gold offered in thanks, on my word and no empty promise. So stands the notice.

Pilgrim finished reading and said to the officials: "Who is the prefect Shangguan?" The officials said: "Shangguan is the surname — that is our prefect's family name." Pilgrim laughed: "That's a rare surname." Bajie said: "Brother, you never studied. At the end of the Hundred Family Surnames there is a line, 'Shangguan, Ouyang.'" Tripitaka said: "Disciples, no idle talk now. Whoever can pray for rain, let him pray down a sweet rain to ease the people's misery — that is a work of ten thousand goodnesses. If none of you can, we move on, and don't hold up the road." Pilgrim said: "What is hard about praying for rain? Your old Sun can overturn rivers and churn up seas, shift the Dipper and move the stars, kick heaven and dig wells, breathe out fog and spray clouds, carry mountains and chase the moon, summon rain and call the wind — which of those was not child's play in my young days? What is there to marvel at?"

Hearing this, the officials sent two men running into the prefecture to report: "My lord, joy beyond all telling has arrived!" The prefect was just then burning incense and praying silently. Hearing the joyful report, he asked: "What joy?" The official said: "Today we took the notice to the marketplace to post it, and at once four monks appeared, saying they were sent from Great Tang in the Land of the East to worship the Buddha at the Thunderclap Monastery in India — and the moment they saw the notice they said they could pray down sweet rain. I have come specially to tell you."

The prefect straightened his robes and came on foot, with no sedan, no horse, no crowd of attendants, straight to the marketplace, and with all courtesy pressed his invitation. Suddenly word came: "His lordship the prefect is here!" The crowd drew aside. The prefect, the moment he saw the Tang monk — not minding how ugly his disciples were — flung himself down in the middle of the street in worship and said: "Your servant is the prefect of Fengxian, of the family Shangguan. Bathed and purified I come to beg the master to pray for rain and save the people. I beg the master to show great mercy, work your divine skill, and rescue us, rescue us!" Tripitaka returned the courtesy and said: "This is no place for talk. When this humble monk reaches a temple or abbey, we can set about it properly." The prefect said: "Come with me to my humble yamen — there are clean quarters there."

So master and disciples led the horse, carried the load, and went straight to the yamen, where all were presented. The prefect ordered tea served and a vegetarian meal laid on, and before long the meal came. Bajie ate and swallowed without limit, like a starving tiger. The tray-bearers were scared out of their wits, running back and forth with more soup and more rice, like figures in a revolving lantern — hardly set down before it was snatched up, till he ate his full and stopped. When the meal was done the Tang monk gave thanks and asked: "Lord Prefect, how long has your region been in drought?" The prefect said:

"My humble land belongs to the great nation of India; this outlying prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal is under my care.Three years running the drought has struck; grass seed will not sprout and the five grains are gone.Households great and small cannot buy or sell; of every ten gates, nine are weeping.Two parts of every three have starved to death; the last part flickers like a candle in the wind.Your servant posted this notice seeking the worthy everywhere, and happily a true monk has come to our country.If he will drop but an inch of rain to relieve the common folk, I gladly offer a thousand gold to repay his great virtue!"

Pilgrim's face lit up with joy, and he laughed: "Say no more, say no more. If we speak of a thousand gold in thanks, then not half a drop of sweet rain. But if we speak of heaping up merit and virtue, old Sun will send you a good soaking rain." The prefect, it turned out, was very upright and worthy, with a deep love for his people. He asked Pilgrim to the seat of honor, bowed his head, and said: "If the master will truly show mercy, your servant will not dare fail in virtue." Pilgrim said: "No more talk — please rise. Just look after my master well while old Sun goes to work." Sha Monk said: "Brother, how do we go to work?" Pilgrim said: "You and Bajie come here, stand with me below this hall as my wings, while old Sun calls the dragon to bring the rain." Bajie and Sha Monk followed his orders, and the three stood below the hall. The prefect burned incense and bowed; Tripitaka sat chanting scripture.

Pilgrim spoke the true words and chanted the spell. At once a black cloud was seen in the due east, sinking slowly down before the hall — it was old Ao Guang, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. Ao Guang gathered in the feet of his cloud, took human form, came forward, bowed to Pilgrim, and said: "The Great Sage has summoned this little dragon — where do you want me used?" Pilgrim said: "Rise, please. I am sorry to bring you so far. There is nothing much. This is Fengxian Prefecture, in drought year after year. Tell me — why doesn't the rain come?" The old dragon said: "Let the Great Sage know: though I can bring rain, I am one whom Heaven sends and employs. If Heaven has not dispatched me, how dare I come here of my own will to rain?" Pilgrim said: "I passed this way, saw the long drought and the people's misery, and called you here specially to spread rain and bring relief. Why do you make excuses?" The Dragon King said: "Make excuses? When the Great Sage speaks the true words and calls, I dare not fail to come. But first, I have not received the sacred decree of Heaven; and second, I have not brought the rain-bringing god generals — how could I set the Rain Department moving? Since the Great Sage has a mind to rescue them, let this little dragon go back to the sea and muster his troops, and trouble the Great Sage to go to the Heavenly Palace, get the matter approved, and fetch a sacred decree for rain, with the Water Officer releasing the dragons — then I can rain the very amounts the decree names."

Seeing the dragon spoke reason, Pilgrim had no choice but to send the old dragon back to the sea. He sprang out of his stance and told the Tang monk the whole business with the Dragon King. The Tang monk said: "In that case, go and do it — and tell no lies." Pilgrim then told Bajie and Sha Monk: "Guard the master. I'm off to the Heavenly Palace." That great Sage! At the word "gone" he was gone, clean out of sight. The prefect's heart pounded: "Where has Lord Sun gone?" Bajie laughed: "Riding his cloud up to heaven." The prefect, full of reverence, sent swift word through the city: on every street and lane, lords and gentry and commoners, soldiers and people alike, every household was to set up a tablet to the Dragon King, place a vat of clear water at the gate, stand willow branches in the vat, serve incense, and bow to heaven. Of that no more.

Now Pilgrim turned one somersault cloud and went straight to outside the Western Gate of Heaven, where the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King was already coming to meet him with his heaven soldiers and strongmen: "Great Sage, is the scripture errand finished?" Pilgrim said: "Not far from it. We have reached the borders of India. There is an outlying prefecture called Fengxian. It has had no rain for three years and the people suffer bitterly, and old Sun wants to pray for rain and save them. I called the Dragon King there, but he said that without a decree he dared not do it on his own — so I have come to see the Jade Emperor and ask for the decree." The Heavenly King said: "Perhaps that place is not meant to have rain. I once heard it said: that prefect in his insolence offended heaven and earth, and the God on High took offense, and set up a mountain of rice, a mountain of flour, and a great golden lock — and only when these three things come to an end will the rain be due." Pilgrim did not know what this meant and asked to see the Jade Emperor. The king dared not bar him and let him in. At the Hall of Perfect Light the four great Heavenly Masters met him: "Great Sage, what brings you here?" Pilgrim said: "Guarding the Tang monk, I reached the borders of India, where Fengxian has no rain and the prefect has called for a master to pray for rain. Old Sun called up the Dragon King, meaning to order the rain, but he said that without the Jade Emperor's decree he dared not act — so I've come to ask for the decree, to ease the people's misery." The four Heavenly Masters said: "That place is not meant to have rain." Pilgrim laughed: "Meant or not meant, trouble yourselves to present my request, and let's see how much face old Sun carries." Immortal Ge said: "As the common saying goes: 'A fly in a head-net — what a big face to cover!'" Xu Jingyang said: "No jesting. Just take him in."

The four immortals — Qiu Hongji, Zhang Daoling, Ge, and Xu — led him to the foot of the Hall of Divine Mists and reported: "Your Majesty, Sun Wukong has reached Fengxian Prefecture in India on his road and wishes to pray for rain there; he has come specially for the decree." The Jade Emperor said: "That fellow, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month three years ago — I went out to oversee the ten thousand heavens and drift through the three realms. My carriage reached that region, and I saw that Shangguan, being without goodness, pushed over the vegetarian offerings set out to fast heaven and fed them to the dogs, uttering foul words — an offense against Heaven. So I set up three things in the Pi-Xiang Hall. Take Sun Wukong to look at them: if the three things come to an end, then issue him the decree; if not, let him keep his nose out of it."

The four Heavenly Masters led Pilgrim into the Pi-Xiang Hall. He saw a mountain of rice about ten zhang high and a mountain of flour about twenty zhang high. Beside the rice mountain was a chicken the size of a fist, pecking fast and slow, beakful by beakful, at the rice. Beside the flour mountain was a golden-haired lapdog, licking long tongue and short, lapful by lapful, at the flour. On the left hung an iron frame, and on the frame a golden lock a foot and three or four inches long, its shank as thick as a finger; below it burned a bright lamp, its flame licking at the lock's shank. Pilgrim did not know what it meant. He turned and asked the Heavenly Masters: "What is the meaning of this?" The Master said: "That fellow offended Heaven above, and the Jade Emperor set up these three things. Only when the chicken has pecked the rice to the last grain, the dog has licked the flour to the last dust, and the lamp flame has burned through the lock's shank — only then is the rain due there."

Hearing this, Pilgrim went pale with shock. He dared make no further plea, but walked out of the hall, shame written over his face. The four Heavenly Masters laughed: "Great Sage, don't fret. This matter can only be dissolved by doing good. If one thought of kindness stirs and startles Heaven above, the rice and flour mountains will topple at once and the lock's shank will break at once. Go and urge him back to goodness, and the blessing will come of itself." Pilgrim took the advice. Without going up to the Hall of Divine Mists to take leave of the Jade Emperor, he came straight down to the world of men. In a moment he was at the Western Gate of Heaven, where he again saw the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King. The king asked: "How went the request for the decree?" Pilgrim told the whole business of the rice mountain, the flour mountain, and the golden lock, and said: "Just as you said — they would not issue it. The Heavenly Masters just saw me out and told me to urge that fellow back to goodness — that is the root of the blessing." They parted, and he let his cloud down to the world below.

The prefect, with the Tang monk, Bajie, Sha Monk, and officials great and small, met him, crowding in to ask questions. Pilgrim barked at the prefect: "It's because you, sir, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month three years ago offended heaven and earth, that the common folk are in distress and the rain will not fall now." The prefect tumbled to his knees in fright: "Master, how do you know of things three years past?" Pilgrim said: "You pushed over the vegetarian offerings to heaven and fed them to the dogs. Tell it all, just as it was." The prefect dared not hide anything: "On the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month three years ago, the offerings to fast heaven were set out in my own yamen. Because my wife spoke unwisely and we quarreled with harsh words, in a flash of senseless rage I pushed over the offering table, spilled the vegetarian food, and truly did call the dogs to eat it. These two years the memory has sat on my heart; my mind has been foggy, and there was no place to put it right. I did not know Heaven above had taken offense and was visiting the harm on the common folk. Now that the master has come, I beg you, tell me plainly — how do those above mean to settle it?" Pilgrim said: "That very day was the day the Jade Emperor comes down among men. Seeing you feed the offerings to the dogs and hearing your foul words, the Jade Emperor set up three things against you." Bajie asked: "What three things?" Pilgrim said: "In the Pi-Xiang Hall stands a mountain of rice about ten zhang high, and a mountain of flour about twenty zhang high. Beside the rice mountain is a fist-sized little chicken, pecking fast and slow at the rice; beside the flour mountain a golden-haired lapdog, licking long and short at the flour. On the left is an iron frame, and on it hangs a great golden lock, its shank as thick as a finger. Under it burns a bright lamp, its flame licking at the shank. Only when the chicken has pecked the rice clean, the dog licked the flour clean, and the lamp burned through the shank will the rain be due here." Bajie laughed: "No problem, no problem. If you'll take me along, brother, I'll produce my magic body and wolf down all that rice and flour in one go, snap the lock's shank, and the rain is sure to follow." Pilgrim said: "Idiot, none of your nonsense. This is a device set by Heaven itself — how would you even see it?" The Tang monk said: "If it is as you say, what can be done?" Pilgrim said: "It's not hard, not hard. As I was leaving, the four Heavenly Masters told me: only doing good can dissolve it." The prefect bowed to the ground and pleaded: "Only let the master instruct me, and your servant will take refuge in it, point by point." Pilgrim said: "If you turn your heart to goodness, lose no time chanting the Buddha's name and reading the scriptures, I will still work for you. If you stay as you were and do not change, I cannot dissolve it either. Before long Heaven will destroy you, and your life cannot be kept."

The prefect knocked his head in worship and vowed to take refuge. At once he summoned the monks and priests of the place, opened a ritual ground, and had documents written out and sent up to report to the three heavens. The prefect led the crowd in taking incense and bowing, answering heaven and thanking earth, confessing his guilt and blaming himself. The Tang monk chanted scriptures for him too. Meanwhile swift word went out again, that in the city and beyond it, great houses and small, men and women alike, all must burn incense and chant the Buddha's name. From that moment a single sound of goodness filled the ears. Only then was Pilgrim pleased. He said to Bajie and Sha Monk: "You two guard the master well while old Sun goes there again." Bajie said: "Brother, where now?" Pilgrim said: "This prefect has taken old Sun's words to heart, truly accepted the teaching, shown reverence and kindness, and chants the Buddha's name with a true heart. This trip I'll memorialize the Jade Emperor again and beg down some rain." Sha Monk said: "If you're going, brother, no hesitating and no holding up our road. Come back with a full altar of rain, so that our true fruit may be won."

That great Sage again rode his cloud straight to the gate of heaven, where he met the Nation-Guarding Heavenly King again. The king asked: "What do you come for this time?" Pilgrim said: "That prefect has turned to goodness." The king was glad too. While they spoke, the Duty Talisman Envoy came in sight, bearing the Daoist documents and the Buddhist credentials, to deliver them outside the gate of heaven. Seeing Pilgrim, the envoy bowed: "This comes of the Great Sage's work in urging goodness." Pilgrim said: "Where do you carry these documents?" The envoy said: "Straight to the Hall of Perfect Light, for the Heavenly Masters to pass up before the Jade Emperor, Great Honor of Heaven." Pilgrim said: "Then you go first; I'll follow." The envoy went in through the gate of heaven. The Nation-Guarding Heavenly King said: "Great Sage, no need to see the Jade Emperor. Just go down to the Bureau of Responsive Origin of the Nine Heavens and borrow some thunder gods, and with your own thunder rolling and lightning flashing, the rain will follow at once."

Pilgrim truly took the advice. He went in through the gate of heaven, without going up to the Hall of Divine Mists to ask for a decree, but turned his cloud-steps straight to the Bureau of Responsive Origin of the Nine Heavens. The Thunder-Gate envoys, the masters of records and discipline, and the masters of inspection all came out to meet him, bowing: "Great Sage, what brings you?" Pilgrim said: "I have business with the Venerable One." The three envoys went in to announce him, and the Venerable One came down from behind the screen of nine phoenixes and red clouds, straightened his robes, and came out to greet him. When the courtesies were done, Pilgrim said: "I have one matter to beg of you." The Venerable One said: "What matter?" Pilgrim said: "Guarding the Tang monk I came to Fengxian, saw the depth of the drought, and have promised them rain. I come specially to borrow the officers and generals of your bureau to sound the thunder there." The Venerable One said: "I know that prefect offended Heaven above and three things were set up — but is the rain due or not?" Pilgrim laughed: "Yesterday I already saw the Jade Emperor and asked for the decree. He had the Heavenly Masters take me to the Pi-Xiang Hall to see the three things — a rice mountain, a flour mountain, a golden lock — and only when the three come to an end is the rain due. I fretted that they could hardly ever end, but the Heavenly Masters told me to urge the prefect and his people to do good, saying that when a man holds a thought of goodness, Heaven will surely follow it — so that Heaven's heart may be turned and the disaster dissolved. Now the thought of goodness has sprung up all at once, and the sound of goodness fills the ears. The Duty Talisman Envoy has just carried the documents of their changed conduct up to the Jade Emperor. So old Sun has come specially to your honorable bureau to borrow the officers of the Thunder Bureau to help, help." The Venerable One said: "Since it is so, I dispatch Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao to lead the Lightning Dame, to go down at once with the Great Sage and sound the thunder over Fengxian."

The four generals with the Great Sage were before long over Fengxian's borders and began their magic in mid-air. There came a rolling, crashing thunder, and a flashing, sputtering lightning. Truly:

Lightning darts like a purple-gold snake; thunder crashes and the hibernating creatures cry out.Blazing firelight flies; a thunderbolt splits the mountain caves.The lightning's bright fork lights the whole sky; the shock runs leaping through the ground.One flash of red fires the first sprouting — and ten thousand li of rivers and hills are shaken.

In Fengxian, in the city and beyond it, officials great and small, soldiers and people, had not heard thunder or lightning for three whole years. Today, hearing the thunder roll and seeing the lightning flash, they all knelt down together, some holding incense burners on their heads, some willow branches in their hands, all chanting: "Homage to Amitabha! Homage to Amitabha!" That sound of goodness truly stirred Heaven above. Just as the old poem says:

When a single thought is born in a man's heart, heaven and earth know it every whit.If good and evil went without reward, then heaven and earth would have their favorites.

To say no more of the Great Sage Sun directing the thunder generals, flashing lightning and rolling thunder over Fengxian while everyone turned to goodness. Now the Duty Talisman Envoy of the world above carried the documents of the monks and the priests to the Hall of Perfect Light, and the four Heavenly Masters passed them up to the Hall of Divine Mists. The Jade Emperor looked and said: "Since those people have thoughts of goodness, how stand the three things?" As he spoke, the officer who kept the Pi-Xiang Hall suddenly reported: "The rice and flour mountains that were set up have both toppled. In a moment the rice and the flour are gone, and the lock's shank is broken too." Before the report was done, the heavenly official in attendance led the local earth god, the city god, the altar spirits, and the other gods of Fengxian in to bow and report: "In this prefecture the lord and every household of the common people, great and small, throughout the city — there is not one house, not one person, that has not taken refuge in goodness, worshiping Buddha and honoring heaven. We now beg your descending mercy: spread the sweet rain everywhere, and bring relief to the people." The Jade Emperor heard and rejoiced greatly, and passed his decree at once: "Let the Wind Bureau, the Cloud Bureau, and the Rain Bureau each obey the order: go down below, to the borders of Fengxian, and this very day, this very hour, sound the thunder and spread the clouds, and rain down three chi and forty-two drops." The four great Heavenly Masters bore the decree out and passed it to each bureau, which went down to the world without delay, each displaying its divine might, all springing to life together.

Pilgrim was just then maneuvering in the sky with Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao and the Lightning Dame, when all the gods arrived and joined into one host. Then wind and cloud met and mingled, and the sweet rain came down in torrents. What a rain:

Thick clouds spreading vast; black mist hanging hazy.The thunder chariot rumbles and rolls; the lightning blazes and burns.The wild wind tumbles on; the sudden rain patters down.It is as they say: one thought turned Heaven's heart, and the hopes of ten thousand people were filled.All thanks to the Great Sage working his primal power — over ten thousand li of rivers and hills the shade lies everywhere.The good rain pours as if rivers and seas were tipped over, covering the fields and filling the sky.Before the eaves hang waterfalls; beyond the windows rings a tinkling.In ten thousand households and a thousand gates the people chant the Buddha's name; along the six streets and three markets the waters run full.The river channels east and west are brimming, every one; the streams and bends north and south run clear everywhere.Parched sprouts get their soaking; dead trees come back to life.In the fields the hemp and wheat flourish; in the villages the beans and grain fill the measures.Travelers gladly buy and sell along the roads; farmers love their weeding and plowing.From now on the millet grows tall and free; the sowing and reaping will naturally bring a full harvest.Winds in season, rains in season, the people at peace and glad; seas calm, rivers clear, they enjoy their great peace.

By the end of the day the rain had fallen its full three chi and forty-two drops, and the gods slowly began to gather it in. The Great Sage Sun called out in a stern, loud voice: "Gods of the four bureaus, hold your clouds a moment, while old Sun has the prefect come and bow in thanks to you all. Uncover the clouds and mist, each show your true form, and let these mortals see you with their own eyes — then they will believe and serve you." Hearing this, the gods could only halt in the sky.

Pilgrim let his cloud down and went straight into the prefecture, where the Tang monk, Bajie, and Sha Monk were already coming to meet him, and the prefect was coming to give thanks, bowing at every step. Pilgrim said: "Thank me not yet. I have held back the gods of the four bureaus. Send word and gather a crowd to bow in thanks together, so that they will be willing to send rain hereafter." The prefect at once sent swift word, gathered the people to share in the thanks, and one and all they took incense and bowed toward heaven. Then the gods of the four bureaus parted the clouds and mist, and each showed his true form. The four bureaus were the Rain Bureau, the Thunder Bureau, the Cloud Bureau, and the Wind Bureau. And this is what was seen:

The Dragon King shows his image; the thunder generals stretch their forms.The cloud boys appear; the Wind Elder lowers his true self.The Dragon King shows his image — silver whiskers, gray face, without equal in the world;the thunder generals stretch their forms — hooked beaks, awe-inspiring looks, truly past compare.The cloud boys appear — who matches their jade faces and golden caps?The Wind Elder lowers his true self — was ever such bristling brows and staring eyes?Together they stand revealed in the blue vault above; side by side each displays his holy figure.In Fengxian's borders the people at last believe: they bow their heads, take incense, and their wicked natures turn.Today they look up to the generals of heaven, wash their hearts, turn to goodness, and take refuge every one.

The gods waited a full watch while the people bowed on without end. Sun the Pilgrim rose again to the cloud tops, saluted them all, and said: "Our thanks, our thanks. Let each of you return to your own bureau. Old Sun will also have the households of this prefecture keep the high immortals in their worship, offering rites of thanks at the seasons. And you, gentlemen — from now on, a wind every five days, a rain every ten, and come again to succor them." The gods took his word and each returned to his bureau. Of that no more.

Now the Great Sage dropped his cloud and said to the Tang monk: "The work is done and the people are safe. We can pack up and walk." Hearing this, the prefect hurried to salute him: "Lord Sun, how can you say that? This whole affair is a kindness boundless and beyond measure. Your servant will send men to prepare a modest banquet in answer to your great kindness. I will also buy land among the people and build a monastery for you, my lords, and raise a shrine to you while you live, cut your names in stone, and offer sacrifice in all four seasons. Though I carved it on my bones and etched it in my heart I could not repay one ten-thousandth — and you speak of walking?" The Tang monk said: "Your lordship's words are fitting, but we are itinerant monks lodging here and there on the western roads, and dare not stay long. Within a day or two we shall certainly go." But the prefect would not let go. That very night he sent a crowd of men to prepare the feast and raise the shrine buildings.

The next day he laid a splendid feast, seating the Tang monk in the place of honor, with the Great Sage Sun and Bajie and Sha Monk ranged beside. The prefect, with the officials and officers of the prefecture great and small, raised cups and offered dishes, with soft flutes and soft drums, and entertained them a whole day. It was indeed a joyful occasion. There is a poem to prove it:

The fields long in drought met the sweet rain; the river roads are open for trade everywhere.Deep thanks to the holy monk who came to the prefecture's bounds; much owed to the Great Sage who rose to the Heavenly Palace.The three old evils are dissolved; one thought taken refuge has made the good fruit flourish.From now on, may it be as in the age of Yao and Shun: five winds and ten rains, abundance ten thousand years.

A feast one day, a banquet the next; thanks today, thanks tomorrow. They were held nearly half a month, waiting for the monastery and the living shrine to be finished. One day the prefect invited the four to come and see. The Tang monk was amazed: "So vast a work — how was it finished so quickly?" The prefect said: "Your servant pressed on the workmen day and night without rest and hurried it to completion, specially to invite your lordships to see." Pilgrim laughed: "A worthy and capable lord indeed!" They all went at once to the new monastery and saw the halls and terraces towering, the mountain gate stately, and praised it without end. Pilgrim asked the master to leave a name for the temple. The Tang monk said: "Yes — let it be called the Monastery of Sweet Rain for Universal Relief." The prefect exclaimed: "Very good, very good." With gold-posted bills he recruited monks far and wide to tend the incense. To the left of the hall he raised the shrine to the four while they lived, with sacrifices in all four seasons; and built temples besides to the thunder gods, the dragon gods, and the rest, to answer the gods' powers. The inspection done, he ordered the journey pressed on.

The people of the whole prefecture, knowing they could not be kept longer, each made ready parting gifts — not one copper would the four accept. So the officials and people of the whole prefecture brought out drums and music in full array, spread their banners wide, and escorted them some thirty li, still unable to bear the parting, wiping their eyes and watching them out of sight before turning back. And this was truly:

The monk of towering virtue left behind Universal Relief; the Great Sage Equal to Heaven spread his kindness wide.

How many days yet before they see the Tathagata, who can say? Listen to the next chapter to find out.