Chapter 98

The Ape Mellow and the Horse Tamed, at Last They Shed the Shell; Merit Complete and Practice Full, They Behold True Thusness

To tell how Squire Kou, restored to life, had the banners and drums made ready again, with monks and priests, kin and friends, to see them off as before—but no more of that.

Now the Tang monk’s four took the highroad, and truly this Buddha land of the west was unlike other places: they saw precious flowers and jadelike herbs, ancient cypresses and gray pines; in every place they passed, every family turned to the good, every household fed monks; now they met men cultivating on the mountains, now saw pilgrims in the woods reciting the scriptures.

Master and disciples slept at night and walked by day, six or seven days more, when suddenly they saw a stretch of high towers, stories of lofty pavilions. Truly:

A hundred feet they thrust at heaven, rearing into the empyrean. Bow your head to watch the setting sun; reach out your hand to pluck the flying stars. The wide-flung windows swallow the universe; the towering beams touch the clouds’ screen. When the crane’s letter comes, the autumn trees grow old; when the luan’s writ arrives, the evening wind is clear. This was the numinous palace, the treasured gate; the hall of jade, the court of pearls. In the true hall they discoursed on the Way; through the universe they handed on the scriptures. Flowers fairer as spring came on; pines greener after the rain. The purple zhi and immortal fruit bloomed year by year; the crimson phoenix danced in state, and ten thousand hearts found response.

Tripitaka raised his whip and pointed afar: “Wukong, what a place!” Pilgrim said: “Master—at that false realm, before those false images, you pressed hard to bow; now you have reached the true realm, the true images, and still you do not dismount—what is the meaning?” Tripitaka, hearing it, flung himself down in haste, and they were already at the gate of the tower. There a Daoist page stood aslant before the mountain gate, calling as they came: “Are those who come the scripture seekers of the Eastern Land?” The elder hastened to tidy his robes and looked up, and saw him:

Brocade robes on his body, a jade whisk in his hand. In brocade robes, he oft attends the feasts of the jeweled tower and the jasper pool; with the jade whisk, he ever sweeps the dust at the cinnabar terrace and the purple mansion. An immortal roll hangs at his elbow; shoes of trade upon his feet. A true feathered gentleman, floating and free—how fine and rare! Refined to long life, he dwells in the surpassing realm; practiced to everlasting years, he has cast off the dust. The holy monk knew not the guest of Vulture Peak—it was the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit of that year.

The Great Sage Sun knew him and called: “Master, this is the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit of the Jade True Abbey at the foot of Vulture Peak; he has come to meet us.” Only then did Tripitaka wake, and come forward to salute. The immortal laughed: “Holy monk, you are here only this year; the Bodhisattva Guanyin tricked me. Ten years ago she bore the Buddha’s golden decree to the Eastern Land to seek the scripture seeker, and said at first that two or three years would bring him to me. I have waited year after year with never a word—unexpectedly we meet only this year.” Tripitaka pressed his palms: “We are beholden to the immortal’s kindness—thanks, thanks.” Then the four, leading the horse and carrying the loads, entered the abbey with him, and were presented to him one by one. He ordered tea and the meal laid, and called the pages to boil perfumed water for the holy monk’s bath, that he might climb to the Buddha land in fitness. And this was it:

When merit is full and the work complete, bathing is due; the nature refined and tamed accords with heaven’s truth.A thousand hardships, ten thousand pains, now find their rest; the nine precepts and the three refuges make one new.The demons ended—truly one mounts the Buddha land; calamities dissolved—so one may see the gates of the Sangha.Dust washed and stain scoured, nothing left to sully; returned to the root, restored to the source, an indestructible body.

Master and disciples bathed; the sky darkened without their noticing, and they rested that night at the Jade True Abbey.

The next morning the Tang monk changed his clothes, put on the brocade cassock and the Vairocana cap, took the tin staff in hand, mounted the hall, and took leave of the immortal. The immortal laughed: “Yesterday in rags, today resplendent—looking at this appearance, truly a son of the Buddha.” Tripitaka bowed farewell and made to go. The immortal said: “Stay; let me see you off.” Pilgrim said: “No need; old Monkey knows the way.” The immortal said: “You know the way of the clouds, but the holy monk has not yet mounted the way of clouds; he must go by the proper road.” Pilgrim said: “That is well said. Though old Monkey has come this way several times, it was always cloud to cloud; I have never trodden this ground. Since there is a proper road, we beg you to see us on. My master’s heart is set on worshiping the Buddha—do not hesitate.” The immortal, smiling, took the Tang monk by the hand and led him in at the gateway of the law. This road, it seems, does not go out by the mountain gate: from the middle hall of the abbey, straight through the back door. The immortal pointed toward Vulture Peak: “Holy monk, look—midway in the sky, that five-colored auspicious light, those thousand layers of blessed haze: that is the high peak of the Vulture, the holy realm of the Buddha.” The Tang monk, seeing it, would have bowed. Pilgrim laughed: “Master, it is not yet time to bow. As the saying goes: ‘Gaze at a mountain, and it kills the horse that walks toward it.’ It is still a long way off; why bow now? If you bow your way to the top, how many knocks of the head will it take?” The immortal said: “Holy monk, with the Great Sage, the Marshal Tianpeng, and the Curtain-Raising General you have reached the blessed land; you look upon Vulture Peak, and I return.” Tripitaka bowed his thanks and went on.

The Great Sage led the Tang monk’s party, walking slowly on, and mounted Vulture Peak. Five or six li along, they saw a stretch of living water, roaring and tumbling in flying currents, some eight or nine li wide, without a trace of man on any side. Tripitaka’s heart quailed: “Wukong, we have come the wrong way—can the immortal have pointed us wrong? This water so broad, so raging, with neither boat nor oar—how are we to cross?” Pilgrim laughed: “Not wrong. See—is not that a great bridge on the other side? It is over that bridge you must walk, to win the true fruit.” Coming near, the elder and the others saw beside the bridge a tablet, on it the three characters “The Crossing of Soaring Clouds”; it was a bridge of one single log. Truly:

From far it spans the sky like a beam of jade; from near, it breaks the stream—one withered raft.To bridge a river or frame a sea is easy; but on a single log, a single beam, how shall a man set foot?A rainbow of ten thousand fathoms lies level in its shadow; a thousand fathoms of white silk reach to the sky’s edge.So slender, so slippery, it can scarce be crossed—none but immortals tread it, walking the colored clouds.

Tripitaka, heart quailing and gall trembling, said: “Wukong, this bridge is not for men; let us seek another way.” Pilgrim laughed: “This is the way, this is the way.” Bajie panicked: “This a way? Who dare walk it? The water is broad, the waves are rolling, and one single log, thin and slippery—how set foot on it?” Pilgrim said: “Stand aside, all of you, and let old Monkey walk it for you to see.”

Great Sage that he was, he strode out, leaped onto the single-log bridge, swaying this way and that, and in a moment ran across, and called from the far side: “Come over, come over.” The Tang monk waved his hands. Bajie and Sha Monk bit their fingers: “Hard, hard, hard.” Pilgrim ran back across, pulled Bajie: “Idiot, come with me, come with me.” Bajie flung himself on the ground: “Slippery, slippery, slippery—I cannot walk it. Spare me, and let me ride the wind and mist across.” Pilgrim held him down: “What place is this, that you should ride wind and mist? You must walk over this bridge, if you would become Buddha.” Bajie said: “Brother, never mind being Buddha—I truly cannot walk it.” The two of them tussled and pulled at the bridge’s edge in fun, until Sha Monk came to part them and their hands were loosed.

Tripitaka looked back, and suddenly saw, down the stream below, a man poling a boat, calling: “Aboard the ferry, aboard the ferry.” The elder rejoiced: “Disciples, leave off your fooling. There comes the ferryboat.” The three sprang up and stood fixed, watching with one eye; the boat came close—an old boat without a bottom. Pilgrim’s fire eyes and gold pupils knew long since it was the Guiding Buddha, also called the Homage to the King of the Light of the Jeweled Banner; but he said nothing of it, calling only: “This way—pole in close.” In a moment the boat was poled near the bank, and he called: “Aboard, aboard!” Tripitaka saw it and his heart quaked: “This broken boat without a bottom—how can it ferry a man?” The Buddha said: “My boat:

When the vast dark first divided, it already had its name; happily I pole it on, unchanged.With wave and wind it yet rides steady; without end, without beginning, it rejoices in high peace.Untouched by the six dusts, it can return to one; through ten thousand kalpas, at ease it travels on.The bottomless boat is hard put to cross the sea—yet now as of old it ferries all living beings.”

The Great Sage Sun pressed his palms and thanked him: “We thank your kindness, to receive and guide my master.—Master, aboard. The boat, bottomless though it is, rides steady; though wind and wave come, it will not overturn.” The elder was still full of doubt and dread; Pilgrim took him by the arm and gave him a push upward. The master could not keep his feet, tumbled headlong into the water, and was caught up in one hand by the boatman and set standing on the boat. The master was still shaking out his clothes and stamping his shoes, complaining of Pilgrim, when Pilgrim led Sha Monk and Bajie, leading the horse and carrying the loads, aboard too, and all stood on the deck. The Buddha, with gentle force, pushed off, and upstream a dead body came drifting down past them. The elder was greatly startled. Pilgrim laughed: “Master, do not fear. That was you.” Bajie said too: “It was you, it was you.” Sha Monk clapped his hands and said too: “It was you, it was you!” The boatman, keeping time with his boating cry, said too: “That was you—congratulations, congratulations.” And the three chimed in with one voice. Poling the boat, in a while they were carried safe and sound across the immortal crossing of Soaring Clouds. Only then did Tripitaka turn about and step lightly onto the farther shore. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The womb’s shroud and the body of flesh and bone cast off; dear and near to one another now, the primal spirits.Today, the work complete, at last one is a Buddha; washed clean the six-and-sixfold dusts of former years.

This was truly the boundless wisdom, the boundless law of landing on the other shore.

The four, ashore, looked back, and even the bottomless boat had gone they knew not where. Only then did Pilgrim say it was the Guiding Buddha. Only then did Tripitaka wake, and turning, bowed his thanks to his three disciples. Pilgrim said: “Let neither give thanks; each sustained the other. We owe it to our master’s deliverance that, borrowing this road, we perfected our merit and happily won the true fruit; and our master, for our guarding, upheld by the teaching and the upholding grace, happily shed his mortal womb. Master, look: this realm before us of flowers and grasses, pines and bamboo, of luan and phoenix, crane and deer—compared with the place where that demon showed its transformations—which is fair, which foul? Which good, which evil?” Tripitaka thanked him without end. Each felt his body light and his limbs quick, and they stepped up Vulture Peak, and soon beheld the ancient monastery of Thunderclap:

Its crown brushed the midst of the sky, its roots struck into the veins of Sumeru. Artful peaks in ranks, strange rocks uneven. Beneath the cliffs, jadelike herbs and precious flowers; by the winding paths, purple zhi and fragrant orchids. Immortal apes plucked fruit into the peach grove, like fire burning gold; white cranes perched on pines at the branch tips, like mist cradling jade. Colored phoenixes in pairs, blue luan in couples. Colored phoenixes in pairs—one cry toward the sun, and the world has its omen; blue luan in couples—dancing bright against the wind, rare in the world of men. Then, yellow-glittering, gold tiles were stacked like mandarin ducks; bright-flashing, flowered bricks were paved with agate. East a row, west a row, all the palace of the stamen, the gates of pearl; south a stretch, north a stretch, jeweled towers and treasured halls past seeing. On the Hall of the Heavenly Kings fell rosy light; before the Hall of the Guardians of the Law breathed purple flame. Pagoda towers stood revealed; the upalaka flowers breathed perfume. Truly, the ground so blessed one deemed it another heaven; the clouds so idle one felt the day grow long. The red dust cannot come; all karma is ended; through ten thousand kalpas the great hall of the law suffers no loss.

Master and disciples, free and easy, walked up to the crown of Vulture Peak, and there saw devout laymen ranked beneath the green pines, and the good and devout arrayed among the gray cypresses. The elder made as if to salute them, but the lay brothers and lay sisters, the monks and nuns, pressed their palms in haste: “Holy monk, hold your courtesy; wait till you have seen the Muni, then come back and talk.” Pilgrim laughed: “Early days, early days—first go bow to the one above.”

The elder, hands dancing and feet stamping for joy, followed Pilgrim straight to outside the mountain gate of Thunderclap Monastery. The Four Great Vajras met them: “Is it the holy monk come?” Tripitaka bowed: “It is; your disciple Xuanzang has arrived.” That said, he made to enter. The vajras said: “Holy monk, wait a moment; let us report, then enter.” One vajra went round by the mountain gate to report to the four great vajras at the second gate that the Tang monk had come; the second gate passed the word to the third, that the Tang monk had come. Within the three gates were the holy monks who kept the offerings, who at word of the Tang monk’s coming hastened below the Great Hero Hall and reported to the World-Honored Tathagata, the Buddha Sakyamuni: “The holy monk of the Tang has come to the precious mountain, to seek the scriptures.” The Buddha greatly rejoiced, and summoned the eight bodhisattvas, the four vajras, the five hundred arhats, the three thousand revealers, the eleven great luminaries, the eighteen monastery guardians, and ranged them in two rows; then the golden decree went out to summon the Tang monk in. Within, story by story, step by step, in obedience to the Buddha’s decree, they called: “Holy monk, enter.” This Tang monk, in all rule and measure, with Wukong, Wuneng, and Wujing, leading the horse and carrying the loads, entered straight through the mountain gate. Truly:

That year he roused his will and took the sovereign’s charge; bearing the rescript, he left the king, stepping down the jade stairs.At gray dawn he climbed the mountains, meeting mist and dew; at yellow dusk he pillowed on stones and slept in cloud and haze.Bearing the quiet of Zen, he walked three thousand waters far; his flying staff long traveled cliffs of ten thousand li.Thought upon thought, in his heart, he sought the true fruit; today at last he looks upon the Tathagata.

The four came before the Great Hero Precious Hall and bowed their bodies to the ground before the Tathagata. When the bows were done they bowed again to left and right; the three circuits made, they knelt long before the Buddha and presented the rescript of passage. The Tathagata read it through and handed it back to Tripitaka. Tripitaka bowed his head to the ground and said: “Your disciple Xuanzang, by decree of the emperor of the great Tang of the Eastern Land, has come far to this precious mountain to beg the true scriptures, that he may succor living beings. I pray the Buddha’s grace to bestow them early, that I may return to my country.” The Tathagata then opened his mouth of pity, and greatly stirred his heart of mercy, and said to Tripitaka: “That Eastern Land of yours is the southern continent of Jambudvipa. Because heaven is high and earth is deep, things abound and men are many: much greed, much killing; much lust, much lying; much cheating, much deceit. They keep not the Buddha’s teaching; they turn not to good karma; they revere not the three lights; they honor not the five grains; they are not loyal, not filial, not just, not benevolent; they darken heart and blind conscience, use great measures and small weights, take life and slay beasts—forming sins boundless, till guilt is heaped and evil full, and the calamity of hell comes upon them. So they sink forever into the dark, enduring the torments of the pestle and the mill, and are changed into beasts—those many forms of pelts and horns, paying debt with their bodies, feeding men with their flesh. As for those who sink forever into Avici and may not rise, it is all for these causes. Though Confucius set up there the teaching of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, and emperors followed one another, ruling with the penalties of exile, servitude, strangling, and beheading—what can they do against the stupid and unenlightened, the wild and unrestrained! I have now scriptures in three stores that can lift from anguish and absolve from guilt. Three stores: one store of laws, that discourses on heaven; one store of treatises, that discourses on earth; one store of sutras, that delivers ghosts. In all thirty-five divisions, amounting to fifteen thousand one hundred forty-four fascicles. Truly the path of cultivating truth, the gate of perfect goodness. In them is everything of the four great continents under heaven—the patterns of the heavens, the lay of the lands, men and their affairs, birds and beasts, flowers and trees, vessels and usages. You have come from far; I would fain give you all to take away. But the people of that quarter are dull and rude, and slander the true words, not knowing the hidden purport of my Sangha.” He called: “Ananda, Kasyapa, you two lead the four of them below the Precious Tower; first set a meal before them. When they have eaten, open the jeweled pavilion, and out of my three stores of scriptures, within the thirty-five divisions, pick several fascicles of each to give them, that they may hand them down in the Eastern Land, and your mighty grace be recorded forever.”

The two venerable ones bore the Buddha’s decree and led the four below the tower, past endless arrays of rare treasures past seeing. There the gods who kept the offerings had spread the tables of the fast—all of immortal stuff, immortal dishes, immortal tea, immortal fruit, a hundred rare tastes, unlike the common world. Master and disciples bowed in thanks for the Buddha’s grace, and enjoyed them freely. Truly:

Jeweled flames and golden light dazzled the eye; strange fragrances, rare fare, more exquisite still.Stories on stories of golden towers, beauty without end; a wash of immortal music entered the ear, clear.The vegetarian tastes and immortal flowers are seldom seen by men; the fragrant teas, the unearthly foods grant long life.Having borne a thousand bitternesses till now, today, in glory and joy, the Way is won.

This was heaven’s luck for Bajie and gain for Sha Monk: at the Buddha’s, food of true long life that changes womb and bone, and they were suffered to enjoy it freely. The two venerable ones attended the four through the meal, then went into the jeweled pavilion, opened the doors and went up to look. There the rosy light and auspicious vapor hung in a thousand layers; colored mists and blessed clouds streamed in ten thousand rays. On the sutra cases, outside the precious chests, red labels were pasted, in regular script the names of the volumes. They were:

The Nirvana Sutra, one set: 748 fasciclesThe Bodhisattva Sutra, one set: 1,021 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treasury of Space, one set: 400 fasciclesThe Shurangama Sutra, one set: 110 fasciclesThe Great Collection of the Sutra of Grace and Meaning, one set: 50 fasciclesThe Sutra of Determination, one set: 140 fasciclesThe Treasury Sutra, one set: 45 fasciclesThe Avatamsaka Sutra, one set: 500 fasciclesThe Sutra of Homage to True Thusness, one set: 90 fasciclesThe Great Prajna Sutra, one set: 916 fasciclesThe Sutra of Light, one set: 300 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Never-Before-Seen, one set: 1,110 fasciclesThe Vimalakirti Sutra, one set: 170 fasciclesThe Separate Sutra of the Three Treatises, one set: 270 fasciclesThe Diamond Sutra, one set: 100 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treatise on the True Law, one set: 120 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Buddha’s Deeds, one set: 800 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Five Dragons, one set: 32 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Bodhisattva Precepts, one set: 116 fasciclesThe Great Collection Sutra, one set: 130 fasciclesThe Makara Sutra, one set: 350 fasciclesThe Lotus Sutra, one set: 100 fasciclesThe Yoga Sutra, one set: 100 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Everlasting Treasure, one set: 220 fasciclesThe Treatise Sutra of the Western Heaven, one set: 130 fasciclesThe Samghika Sutra, one set: 157 fasciclesThe Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha Lands, one set: 1,950 fasciclesThe Awakening of Faith Sutra, one set: 1,000 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Perfection of Great Wisdom, one set: 1,080 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treasure’s Might, one set: 1,280 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Original Pavilion, one set: 850 fasciclesThe Sutra of the True Vinaya Texts, one set: 200 fasciclesThe Great Peacock Sutra, one set: 220 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treatise on Consciousness Only, one set: 100 fasciclesThe Kosha Treatise Sutra, one set: 200 fascicles

Ananda and Kasyapa, having shown the Tang monk all the sutra names, said to him: “Holy monk, come thus far from the Eastern Land—what gift have you for us? Bring it out quickly, that we may hand over the sutras.” Tripitaka said: “Your disciple Xuanzang has come a far road and prepared no gift.” The two venerable ones laughed: “Good, good, good! To hand down the scriptures empty-handed to the generations—descendants will starve.” Pilgrim, seeing them quibble and shuffle and refuse to give the scriptures, could not contain himself and cried: “Master, we will go complain to the Tathagata, and have him bring the scriptures to old Monkey himself.” Ananda said: “No bawling! What place is this, to run wild and play the rogue? Come over here and take the scriptures.” Bajie and Sha Monk curbed their tempers, quieted Pilgrim, and turned to take them, volume by volume packed into the bundles, loaded on the horse, with two more loads bound up for Bajie and Sha Monk to carry; then they came before the precious seat, knocked their heads, thanked the Tathagata, and went straight out the gate. Meeting a Buddha, they bowed twice; seeing a bodhisattva, bowed twice; at the great gate they bowed to the monks and nuns, the lay sisters and lay brothers, took leave of each, and went down the mountain on their way—but no more of that.

Now in the jeweled pavilion sat the Ancient Buddha Dipankara. He had been listening in secret on the tower to the handing over of the scriptures, and understood it well: Ananda and Kasyapa were handing over the wordless scriptures. He laughed to himself: “The monks of the Eastern Land are dull and do not know the wordless scriptures—will they not have wasted the holy monk’s long toil?” He asked: “Who is in attendance?” And the Venerable White Hero stepped forth. The Ancient Buddha charged him: “Summon up your divine might, outfly the stars to overtake the Tang monk, seize those wordless scriptures, and make them come again to seek the true scriptures with words.” The Venerable White Hero rode a wild wind at once, rolled out beyond the mountain gate of Thunderclap, and put forth his divine might. That gust of wind—truly:

A champion before the Buddha, not to be matched with the wind god of the southeast; a raging at heaven’s apertures, far surpassing the bluster of the maiden. At this blast the fish and dragons lost their dens, and rivers and seas heaved against the waves. The dark apes, fruits in their arms, could not come to offer; the yellow cranes turned on the clouds to seek their old nests. The crimson phoenix’s clear note rang no longer sweet; the brocade cock’s crow turned harsh and clamorous. Green pine boughs snapped; upalaka flowers drifted. Bamboo canes fell pole on pole; golden lotus blossoms swayed bloom on bloom. The bell’s note was carried three thousand li away; the sutra chant flew light above ten thousand valleys. Beneath the cliffs the strange flowers lost their beauty; by the roadside the jadelike herbs bowed their fresh shoots. The colored luan could hardly spread its wings; the white deer hid in the cliffs. A drifting strange fragrance flooded the universe; a clean, clear wind pierced the empyrean.

The elder Tang was on the way when he suddenly smelled the rolling wind of fragrance, and took it for the auspicious omen of the Buddha, and was off his guard. Then he heard a crack, and out of mid-air a hand reached down and lightly snatched away the scriptures the horse carried. Tripitaka beat his breast and cried out; Bajie rolled along the ground in pursuit; Sha Monk guarded the loads; Sun Pilgrim flew in chase as if on wings. The Venerable White Hero, seeing Pilgrim’s chase drawing near, and fearing his staff’s head had no eyes and might in a moment, not telling good from bad, wound his body, crushed the scripture packets in his grip and flung them down into the dust. Pilgrim, seeing the packets burst and scattering on the fragrant wind, pressed down his cloud head and looked to the scriptures, pursuing no farther. The Venerable White Hero gathered his wind, folded his mists, and returned to report to the Ancient Buddha—but no more of that.

Bajie had chased, and seeing the volumes fallen, gathered them with Pilgrim, carried them on their backs, and came to the Tang monk, who wept from full eyes: “Disciples—even in this world of perfect bliss there are cruel demons to bully and hurt us.” Sha Monk took the scattered volumes he had embraced and opened one: it was white as snow, without one character. He handed it in haste to Tripitaka: “Master, this roll has no words.” Pilgrim opened another: no words. Bajie opened another: no words. Tripitaka said: “Open them all and look.” Every roll was blank paper. The elder sighed long and deep: “The men of the Eastern Land are indeed luckless. Wordless empty books like these—of what use to take them? How dare we face the Tang king? The guilt of beguiling the sovereign admits no death.” Pilgrim had known it long ago, and said to him: “Master, say no more. This is Ananda and Kasyapa demanding a gift of us; getting none, they gave us these blank paper books. Back quickly and complain before the Tathagata—ask him to punish their extortion and cheating.” Bajie shouted: “Right, right—let us go complain.” The four turned back up the mountain with no good grace, in a hurry climbing again to Thunderclap.

In no time they were outside the mountain gate; all greeted them with folded hands, laughing: “Holy monk, come to exchange your scriptures?” Tripitaka nodded his thanks. The vajras did not bar them, but let them in, straight to before the Great Hero Hall. Pilgrim shouted: “Tathagata! We master and disciples have borne ten thousand stings and a thousand demons, a thousand hardships and ten thousand pains, from the Eastern Land bowing our way here. By your command the scriptures were to be given; but Ananda and Kasyapa, cheated of their bribe, conspired in the trick and deliberately gave us wordless books of blank paper to carry away. Of what use to us? We beg the Tathagata to punish them.” The Buddha laughed: “Do not shout. That those two asked a gift of you, I know. But the scriptures may not be handed over lightly, nor taken for nothing. Once, when the venerable monks went down the mountain, they recited these scriptures through in the house of Squire Zhao of Sravasti, keeping his living safe and delivering his dead, and asked and received only three pecks and three pints of gold in grains of rice. I said they had sold too cheap, and left their children’s children without money to spend. You come empty-handed to take them, and so were handed blank books. The blank books are the true wordless scriptures—and good ones too. But the living beings of your Eastern Land are dull and unawakened, and only the written ones can be given them.” He called: “Ananda, Kasyapa: quickly take the true scriptures with words, pick several fascicles of each division, give them, and come report the count.”

The two venerable ones led the four again below the Precious Tower, and again asked the Tang monk for a gift. Having nothing to offer, Tripitaka had Sha Monk take out the purple-gold alms bowl and presented it with both hands: “Your disciple is truly poor and the road long, and prepared no gift. This bowl was bestowed by the Tang king’s own hand, for your disciple to beg his meals along the road. I present it now as a poor token of my heart. I beg you, venerable ones, receive it; when I return to court I will memorialize the Tang king, and there will be rich thanks. Only let the true scriptures with words be bestowed, that the intent of the imperial mission and the toil of the far journey be not made void.” Ananda took it with a faint smile. The porters who kept the Precious Tower, the cooks of the kitchen, the venerable ones who watched the pavilion—one wiped his face, another slapped his back, one snapped his fingers, another curled his lip, each saying with a laugh: “Shame, shame—to squeeze a gift for handing over the scriptures.” In a moment their faces were wrinkled with shame, but still they gripped the bowl and would not let go. Kasyapa then went into the pavilion, picked out the scriptures, and checked them over one by one to Tripitaka. Tripitaka said: “Disciples, look carefully at every one, as you did not before.” The three took a roll and looked at a roll, and all had words. They were given five thousand forty-eight volumes—the count of one store. All packed in order and loaded on the horse; the remainder filled another load for Bajie; their own baggage Sha Monk carried. Pilgrim led the horse, the Tang monk took the tin staff, straightened the Vairocana cap, shook out the brocade cassock, and came glad at heart before our Buddha the Tathagata. And this was it:

The true scriptures of the great store taste sweet; the Tathagata wrought them with such care.Well may one know the bitterness of Xuanzang’s climbing of the mountain—and laugh that Ananda so loved money.The first time, through no examining, the Ancient Buddha made up the loss; the second time, with the true ones, all was well.To this day, in triumph, they are handed down in the Eastern Land, and the multitude all share the rain and dew.

Ananda and Kasyapa led the Tang monk in to the Tathagata. The Tathagata mounted high on the lotus seat and ordered the two great arhats Taming the Dragon and Taming the Tiger to strike the cloud chime, and invite all the three thousand Buddhas, the three thousand revealers, the eight vajras, the four bodhisattvas, the five hundred arhats, the eight hundred monks, the hosts of devout laymen, the monks and nuns and lay sisters, from every heaven and every grotto, from blessed lands and numinous mountains, the reverent ones and holy monks great and small: those who should sit were asked to the precious seats, those who should stand to stand in attendance on either side. In a moment heavenly music was heard from afar, immortal notes ringing clear; auspicious light folded on folded filled the air, and blessed vapor lay deep on deep; the Buddhas all assembled and paid their respects to the Tathagata. The Tathagata asked: “Ananda, Kasyapa, how many volumes of scripture did you give him? Report the count, one by one.” The two venerable ones opened their ledger: “Now given to the Tang:

The Nirvana Sutra: 400 fasciclesThe Bodhisattva Sutra: 360 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treasury of Space: 20 fasciclesThe Shurangama Sutra: 30 fasciclesThe Great Collection of the Sutra of Grace and Meaning: 40 fasciclesThe Sutra of Determination: 40 fasciclesThe Treasury Sutra: 20 fasciclesThe Avatamsaka Sutra: 81 fasciclesThe Sutra of Homage to True Thusness: 30 fasciclesThe Great Prajna Sutra: 600 fasciclesThe Sutra of Great Light: 50 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Never-Before-Seen: 550 fasciclesThe Vimalakirti Sutra: 30 fasciclesThe Separate Sutra of the Three Treatises: 42 fasciclesThe Diamond Sutra: 1 fascicleThe Sutra of the Treatise on the True Law: 20 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Buddha’s Deeds: 116 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Five Dragons: 20 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Bodhisattva Precepts: 60 fasciclesThe Great Collection Sutra: 30 fasciclesThe Makara Sutra: 140 fasciclesThe Lotus Sutra: 10 fasciclesThe Yoga Sutra: 30 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Everlasting Treasure: 170 fasciclesThe Treatise Sutra of the Western Heaven: 30 fasciclesThe Samghika Sutra: 110 fasciclesThe Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha Lands: 1,638 fasciclesThe Awakening of Faith Sutra: 50 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Perfection of Great Wisdom: 90 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treasure’s Might: 140 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Original Pavilion: 56 fasciclesThe Sutra of the True Vinaya Texts: 10 fasciclesThe Great Peacock Sutra: 14 fasciclesThe Sutra of the Treatise on Consciousness Only: 10 fasciclesThe Kosha Treatise Sutra: 10 fascicles

In the stores the scriptures are thirty-five divisions in all; from each division there were picked five thousand forty-eight volumes, for the holy monk of the Eastern Land to hand down and keep in the Tang. They are now all packed and made fast, on the horse’s back and on men’s shoulders, awaiting only the thanks for grace.”

Tripitaka’s four tied the horse and set down the loads, and one and all pressed their palms and bowed toward the throne. The Tathagata said to the Tang monk: “The merit of these scriptures cannot be weighed. Though they are the mirror of my school, they are in truth the wellspring of the three teachings. When you come to that southern continent of Jambudvipa of yours, show them to all living beings, but not lightly: not without bathing and fasting may the covers be opened. Prize them, honor them. For within them is the hidden subtlety that wins immortality and completes the Way, the wondrous recipes that open up the myriad transformations.” Tripitaka knocked his head and thanked him for the grace, received and kept and practiced it, bowed to the Buddha three times around as before, and with reverent and single heart took up the scriptures and went. At the three gates he thanked the holy ones each again—but no more of that.

The Tathagata, having dispatched the Tang monk, then dismissed the assembly of the giving of the scriptures. At his side the Bodhisattva Guanyin stepped forth, pressed her palms, and addressed the Buddha: “Your disciple, bearing the golden decree, went to the Eastern Land to seek the man for the scriptures; the work is now done. The whole is fourteen years, five thousand and forty days—eight days yet wanting to fill the count of the store. I pray our World-Honored One to send the holy monk back east and then on west within eight days, that the store’s count be complete, and permit your disciple to hand back the golden decree.” The Tathagata rejoiced greatly: “What you say is right; the golden decree may be handed back.” He called the eight great vajras and charged them: “Use your divine might swiftly, bear the holy monk back east, leave the true scriptures behind, and bring the holy monk back west. Within eight days it must be, to complete the count of the store—no lingering, no default.” The vajras overtook the Tang monk at once, calling: “Scripture seekers, follow us.” The Tang monk’s party, light of body and strong of limb, drifting and floating, rose on the cloud behind the vajras. And this was it:

The nature seen, the mind illumined, they have audience of the Buddha; the work complete, the practice full, they soar aloft.

But how would they teach and hand down the scriptures when they reached the Eastern Land? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

When the Monkey Is Disciplined and the Horse Tamed, the Body Falls Away; With the Journey Complete, They See the Tathagata

Back from the dead, Lord Kou again gathered banners, music, monks, Daoists, relatives, and friends to see the travelers off.

The four continued on the main road. The Buddha's western land truly differed from other places. They saw fine flowers, rare grasses, and old pines and cypresses. Every household did good deeds and fed monks. People practiced beneath the mountains, and travelers recited scriptures among the trees.

They traveled by day and slept by night. After six or seven days they saw a line of tall buildings and many-story pavilions:

They rose hundreds of feet into the sky. From their heights one could look down on the setting sun and reach for the stars. Open windows seemed to take in the whole world, and high roofs touched the clouds. News from yellow cranes reached old autumn trees; messages from colorful birds arrived on the cool evening wind. These were magnificent halls and jeweled courtyards, with places for discussing the Way and teaching scripture. Spring flowers were beautiful, and pines grew green after rain. Purple mushrooms and immortal fruit ripened every year; red phoenixes flew above, a sign of the place's power.

Tripitaka pointed with his whip. “What a wonderful place, Wukong!” Pilgrim said, “You were eager to bow before false Buddhas in false places. Now you've reached the real place and haven't even dismounted!” Tripitaka leaped from his horse as they reached the gate. A young Daoist stood there. “Are you the scripture seekers from the east?” he asked. Tripitaka straightened his clothes and looked up:

He wore fine clothes and carried a jade-handled whisk. He often attended feasts in splendid immortal palaces and swept his whisk in the purple halls of heaven. An immortal register hung from his arm, and he wore sandals. His face was beautiful and his bearing light. Having cultivated long life, he lived beyond the dust of the world. The holy monk did not recognize the visitor to Vulture Peak: he was the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit.

Pilgrim recognized him. “Master, this is the Great Immortal of the Golden Summit from the Jade Truth Monastery below Vulture Peak. He's here to welcome us.” Tripitaka greeted him. The immortal laughed. “You holy monks have only just arrived! Guanyin misled me. Ten years ago, when she went east on the Buddha's order to find a scripture seeker, she said you'd arrive in two or three years. I've waited year after year without news. At last we meet.” Tripitaka thanked him for his patience. They led the horse and carried the bags into his monastery. He had tea and a meal prepared and ordered a young attendant to heat fragrant bathwater for the monks before they entered the Buddha's land. Truly:

With their journey and work complete, they should bathe; their disciplined nature can return to its original state.Their thousand hardships end today; following the precepts and taking refuge, they begin anew.With the monsters defeated, they can enter the Buddha's land; with disaster behind them, they meet the monks.They wash away dust and dirt and remain unstained; returning to their source, their bodies can no longer be harmed.

After bathing, the travelers found evening had come and rested at Jade Truth Monastery.

In the morning Tripitaka changed clothes, put on his embroidered robe and Vairocana hat, took up his staff, and went to say goodbye. “Yesterday you were ragged,” the immortal said. “Today you look like a true Buddhist.” Tripitaka bowed and made to leave. “Wait, I'll take you there.” Pilgrim said he knew the way, but the immortal answered, “You know the route through the clouds. Your master cannot take that yet. He needs the road on the ground.” “You're right,” Pilgrim said. “I've flown here but never set foot on this land. Please show us the path. Master's eager to see the Buddha.” The immortal took Tripitaka by the hand and led him toward the teaching at Vulture Peak. The path ran through the monastery's central hall and out the back gate. He pointed ahead. “See the five-colored light and layers of bright cloud? That is Vulture Peak, the Buddha's home.” Tripitaka bowed at the sight. “Not yet, Master,” Pilgrim laughed. “As they say, a mountain can look close and still tire out a horse. Will you bow every step until we get there?” “You four are in the blessed land now,” the immortal said. “I can return.” Tripitaka thanked him and they parted.

Led by Pilgrim, they walked slowly up Vulture Peak. After five or six li they came to a rushing river eight or nine li wide, with no one around. “Wukong, have we taken the wrong road? Could the immortal have directed us badly? There's no boat to cross this huge river.” “The road is right,” Pilgrim replied. “See the bridge across it? We have to cross there to finish our journey.” As they drew closer, they read a sign: “Cloud-Reaching Crossing.” The bridge was a single narrow log:

Seen from far away, it was a jade beam across the sky; close up, it was a dry trunk over the water.Building a bridge over a river or sea is easy enough, but how can one step onto a single beam?Its shadow lay like a vast rainbow; white water stretched toward the horizon.It was so narrow and slippery that only immortals walking on clouds could cross it.

Shaking with fear, Tripitaka said, “No human can walk on this. Let's find another path.” “This is the path,” Pilgrim replied. “Who dares take it?” Bajie asked. “The river's wide and the waves are strong. That one log is thin and slippery.” “Watch me walk across,” Pilgrim said.

The Great Sage sprang onto the bridge and ran across, swaying as he went. He called to them from the far bank. Tripitaka shook his head; Bajie and Sha Monk said it was too hard. Pilgrim ran back and took Bajie by the arm. “Follow me.” Bajie lay on the ground. “It's too slippery! Let me fly across on the wind.” Pilgrim held him down. “You can't fly here. You must walk this bridge to become a Buddha.” “Then I won't become a Buddha,” Bajie said. They tugged at each other until Sha Monk separated them.

Tripitaka saw a man steering a boat toward them downstream. “Come aboard!” the boatman called. Delighted, Tripitaka told the disciples a ferry was coming. When it drew close, they saw it had no bottom. Pilgrim's fiery eyes recognized the Boatman Buddha, also known as the Precious Banner Light King Buddha, but he said nothing. “Bring it here!” he called. Tripitaka hesitated. “How can that broken, bottomless boat carry us?” The boatman answered:

“My boat has been famous since heaven and earth first divided; I've steered it unchanged since then.In wind and waves it remains steady, bringing peace without beginning or end.Untouched by the six kinds of worldly desire, it carries all to unity; for countless ages it has sailed freely.Though bottomless, it has carried living beings across the sea from ancient times until today.”

Pilgrim joined his palms. “Thank you for taking our master across. Get on, Master. Bottomless or not, this boat won't overturn in a storm.” Tripitaka still hesitated, so Pilgrim pushed him. He fell into the water, but the boatman pulled him aboard. While Tripitaka shook out his clothes, stamped the water from his shoes, and complained, the other disciples brought the horse and baggage onto the boat. The boatman pushed off. A dead body floated down from upstream. Tripitaka was frightened. “Don't worry, Master,” Pilgrim said. “That was you.” “Yes, you,” said Bajie, and Sha Monk clapped his hands and agreed. The boatman called, “That's you. Congratulations!” Everyone repeated it. Soon they had safely crossed Cloud-Reaching Crossing. Tripitaka stepped lightly onto the far shore. A poem explains:

He has shed the flesh and bones born from the womb; what remains is his true spirit.Today his journey ends and he becomes a Buddha, cleansed of the dust of all six senses.

This was the great wisdom of reaching the other shore.

When they turned back, the bottomless boat had disappeared. Pilgrim revealed who the boatman had been. Tripitaka understood and thanked his three disciples. “None of us needs to thank the others,” Pilgrim said. “We helped one another. Following your path, we trained and gained our reward. With our protection, you've shed your mortal body. Look at the flowers, grasses, pines, bamboo, birds, cranes, and deer here. How does this compare with the places where monsters deceived you?” Tripitaka thanked them, and all four climbed Vulture Peak feeling light and refreshed. The old Thunderclap Monastery came into view:

Its summit reached the sky, its roots joined Mount Sumeru. Peaks stood in fine ranks, with unusual rocks between them. Rare flowers and plants grew beneath the cliffs, purple mushrooms and fragrant herbs beside winding paths. Immortal monkeys picked fruit among peach trees, bright as gold in flames; white cranes perched on pines, like jade held by mist. Phoenixes and blue mythical birds flew in pairs. A single phoenix call promised peace to the world; the blue birds danced in the wind. Golden roof tiles shone, and bright patterned bricks paved the courts. Jeweled palaces and towers stretched east, west, north, and south. Colored light streamed from the Heavenly Kings' hall; purple light burned before the guardian spirits' hall. Pagodas rose, and flowers scented the air. The land seemed separate from heaven, with peaceful clouds and long days. Here, far from worldly dust, every attachment was ended, and the great teaching hall would last for countless ages.

They reached the summit. Lay devotees stood beneath green pines, and other worshipers gathered among the cypresses. Tripitaka bowed to them, but the men and women lay devotees, monks, and nuns joined their palms. “Wait until you've met the Buddha to greet us.” Pilgrim laughed. “It's too early to stop. Go and bow to the one above them.”

Tripitaka followed Pilgrim to the monastery gate, where four guardian gods met them. “Have the holy monks arrived?” “Yes, I'm Xuanzang,” Tripitaka said, bowing. He tried to enter, but they asked him to wait while they announced him. One guardian told four others at the second gate, who passed the message to the third gate. There, a holy monk hurried into the Great Hero Hall and reported to the Tathagata Buddha Shakyamuni that the Tang holy monk had come for the scriptures. Delighted, the Buddha assembled eight bodhisattvas, four guardian gods, five hundred arhats, three thousand guardians, eleven great heavenly lights, and eighteen temple guardians in two rows. He ordered Tripitaka admitted. At each gate the summons was passed along. Tripitaka followed the proper forms, entering with Wukong, Wuneng, and Wujing, their horse and baggage. Truly:

Long ago, determined to serve the emperor, he took his papers and left the palace.At dawn he climbed mountains through fog and dew; at night he slept on stones beneath the clouds.Seeking the teaching, he crossed three thousand waters and countless miles of cliffs.Always hoping for the final truth, today he finally sees the Tathagata.

The four bowed before the Tathagata in the Great Hero Hall, then bowed toward both sides. After three rounds of bows they knelt and handed over their travel documents. The Buddha read them and returned them. “I'm Xuanzang,” Tripitaka said. “The Tang emperor sent me from the east to seek true scriptures to help living beings. Please grant them and let us return home soon.” The Tathagata said compassionately, “Your eastern home is Jambudvipa, a vast and crowded land. Many there are greedy, violent, lustful, dishonest, and deceitful. They do not follow Buddhist teaching or seek goodness. They disrespect the lights of sun, moon, and stars and the grain that feeds them. They lack loyalty, respect for parents, justice, and kindness. They cheat with large measures when buying and small measures when selling, kill animals, and do many other wrongs. Their actions bring them suffering in hell, where they are pounded and ground, or rebirth as animals that must repay debts with their bodies and feed people with their flesh. Some fall into the lowest hell without hope of escape. Confucius taught benevolence, justice, ritual, and wisdom in their land; emperors have punished criminals by exile, forced labor, strangling, and execution. Yet ignorant people still act without restraint. My three collections of scriptures can free them from suffering. The collection of teachings explains heaven, the collection of commentaries explains earth, and the collection of scriptures saves the dead. In thirty-five works they comprise fifteen thousand one hundred and forty-four scrolls. They show the way to true practice and goodness, covering astronomy, geography, humans, animals, plants, tools, and human affairs throughout the four continents. I'd give you all of them, but people in your land may reject or mock what they cannot understand.” He called Ananda and Kashyapa. “Take the four to the jeweled halls and feed them. Then open the treasury and choose several scrolls from each of the thirty-five works for them to spread in the east.”

The two monks obeyed and led the travelers to a hall filled with treasures. Gods brought a meal of immortal dishes, tea, and fruit, unlike food in the human world. The four thanked the Buddha and ate:

Gold and jewels gleamed before their eyes, and wonderful scents rose from the food.A thousand levels of golden halls shone; immortal music sounded clearly.Rare vegetarian dishes and flowers were served with fragrant tea and food that gave long life.After so many hardships, they celebrated their successful journey.

Bajie and Sha Monk had especially good fortune: the Buddha's food could prolong life and transform their bodies. After the meal, Ananda and Kashyapa opened the treasury. Colored clouds and bright light filled it. Every chest and case had a red label with the title of its scriptures:

Nirvana Sutra: one work, seven hundred and forty-eight scrolls.Bodhisattva Sutra: one work, one thousand and twenty-one scrolls.Treasury of Space Sutra: one work, four hundred scrolls.Shurangama Sutra: one work, one hundred and ten scrolls.Collected Sutras on Grace and Intention: one work, fifty scrolls.Sutra of Certainty: one work, one hundred and forty scrolls.Treasure Treasury Sutra: one work, forty-five scrolls.Flower Garland Sutra: one work, five hundred scrolls.Worship of the Tathagata Sutra: one work, ninety scrolls.Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra: one work, nine hundred and sixteen scrolls.Light Sutra: one work, three hundred scrolls.Sutra of Unprecedented Things: one work, one thousand one hundred and ten scrolls.Vimalakirti Sutra: one work, one hundred and seventy scrolls.Separate Sutras of the Three Treatises: one work, two hundred and seventy scrolls.Diamond Sutra: one work, one hundred scrolls.Sutra of the True Law: one work, one hundred and twenty scrolls.Sutra of the Buddha's Life: one work, eight hundred scrolls.Five Dragons Sutra: one work, thirty-two scrolls.Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra: one work, one hundred and sixteen scrolls.Great Collection Sutra: one work, one hundred and thirty scrolls.Magadha Sutra: one work, three hundred and fifty scrolls.Lotus Sutra: one work, one hundred scrolls.Yoga Sutra: one work, one hundred scrolls.Everlasting Treasure Sutra: one work, two hundred and twenty scrolls.Treatises of the Western Heaven: one work, one hundred and thirty scrolls.Sangha Sutra: one work, one hundred and fifty-seven scrolls.Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha's Lands: one work, one thousand nine hundred and fifty scrolls.Awakening of Faith Sutra: one work, one thousand scrolls.Great Wisdom Sutra: one work, one thousand and eighty scrolls.Precious Power Sutra: one work, one thousand two hundred and eighty scrolls.Sutra of the Original Pavilion: one work, eight hundred and fifty scrolls.Sutra of the True Rules: one work, two hundred scrolls.Great Peacock Sutra: one work, two hundred and twenty scrolls.Consciousness-Only Treatise Sutra: one work, one hundred scrolls.Treasury of Abhidharma Treatise Sutra: one work, two hundred scrolls.

After showing Tripitaka the titles, Ananda and Kashyapa asked, “What gifts have you brought us from the east? Bring them out, and we'll give you the scriptures.” “I traveled a long way and brought nothing,” Tripitaka said. “Fine, fine,” they laughed. “If we hand out scriptures for nothing, future generations will starve.” Seeing them unwilling to give anything, Pilgrim shouted, “Master, let's tell the Tathagata and ask him to give us the scriptures himself!” “Stop making noise,” said Ananda. “This isn't a place to misbehave. Come take your scriptures.” Bajie and Sha Monk calmed Pilgrim, then accepted the scrolls. They packed some onto the horse and tied up two shoulder loads. They thanked the Buddha at his throne and left, bowing to each Buddha, bodhisattva, monk, nun, and lay devotee they passed on their way down the mountain.

From the treasury, the ancient Buddha Dipankara had overheard the exchange. He understood that Ananda and Kashyapa had given them blank, wordless scriptures. “The people of the east won't understand wordless scriptures,” he thought. “Will this holy monk's journey have been for nothing?” He called the attendant White Hero and ordered him to fly after the travelers and seize the blank scriptures so they would return for written ones. White Hero raised a fierce wind outside the Thunderclap Monastery:

This warrior's wind was stronger than a wind god's. Fish and dragons were driven from their homes, and waves ran backward in rivers and seas. Monkeys could not bring their fruit offerings, and yellow cranes struggled to find their nests. Phoenixes could not sing clearly, and pheasants cried in alarm. Pine branches broke, flowers scattered, bamboo bent, and golden lotuses shook. Bell sounds carried far, while the reading of scripture seemed to fly over the ravines. Flowers below the cliffs lost their color, grasses by the road lay flat, bright birds could not fly, and white deer sheltered beneath the rocks. Strange scents spread across the world as the clear wind reached the clouds.

Tripitaka thought the fragrant wind was a blessing from the Buddha and did not guard against it. Suddenly a hand reached from the sky and snatched the scriptures from the horse. Tripitaka cried out, Bajie rolled on the ground in pursuit, Sha Monk protected his load, and Pilgrim flew after the thief. White Hero feared Pilgrim might strike him without recognizing him. He tore the package and scattered the scrolls on the ground. Pilgrim saw them blowing around and landed to save them rather than pursue him. White Hero returned to Dipankara.

Bajie and Pilgrim gathered the fallen scrolls and brought them to Tripitaka. “Even in this paradise there are evil creatures!” Tripitaka said through tears. Sha Monk opened one and found it completely blank. Pilgrim and Bajie opened others, also blank. They checked them all: every scroll was white paper. Tripitaka sighed. “Perhaps the people of the east aren't fortunate enough for scriptures. What use are blank pages? How can I face the Tang emperor? I'd deserve death for deceiving him.” Pilgrim understood. “Ananda and Kashyapa gave us blank paper because we brought them no gifts. We must report them to the Tathagata.” “Yes, let's tell him!” Bajie said. The four hurried back up Vulture Peak.

At the gate the guardians smiled. “Are you back to exchange your scriptures?” Tripitaka nodded. They let the travelers into the Great Hero Hall. Pilgrim called, “Tathagata, we endured countless hardships from the east to come here. Ananda and Kashyapa demanded gifts and, when we had none, gave us blank paper instead of scriptures. What use is that? Please deal with their dishonesty.” The Buddha smiled. “I know they asked for gifts. But scriptures must not be handed out lightly or taken without giving anything. Once some of my monks recited these scriptures for a family named Zhao in Shravasti, bringing safety to the living and release to the dead. They received only three dou and three sheng of gold grains. I said they charged too little and would leave their descendants poor. You came empty-handed, so you received blank scrolls. Those are true wordless scriptures, and good in themselves, but the people of your land cannot yet understand them.” He told Ananda and Kashyapa to choose written scriptures from each work and report their number.

They led the travelers back to the treasury and asked again for a gift. Tripitaka had nothing except the purple-gold begging bowl given him by the Tang emperor. Sha Monk brought it, and Tripitaka offered it with both hands. “I had nothing else to bring on this difficult journey. The emperor himself gave me this bowl to beg for food. Please take it as a small token. When I return, I'll tell the emperor, and he will thank you generously. Please give me written scriptures so my journey and the emperor's order aren't wasted.” Ananda accepted the bowl with a slight smile. The guardians of the treasury, the cooks, and the other attendants mocked him for asking gifts from scripture seekers. He grew embarrassed, but did not release the bowl. Kashyapa selected scrolls. Tripitaka warned the disciples to check each one. They did, and all had writing. They received five thousand and forty-eight scrolls, the number in one collection. Some were loaded on the horse and another load carried by Bajie; Sha Monk carried their own baggage. Pilgrim led the horse, and Tripitaka took his staff, straightened his hat and robe, and returned happily before the Buddha:

The great collection of true scriptures offers sweet nourishment, arranged carefully by the Tathagata.Remember how Xuanzang struggled up the mountain, while Ananda shamefully loved money.The ancient Buddha saved them when they missed the truth at first; only afterward did they gain peace.Now the teaching will reach the east, bringing its blessing to everyone.

Ananda and Kashyapa brought Tripitaka to the Tathagata. Seated high on his lotus throne, the Buddha ordered the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Subduing Arhats to strike a chime. They summoned three thousand Buddhas, three thousand guardians, eight warrior guardians, four bodhisattvas, five hundred arhats, eight hundred monks, laymen, nuns, laywomen, and holy beings from every heaven, cave, and blessed land. Those with seats took them, and the others stood beside the throne. Heavenly music sounded, and bright clouds filled the sky. When all had greeted the Buddha, he asked Ananda and Kashyapa to report how many scrolls they had given. They said, “We have supplied Tang with:

Nirvana Sutra: four hundred scrolls.Bodhisattva Sutra: three hundred and sixty scrolls.Treasury of Space Sutra: twenty scrolls.Shurangama Sutra: thirty scrolls.Collected Sutras on Grace and Intention: forty scrolls.Sutra of Certainty: forty scrolls.Treasure Treasury Sutra: twenty scrolls.Flower Garland Sutra: eighty-one scrolls.Worship of the Tathagata Sutra: thirty scrolls.Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra: six hundred scrolls.Great Light Sutra: fifty scrolls.Sutra of Unprecedented Things: five hundred and fifty scrolls.Vimalakirti Sutra: thirty scrolls.Separate Sutras of the Three Treatises: forty-two scrolls.Diamond Sutra: one scroll.Sutra of the True Law: twenty scrolls.Sutra of the Buddha's Life: one hundred and sixteen scrolls.Five Dragons Sutra: twenty scrolls.Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra: sixty scrolls.Great Collection Sutra: thirty scrolls.Magadha Sutra: one hundred and forty scrolls.Lotus Sutra: ten scrolls.Yoga Sutra: thirty scrolls.Everlasting Treasure Sutra: one hundred and seventy scrolls.Treatises of the Western Heaven: thirty scrolls.Sangha Sutra: one hundred and ten scrolls.Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha's Lands: one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight scrolls.Awakening of Faith Sutra: fifty scrolls.Great Wisdom Sutra: ninety scrolls.Precious Power Sutra: one hundred and forty scrolls.Sutra of the Original Pavilion: fifty-six scrolls.Sutra of the True Rules: ten scrolls.Great Peacock Sutra: fourteen scrolls.Consciousness-Only Treatise Sutra: ten scrolls.Treasury of Abhidharma Treatise Sutra: ten scrolls.

“From the thirty-five works in the treasury, we selected five thousand and forty-eight scrolls for the holy monk to preserve in Tang. All are packed on the horse and carried by the men, and they await your leave.”

The four tied up the horse, set down the loads, and bowed. The Buddha told Tripitaka, “These scriptures have immeasurable merit. They guide our followers and are a source for all three teachings. When you show them to the people of Jambudvipa, treat them with respect. No one should open them without bathing and fasting first. They contain the secrets of becoming immortal and understanding the Way, and explain the changes of the whole world.” Tripitaka bowed in thanks and promised to obey. The four bowed to him three more times, took up the scriptures, and thanked the holy beings at all three gates before departing.

After they left, the gathering dispersed. Guanyin came forward and said, “I went east to find the scripture seeker on your order. His work has taken fourteen years, or five thousand and forty days. That's eight days fewer than the number of scrolls in a collection. Please have him go east, deliver the scriptures, and return west within eight days to complete that number. Then I can return your original command.” The Buddha approved and ordered eight warrior guardians, “Carry the monks east so they can deliver the true scriptures, then bring them back west within eight days. Don't delay.” The guardians caught up with Tripitaka and called, “Scripture seekers, come with us!” Now light and strong, the four rose on clouds with them. Truly:

They have seen their own nature, cleared their minds, and met the Buddha;Their work and journey done, they rise into the sky.

How would they deliver the scriptures to the east? Listen to the next chapter to find out.