Chapter 99

The Count of Nine Nines Fulfilled and the Demons Struck Away; the Threes and Threes of Practice Full, the Way Returns to Its Root

To tell how the eight vajras, having escorted the Tang monk back to his country, went their way—but no more of that. Below the third gate, the revealers of the five quarters, the duty officers of the four watches, the Six Dings and Six Jias, and the monastery guardians of the faith came before the Bodhisattva Guanyin and said: “Your disciples, by the Bodhisattva’s decree, have guarded the holy monk in secret. Today his work is full, and the Bodhisattva has handed back the Buddha’s golden decree; we beg leave to hand back our decree.” The Bodhisattva was well pleased: “Granted, granted.” And she asked: “How bore the Tang monk’s four their hearts on the road?” The gods said: “Truly their hearts were devout and their wills sincere; they could not escape your discernment, Bodhisattva. But the sufferings the Tang monk endured pass all telling. The calamities and troubles he met on the road your disciples have faithfully set down; this is his ledger of calamities.” The Bodhisattva read it through from the beginning, and it read:

Charged with the decree of refuge, the revealers keep it well; the Tang monk’s trials numbered clear:The golden cicada’s banishment, the first trial. Nearly killed at birth, the second trial.Cast into the river at the full month, the third trial. Seeking his kin to right the wrong, the fourth trial.Meeting a tiger outside the city, the fifth trial. Losing his followers, falling into the pit, the sixth trial.On Double-Fork Ridge, the seventh trial. At the crest of Two-Bounds Mountain, the eighth trial.Changing horses at the steep ravine, the ninth trial. Burned by fire in the night, the tenth trial.Losing the cassock, the eleventh trial. Winning over Bajie, the twelfth trial.Barred by the fiend of the Yellow Wind, the thirteenth trial. Begging help of Lingji, the fourteenth trial.The hard crossing of the Flowing Sand, the fifteenth trial. Taking in Sha Monk, the sixteenth trial.The four sages showing themselves transformed, the seventeenth trial. In the Abbey of the Five Villages, the eighteenth trial.The ginseng that could not be revived, the nineteenth trial. The Mind-Ape banished, the twentieth trial.Scattered in the Black Pine Forest, the twenty-first trial. Carrying the letter to the Kingdom of Baoxiang, the twenty-second trial.Turned into a tiger in the Golden Chime Hall, the twenty-third trial. Meeting demons on Level-Crest Mountain, the twenty-fourth trial.Hung high in the Lotus Cave, the twenty-fifth trial. Saving the sovereign of the Black-Rooster Kingdom, the twenty-sixth trial.His body seized by the demon’s art, the twenty-seventh trial. Meeting fiends on Mount Howl, the twenty-eighth trial.The holy monk carried off by the wind, the twenty-ninth trial. The Mind-Ape harmed, the thirtieth trial.Begging the sages to subdue the fiend, the thirty-first trial. Sinking in the Black River, the thirty-second trial.Toiling at the carts of Chechi, the thirty-third trial. The great wager of victory and defeat, the thirty-fourth trial.Driving out the Daoists, raising up the monks, the thirty-fifth trial. Meeting the great flood on the road, the thirty-sixth trial.Falling into the River of Heaven, the thirty-seventh trial. Showing herself in the fish basket, the thirty-eighth trial.Meeting the fiend in the mountain, the thirty-ninth trial. All the gods of heaven could not subdue it, the fortieth trial.Asking the Buddha the source, the forty-first trial. Poisoned by the water they drank, the forty-second trial.Detained in marriage in the Kingdom of Western Liang, the forty-third trial. Suffering in the Pipa Cave, the forty-fourth trial.The Mind-Ape banished again, the forty-fifth trial. Hard to tell the true from the false macaque, the forty-sixth trial.The road barred by the Flaming Mountains, the forty-seventh trial. Seeking the banana-leaf fan, the forty-eighth trial.Binding the Demon King, the forty-ninth trial. Sweeping the pagoda at Saicheng, the fiftieth trial.Winning the treasure to save the monk, the fifty-first trial. Chanting in the thorn thicket, the fifty-second trial.Disaster at Little Thunderclap, the fifty-third trial. The gods of heaven trapped, the fifty-fourth trial.Blocked by filth in Persimmon Lane, the fifty-fifth trial. Practicing medicine in the Crimson-Purple Kingdom, the fifty-sixth trial.Rescuing the sick and spent, the fifty-seventh trial. Subduing the fiend and winning back the queen, the fifty-eighth trial.Lost and benighted in the seven passions, the fifty-ninth trial. Wounded by the Hundred Eyes, the sixtieth trial.The road barred at Lion-Camel, the sixty-first trial. The fiends divided in three colors, the sixty-second trial.Disaster within the city, the sixty-third trial. Begging the Buddha to take the demon, the sixty-fourth trial.Saving the children at the Monks’ Kingdom, the sixty-fifth trial. Telling the true from the false, the sixty-sixth trial.Saving the one in the fiend’s shape in the pine wood, the sixty-seventh trial. Lying sick in the monks’ cells, the sixty-eighth trial.Trapped in the Bottomless Cave, the sixty-ninth trial. Hard going in the Kingdom that Extinguishes the Law, the seventieth trial.Meeting the demon on Hidden-Mist Mountain, the seventy-first trial. Begging rain in Phoenix-Blossom Prefecture, the seventy-second trial.Losing the weapons, the seventy-third trial. The festival of the Mace-Rake, the seventy-fourth trial.Disaster on Bamboo-Joint Mountain, the seventy-fifth trial. Suffering in the Cave of Dark Mystery, the seventy-sixth trial.Chasing and taking the rhinoceroses, the seventy-seventh trial. Wooed in marriage in India, the seventy-eighth trial.Jailed in Tongtai Prefecture, the seventy-ninth trial. Shedding the womb at the Crossing of Soaring Clouds, the eightieth trial.The road they traveled, a hundred and eight thousand li; the holy monk’s ledger of trials stands plain.

The Bodhisattva ran her eye once over the ledger of calamities and called out at once: “In the Buddha’s gate, nine nines make the return to truth. The holy monk has endured eighty trials, one short of the full count.” She ordered the revealers: “Overtake the vajras, and let one more trial be born.”

The revealer took the order and flew east on the cloud; in a day and a night he overtook the eight great vajras, and whispered in their ears: “… Such and such: obey the Bodhisattva’s decree, and swerve not.” At these words the eight vajras sharply pressed down the wind, and let the four, with horse and scriptures, sink to the ground. Ah! Truly:

Nine nines return to truth—the way of practice is hard; hold fast with fixed will at the dark gate.You must be refined in bitterness, and the devils fall back; you must hold to the practice, and the true law returns.Do not take the chapters of scripture as an easy thing; many are the straits the holy monk passed through.From of old the subtle accords with the Concordance of the Three; a hair’s difference, and the elixir will not form.

Tripitaka’s feet touched common earth, and his heart quaked within him. Bajie roared with laughter: “Good, good, good! This is hurrying only to be late.” Sha Monk said: “Good, good, good! We walked too fast, and so they make us rest here.” The Great Sage said: “As the saying goes: ‘Ten days sitting on the sandbar, one day crossing nine shoals.’” Tripitaka said: “Do not quarrel, you three; take your bearings and see what place this is.” Sha Monk turned his head and looked all about: “Here it is, here it is. Master, listen to the water.” Pilgrim said: “The sound of water—you must be home again.” Bajie said: “His old home is the Flowing Sand River.” Sha Monk said: “No, no—this is the River that Reaches Heaven.” Tripitaka said: “Disciples, look carefully—which bank?” Pilgrim sprang up, shaded his eyes with his hand, looked carefully, came down, and said: “Master, this is the west bank of the River that Reaches Heaven.” Tripitaka said: “I remember now. On the east bank there was the Chen Family Village. When we came here that year, you saved his son and daughter, and they were deeply grateful and would have built a boat to ferry us—happily the great white turtle carried us over. I remember there was no smoke of men on the west bank. What is to be done now?” Bajie said: “One said only common folk would play false; it seems the vajras before the Buddha play false too. They bore the Buddha’s decree to escort us back east—why drop us on the road, halfway? Are we not now in a fix, unable either to go on or to turn back? How shall we cross?” Sha Monk said: “Second brother, no complaining. Our master has won the Way; at the Crossing of Soaring Clouds he shed his mortal womb, and this time he will not fall into the water. Let elder brother and you and I all raise the carrying art and bear master over.” Pilgrim smiled to himself again and again: “We cannot carry him, we cannot carry him.” Why did he say they could not carry him? Had he been willing to show his powers and reveal the subtlety of rising aloft, master and disciples could have crossed a thousand rivers. Only because his heart understood, and he knew the Tang monk’s count of nine nines was not yet complete and one more trial was due, did he hold them here.

Master and disciples, talking as they went on and on, walked slowly to the water’s edge, when suddenly they heard someone call: “Holy monk of the Tang, holy monk of the Tang—this way, this way!” The four were startled. They looked up: no trace of man on any side, nor any boat—it was a great white soft-shelled turtle, thrusting its head out from the bank and calling: “Elder teacher, I have waited for you these years, and only now you come back?” Pilgrim laughed: “Old turtle, we burdened you in that year; this year we meet again.” Tripitaka and Bajie and Sha Monk were overjoyed past telling. Pilgrim said: “Old turtle, if you are truly minded to receive us, come up on the bank.” The turtle at once heaved itself up the bank. Pilgrim had the horse led up onto its back; Bajie still crouched behind the horse’s tail; the Tang monk stood at the horse’s neck on the left, Sha Monk on the right. Pilgrim set one foot on the old turtle’s neck and one on its head, calling: “Old turtle, walk steady and well.” The old turtle struck out with its four feet and trod the water’s face as on level ground, bearing master and disciples and the horse, five lives together, on its back, and made straight for the east bank. Truly:

In the gate of not-two the law’s subtlety is deep; the demons all fought off, one knows man and heaven.The face one had at the origin is seen at last; the one body’s cause at length is whole.Holding the proof of the three vehicles, one comes and goes at will; the elixir turned nine times, one moves where one will.Of bearing packs and flying staves no more be said; happily, returned to the source, we met the old turtle.

The old turtle bore them, treading wave and riding billow, more than half the day; the sky was near dark and they were close upon the east bank, when it suddenly asked: “Elder teacher, years ago I begged you, when you saw my Buddha the Tathagata in the west, to ask him for me about my ending—how many years yet of life. Did you truly ask?” Now the elder, from the time he bathed at the Jade True Abbey in the western heaven and shed his womb at the Crossing of Soaring Clouds and stepped up Vulture Peak, had given his whole heart to worshiping the Buddha and paying his respects to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and holy monks, his mind set only on fetching the scriptures, with never a thought for other things; so he had never asked the old turtle’s years of life, and had nothing to say. Yet he dared not lie and tell a falsehood, and pondered half a while without answering. The old turtle, knowing he had not asked for him, shook his body and with a great splash dived under the water, and the four of them, with horse and scriptures, all went into the water. Ah! Happily the Tang monk had shed his womb and won the Way; had it been as before, they had sunk to the bottom. Happily too the white horse was a dragon, and Bajie and Sha Monk could swim; and Pilgrim, smiling, showed his great powers, raised the Tang monk out of the water, and set him on the east bank. Only the scripture packets and the clothes and the saddle and bridle were soaked through.

Master and disciples were but come ashore and putting things to rights when another wild wind sprang up, the sky went dark, thunder and lightning broke out together, and stones flew and sand swirled. And there was:

One blast of wind, and heaven and earth are shaken; one crack of thunder, and the hills and streams convulsed.One flash, and it bores the clouds, a flying fire; one sky of fog, and the great earth is blotted out.The wind howls and wails; the thunder crashes fierce. The lightning flings red silk; the fog bewilders stars and moon.The wind drives sand and dust into the face; the thunder frightens tigers and leopards into hiding.The lightning dazzles the flying birds to screaming; the fog buries the trees till nothing is seen.That wind whipped the River that Reaches Heaven till wave on wave went tumbling; that thunder shook the River that Reaches Heaven till fish and dragon lost their gall.That lightning lit the River that Reaches Heaven bright to the very bottom; that fog covered the banks of the River that Reaches Heaven with darkness and dread.A wind—to crumble hills, split rocks, and lay pines and bamboo low.A thunder—to startle the torpid things and strike fear into men, in its might and majesty.A lightning—to run the sky and light the wilds, golden serpents on the wing.A fog—to blind the air and veil the ninefold empyrean.

Tripitaka held down the scripture packets in terror; Sha Monk bore down on the loads; Bajie held the white horse; Pilgrim swung the iron staff with both hands, guarding left and right. That wind, fog, thunder, and lightning were the yin demons sounding their calls, minded to steal the scriptures they had won. All night the struggle raged, and only at daybreak did it die away. The elder, his clothes dripping, said trembling: “Wukong, what does this mean?” Pilgrim, puffing, said: “Master, you do not know the inside of it. That we guarded you and won these scriptures is a feat that robs heaven and earth of their workmanship; it may endure as long as heaven and earth, shine with sun and moon, enjoy the long spring of life, with a dharma body that does not decay. Therefore heaven and earth will not suffer it, and ghosts and gods begrudge it, and would steal it in the dark. First, the scriptures are soaked through with water; second, your true dharma body pressed upon them, so thunder could not crash, lightning could not blaze, fog could not blind; and old Monkey swung the iron staff with the nature of pure yang and kept guard; and when day came the yang was strong again: so they could not take them.” Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Monk woke to it at last, and thanked him without end.

In a while the sun stood high. They moved the scriptures up onto the high crag and opened the packets to dry in the sun. To this day the scripture-drying stone remains there. They spread their clothes and shoes to dry beside the crag, some standing, some sitting, some leaping about. Truly:

One body of pure yang, glad in the sunlight; the yin demons dare not flaunt their violence.Know that water’s overcoming bows before the true scriptures; they fear not wind, thunder, lightning, or fog.From now on, in peace and calm, they return to true awakening; from now on, in ease and safety, to the immortals’ land.On the scripture-drying stone their traces stay; to this place through a thousand ages comes no demon.

The four were going over the volumes, drying them one by one, when some fishermen came down to the river and looked up and saw them. One who knew them said: “Are you the reverend masters who crossed this river the year before last, going west for the scriptures?” Bajie said: “The same, the same. Where are you from, that you know us?” The fisherman said: “We are of the Chen Family Village.” Bajie said: “How far is the Chen Family Village from here?” The fisherman said: “South past this channel, twenty li, and there you are.” Bajie said: “Master, let us carry the scriptures to the Chen Family Village to dry. There we can lodge and sit and eat, and have them starch and press our clothes—would that not be well?” Tripitaka said: “Let us not. When they are dry here, we will pack up and find the road east.”

Those fishermen went up the southern channel and met Chen Cheng: “Second master, the masters who took your son’s place in the sacrifice the year before last have come back.” Chen Cheng said: “Where did you see them?” The fisherman pointed back: “All on the stone, drying their scriptures.” Chen Cheng took some of his tenant farmers with him, came up the channel, saw them, ran near, and knelt: “Master, you are back with the scriptures won, your work complete and practice full—why not come to our poor house, but busy yourselves here? Come, come to our house quickly.” Pilgrim said: “Wait till the scriptures are dry, and we will go with you.” Chen Cheng asked: “Master, how did your scriptures and clothes get wet?” Tripitaka said: “That year the great white turtle bore us over to the west bank; this year again he bore us over to the east. We were near the bank when he asked whether, that year, I had asked the Buddha about his years of life. I had never asked, and he dived into the water with us, and so they were wet.” And he told the whole story through. Chen Cheng pressed them so earnestly to come that Tripitaka, having no choice, packed up the volumes. Unexpectedly, on the stone, several volumes of the Sutra of the Buddha’s Deeds had stuck fast, and the ends of the sutra were torn in the lifting. So to this day the Sutra of the Buddha’s Deeds is not whole, and the marks of writing remain on the scripture-drying stone. Tripitaka was sorely vexed: “It was our neglect—we did not look to them.” Pilgrim laughed: “It is not that, not that. Heaven and earth are themselves imperfect; the scriptures were whole and entire, and now they are torn—this answers to the subtlety of imperfection. Could human strength bring such a thing about?” Master and disciples packed up, and went with Chen Cheng to the village.

In the village, one told ten and ten told a hundred and a hundred told a thousand, and old and young came out to meet and gaze. Chen Qing, hearing, set incense tables before his gate to welcome them, and ordered drums and pipes to play. In a little while they arrived and were led in. Chen Qing brought out the whole family to bow and thank them for the grace of saving his son and daughter in days gone by, and ordered tea and the meal laid. Tripitaka, having tasted the Buddha’s immortal fare and immortal dishes, and shed his mortal womb to become a Buddha, had no thought for the food of the common world. The two old men pressed him hard, and he could do no other than taste a little, to satisfy them. The Great Sage Sun had never eaten food of the cooked fire, and said too: “Enough.” Sha Monk ate little. Bajie was not as before: he set down his bowl. Pilgrim said: “The Idiot not eating?” Bajie said: “Somehow my stomach has all at once grown weak.” So the meal was cleared, and they asked of the fetching of the scriptures. Tripitaka told it again in detail—how they had first bathed at the Jade True Abbey, how at the Crossing of Soaring Clouds their bodies had grown light, how at Thunderclap Monastery they had seen the Tathagata and been feasted at the Precious Tower and given the scriptures at the jeweled pavilion; how at first the two venerable ones had asked a gift and, not getting it, had given the wordless scriptures; how they had complained again to the Tathagata and only then received the count of one store; and how the turtle had dived with them into the water and the yin demons had tried to steal the scriptures by night. Then he made to take his leave.

But how could the two old men’s household let them go? They said: “The deep grace of saving our children cannot be repaid. We have built a monastery, called the Monastery of the Saved Life, where we wait on its incense without cease.” They called out the children who had been offered in sacrifice in their stead, Chen Guanbao and One-Catty Gold, to bow their thanks, and begged them to view the monastery. Tripitaka set his packet of scriptures before the hall of their house, and chanted for them a volume of the Sutra of the Everlasting Treasure. Then at the monastery they found the Chen family had laid another feast there. Before they could sit, another invitation came; before they could lift their chopsticks, another. Invitations without end, and no chance to get at the food. Tripitaka dared refuse none of them, and tasted a little of each. And that monastery was indeed built in good order:

The mountain gate is smooth with red and white; the patrons’ merit made it so.A tower of terraces has risen here; the rooms of the two cloisters flourish from today.Vermilion lattice doors, wrought in the seven treasures, delicate and rare.Fragrance drifts to the River of Heaven; pure light fills the empty sky.A few young cypresses still watered by hand; some tall pines not yet grown to a stand.Living water hails them in front, reaching heaven in folding waves; the high crag leans behind, the mountain veins fold on fold to meet the earth’s dragon.

Tripitaka had looked his fill before they went up into the tower. In the tower their four likenesses were indeed sculpted. Bajie saw them and tugged Pilgrim: “Elder brother’s face is very like.” Sha Monk said: “Second brother, yours is like enough too—only master’s is rather too handsome.” Tripitaka said: “Well done, well done,” and they came down. Below, in the front hall and back cloisters, there were still tables of food waiting to invite them. Pilgrim asked: “What has become of the Great King temple of former days?” The old men said: “That temple was pulled down long ago. Master, since this monastery was built, the harvests have ripened year by year and the crops abounded age by age—all through your honors’ sheltering grace.” Pilgrim laughed: “It is Heaven’s gift; what has it to do with us? Only, from the day we go, we will keep this village of yours increasing with sons and grandsons, cattle and beasts living in peace, the winds and rains in season year by year, the rains and winds in season age by age.” All bowed their heads in thanks.

Before and behind there were countless households bringing fruit and offerings. Bajie laughed: “My ill luck! In those days I could eat, and no one asked us once, let alone ten times. Today I cannot eat, and one household is not done before another comes.” For all his fullness, he put his hand out a little and ate eight or nine plates of vegetarian food; his stomach aching, he ate two or three dozen buns more. Already stuffed, he was invited on again by another house. Tripitaka said: “What power is ours, to be so loved? Let us rest tonight, and tomorrow morning we will accept your kindness again.”

It was deep in the night. Tripitaka, guarding the true scriptures and not daring to leave them, sat in meditation watching below the tower. Toward the third watch he called softly: “Wukong, these good people know our work is done and our Way complete. The old saying: ‘The true man shows no signs; who shows signs is no true man.’ I fear that lingering here we may lose the great matter.” Pilgrim said: “Master speaks reason. This deep night, with the households fast asleep, let us go quietly.” Bajie too had his wits about him; Sha Monk was fully clear; the white horse too caught the meaning. So they rose, gently hoisted the loads onto the horse, shouldered the carrying pole, led the horse out along the cloisters, and came to the mountain gate, where they found it locked. Pilgrim used the unlocking art again, opened the inner and the great gates, found the road, and made eastward. Then from mid-air came the eight great vajras calling: “Runaways, follow us!” The elder felt the fragrant wind all about him and rose into the air. And this was it:

The elixir perfected, one knows one’s own first face; the body hale and whole, in suchness bowing to one’s lord.

But how would they come before the Tang king? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

The Eighty-One Trials End and the Monsters Are Gone; With Their Work Complete, the Travelers Return to the Source

While the eight warrior guardians carried Tripitaka back toward Tang, the guardians of the five directions, the four officials of time, the six Ding and six Jia gods, and the temple guardians came before Guanyin. “You ordered us to protect the holy monk in secret,” they said. “Now his journey is complete and you've returned the Buddha's command. May we also report that we've fulfilled yours?” “Yes,” she said happily. “How did the four travelers behave along the way?” “They were sincerely devoted, as you surely know. But the sufferings of the Tang monk are hard to describe. We've kept a record of every ordeal.” Guanyin read the register:

“By order of Guanyin, we have recorded the Tang monk's trials:The Golden Cicada's banishment, the first trial; danger of death at birth, the second.Being cast into the river at one month old, the third; finding his family and avenging a wrong, the fourth.Meeting a tiger outside the city, the fifth; losing followers in a pit, the sixth.The Double-Fork Ridge, the seventh; the Two-Realm Mountain, the eighth.Replacing the horse at the steep stream, the ninth; a fire at night, the tenth.Losing his robe, the eleventh; taking Bajie as a disciple, the twelfth.Stopped by the Yellow Wind Monster, the thirteenth; seeking help from Lingji, the fourteenth.Unable to cross the Flowing Sand River, the fifteenth; taking Sha Monk as a disciple, the sixteenth.The Four Sages' disguises, the seventeenth; Five Villages Abbey, the eighteenth.Difficulty restoring the ginseng tree, the nineteenth; sending away the mind-monkey, the twentieth.Separation in Black Pine Forest, the twenty-first; carrying a letter to Precious Elephant Kingdom, the twenty-second.Being turned into a tiger at court, the twenty-third; meeting monsters on Flat-Top Mountain, the twenty-fourth.Being hung up in Lotus Cave, the twenty-fifth; saving the king of Black Rooster Kingdom, the twenty-sixth.A monster taking his form, the twenty-seventh; meeting a monster at Mount Hao, the twenty-eighth.A wind carrying off the holy monk, the twenty-ninth; the mind-monkey being hurt, the thirtieth.Seeking a sage to subdue a monster, the thirty-first; sinking in the Black River, the thirty-second.Transporting the people of Cart-Slow Kingdom, the thirty-third; the great competition, the thirty-fourth.Driving out Daoists and supporting monks, the thirty-fifth; encountering a great flood, the thirty-sixth.Falling into the River of Heaven, the thirty-seventh; the appearance of the fish basket, the thirty-eighth.Meeting a monster on a mountain, the thirty-ninth; heavenly gods unable to subdue it, the fortieth.Asking the Buddha its origins, the forty-first; being poisoned by water, the forty-second.A proposed marriage in Women's Kingdom, the forty-third; suffering in Pipa Cave, the forty-fourth.Sending away the mind-monkey again, the forty-fifth; inability to distinguish the six-eared monkey, the forty-sixth.Blocked by the Flaming Mountains, the forty-seventh; seeking the banana-leaf fan, the forty-eighth.Capturing the Bull Demon King, the forty-ninth; sweeping a pagoda at Sai City, the fiftieth.Recovering a treasure and saving monks, the fifty-first; reciting poems in Bramble Forest, the fifty-second.Trouble at the Little Thunderclap Monastery, the fifty-third; heavenly gods trapped, the fifty-fourth.Blocked by the foul persimmon road, the fifty-fifth; practicing medicine in the Kingdom of Vermilion Purple, the fifty-sixth.Saving the suffering king, the fifty-seventh; subduing a monster and recovering the queen, the fifty-eighth.The seven emotions leading them astray, the fifty-ninth; injury by the many-eyed monster, the sixtieth.Blocked at Lion-Camel Ridge, the sixty-first; monsters of three kinds, the sixty-second.Trouble in Lion-Camel City, the sixty-third; asking the Buddha to take the monsters, the sixty-fourth.Saving children in Bhiksu Kingdom, the sixty-fifth; distinguishing truth from evil, the sixty-sixth.Saving a monster in the pine grove, the sixty-seventh; sickness in the monks' quarters, the sixty-eighth.Trapped in Bottomless Cave, the sixty-ninth; difficulty crossing Dharma-Destroying Kingdom, the seventieth.Meeting a monster on Hidden Mist Mountain, the seventy-first; seeking rain for Fengxian, the seventy-second.Losing their weapons, the seventy-third; the rake gathering, the seventy-fourth.Trouble on Bamboo Joint Mountain, the seventy-fifth; suffering in Xuanying Cave, the seventy-sixth.Pursuing the rhinoceroses, the seventy-seventh; a marriage proposal in Tianzhu, the seventy-eighth.Imprisonment in Tongtai Prefecture, the seventy-ninth; shedding the mortal body at Cloud-Reaching Crossing, the eightieth.He traveled one hundred and eight thousand li. Here is the full register of his trials.”

Guanyin checked the list. “In our teaching, the true number is nine times nine. The holy monk has suffered eighty trials. One is missing.” She ordered a guardian to catch up with the warrior guardians and add one more trial.

The guardian flew east and caught them after a day and a night. He whispered Guanyin's instructions. At once the eight guardians stopped their wind and dropped the four travelers, horse, and scriptures to the ground. Truly:

It is hard to complete nine times nine and reach the truth; one must stay firm and focused on the mysterious path.Only through difficult training can monsters be turned back and the true teaching restored.Don't think these scriptures easy to obtain; the holy monk endured so much to get them.For ages this has been the rule of spiritual practice: the smallest difference prevents its completion.

Tripitaka was startled to find himself standing on ordinary ground. Bajie laughed. “So much for traveling fast!” Sha Monk said, “We must have gone too quickly, and they've given us a rest.” “Sometimes you sit at a riverbank for ten days, then cross nine rivers in one,” Pilgrim said. “Stop joking and find out where we are,” Tripitaka told them. Sha Monk looked around. “I recognize it. Listen to the water.” “Is that your old home?” Pilgrim asked. “His home was the Flowing Sand River,” Bajie said. “No, it's the River of Heaven,” Sha Monk replied. Pilgrim jumped up for a better view. “We're on its western bank.” Tripitaka remembered Chen Village on the other shore, where Pilgrim had saved two children. The villagers had offered to build a boat, but a great white turtle had ferried them instead. “There's no one on this side. What do we do?” Bajie complained. “Even the Buddha's guardians cheat! They were ordered to take us east, but dropped us halfway. How can we cross?” Sha Monk said, “Master has attained the Way and shed his mortal body. He won't sink. Let's carry him across using our magic.” Pilgrim laughed quietly. “We can't.” He could have flown everyone across countless rivers, but he understood that one trial remained and that this was where it would happen.

Still talking, they approached the water. “Holy Tang monk! Come here!” someone called. They saw no people or boats, only the great white turtle's head above the bank. “Master, I've waited years for you to return!” “Old turtle, you carried us once,” Pilgrim said. “What luck to meet again.” All four were glad. At Pilgrim's request the turtle climbed onto the bank. They led the horse onto his shell. Bajie crouched behind its tail, Tripitaka stood to the left of the horse's neck, and Sha Monk to the right. Pilgrim put one foot on the turtle's neck and one on its head. “Cross steadily,” he said. The turtle moved through the water as though walking on dry ground, carrying all four travelers and their horse toward the eastern shore. Truly:

The single path holds a deep teaching; after driving away monsters, they understand gods and people.Now they see their original faces and become whole again.Holding to the three vehicles, they can come and go; with the medicine fully refined, they move freely.No need to speak of carrying bags or flying staffs: the old turtle has brought them home.

After half a day crossing the waves, the turtle neared the east bank at dusk. “Master,” he asked, “I asked you years ago to ask the Tathagata when I'd return to my original form and how long I'd live. Did you ask him?” But Tripitaka had been occupied with bathing at Jade Truth Monastery, crossing Cloud-Reaching Crossing, worshiping at Vulture Peak, meeting the holy beings, and getting the scriptures. He had forgotten the turtle's question. He could not answer and would not lie, so he remained silent. The turtle realized he had not asked. With a sudden twist, he plunged underwater, throwing the four, the horse, and the scriptures into the river. Fortunately Tripitaka had shed his mortal body and attained the Way, or he would have sunk. The white horse was a dragon, and Bajie and Sha Monk could swim. Pilgrim used his powers to bring Tripitaka safely to the eastern shore. But the scripture bundles, clothes, and horse's gear were soaked.

As they sorted their things on the bank, a violent wind rose. Darkness fell, thunder sounded, lightning flashed, and stones and sand flew:

The wind shook heaven and earth; a clap of thunder shook mountains and rivers. Lightning shot fire through the clouds, and fog hid the land. The wind howled and thunder roared. Red flashes crossed the darkness, while fog hid the moon and stars. Blowing dust struck their faces, and frightened tigers and leopards hid. Birds shrieked at the lightning, and trees disappeared in the mist. The wind churned the River of Heaven, thunder frightened its fish and dragons, lightning lit it to the bottom, and fog darkened its shores. The wind seemed strong enough to topple mountains and break rocks and trees. Thunder was powerful enough to frighten all who heard it; lightning crossed the sky like golden snakes, and fog covered the heavens.

Tripitaka held down one bundle of scriptures, Sha Monk another, and Bajie held the white horse. Pilgrim stood guard, swinging his iron staff to either side. Spirits of darkness had raised the storm to steal the scriptures. It lasted all night and ended at dawn. Tripitaka shivered in his wet clothes. “What was that, Wukong?” “By winning these scriptures, we've achieved something that changes what heaven and earth allow. The teaching can endure as long as the sun and moon. Spirits and demons envy it and tried to steal it. But the scriptures were soaked, and your perfected body pressed them down. Thunder couldn't strike them, lightning couldn't find them, and fog couldn't hide them. My staff's pure energy protected them. At daybreak the growing sunlight drove the spirits away.” The others understood and thanked him.

When the sun rose high, they opened the bundles on a high rock to dry the scriptures. The Stone for Drying Scriptures can still be seen there. They laid out their clothes and shoes nearby and waited, some standing, some sitting or moving about. Truly:

A spirit made pure rejoices in the sun; spirits of darkness cannot overpower it.Water may wet the true scriptures, but wind, thunder, lightning, and fog cannot harm them.From here they return to understanding in peace, secure on the road to the immortal land.Their marks remain on the Stone for Drying Scriptures, and no monsters have come there since.

As they spread out the scrolls, fishermen came to the river. One recognized them. “Are you the monks who passed through here a couple of years ago to seek scriptures in the west?” “Yes,” Bajie replied. “Where are you from?” “Chen Village.” “How far is it?” “Twenty li south along that path.” Bajie said to Tripitaka, “Let's take the scriptures there to dry. They have food and a place to sit, and can wash our clothes.” “No,” Tripitaka said. “We'll dry them here and go home.”

The fishermen met Chen Cheng and told him the monks who had saved his son had returned and were drying scriptures on a rock. Chen Cheng came with several tenants. He knelt before the travelers. “You've obtained the scriptures! Why not come to our house instead of working here? Please come.” “When the scrolls are dry,” Pilgrim said. Chen Cheng asked why their possessions were wet. Tripitaka told him how the turtle had ferried them both ways, how he had forgotten to ask the Buddha its question, and how it had thrown them in the water. He explained everything that followed. Chen Cheng kept urging them to come, so Tripitaka finally packed the scrolls. Some volumes of the Sutra of the Buddha's Life were stuck to the rock. When he lifted them, their ends tore off. That's why the text is still incomplete and traces of its writing remain on the rock. “We were careless,” Tripitaka said regretfully. Pilgrim smiled. “Don't blame us. Even heaven and earth aren't complete. These scriptures had been whole, but now their torn pages show the deeper truth of incompleteness. No one could have prevented it.” They went with Chen Cheng to his village.

News spread from household to household, and people of every age came to meet them. Chen Qing set an incense table by his gate and ordered music. When the travelers arrived, his whole family thanked them again for saving the children. He served tea and a meal. But Tripitaka had eaten immortal food and shed his mortal body, and no longer wanted human food. At the elders' urging he ate a little. Pilgrim, who did not normally eat cooked food, said he'd had enough. Sha Monk ate little too. Even Bajie put down his bowl early. “Don't you want more?” Pilgrim asked. “I don't know why, but my appetite has shrunk,” Bajie replied. After the meal, they asked about the journey. Tripitaka told them of the bath at Jade Truth Monastery, the crossing where he shed his body, meeting the Buddha, eating at the jeweled hall, receiving blank scriptures after bringing no gift, and returning to exchange them for the collection of written ones. He also told them about the turtle and the storm. Then he tried to say goodbye.

The two elders and their families would not let them leave. “We can never repay you for saving the children,” they said. “We've built a Life-Saving Monastery where offerings are made in your honor every day.” They called the two children Chen Guanbao and Yichengjin to thank them, and brought them to see the monastery. First Tripitaka put the scriptures in their house and read aloud one scroll of the Everlasting Treasure Sutra. At the monastery, the Chens served another meal. Before the visitors could sit, other families invited them; before they could eat, still more came. Tripitaka could not refuse and accepted a little from each. The monastery was well built:

Its gate was freshly painted red through the donors' generosity. A tower rose above it, with halls on either side. Red doors and ornaments of seven precious materials shone. Incense rose skyward, and light filled the courtyard. Young cypresses still needed watering, and newly planted pines had not yet grown together. Before it the River of Heaven rolled in wave after wave; behind it stood a high cliff backed by a range of hills.

Upstairs Tripitaka saw statues of the four travelers. “Brother, your likeness is very good,” Bajie told Pilgrim. “Yours looks like you too,” Sha Monk said, “though Master's is a little too handsome.” “It's fine,” Tripitaka said. Downstairs, guests waited with more meals in the front hall and rear corridor. Pilgrim asked what had become of the shrine to the old River King. “We tore it down years ago,” the elders said. “Since building this monastery, our harvests have been excellent. It's thanks to you.” “Heaven gave you that,” Pilgrim said. “But as we go, we wish your families many descendants, your animals good health, and favorable rain and wind year after year.” They bowed in gratitude.

More households came from every direction with fruit and meals. “What bad timing!” Bajie said. “When I could eat, no one invited me ten times over. Now I can't eat, every family wants to feed me.” Yet despite his claim of a full stomach, he ate eight or nine more plates of vegetables and twenty or thirty steamed buns. When still more hosts arrived, Tripitaka said, “We're grateful for all your kindness. Please let us stop tonight and receive you tomorrow.”

Late that night, Tripitaka sat beneath the tower guarding the scriptures. Near the third watch he quietly told Pilgrim, “The people here know we've completed the journey. As the saying goes, a true holy person doesn't show himself off. If we stay, we may neglect our mission.” “You're right. Let's slip away while everyone sleeps.” Bajie and Sha Monk heard, and even the white horse understood. They packed quietly, loaded the horse, carried the bags to the gate, and found it locked. Pilgrim opened both gates with a spell. As they headed east, the eight warrior guardians called from the sky, “You who are sneaking away, follow us!” A fragrant breeze lifted Tripitaka into the air. Truly:

With his spiritual work complete, he recognizes his original self;His body made whole, he goes to bow before his lord.

How would he meet the Tang emperor? Listen to the next chapter to find out.