The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 3 Read online

  We tell you now about Pilgrim, who had leaped up to the Ninefold Heaven and succeeded in preserving his life. When he saw the withdrawal of the fiendish troops with banners lowered, he knew that his companions had been captured. Lowering his auspicious luminosity onto the eastern slope of the mountain,

  He hated, teeth grinding, the fiend;

  He thought of the monk, shedding tears.

  Lifting his face to stare skyward,

  He sighed sadly and voiced his fears.

  “O, Master!” he cried. “In which previous incarnation did you incur such ordeals of bondage, that you must in this life face monster-spirits every step of the way! It’s so hard now to rid you of your sufferings. What shall we do?” He lamented like that all by himself for a long time, and then he began to calm himself and think, allowing the mind to question the mind. “I wonder what sort of wrap this fiendish demon has,” he thought to himself, “that can hold so many things. Now he has even hauled away all those celestial warriors! I would go seek the Jade Emperor for assistance, but I fear he might take offense. I recall, however, that there’s a True Warrior of the North,10 whose style is the Demon-Conquering Celestial Worthy, and who lives in the Wudang Mountain11 of the South Jambūdvīpa Continent. Let me go fetch him here to rescue Master from this ordeal. Truly it is that,

  The immortal way undone, ape and horse disperse;

  Five Phases dry up when mind and spirit are lost.

  We do not know what is the result of his journey; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

  SIXTY-SIX

  Many gods meet injury;

  Maitreya binds a fiend.

  We were telling you about the Great Sage Sun, who had no alternative but to mount an auspicious cloud by means of his somersault to head directly for the Wudang Mountain on the South Jambūdvīpa Continent, where he hoped to solicit the help of the Demon-Conquering Celestial Worthy to rescue Tripitaka, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk, and the various celestial warriors from their ordeal. Without a moment’s pause in midair, he soon caught sight of the patriarch’s immortal realm. Gently lowering his cloud, he stared around. A marvelous place, it was!

  Grandly it guards the southeast,

  This towering divine mountain.

  The soaring Hibiscus Peak:

  The rugged Purple-Canopy Summit.

  Nine Streams1 flow from it to distant Jing and Yang.2

  It joins the Yue mountains reaching the state of Chu.

  On top are the treasure cave of Grand-Void,

  The numinous estrades of Zhu and Lu.3

  Golden stones resound in thirty-six halls,

  Where to offer incense ten thousand pilgrims come.

  King Shun visits it and King Yu prays at this place,4

  Adorned with jade tablets and letters of gold.

  Bluebirds fly about the towers;

  Banners flap like scarlet skirts.

  A land set on a mountain famed in all the world,

  A Heav’n-born region touching the spacious void.

  A few sprigs of plum trees just now in bloom;

  A mountain of rare grasses spreading their verdure.

  Dragons lie beneath the brooks;

  Tigers crouch by the cliffs.

  The birds sound as if they’re talking;

  By people tame deer are walking.

  White cranes perch with clouds on old junipers;

  Facing the sun, blue and red phoenixes sing.

  This has the looks of a true, immortal realm,

  Where portals of gold and mercy rule the world.

  The august patriarch was the off spring of King Pure Joy and Queen Triumphant Virtue, who was conceived with child after she dreamed that she had swallowed the sun. After carrying the child for fourteen months, she gave birth to him in the palace at noon on the first day of the third month, in the jiachen year, which was the first year of the Kaihuang reign period. This Holy Father was

  Fierce and bold in his youth,

  Astute and keen when he grew up.

  Declining the throne of kingship,

  He sought only austerities.

  His parents could not stop him

  From leaving the royal palace.

  The mysteries and meditation

  He embraced on this mountain.

  Merit and work accomplished,

  He rose in daylight to Heaven.

  The Jade Emperor forthwith decreed

  That he be titled Zhenwu.

  Above, the dark void blessed him;

  Below, the snake and turtle5 joined him.

  The entire Heaven and Earth

  Addressed him as All Efficacious,

  From whom no secret was hidden,

  For whom no act e’er met failure.

  From start to end of each kalpa,

  He routed the demon-spirits.

  As he was enjoying the sight of this immortal scenery, the Great Sage Sun soon arrived before the Palace of Grand Harmony, having passed through the first, the second, and the third Heaven gates. There in the midst of hallowed light and auspicious air he found a group of five hundred spirit-ministers, who met him and said, “Who are you?” “I’m Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven,” replied the Great Sage, “and I’d like to have an audience with the patriarch.” After the spirit-ministers went inside to make the report, the patriarch left the main hall to escort his visitor into the Palace of Grand Harmony. Pilgrim saluted the patriarch and said, “I must trouble you with a matter.” “What is it?” the patriarch asked.

  “I was accompanying the Tang Monk on his way to the Western Heaven to acquire scriptures,” said Pilgrim, “and our path has landed us in a dangerous ordeal. At the West Aparagodānīya Continent, there is a mountain by the name of the Little Western Heaven, in which a demonic fiend has set up a Little Thunderclap Monastery. When my master entered the monastery gate and laid eyes on rows of arhats, guardians, bikṣus, and sage monks, he thought that he had come upon the real Buddha. Just as he bent low to bow to them, he was seized and bound. I, too, was caught off guard and was clamped within a pair of gold cymbals that the fiend threw up into the air. Those cymbals had me completely sealed inside, and there was not even the slightest crack for me to escape. It was a good thing that the Golden-Headed Guardian went to memorialize to the Jade Emperor, who commanded the Twenty-Eight Constellations to descend to earth that very night. Even they, however, could not pry the cymbals open. Luckily, Gullet the Gold Dragon managed to pierce the cymbals with his horn and took me out with him. I smashed the cymbals afterwards and aroused the fiendish creature. When he gave chase and fought with us, he threw up a white cloth wrap which had all of us, including the Twenty-Eight Constellations, stored away. We were tied up with ropes once more, but that evening I managed to escape and free the Constellations and our Tang Monk. Thereafter, my search for our robe and almsbowl again disturbed the fiend, who chased us down once more to do battle with the celestial warriors. When that fiend took out his white cloth wrap and fiddled with it, I recognized his tune and fled at once. The rest of my companions were stored up by him as before. I had no other alternative but to come here to beg assistance from the patriarch.”

  The patriarch said, “In years past, I ruled over the north and that was the reason I had assumed the position of Zhenwu to extirpate the fiends and deviates of the world by the decree of the Jade Emperor. Thereafter, by the command of the Celestial Worthy of Original Commencement I led, with loosened hair and naked feet and with the soaring serpent and divine turtle under my feet, the Five Thunder Deities, the huge-maned lion, and various ferocious beasts and poisonous dragons to subjugate the dark and fiendish miasmas of the northeast. Today I am enjoying the peace of Wudang Mountain and the serenity of the Palace of Grand Harmony, the calm seas and clear universe, only because the fiendish demons and devious spirits have all been exterminated in our South Jambūdvīpa Continent and in our North Uttarakuru Continent. Now that the Great Sage has come to make this request, it is difficult for me not to
respond, but without the decree from the Region Above, it is also difficult for me to respond in arms. If I were to send forth the gods with my formal command, I fear that the Jade Emperor would be offended. But if I refuse the Great Sage, I would go utterly against human sentiments. I suppose, however, that those fiends on the road to the West could not be too terribly formidable. I’ll ask Turtle and Serpent, the two generals, and the Five Divine Dragons to assist you. I’m certain they will capture the monster-spirit and rescue your master from this ordeal.”

  After he bowed to thank the patriarch, Pilgrim went back to the region of the West accompanied by Serpent, Turtle, and the dragon deities, all wielding their powerful weapons. In less than a day, they arrived at the Little Thunderclap Monastery, where they dropped from the clouds and began to provoke battle before the monastery gate.

  We tell you now about that Great King Yellow Brow, who gathered the various fiends below his treasure tower and said, “These two days Pilgrim Sun has not even shown up. I wonder where he has gone to seek help.” Hardly had he finished speaking when the little fiend guarding the gate came in to report: “Pilgrim is leading several persons with the looks of dragon, serpent, and turtle to provoke battle outside our gate.” “How did this little monkey,” said the demon, “manage to acquire people with looks like that? Where did such people come from?”

  He put on his armor immediately and walked out of the monastery gate, crying, “What dragon deities are you that you dare transgress our immortal territory?” With looks most rugged and spirited, the five dragons and the two generals shouted, “You brazen fiend! We are the Five Dragon Deities and Turtle and Serpent, the two generals, before the Demon-Conquering Celestial Worthy, who is the Pontiff of Composite Prime in the Palace of Grand Harmony, located on Wudang Mountain. By the invitation of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, and the amulet summons of the Celestial Worthy, we came here to arrest you. You, monster-spirit, send out the Tang Monk and the Constellations quickly and we shall spare your life. If not, we will hew to pieces the fiends of this entire mountain, and we will burn to ashes your several buildings!”

  On hearing this, the fiend grew enraged. “You beasts!” he cried. “What great magic power do you have that you dare mouth big words like that? Don’t run away! Have a taste of my club!” Whereupon these five dragons churned up cloud and rain, and those two generals sprayed dust and dirt, as they rushed forward together to attack with spears, scimitars, swords, and halberds. The Great Sage Sun, too, followed them, wielding his iron rod. This was another terrific battle:

  The vicious demon used force—

  Pilgrim sought armed assistance—

  The vicious demon used force

  As he took a precious tower to set up the Buddha’s form;

  Pilgrim sought armed assistance,

  Going far to a treasure region for the dragon gods.

  Turtle and Serpent started water and fire;

  The fiend raised weapons and arms.

  Five dragons were ordered to the Westward way,

  Followed by Pilgrim for his master’s sake.

  Swords and halberds flashed like electric bolts;

  Spears and knives glowed like lightning bright.

  The wolf-teeth club of this one,

  Strong but short and pliant;

  The golden-hooped rod of that one,

  Both yielding and compliant.

  You hear loud bangs and booms like firecrackers,

  And clanging chords like gold being struck.

  Water and fire came to conquer the fiend;

  Arms and weapons encircled a monster-spirit.

  Their cries startled tigers and wolves;

  Their brawl alarmed spirits and gods.

  This raucous battle had just reached a draw,

  When the demon seized the treasures once more.

  Leading the five dragons and the two generals, Pilgrim battled the demon for half an hour. Then the fiend untied his wrap and held it in his hand. Alarmed by what he saw, Pilgrim shouted, “Be careful, all of you!” Not realizing why they had to be careful, the dragon deities, the turtle, and the serpent all lowered their weapons and stepped forward to look. With a loud whoosh, the monster-spirit threw up the wrap again. Unable to care for the five dragons and the two generals any longer, the Great Sage Sun leaped up to the Ninefold Heaven with his somersault and fled. Those dragon deities along with the turtle and the serpent were stored up also in the wrap and taken captive. After the monster-spirit returned to the monastery in triumph, he had his prisoners bound with ropes and locked in the underground cellar, where we shall leave them for the moment.

  Look at the Great Sage, who dropped down from the clouds! Reclining listlessly on the mountain slope, he said spitefully to himself, “This fiendish creature is most formidable!” Unwittingly, his eyes became shut and he looked as if he had fallen asleep. Suddenly, he heard someone crying, “Great Sage, don’t sleep! Go get help quickly! Your master’s life won’t last very long!”

  Opening wide his eyes and leaping up, Pilgrim saw that it was the Day Sentinel. “You clumsy deity!” shouted Pilgrim. “Where have you been all this time lusting after your bloody offerings? You haven’t shown up to answer your roll call, and yet you dare come to disturb me today! Stick out your shanks, and let old Monkey give you a couple of strokes of my rod—just to relieve my boredom!”

  Bowing hurriedly, the sentinel said, “Great Sage, you are the joyous immortal among men. How could you be bored? By the decree of the Bodhisattva, all of us are to give secret protection to the Tang Monk. We thus work with the local spirits and the like, not daring to leave him at all. That’s why we have not come to see you. How could you blame us instead?” “If you’re giving him protection,” said Pilgrim, “tell me where has that monster-spirit imprisoned my master, the Constellations, the guardians, the protectors of monasteries, and the rest of them? What sort of suffering are they enduring now?”

  “Your master and your brothers,” replied the sentinel, “are all hanging in the corridor by the side of the treasure hall, while the Constellations have heen herded into the underground cellar to suffer there. We haven’t had any news from you for these two days. Only when we saw just now that the monster-spirit had captured some divine dragons, a turtle, and a snake, and sent these, too, into the cellar did we realize that they were warriors fetched here by the Great Sage. Your humble deity came especially to find you. The Great Sage must not grow weary. You must go again quickly to seek help.”

  When he heard these words, Pilgrim began to shed tears as he said to the sentinel, “At this moment,

  I’m ashamed to go up to Heaven,

  I’m embarrassed to go down to the seas.

  I dread the Bodhisattva’s queries;

  I’m sad to see the Buddha’s jade mien.

  Those who had been taken captive just now were Turtle, Snake, and the Five Dragon sages of Patriarch Zhenwu. I have no other place to go for help. What am I to do?”

  Smiling, the sentinel said, “Please do not worry, Great Sage. Your humble deity can think of another powerful army which, if you succeed in bringing it here, will certainly subdue this monster. Just now, the Great Sage went to Wudang of the South Jambūdvīpa Continent. Well, this army is also stationed at the same continent, in the city of Bincheng on the Xuyi Mountain, what is now called Sizhou. Located there is the Preceptor of State-King Bodhisattva, who has vast magic powers. Under his tutelage is a disciple of his by the name of Prince Little Zhang. He has in his service also four great divine warriors, who brought to submission in years past the Lady Water Mother. If you go there now in person and ask for his kind assistance, I am certain that the fiend will be captured and your master rescued.” Delighted, Pilgrim said, “You go back to protect my master and don’t let him be harmed. Let old Monkey go for help.”

  Mounting his cloud somersault, Pilgrim left the fiend’s place and headed straight for the Xuyi Mountain. He arrived there in less than a day. As he stared at it carefully, it was a mar
velous place indeed!

  To the south it’s near river fords;

  To the north, it presses on the River Huai;

  To the east it reaches the sea coast;

  To the west it connects with Fengfou.

  On the peak there are towering edifices;

  In its fold there are surging streams.

  Strange, craggy boulders;

  Handsome, knotty pines;

  A hundred kinds of fruits all in season and fresh;

  A thousand sprigs of flowers blooming in the sun.

  People, teeming like ants, go back and forth;

  Like rows of wild geese the boats come and leave.

  On top there are the Temple of Auspicious Cliff,

  The Palace of Eastern Mountain,

  The Shrine of Five Miracles,

  And the Monastery of Turtle Mountain,

  Where bell-tones and incense rise toward the sky.

  There are also the Crystal Stream,

  The Five Pagoda Valley,

  The Immortals Terrace,

  And the Apricot Garden—

  All lighting up the city with their pastoral hues.

  Languid white clouds stretch o’erhead;

  Birds, though tired, serenely sing.

  Why mention the charm of Tai, Song, Heng, and Hua?6

  Here’s immortal beauty like Peng and Ying!

  The Great Sage could hardly make an end of enjoying this scenery. After he passed the River Huai, he went through the city of Bincheng and went up to the gate of the Great Sage Chan Monastery, where he found magnificent halls and elegant long corridors. There was, moreover, a towering pagoda, truly

  A thousand cubits tall, jabbing clouds and sky,

  A golden flask piercing the jade-green void.

  Up and down its halo holds the universe;

  Not one shade darkens its screens both east and west.

  Treasure bells, windblown, will make celestial chimes;

  Shell-bark pines, sun-drenched, face this Sanskrit hall.

  Spirit birds, in flight or rest, speak frequently

  When you gaze on the Huai’s endless eddy.

  Enjoying the scenery as he walked along, Pilgrim went straight up to the second-level door. By then, the Preceptor of State-King Bodhisattva had already learned of his arrival and he went out of the door with Prince Little Zhang to meet his visitor. After they saluted each other, Pilgrim said, “I’m accompanying the Tang Monk to go to the Western Heaven for scriptures. On our way we ran into The Little Thunderclap Monastery, where a Yellow Brow Fiend disguised himself as the Buddhist patriarch. Unable to distinguish the true from the false, my master immediately bowed before him and was caught. The fiend then had me sealed inside a pair of cymbals, but fortunately I was rescued by the Constellations descending from Heaven. I smashed his cymbals and fought with him, but he used a cloth wrap and took captive all of the gods, the guardians, my master, and my brothers. I went just now to the Wudang Mountain to seek the help of the August One of the Mysterious Heaven, who ordered the Five Dragons, Turtle, and Serpent to capture the fiend. But they, too, were caught by his wrap. Your disciple now has neither refuge nor home, and that’s why he has come especially to see the Bodhisattva. I beg you to exercise your mighty power—the magic that brought the Water Mother to submission and the wondrous potency that redeemed the multitudes—and go with your disciple to rescue his master from this ordeal. When we succeed in acquiring the scriptures so that they may be forever implanted in China, we shall proclaim the wisdom of our Buddha and his everlasting perfection.”