by Wu Cheng-En
As they were on their way, a Taoist priest appeared on the mountain slope. He was carrying a glass salver on which were two pills of the elixir of immortality. Monkey was immediately suspicious of him, so he struck straight at his head with the iron cudgel, sending blood splattering out from brain and chest.
“Are you still as wild as this, you ape?” the shocked Bodhisattva asked. “He didn't steal your cassock, you didn't even know him, and he was no enemy of yours. Why kill him?”
“You may not know him, Bodhisattva,” Monkey replied, “but he was a friend of the Black Bear Spirit. Yesterday they and a white-clad scholar were sitting talking in front of the grassy mountainside. Today is the Black Spirit's birthday, and tomorrow he was coming to the 'Buddha's Robe Banquet'. That's why I recognized him. I'm sure that he was coming to greet that monster on his birthday.”
“If that's the way it is, very well then,” said the Bodhisattva. Monkey then went to lift up the Taoist to take a look at him, and he saw that he had been a grey wolf. There was an inscription under the glass salver that lay beside him. It read, “Made by Master Emptiness-reached”.
Brother Monkey laughed and sand, “What luck, what luck. This helps me and will save you trouble too, Bodhisattva. This monster has confessed of his own free will, and the other monster there can be finished off today.”
“What do you mean?” the Bodhisattva asked.
“I have a saying,” he replied, “that goes 'beat him at his own game'. Are you willing to let me do things my way?”
“Tell me about it,” the Bodhisattva said.
“The two pills of immortality you see on that salver will be the present we take to visit him with,” said Monkey, “and the words inscribed underneath-'Made by Master Emptiness-reached'-are the bait we'll set for him. If you do as I say, I have a plan for you that does not call for force or fighting. The fiend will collapse before our eyes, and the cassock will appear. If you won't let me have my way, then you go West, I'll go East, we can say good-bye to the Buddha's robe, and Sanzang will be up the creek.”
“You've got a cheek, you ape,” replied the Bodhisattva with a smile.
“No, no, I really have got a plan,” Monkey protested.
“Tell me about it then,” said Guanyin.
“You know it says on the salver, 'Made by Master Emptiness-reached,' Well, Master Emptiness-reached must be his name. Bodhisattva, if you're prepared to let me have my way, then change yourself into that Taoist. I shall eat one of those pills and then change myself into a pill, though I'll be a bit on the big side. You are to take the tray with the two pills on it and go to wish the fiend many happy returns. Give him the bigger of the pills, and when he's swallowed me, I'll take over inside him. If he doesn't hand the cassock over then, I'll weave a substitute out of his guts.”
The Bodhisattva could only nod her agreement.
“What about it then?” said the laughing Monkey, and at this the Bodhisattva in her great mercy used her unbounded divine power and her infinite capacity for transformation to control her will with her heart and her body with her will-in an instant she turned into Master Emptiness-reached.
The wind of immortality blew around his gown,
As he hovered, about to rise to emptiness.
His dark features were as ancient as a cypress,
His elegant expression unmatched in time.
Going and yet staying nowhere,
Similar but unique.
In the last resort all comes down to a single law,
From which he is only separated by an evil body.
“Great, great,” exclaimed Brother Monkey at the sight. “Are you a Bodhisattva disguised as an evil spirit, or a Bodhisattva who really is an evil spirit?”
“Monkey,” she replied with a laugh, “evil spirit and Bodhisattva are all the same in the last analysis-they both belong to non-being.” Suddenly enlightened by this, Monkey curled up and turned himself into a pill of immortality:
Rolling across the plate but not unstable,
Round and bright without any corners.
The double three was compounded by Ge Hong,
The double six was worked out by Shao Weng.
Pebbles of golden flame,
Pearls that shone in the daylight.
On the outside were lead and mercury,
But I cannot reveal the formula.
The pill he changed himself into was indeed a little larger than the other one. The Bodhisattva noted this and went with the glass salver to the entrance of the fiend's cave. Here she saw
Towering crags and lofty precipices,
Where clouds grow on the peaks;
Blue cypresses and green pines
Where the wind soughs in the forest.
On towering crags and lofty precipices
The devils come and go, and few men live.
The blue cypresses and green pines
Inspire Immortals to cultivate the hidden Way.
The mountains have gullies,
The gullies have springs,
Whose gurgling waters sing like a guitar,
Refreshing the ear.
Deer on its banks,
Cranes in the woods,
Where the reticent Immortal's pipe is casually played
To delight the heart.
Here an evil spirit can attain enlightenment,
And the boundless vow of the Buddha extends its mercy.
When the Bodhisattva saw this she thought, “If the beast has chosen this cave, there must be some hope for him.” And from then on she felt compassion for him.
When she reached the entrance of the cave, the junior goblins at the gates greeted her with the words, “Welcome, Immortal Elder Emptiness-reached.” As some of them ran in to announce her, the monster came out of the gates to meet her and say, “Master Emptiness-reached, how good of you to put yourself to this trouble. This is an honour for me.”
“Allow me to present you with this magic pill that, I venture to say, will confer immortality on you,” the Bodhisattva replied. When the two of them had finished exchanging greetings they sat down, and the monster started to talk about the events of the previous day. The Bodhisattva quickly changed the subject by passing the salver to him and saying, “Please accept this token of my regard for you.” She observed which was the bigger one and handed it to him with the words, “I wish Your Majesty eternal life.”
The monster handed the other pill to her and said, “I hope, Master Emptiness-reached, that you will share it with me.” When they had finished declining politely, the fiend picked up the pill and was on the point of swallowing it when it went rolling into his mouth. Then Monkey resumed his true form and struck up some acrobatic postures, at which the fiend fell to the ground. The Bodhisattva too resumed her true form and asked the monster for the Buddha's cassock. As Monkey had now emerged through the monster's nostrils, she was worried that the evil spirit might misbehave again, so she threw a band over his head. He rose to his feet, ready to run them through with his spear, but Monkey and the Bodhisattva were already up in mid-air, where she began to recite the spell. As the monster's head began to ache, he dropped the spear and writhed in agony on the ground. The Handsome Monkey King collapsed with laughter in the sky, while the Black Bear Spirit rolled in torment on the earth.
“Beast, will you return to the truth now?” asked the Bodhisattva.
“I swear to, I swear to, if only you spare my life,” the monster repeated over and over again.
Monkey wanted to finish him off with no more ado, but the Bodhisattva stopped him at once: “Don't kill him-I've got a use for him.”
“What's the point in keeping that beast alive instead of killing him?” Monkey asked.
“I've got nobody to look after the back of my Potaraka Island,” she replied, “so I shall take him back with me to be an island-guarding deity.”
“You certainly are the all-merciful deliverer who doesn't allow a single soul to perish,” said Monkey with a laugh. “If I knew a sp
ell like that one of yours, I'd say it a thousand times over and finish off all the black bears I could find.”
Although the bear spirit had come round and the spell had stopped, he was still in great pain as he knelt on the ground and begged pitifully, “Spare my life and I promise I'll return to the truth.” The Bodhisattva descended in a ray of light, placed her hands on his head, and administered the monastic discipline to him; then she told him to take up his spear and accompany her. The black bear's evil intentions ceased from that day on, and his unbounded perversity came to an end.
“Sun Wukong,” ordered the Bodhisattva, “go back now. Serve the Tang Priest well, don't be lazy, and don't start trouble.”
“I'm very grateful to you for coming so far, Bodhisattva, and I must see you home,” Monkey said. “That will not be necessary,” she replied. Monkey took the cassock kowtowed to her, and departed. The Bodhisattva took Bear back to the sea, and there is a poem to prove it:
A magic glow shines round the golden image,
The thousand rays of glorious light.
She saves all men, giving of her pity,
Surveying the whole universe and revealing the golden lotus.
Many shall now preach the scriptures' meaning,
Nor shall there be any flaw therein.
Subduing a demon and bringing him to truth, she returns to the sea;
The religion of Emptiness has recovered the brocade cassock.
If you don't know how things developed, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.
Chapter 18
The Tang Priest Is Rescued in the Guanyin Temple
The Great Sage Removes a Monster from Gao Village
Taking his leave of the Bodhisattva, Monkey brought his cloud in to land, hung the cassock on a nanmu tree, pulled out his cudgel, charged into the Black Wind Cave, and found not a single goblin inside. This was because the appearance of the Bodhisattva in her true form had so terrified them that they had fled in all directions. Evil thoughts welled up in Brother Monkey, and after piling dry firewood all around the multi-storied gate he set it alight, turning the Black Wind Cave into a Red Wind Cave. Then he went back to the North on a beam of magic light.
Sanzang, who had been anxiously waiting for him, was beginning to wonder why he had not come back. Had the Bodhisattva not come when asked to, or had Monkey just made up a story to escape? As he was being racked by these desperate thoughts, a shimmering cloud appeared in mid-air and Monkey came down and knelt before him.
“Master, here's the cassock,” he announced, to Sanzang's great joy.
All the monks of the temple were delighted too, and they exclaimed, “Wonderful, wonderful, our lives are safe at last.”
“Monkey,” said Sanzang as he took the cassock from him, “when you set out this morning you reckoned that it would only take the length of a meal, or until midday at longest. Why have you only come back now, at sunset?” When Monkey gave him a full account of how he had asked the Bodhisattva to transform herself to subdue the monster, Sanzang set up an incense table and bowed low to the South. That done, he said, “Disciple, now that we have the Buddha's robe, pack our luggage as quickly as you can.”
“Not so fast, not so fast,” Monkey replied. “It's already evening, too late to hit the road. Let's set out tomorrow morning.”
The monks all knelt and said, “Lord Monkey is right. For one thing it's too late, and for another we made a vow. Now that all is well and the treasure has been recovered, we would like to carry out that vow and invite Your Lordships to share in the thanksgiving meal. Tomorrow morning we'll see you off on your way West.”
“Yes, yes,” urged Monkey. The monks then emptied their bags and produced everything that was left of what they had saved from the fire to make an offering of food. Then they burnt some paper to bring blessings and recited some sutras to ward off disaster. The ceremonies were finished that evening.
The next morning the horse was curried and the luggage packed, and then they set out. The monks escorted them a long distance before turning back, after which Monkey led the way. It was now early spring.
The grass cushions the horse's hooves,
New leaves emerge from the willow's golden threads.
Apricot vies for beauty with peach;
The wild fig round the path is full of life.
On sun-warmed sandbanks sleep mandarin ducks;
In the flower-scented gully the butterflies are quiet.
After autumn, winter, and half of spring,
Who knows when the journey will end as they find the true word?
One evening, after they had been travelling along a desolate path for six or seven days, master and disciple saw a distant village. “Monkey,” said Sanzang, “do you see the village not far over there? Let's go and ask them to put us up for the night; we can set off again tomorrow morning.”
“Wait till I've made sure it's all right before deciding.” Monkey replied, gazing at the village as his master pulled on the silken rein. He saw
Close-planted bamboo fences,
Many a thatched roof.
Outside the gates soar lofty trees;
Houses are mirrored in the waters under a bridge.
Green grow the willows beside the road,
Fragrant bloom the flowers in the gardens.
As sun sets in the West
Birds sing in the wooded hills.
The smoke of evening rises from the stoves
Along the paths roam sheep and cattle.
Well-fed chickens and pigs sleep under the eaves,
While the drunk old man sings his song next door.
When he had surveyed the scene, Brother Monkey said, “Go ahead, master. It's definitely a good village. We can spend the night there.” Sanzang urged his horse forward, and in a few moments they were at the beginning of the main street. A young man appeared wearing a silken turban, a blue jacket, a pair of trousers tied at the ankles, and a pair of straw sandals. He was carrying an umbrella in his hand and a pack on his back. He was a fine sight as he walked briskly down the street. Monkey grabbed him and asked, “Where are you going? I want to ask you something-where is this?”
The fellow, who was trying to break loose, shouted, “Why ask me? I'm not the only person in the village.”
“Don't be angry, kind sir,” replied Monkey, all smiles. “To help others is to help yourself. What harm can it do to tell me what the place is called? We might be able to bring your troubles to an end, you know.” Struggle as he might, the fellow could not break loose, which made him leap around with fury.
“Damn it, damn it,” he shouted, “I get more bullying from the old man than I can stand, and now I've got to run into you, baldy. You've got it in for me too.”
“If you're good for anything, get out of my grip,” Monkey said. “Do that and I'll let you go.” The young man twisted and turned, but he could not break free-it was as if he were held in a pair of pliers. In his temper he threw down his umbrella and his bundle, and tore at Monkey with both hands, trying to get hold of him. Monkey was holding the luggage in one hand, and with the other he was keeping the young man under control, and no matter how hard the fellow tried he could not get a grip on him. Monkey, however, was now holding him more firmly than ever, and was bursting with fury.
“Monkey,” Sanzang said, “here comes someone else you can ask. Why keep such a tight grip on him? Let him go.”
“You don't understand, master,” replied Monkey with a smile. “It would be no fun to ask anyone else. I have to ask him if there's to be anything to be got out of this.” Seeing that Monkey would not let him go, the fellow started to talk.
“This is Old Gao Village in the country of Stubet, and it's called that because practically everyone here has the surname Gao. Now let me go.”
“From your get-up, you're going on a long journey,” Monkey went on. “Tell me where you're going and what you're up to, then I'll let you go.”
The poor fellow had no option but to tell Monk
ey the truth. “I'm Gao Cai from the family of Squire Gao. His youngest daughter is twenty and not yet married, but three years ago an evil spirit came and took her. He's been staying with us for three years, and the old man isn't at all pleased. There's no future in having a girl marry an evil spirit, he says. It's ruining our family, and we don't get a family of in-laws to visit. He's always wanted to get rid of the evil spirit, but he refuses to go. Now he's shut the girl up in the back building for the best part of a year, and he won't let any of the family see her. My old man gave me two ounces of silver and sent me to find a priest to capture the monster. I've been on the go for ages now, and asked three or four of them, but they were all hopeless monks or pimples of Taoists-none of them could control him. The old man's just been swearing at me as an utter idiot, given me five more ounces of silver as travelling expenses, and told me to find a good priest who'll deal with the monster. Then I was grabbed by you, you evil star, and that's made me later than ever. No wonder I shouted at you: I'm pushed around at home and pushed around when I go out. I never thought you'd be such a good wrestler that I wouldn't be able to break out of your clinch. Let me go now-I've told you everything.”
“You're in luck-we're in the business,” Monkey replied. “This is quite convenient; you needn't go any further or spend any of your money. We're not hopeless monks or pimples of Taoists. We've got some real magic powers, and we know how to deal with evil spirits. This'll do both of us a bit of good. Go back and tell the head of your household that my master is a saintly monk, and the younger brother of the Emperor of the East, who has sent him to visit the Buddha in the Western Heaven and seek the scriptures. We are very good at controlling devils and capturing monsters.”