Journey to the West (vol. 1)

by Wu Cheng-En

  “Why aren't you looking after the Tang Priest,” she asked, “and why have you come to see me.?”

  “My master won a new disciple at Gao Village, Bodhisattva,” Brother Monkey reported. “He's called Zhu Bajie and also has the Buddhist name Wuneng thanks to you. We have now reached the Flowing Sands River after crossing the Yellow Wind Ridge, but it's a thousand miles of Ruo River and my master cannot cross it. On top of this there's an evil monster in the river who's a great fighter, and although our Pig had three great battles with him on the surface of the water, he couldn't beat the ogre, who is still blocking our way and preventing my master from crossing. This is why I've come to see you and ask you in your mercy to help him across.”

  “You have revealed your conceit once again, you ape,” said the Bodhisattva. “Why didn't you tell the monster that you were protecting the Tang Priest?”

  “We wanted to catch him,” Monkey replied, “and make him take our master across the river. As I'm not up to much in the water, Pig was the only one who could find the ogre's den and did all the talking. I expect he never mentioned fetching the scriptures.”

  “The ogre of the Flowing Sands River is the mortal incarnation of the Great Curtain-lifting General,” said Guanyin, “and is a believer whom I converted myself and instructed to protect those who would be coming to fetch the scriptures. If you had told him that you had come from the East to fetch the scriptures, so far from fighting you, he would certainly have joined you.”

  “But the craven monster is now skulking in the river, too frightened to come out,” Monkey said, “so how are we to make him join us, and how is my master to cross the weak water?”

  The Bodhisattva sent for her disciple Huian and produced a red bottle-gourd from her sleeve. “Take this gourd,” she said, “and go with Sun Wukong to the Flowing Sands River. Shout 'Wujing'-'Awakened to Purity'-and he'll come out. First take him to submit to the Tang Priest, and then make him thread his nine skulls on a string like the Sacred Palaces. If he puts this gourd in the middle of them, it will make a dharma boat to ferry the Tang Priest across the river.” In obedience to the Bodhisattva's command, Huian and the Great Sage took the gourd with them from the Tide Cave and the Purple Bamboo Grove. There are some lines to describe it:

  The Five Elements were combined with the heavenly Immortal,

  Recognizing their master of the old days.

  They have been sufficiently refined to achieve great things;

  When true and false are distinguished, origins are seen.

  When Metal joins Nature, like joins like;

  When Wood seeks the Passions, both are lost.

  When the two Earths achieve nirvana,

  Fire and Water will combine, and worldly dust be no more.

  A little later the pair of them brought their clouds down to land on the bank of the Flowing Sands River. Recognizing Huian as Moksa the Novice, Pig led his master forward to meet him. When Moksa had exchanged courtesies with Sanzang, he greeted Pig.

  Then Pig said, “Thanks to Your Holiness's instruction, I was able to meet the Bodhisattva, and since then I have obeyed the Buddhist law and had the pleasure of becoming a monk. As I have been travelling since then, I've been too busy to go and thank you. Please forgive me.”

  “Don't be so longwinded,” said Monkey. “Let's go and call to that wretch.”

  “Call to whom?” asked Sanzang. “I saw the Bodhisattva,” said Monkey, “and told her what had happened. She said that the ogre of the Flowing Sands River is the mortal incarnation of the Great Curtain-lifting General, who was thrown down to this river as a monster because of a crime he had committed in Heaven. He has been converted by the Bodhisattva and has vowed to go to the Western Heaven with you. If we'd told him we were going to fetch the scriptures, there would have been none of this bitter fighting. The Bodhisattva has now sent Moksa to give this gourd to that fellow to make a dharma boat that will ferry you across.” Sanzang bowed in reverence to the Bodhisattva many times when he heard it, and also bowed to Moksa with the words, “Please do this as quickly as you can, Your Holiness.” Moksa then went by cloud and stood over the river with the gourd in his hands.

  “Wujing, Wujing,” he shouted at the top of his voice, “the pilgrims who are going to fetch the scriptures have been here for a long time. Why haven't you submitted to them?”

  The ogre, who had gone back to the river-bed for fear of the Monkey King, was resting in his den when he heard his Buddhist name being called and realized that this was a message from the Bodhisattva Guanyin. On hearing that the pilgrims were there, his fears of being attacked melted away, and he pushed his head up through the waves to see that it was Moksa the Novice. Look at him as he bows to Moksa, his face wreathed in smiles. “I'm sorry I did not welcome you properly, Your Holiness,” he said. “Where is the Bodhisattva?”

  “She didn't come,” Moksa replied. “She sent me to tell you to be the Tang Priest's disciple. You are to take the nine skulls you wear round your neck, arrange them with this gourd in the pattern of the Nine Sacred Palaces, and make a dharma boat to ferry him across this weak water.”

  “Where is the pilgrim?” Wujing asked.

  “There he is, sitting on the bank,” said Moksa, pointing at Sanzang.

  Wujing then noticed Pig and said, “I don't know where that bloody creature is from, but he fought with me for two whole days and never said a word about fetching scriptures. And as for this one,” he added, noticing Monkey, “he's that one's accomplice and a real terror. I'm not going with them.”

  “That one is Zhu Bajie, and this one is Brother Monkey. They are both disciples of the Tang Priest who have been converted by the Bodhisattva, so you have nothing to fear from them. Let me present you to the Tang Priest.” Wujing put away his staff, straightened his yellow brocade tunic, jumped ashore, knelt before the Tang Priest, and said, “Master, your disciple's eyes have no pupils in them-I beg you to forgive me for attacking your followers instead of recognizing who they were.”

  “You pustule,” said Pig, “why did you fight me instead of submitting? What did you mean by it?”

  “You can't blame him, brother,” said Monkey. “We didn't tell him our names or even mention fetching the scriptures.”

  “Do you believe in our teachings with all your heart?” Sanzang asked.

  “I was converted by the Bodhisattva,” Wujing replied, “and she gave me this river's name as a surname and called me by the Buddhist name of Sha Wujing, or Sand Awakened to Purity, so of course I must follow you, master.”

  “In that case,” said Sanzang, “bring the razor over, Monkey, and cut his hair off.” The Great Sage obediently shaved the monster's head, who then bowed to Sanzang, Monkey, and Pig with appropriate degrees of reverence. When Sanzang saw him do this just like a real monk he gave him another name-Friar Sand.

  “Now that you have entered the faith,” said Moksa, “there's no need to waste time talking. Make that dharma boat at once.”

  Friar Sand took the skulls from round his neck without delay and tied them into the pattern of the Nine Palaces with the Bodhisattva's gourd in the middle. Then he asked Sanzang to board it, and Sanzang found when he sat on it that it was as stable as a small dinghy. Pig and Friar San supported him to left and right, while Monkey led the dragon horse through the clouds behind him, and Moksa stood above him on guard. Sanzang thus made a calm and windless crossing of the weak water of the Flowing Sands River. He moved with the speed of an arrow, and it was not long before he climbed ashore on the other side. He was neither wet nor muddy, and his hands and feet were completely dry. Thus it was that master and disciples trod on dry land again without any trouble. Moksa then landed his cloud, and took back the gourd. The nine skulls changed into nine gusts of wind and disappeared. Sanzang bowed to Moksa to thank him and worshipped the Bodhisattva, after which

  Moksa returned to the Eastern Ocean,

  While Sanzang remounted and headed West.

  If you don't know when they won their rewa
rd and fetched the scriptures, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

  Chapter 23

  Sanzang Does Not Forget the Basic

  The Four Holy Ones Have Their Piety Tested

  Long is the road as they travel West;

  In the rustling autumn breeze the frost-killed flowers fall.

  The cunning ape is firmly chained-do not untie him;

  The wicked horse is tightly reined-don't whip him on.

  The Mother of Wood and Father of Metal were originally combined;

  Between the Yellow Mother and the Red Babe there was no difference.

  When the iron pill is bitten open, truth is revealed;

  The Prajna-paramita has reached that person.

  Although this book is about the journey to fetch the scriptures, it never leaves the subject of how the individual strives for the basic. The four of them, having understood the truth, shaken off the chains of the mortal world, and leapt away from the flowing sands of the sea of nature, headed along the main road West free of all impediment. They crossed blue mountains and green rivers, and saw no end of wild flowers. The time flew by, and before long it was autumn. They saw:

  Hills covered with red maple leaves,

  Yellow chrysanthemums braving the evening breeze,

  Aging cicadas singing with less vigor,

  Autumn crickets longing for the days of plenty.

  The lotus was losing its green silken leaves,

  The fragrant orange tree was massed with golden globes.

  Lines of wild geese, alas,

  Spread out like dots across the distant sky.

  As they were travelling along one day, evening drew in, and Sanzang said, “Where are we going to sleep, disciples, now that it's getting late?”

  “That's not the right thing to say, master,” said Monkey. “We monks are supposed to eat the wind and drink the rain, and sleep under the moon and in the frost. Our home is wherever we are. So why ask where we're going to sleep?”

  “You may think that you've had an easy journey,” said Pig, “but you don't give a damn about other people being tired. Ever since we crossed the Flowing Sands River we've been going over mountain ranges, and this heavy load has fairly worn me out. We've got to find a house where we can beg some tea and food and have a good rest-it's only fair.”

  “It sounds to me, idiot, as though you're having regrets,” said Monkey. “I'm afraid you can't have such an easy life now as you did back in Gao Village. If you want to be a monk, you have to suffer-it's the only way of being a true disciple.”

  “How heavy do you think this load is?” Pig asked.

  “I haven't carried it since you and Friar Sand joined us, so how should I know?” Monkey replied.

  “Just add it up,” said Pig. “There are

  Four bundles wrapped in yellow bamboo mats,

  Eight ropes of assorted lengths.

  Then, to keep out rain and damp,

  Three or four layers of felt around it

  The carrying-pole is terrible slippery

  With nails at either end.

  Then there's a bronze and iron nine-ringed staff

  And a cape made of bamboo and creeper.

  With all this luggage to carry day after day of course I find the going heavy. While you're allowed to be the master's disciple, I'm treated as a hired hand.”

  “Who do you think you're talking to, idiot?” Monkey asked.

  “I'm talking to you, elder brother,” said Pig.

  “You shouldn't be complaining about this to me,” Monkey replied. “My job is to look after the master's safety, while you and Friar Sand look after the horse and the luggage. And if there's any slacking from you, you'll feel a heavy stick about you ankles.”

  “Don't threaten me with a beating, brother,” said Pig, “that would be bullying. I know that you're too high and mighty to carry the luggage, but the master's horse is a big, sturdy animal to be carrying only one old monk. I'd be very happy if it could carry a few pieces of luggage.”

  “Do you think he's a horse?” Monkey asked. “He's no ordinary horse. He was the son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the Western Sea, and his name is Prince Dragon-horse. Because he burnt the palace pearls his father reported on him as an offender against the Heavenly Code. Luckily for him, his life saved by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, and he waited a long time for the master in the Eagle's Sorrow Gorge. He was honoured by another visit from the Bodhisattva, who took off his scales and horns, removed the pearls from under his neck, and turned him into this horse, which has sworn to carry the master to the Western Heaven to visit the Buddha. This is a matter of him winning merit for himself, so you'd better leave him alone.”

  “Is he really a dragon?” asked Friar Sand when he heard this.

  “Yes,” Monkey replied.

  “I've heard an old saying,” Pig remarked, “that dragons can breathe out clouds, make the dust and sand fly, pull mountain ranges up by their roots, and turn oceans upside down. How is it that he's moving so slowly now?”

  “If you want to see him go fast,” Monkey replied, “I'll make him go fast for you.” The splendid Great Sage gripped his iron cudgel, and countless luminous clouds sprang from it. When the horse saw him grab the cudgel he thought he was going to be hit with it, and in his terror he shot off at the speed of lightning. Sanzang was too weak to rein him in as the equine dashed up the mountainside for all his evil nature was worth before he slackened his pace. When Sanzang began to get his breath back, he looked up and saw some fine houses in the shade of a bamboo grove:

  Cypresses were bending over the gates

  Of the houses near the blue mountain.

  There were several spreading pines

  And some molded bamboo.

  Wild chrysanthemum outside the fence, beautiful in the frost;

  The orchid by the bridge reflected red in the water.

  A whitewashed, plastered wall

  Surrounded it.

  Handsome was the lofty hall,

  Peaceful the main building.

  There was no sign of oxen or sheep, or chickens, or dogs;

  It seemed to be the slack season after harvest.

  Sanzang stopped the horse to take a longer look, and then he saw Monkey and the others arrive. “You didn't fall off the horse, master?” asked Monkey.

  “You gave this horse a terrible fright, you filthy ape,” Sanzang said, “but I kept my seat.”

  “Don't tell me off, master,” said Monkey, putting on a smile. “It was only because Pig said the horse was going too slowly that I made him speed up a bit.”

  The blockhead Pig, who had been running quite fast after the horse, was puffing and panting as he mumbled, “Enough of this. When you're bent double you can't relax. Although I'm carrying a load so heavy I can't pick it up, you make me go running after the horse.”

  “Disciple,” said Sanzang, “do you see the farm over there? Let's ask if we can spend the night there.” Monkey immediately looked up, saw that the sky above it was full of clouds of blessing, and knew that the farm had been miraculously produced by the Buddha or some Immortals.

  Not daring to give away the secrets of Heaven, however, he only said, “Splendid, splendid, let's ask if we can lodge there.” Dismounting from his horse, Sanzang saw a gate-house with pillars like elephants' trunks and beams that had been painted and carved.

  Friar Sand put down the carrying-pole and Pig said as he held the horse, “This is a very wealthy house.”

  Monkey was on the point of going in when Sanzang said, “No, we men of religion should avoid incurring suspicion. You mustn't go charging in. We should wait till somebody comes out and then ask politely for lodging.” Pig tethered the horse at the sloping base of the wall while Sanzang sat on a stone stool, and Friar Sand and Monkey sat beside the steps. When nobody appeared for a long time Monkey jumped up impatiently and went through the gate to have a look. He saw a large hall facing South whose tall windows were shaded with bamboo curtains. Over the doorway di
viding the inner and outer parts of the house was a horizontal landscape painting symbolizing long life and blessings, and on the gold-painted columns flanking the door was pasted a pair of scrolls reading:

  “The tender willow leaves sway in the evening by the bridge;

  When the plum-blossom looks like snowflakes it is spring in the courtyard.

  In the middle of the room was an incense table whose black lacquer had been polished, an ancient animal-shaped bronze incense-burner standing on it, and six chairs. Pictures of the four seasons were hung on the walls at either end of the hall.

  As Monkey was peeping inside he heard footsteps from behind the door at the back. A woman, neither old nor young, came out, and asked in a charming voice, “Who has forced his way into this widow's house of mine?”

  The Great Sage hastened to greet her respectfully and say, “I am a humble monk from the Great Tang in the East, under imperial orders to go to the West to worship the Buddha and ask for the scriptures. There are four of us altogether, and since our journey has brought us this way as evening is drawing in, we have come to your mansion, divine patroness, to beg for a night's lodging.”

  She returned his greeting with a smile and said, “Where are the other three gentlemen, venerable sir?” at which Monkey shouted, “Master, come in.” Sanzang, Pig and Friar Sand then came in, bringing the horse and the luggage with them. As the woman came out of the hall to welcome them, Pig stole a glance at her with greedy eyes.

  She wore a green silk gown,

  And over it a pale red jacket;

  A skirt of yellow brocade,

  Below which showed thick-soled shoes.

  Her fashionable coiffure was veiled in black,

  Which suited her graying locks, coiled like a dragon;

  Palace-style ivory combs shone with red and green,

  And two golden pins adorned her hair.