by Wu Cheng-En
“But how can we do it through our efforts?” Sanzang asked after dismounting.
“It'd certainly be hard to cross the mountain as it is now,” Monkey said, still smiling, “and it would be even harder to cut a new path. We'll have to go by the old lane. The only thing that worries me is that there may be nobody to provide the food.”
“What a thing to say, venerable sir,” old Mr. Li said. “We can support you gentlemen for as long as you care to stay here. You can't say that nobody will provide the food.”
“In that case, go and prepare two hundredweight of parched grain, as well as some steamed cakes and buns,” said Monkey. “When our long-snouted monk has eaten his fill he'll turn into a giant boar and clear the old lane with his snout. Then my master will be able to ride his horse over the mountain while we support him. He'll certainly get across.”
“Brother,” said Pig, “you want to keep all the rest of you clean. Why should I be the only one to stink?”
“Wuneng,” said Sanzang, “if you can clear the lane with your snout and get me across the mountain that will be a very great good deed to your credit.”
“Master, benefactors, please don't tease me,” said Pig with a smile. “I can do thirty-six transformations. If you ask me to become something that's light or delicate or beautiful or that flies I just can't. But ask me to turn into a mountain, a tree, a rock, a mound of earth, an elephant, a hog, a water buffalo or a camel and I can manage any of them. The only thing is that the bigger I make myself the bigger my belly gets. I can't do things properly unless it's full.”
“We've got plenty,” the people said, “We've got plenty. We've brought parched grain, fruit, griddle cakes and ravioli. We were going to give them to you when we'd made a path across the mountain. They can all be brought out for you to eat now. When you've transformed yourself and started work we'll send some people back to prepare more food to send you on your way with.” Pig was beside himself with delight.
Taking off his tunic and putting down his nine-pronged rake he said to them all, “Don't laugh at me. Just watch while I win merit doing this filthy job.” The splendid idiot made a spell with his hands, shook himself, and turned himself into a giant hog. Indeed:
His snout was long, his bristles short, and half of him was fat;
As a piglet in the mountains he had fed on herbs and simples.
Black was his face and his eyes as round as sun or moon;
The great ears on his head were just like plantain leaves.
His bones he'd made so strong he would live as long as heaven;
His thick skin had been tempered till it was hard as iron.
He grunted with a noise that came from a blocked-up nose;
His gasping breath rasped harshly in his throat.
Each of his four white trotters was a thousand feet high;
Every sword-like bristle was hundreds of yards in length.
Since pigs were first kept and fattened by mankind
Never had such a monster porker been seen as this today.
The Tang Priest and the rest were full of admiration
For Marshal Tian Peng and his magic powers.
Seeing what Pig had turned into, Brother Monkey asked the people who had come to see them off to pile up all the parched grain at once and told Pig to eat it. Not caring whether it was cooked or raw, the idiot downed it all at one gulp, then went forward to clear the way. Monkey told Friar Sand to take his sandals off and carry the luggage carefully and advised his master to sit firm in the carved saddle.
Then he took off his own tall boots and told everyone else to go back: “Could you be very kind and send some more food as soon as possible to keep my brother's strength up?”
Of the seven or eight hundred who were seeing the pilgrims off most had come on mules or horse and they rushed back to the village like shooting stars. The three hundred who were on foot stood at the bottom of the mountain to watch the travelers as they went away. Now it was ten miles or more from the village to the mountain, and another journey of over ten miles each way to fetch the food, making over thirty in all, so by the time they were back master and disciples were already far ahead of them. Not wanting to miss the pilgrims, the villagers drove their mules and horses into the lane and carried on after them through the night, only catching them up the next morning.
“Pilgrims,” they shouted, “wait a moment, wait a moment, sirs. We've brought food for you.” When Sanzang heard this he thanked them profusely, said that they were good and faithful people, and told Pig to rest and eat something to build up his strength. The idiot, who was on the second day of clearing the way with his snout, was by now ravenously hungry. The villagers had brought much more than seven or eight hundredweight of food, which he scooped up and devoured all at once, not caring whether it was rice or wheat. When he had eaten his fill he went back to clearing the way, while Sanzang, Monkey and Friar Sand thanked the villagers and took leave of them. Indeed:
The peasants all went back to Tuoluo Village;
Across the mountain Pig had cleared the way.
Sanzang's faith was backed up by great power;
Sun's demon-quelling arts were on display.
A thousand years of filth went in a single morning;
The Seven Perfections Lane was opened up today,
The dirt of six desires all now removed,
Towards the Lotus Throne they go to pray.
If you don't know how much longer their journey was going to be or what evil monsters they would meet listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 68
In the Land of Purpuria the Tang Priest Discusses History
Sun the Pilgrim in His Charity Offers to Be a Doctor
When good is right all causes disappear;
Its fame is spread through all four continents.
In the light of wisdom they climb the other shore;
Soughing dark clouds are blown from the edge of the sky.
All the Buddhas give them help,
Sitting for ever on their thrones of jade.
Smash the illusions of the human world,
Cease!
Cleanse the dirt; provoke no misery.
The story tells how Sanzang and his disciples cleaned the lane of its filth and pressed far ahead along the road. Time passed quickly and the weather was scorching again. Indeed:
The begonias spread their globes of brocade;
Lotus leaves split their own green dishes.
Fledgling swallows hide in the roadside willows;
Travelers wave their silken fans for relief from the heat.
As they carried on their way a walled and moated city appeared before them. Reining in his horse, Sanzang, said, “Disciples, can you see where this is?”
“You can't read, Master,” Monkey exclaimed. “How ever did you get the Tang Emperor to send you on this mission?”
“I have been a monk since I was a boy and read classics and scriptures by the thousand,” Sanzang replied. “How could you say I can't read?”
“Well,” Monkey replied, “if you can, why ask where we are instead of reading the big clear writing on the apricot-yellow flag over the city wall?”
“Wretched ape,” Sanzang shouted, “you're talking nonsense. The flag is flapping much too hard in the wind for anyone to read what, if anything, is on it.”
“Then how could I read it?” Monkey asked.
“Don't rise to his bait, Master,” Pig and Friar Sand said. “From this distance we can't even see the walls and moat clearly, never mind words in a banner.”
“But doesn't it say Purpuria?” Monkey asked.
“Purpuria must be a Western kingdom,” Sanzang said. “We shall have to present our passport.”
“Goes without saying,” Monkey observed.
They were soon outside the city gates, where the master dismounted, crossed the bridge, and went in through the triple gates. It was indeed a splendid metropolis. This is what could be seen:
Lofty gate-towers,
Regular battlements,
Living waters flowing around,
Mountains facing to North and South.
Many are the goods in the streets and markets,
And all the citizens do thriving business.
This is a city fit for a monarch.
A capital endowed by heaven.
To this distant realm come travelers by land and water;
Jade and silk abound in this remoteness.
It is more beautiful than the distant ranges;
The palace rises to the purity of space.
Closely barred are the passes leading here,
When peace and prosperity have lasted for ever.
As master and disciples walked along the highways and through the markets they saw that the people were tall, neatly dressed and well spoken. Indeed, they were not inferior to those of the Great Tang. When the traders who stood on either side of the road saw how ugly Pig was, how tall and dark-featured Friar Sand was, and how hairy and wide-browed Monkey was they all dropped their business and came over to see them.
“Don't provoke trouble,” Sanzang called to them. “Hold your heads down.” Pig obediently tucked his snout into his chest and Friar Sand did not dare look up. Monkey, however, stared all around him as he kept close to the Tang Priest. The more sensible people went away again after taking a look, but the idlers, the curious and the naughty children among the spectators jeered, threw bricks and tiles at the strangers, and mocked Pig.
“Whatever you do, don't get into a row,” Sanzang said again in great anxiety. The idiot kept his head down.
Before long they turned a corner and saw a gate in a wall over which was written HOSTEL OF MEETING in large letters. “We are going into this government office,” Sanzang said.
“Why?” Monkey asked.
“The Hostel of Meeting is a place where people from all over the world are received, so we can go and disturb them,” said Sanzang. “Let's rest there. When I have seen the king and presented our passport we can leave the city and be on our way again.” When Pig heard this he brought his snout out, so terrifying the people following behind that dozens of them collapsed.
“The master's right,” said Pig, stepping forward. “Let's shelter inside there and get away from these damned mockers.” They went inside, after which the people began to disperse.
There were two commissioners in the hostel, a senior one and his assistant, and they were in the hall checking over their personnel before going to receive an official when, to their great consternation, the Tang Priest suddenly appeared.
“Who are you?” they asked together. “Who are you? Where are you going?”
“I have been sent by His Majesty the Tang Emperor to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven,” the Tang Priest replied, putting his hands together in front of his chest. “Having reached your illustrious country I did not dare to try to sneak through. I would like to submit my passport for inspection so that we may be allowed to continue our way. Meanwhile we would like to rest in your splendid hostel.”
When the two commissioners heard this they dismissed their subordinates, put on their full official dress and went down from the main hall to greet the visitors. They instructed that the guest rooms be tidied up for them to sleep in and ordered vegetarian provisions for them. Sanzang thanked them, and the two officials led their staff out of the hall. Some of their attendants invited the visitors to sleep in the guest rooms.
Sanzang went with them, but Monkey complained bitterly, “Damned cheek. Why won't they let me stay in the main hall?”
“The people here don't come under the jurisdiction of our Great Tang and they have no connections with our country either. Besides, their superiors often come to stay. It is difficult for them to entertain us.”
“In that case.” Monkey replied, “I insist on them entertaining us properly.”
As they were talking the manager brought their provisions: a dish each of white rice and wheat flour, two cabbages, four pieces of beancurd, two pieces of wheat gluten, a dish of dried bamboo shoots and a dish of “tree-ear” fungus. Sanzang told his disciples to receive the provisions and thanked the manager.
“There's a clean cooking-stove in the Western room,” the manager said, “and it's easy to light the firewood in it. Would you please cook your own food?”
“May I ask you if the king is in the palace?” Sanzang asked.
“His Majesty has not attended court for a long time,” the manager replied. “But today is an auspicious one, and he is discussing the issue of a notice with his civil and military officials. You'd better hurry if you want to get there in time to submit your passport to him. Tomorrow will be too late to do it, and goodness knows how long you'll have to wait.”
“Wukong,” said Sanzang, “you three prepare the meal while I hurry there to have our passport inspected. After we have eaten we can be on our way.” Pig quickly unpacked the cassock and passport for Sanzang, who dressed himself and set out for the palace, instructing his disciples not to leave the hostel or make trouble.
Before long the Tang Priest was outside the Tower of Five Phoenixes at the outer palace gate. The towering majesty of the halls and the splendor of the tall buildings and terraces beggared description. When he reached the main Southern gate he requested the reporting officer to announce to the court his wish to have his passport inspected.
The eunuch officer at the gate went to the steps of the throne, where he submitted the following memorial: “There is a monk at the palace gate sent by the Great Tang in the East to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures at the Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven. He wishes to submit his passport for approval. I await Your Majesty's command.”
When the king heard this he replied happily, “For a long time we have been too ill to sit on our throne. Today we are in the throne room to issue a notice sending for doctors, and now a distinguished monk has arrived in our country.” He ordered that the monk be summoned to the steps of the throne. Sanzang abased himself in reverence. The king then summoned him into the throne room, invited him to sit down, and ordered the department of foreign relations to arrange a vegetarian meal. Sanzang thanked the king for his kindness and presented his passport.
When he had read it through the king said with great delight, “Master of the Law, how many dynasties have ruled in your land of Great Tang? How many generations of wise ministers have there been? After what illness did the Tang emperor come back to life, so that he sent you on this long and difficult journey to fetch the scriptures?”
On being asked all these questions the venerable elder bowed, put his hands together and said, “In my country,
The Three Emperors ruled,
The Five Rulers established morality.
Yao and Shun took the throne,
Yu and Tang gave the people peace.
Many were the offspring of Chengzhou
Who each established their own states,
Bullying the weak with their own strength,
Dividing the realm and proclaiming themselves rulers.
Eighteen such lords of local states
Divided the territory up to the borders.
Later they became a dozen,
Bringing peace to the cosmic order.
But those who had no chariots of war
Were swallowed up by others.
When the seven great states contended
Six of them had to surrender to Qin.
Heaven gave birth to Liu Bang and Xiang Yu,
Each of whom cherished wicked ideas.
The empire then belonged to Han
According to the stipulations agreed between the two.
Power passed from Han to the Sima clan,
Till Jin in its turn fell into chaos.
Twelve states ruled in North and South,
Among them Song, Qi, Liang and Chen.
Emperors ruled in succession to each other
Till the Great Sui restored th
e true unity.
Then it indulged in evil and wickedness.
Inflicting misery on the common people.
Our present rulers, the House of Li,
Have given the name of Tang to the state.
Since the High Ancestor passed on the throne
The reigning monarch has been Li Shimin.
The rivers have run clear and the seas been calm
Thanks to his great virtue and his benevolence.
North of the city of Chang'an
Lived a wicked river dragon
Who gave the timely rain in short measure,
For which he deserved to pay with his death.
One night he came in a dream to the emperor,
Asking the monarch to spare his life.
The emperor promised to grant a pardon
And sent for his wise minister early next day.
He kept him there inside the palace,
Filling his time with a long game of chess.
But at high noon the minister
Slept, and in a dream cut off the dragon's head.”
On hearing this the king groaned and asked, “Master of the Law, which country did that wise minister come from?”
“He was our emperor's prime minister Wei Zheng, astrologer, geographer, master of the Yin and Yang, and one of the great founders and stabilizers of our state,” Sanzang explained. “Because he beheaded the Dragon King of the Jing River in his dream, the dragon brought a case in the Underworld against our emperor for having him decapitated after granting a pardon. The emperor became very ill and his condition was critical. Wei Zhang wrote him a letter to take to the Underworld and give to Cui Jue, the judge of Fengdu. Soon after that the emperor died, only to come back to life on the third day. It was thanks to Wei Zheng that Judge Cui was persuaded to alter a document and give His Majesty an extra twenty years of life. He held a great Land and Water Mass and dispatched me on this long journey to visit many lands, worship the Buddha and fetch the Three Stores of Mahayana scriptures that will raise all the sufferers from evil up to Heaven.”