by Unknown
Pilgrim said, “Because I passed through this region and saw how the people suffered from such a prolonged drought, I asked you especially to come and bring relief. Why are you making excuses?”
“Would I dare do that?” said the dragon king. “When the Great Sage recited his magic spell, I would never dare not show up. But I have not been authorized by Heaven in the first place, and, second, I have not brought along the divine warriors in charge of making rain. How could I start anything? If the Great Sage indeed has such eleemosynary intentions, allow this little dragon to return to the sea and summon his troops. Meanwhile, let the Great Sage make a memorial at the Celestial Palace and ask for an imperial decree authorizing the descent of rain. Request the aquatic officials to let loose the dragons, and then I’ll be able to make rain according to the amount specified by the decree.”
As Pilgrim could not quite controvert this proper argument that the old dragon offered, he had to let him return to the sea. He himself then jumped out of the star-treading pattern to give the Tang Monk a thorough account of what had happened. “In that case,” said the Tang Monk, “you may go and do your duty, but you must not utter even a word of falsehood.” Pilgrim at once gave this injunction to Eight Rules and Sha Monk: “Guard the master, for I’m going up to the Celestial Palace.”
Dear Great Sage! He said he was leaving and at once vanished from sight. Quaking with fear, the prefect asked, “Where has Venerable Father Sun gone to?”
“He mounted the clouds to ascend to Heaven,” said Eight Rules, chuckling. The prefect became more respectful than ever. An order was hurriedly dispatched to the broad boulevards and narrow alleys, asking all the people—whether they be nobles or plebeians, civilian or military—to set up a placard for the dragon king in front of each household. Clean water jars with willow twigs stuck inside were to be placed by the doors, and incense was to be burned so that all could worship Heaven. Here we shall leave them for the moment.
We tell you instead about Pilgrim, who reached the West Heaven Gate with a single cloud somersault. The Devarāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra led a group of celestial soldiers and vīra to greet him with the question: “Great Sage, have you completed the enterprise of scripture seeking?”
“The end can’t be too far off,” replied Pilgrim. “We have reached the border of the Kingdom of India, where there is an outer prefecture by the name of Phoenix-Immortal. That place has not had rain for three years, and the people are in terrible straits. Old Monkey wanted to pray for rain to bring relief, but when I summoned the dragon king there, he claimed that he dared not do it on his own authority. I have come here, therefore, to request a decree from the Jade Emperor.”
“I am quite sure that rain is forbidden at that particular place,” said the devarāja, “for I have heard that the prefect, because of some mischief, has offended Heaven and Earth. As a punishment, the Jade Emperor established a rice mountain, a noodle mountain, and a huge square lock of gold. Until these three things are overturned, there will be no rain for the region.” Not knowing, however, what the devarāja was speaking of, Pilgrim insisted on an audience with the Jade Emperor. The devarāja dared not bar his way, and he was permitted to go inside till he reached the Hall of Perfect Light. He was then met by the Four Celestial Masters, who asked, “What is the Great Sage doing here?”
“While escorting the Tang Monk,” said Pilgrim, “I arrived at the border of the Kingdom of India. Because of a severe drought at the Prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal, the prefect sought magicians to make rain. When old Monkey managed to summon the dragon king and ask him to make rain, he said that he dared not do it without the explicit decree of the Jade Emperor. Hence I’ve come to request a decree to relieve the people’s suffering.” “But it should not rain at that region,” said the Celestial Masters.
With a laugh, Pilgrim said, “Whether it should or not, please announce my presence and see whether old Monkey can win this favor.”
The Immortal Ge said, “As the proverb has it, ‘A fly wraps around a net—what a large countenance!’”4 “Stop this babbling!” said Xu Jingyang. “Let’s take him inside.” Thereupon Qiu Hongzhi, Zhang Daoling, Ge, and Xu—these four realized immortals—led the visitor into the Hall of Divine Mists to memorialize, saying, “Your Majesty, we have here Sun Wukong, who is passing through the Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture of the Kingdom of India. Wishing rain for the people, he has come especially to seek your decree.”
“On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month three years ago,” said the Jade Emperor, “we were out on tour to inspect the myriad heavens and float through the Three Realms. When we arrived at that particular region, we had occasion to witness that Shangguan right in the midst of his wickedness. He pushed over the sacrificial maigre intended for offering to Heaven and fed it to dogs instead. Furthermore, he even made obscene utterances and committed the sin of blasphemy. For this reason, we established three things in the Fragrance-Draping Hall, to which all of you should lead Sun Wukong to see. If these things have been overturned, we shall grant him a decree; if not, he should be told to mind his own business.”
The four Celestial Masters at once led Pilgrim to the hall to look around. There they came upon a mountain of rice, about one hundred feet tall, and a mountain of noodles, about two hundred feet in height. At the side of the rice mountain was a chicken no larger than a human fist, which was pecking at the rice at a rather irregular pace—now speeding up, now slowing down. Over at the noodle mountain was a golden-haired puppy, a Peking pug, which, with an occasional flick of his tongue, was lapping up some of the noodles. On the left side of the hall, moreover, there was an iron rack with a large square lock, at least fifteen inches in length, hanging from it. Beneath the key of the lock, no thicker than a human finger, was a small lamp, its tiny flame barely touching the key.
Not knowing what to make of the sight, Pilgrim turned to ask the Celestial Masters, “What does this mean?” One of them replied, “Because that fellow has offended Heaven, the Jade Emperor established these three things. Not until the chicken has finished pecking the rice, the dog has lapped up all the noodles, and the lamp has burned through the key of the lock will there be rain in that region.”
When he heard these words, Pilgrim was so taken aback that he paled with fright. Not daring to present another memorial to the Emperor, he walked out of the hall, visibly embarrassed. “The Great Sage need not be overly perplexed,” said one of the preceptors. “This affair can only be resolved by virtue, for if there is a single thought of kindness and mercy to stir up Heaven above, the rice and noodle mountains will topple immediately, and the lock key too will snap at once. You must go and persuade that prefect to do good, and blessing will be on its way.” Pilgrim agreed.
Not taking leave of the Jade Emperor at Divine Mists,
He went straightaway below to answer a mortal man.
In a moment he arrived at the West Heaven Gate, where he saw Devarāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra again. “Did you succeed in getting a decree?” asked the devarāja. Having given an account of the matter of the rice mountain, the noodle mountain, and the golden lock, Pilgrim said, “He did refuse to grant me a decree, as you told me he would. But when the Celestial Masters sent me off just now, they also instructed me to persuade that fellow to return to virtue, and blessing would come to him as before.” Thus they parted, and Pilgrim descended on a cloud to the Region Below.
When he arrived, the prefect, Tripitaka, Eight Rules, Sha Monk, and all the officials, great and small, crowded around him to question him about his journey. Pilgrim singled out the prefect and bellowed at him, “Because you offended Heaven and Earth three years ago, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, you brought a great ordeal on your people, for Heaven now refuses to grant you rain.” These words so astonished the prefect that he fell prostrate on the ground, asking, “How did the master learn of the incident three years ago?”
“How could you,” said Pilgrim, “push down sacrificial maigre intended for offering to H
eaven and feed it to dogs? You’d better give us an honest account!”
Not daring to conceal anything, the prefect said, “On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month three years ago, we indeed offered sacrificial maigre to Heaven in our residence. Because of my wife’s ill behavior—she taunted me, in fact, with some nasty words—I was momentarily blinded by anger and pushed down the votive table, spilling all the vegetarian food. At that point I did in fact get the dogs to come and eat it up. Since then this incident has lingered in my memory and often driven me to distraction, but I know of no way to present an explanation. I hadn’t realized that Heaven above took offense and brought harm to the people on my account. Now that the master has descended again to this region, I beg you to reveal to me how Heaven intends to reckon with me.”
Pilgrim said, “That day happened to be the epiphany of the Jade Emperor to the Region Below. When he saw you feeding the sacrificial maigre to dogs and mouthing obscene words, he at once set up three things as reminders of your transgression.”
“What three things?” asked Eight Rules.
“At the Fragrance-Draping Hall,” replied Pilgrim, “a rice mountain approximately one hundred feet tall and a noodle mountain about two hundred feet in height were set up. By the rice mountain there was a chicken no larger than a fist, pecking away rather leisurely at the rice. At the noodle mountain there was a golden-haired Peking pug, lapping up some of the noodles with an occasional flick of his tongue. On the left side of the hall, moreover, there was an iron rack with a huge lock made of yellow gold hanging from it, its key as thick as a finger. Below the key is a lamp, but the flame is barely touching the key. Not until the chicken has finished pecking the rice, the dog lapping up the noodles, and the lamp burning through the key is there to be rain in this region.”
Chuckling, Eight Rules said, “No problem! No problem! If Elder Brother is willing to take me there, I’ll undergo magical transformation and finish off all that rice and noodle in a single meal. We’ll break the key, too, and there’ll be rain.”
“Stop babbling, Idiot!” said Pilgrim. “This happens to be a device of Heaven. How could you undo it?”
“In that case,” said Tripitaka, “what shall we do?”
“It’s not too difficult! It’s not too difficult!” said Pilgrim. “When I was about to come back, the Four Celestial Masters told me that this matter could be resolved only by doing good.”
Prostrating himself on the ground, the prefect pleaded, “I beg the master to inform me. This lowly official will obey all your instructions.”
“If you indeed repent and return to virtue,” said Pilgrim, “and make it your early practice to worship Buddha and read scriptures, I shall see what I can do for you. But if you refuse to change, even I cannot undo your miseries. Before long Heaven will decree your execution, and your life will not be spared.”
Touching his head to the ground, the prefect vowed that he would submit to religion. At once he gave the order for Buddhist and Daoist clerics of his region to begin performing services for three days, about which they had to write up detailed documents, burn them, and send them to Heaven above. The prefect himself personally led his subjects in worship and in the presentation of incense in order to appease Heaven and Earth and do penance. Tripitaka, too, also recited sūtras for him. In the meantime, another order was dispatched with all speed to every household within and without the city: each man and woman was to burn incense and chant the name of Buddha. From that moment on the sound of good works could be heard everywhere.
Highly pleased by what he saw and heard, Pilgrim said to Eight Rules and Sha Monk, “The two of you should take care to guard our master. Let old Monkey make another trip for him.” “Elder Brother,” asked Eight Rules, “where do you want to go this time?”
“Since this prefect has believed the words of old Monkey,” replied Pilgrim, “and has received indeed our teachings, and since he is now chanting the name of Buddha with due reverence, compassion, and sincerity, I will go again to memorialize to the Jade Emperor and beg some rain for him.” “If you wish to go, Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “you need not hesitate so that our journey will not be delayed. Do finish this rain service for them in order that our right fruit, too, may be perfected.”
Dear Great Sage! Mounting the clouds, he reached the Heaven Gate, where he was greeted by the question of Devarāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “Why are you here again?” “That prefect,” replied Pilgrim, “has already returned to virtue.” The devarāja, too, was delighted. As they conversed, they saw the Messenger of Direct Talismans arrive, holding Daoist documents and Buddhist rescripts to be sent through the Heaven Gate. When the messenger saw Pilgrim, he saluted him, saying, “This is the merit of the Great Sage in his evangelical work.”
“Where are you sending these documents?” asked Pilgrim.
“To the Hall of Perfect Light,” replied the messenger, “so that the Celestial Masters may present them before the Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Honored One.” “In that case,” Pilgrim said, “you walk ahead, and I’ll follow you.”
As the talismans messenger entered the gate, Devarāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra said, “Great Sage, there’s no need for you to have an audience with the Jade Emperor. You need only to go to the Bureau of Appointed Seasons of the Ninefold Heaven and ask for the thunder deities. When you have started the thunder and lightning, rain will be on its way.”
Indeed Pilgrim followed his advice; after entering the Heaven Gate, he did not proceed to seek another decree at the Hall of Divine Mists. Instead, turning his step on the clouds, he went straight to the Bureau of Appointed Seasons of the Ninefold Heaven. He was met by the Thunder Gate Messenger, the Recorder of Collective Registry, and the Recorder of the Provincial Judicial Commission, who saluted him and asked, “To what do we owe this visit, Great Sage?”
“There’s something,” replied Pilgrim, “for which I must have an audience with the Celestial Worthy.” The three messengers at once went in to make the announcement, and the Celestial Worthy walked out from behind the royal cinnabar screen adorned with nine phoenixes. After having tidied his attire, he met his visitor. When they had finished their exchange of greetings, Pilgrim said, “I’ve come with a special request.”
“What is it?” asked the Celestial Worthy. Pilgrim said, “I escorted the Tang Monk to the Prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal. When he saw how severe a drought they have been having, I promised the people that I would seek rain on their behalf. Now I’ve come specially to request the assistance of your officers to go there and provide thunder.”
“I happen to know that the prefect has offended Heaven,” said the Celestial Worthy, “as a result of which three conditions have been established. I wonder if it should rain in that region.” Pilgrim said, “Yesterday I went to request a decree from the Jade Emperor, and he told the Celestial Masters to lead me to the Fragrance-Draping Hall to look at those three conditions. They were actually a rice mountain, a noodle mountain, and a golden lock. The condition was that only when the mountains topple and the key snaps would there be rain. I was deeply troubled by the difficulty of meeting these conditions, but the Celestial Masters instructed me to go and persuade the prefect and his subjects to do good. Their idea was that
When man has a virtuous thought,
Heaven will grant him support.
They assured me, in fact, that the works of virtue would alter the Mind of Heaven and bring deliverance to the people’s suffering. Now that a virtuous thought has indeed sprung up in the prefect and that the sound of virtue can be heard everywhere in that region, the Messenger of Direct Talismans has already reported to the Jade Emperor with documents recording such deeds of repentance and penance. That is the reason old Monkey has come to your honored residence to request the assistance of your thunder officials.”
“In that case,” said the Celestial Worthy, “I’ll send the Squires of Thunder—Deng, Xin, Zhang, and Tao—who will lead the Mother of Lightning to follow the Great Sage to
the Prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal to sound the thunder.” In a little while, the four warriors, on arriving at the region of Phoenix-Immortal with the Great Sage, immediately began to exercise their magic in midair. All you could hear were powerful peals of thunder, and all you could see were blinding flashes of lightning. Truly
Electric flash like purple-gold snake,
And thunder like all creatures aroused.
Ablaze are the flying flames;
The cracks topple mountain caves.
The lightning lights up the heavens;
The tumult unhinges the earth.
One scarlet gold flash the seedlings quickens;
A whole, large empire is rocked and shaken.
For three full years the people at the Prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal, regardless of whether they were civilians or military personnel, or whether they lived inside or outside of the city, had not heard the sound of thunder. When they encountered both thunder and lightning this day, all of them fell to their knees. Some of them held up incense braziers on their heads, while others picked up willow twigs; all of them chanted, “Namo Amitābha! Namo Amitābha!” Such a cry of virtue indeed alerted Heaven above, just as the ancient poem said:
One wish born in the heart of man
Is known throughout Heaven and Earth.
If vice or virtue lacks reward,
Unjust must be the universe.
Let us leave the Great Sage for a moment, as he directed the deities who were producing thunder and lightning at the Prefecture of Phoenix-Immortal. We tell you instead of the Messenger of Direct Talismans in the Region Above, who escorted the documents of both Buddhists and Daoists up to the Hall of Perfect Light. They were then taken by the Four Celestial Masters to present to the Jade Emperor. The Emperor said, “If those fellows down there have turned their thoughts to good, we should take a look at the three conditions.” Even as he was speaking, a guard from the Fragrance-Draping Hall arrived to make this report: “Not only have the rice and noodle mountains toppled, but all the rice and noodles have vanished in an instant. The key to the lock is also broken.”