The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2

by Unknown

  Pilgrim said, “Just now I was so vexed that I was about to use the invitation card as evidence and file suit against you at the Heavenly court, charging you with conspiracy with a fiend and kidnapping. But according to what you have told me, it’s really the fault of that fellow who disobeys your instructions. I’ll pardon you this time—for the sake of my relationship with you and your brothers, and on account of the fact that that dragon is young and ignorant after all. And also, you have no knowledge of that matter. Quickly dispatch someone to arrest him and rescue my master. We’ll then decide what to do next.”

  Aoshun at once gave this command to the prince, Moang: “Call up immediately five hundred young soldiers of shrimps and fishes; arrest that iguana and bring him back here for indictment. Meanwhile, let us prepare some wine and a banquet as our apology to the Great Sage.” “Dragon King,” said Pilgrim, “you needn’t be so edgy. I told you just now that I would pardon you. Why bother to prepare wine and food? I must go now with your son, for I fear that Master may be harmed and my brother is waiting for me.”

  Unable to detain his guest with even desperate pleadings, the old dragon asked one of his daughters to present tea. Pilgrim drank one cup of the fragrant tea while standing up and then took leave of the old dragon. He and Moang led the troops from the Western Ocean and soon arrived in the Black River. “Worthy Prince,” said Pilgrim, “take care to catch the fiend. I’m going ashore.” “Have no worry, Great Sage,” said Moang. “This little dragon will arrest him and take him up here for the Great Sage to convict him of his crime. Only after your master has been sent up also will I dare take him back to the ocean to see my father.” Very pleased, Pilgrim left him and made the water-repellent sign with his fingers to leap out of the waves. As he reached the eastern shore, Sha Monk (who led the river god to meet him) said, “Elder Brother, you left by the air but why did you return from the river?” Pilgrim gave a thorough account of how he slew the fish-spirit, acquired the invitation card, confronted the Dragon King, and led troops back with the dragon prince. Sha Monk was exceedingly pleased; all of them then stood on the bank to wait to receive their master, and we shall speak no more of them for the moment.

  We tell you now about Prince Moang, who sent a soldier of his to go before the water residence and make this announcement to the fiend: “Prince Moang has been sent here by the Venerable Dragon King of the Western Ocean.” The fiend was sitting inside when he heard this report and thought to himself, “I sent the black fish-spirit to present an invitation card to my second maternal uncle, and I haven’t received any answer since. Why is it that my uncle has not come? Why has he sent my elder cousin instead?” As he was thus deliberating with himself, a little fiend sent out to patrol the river also returned to make this report: “Great King, there is a regiment of soldiers stationed to the west of our water residence, and one of the banners has these words clearly written: Young Marshal Moang, Crown Prince of the Western Ocean.” “This elder cousin is indeed arrogant,” said the fiend. “I suppose my uncle cannot come, and that’s why the prince has been sent in his place to attend our banquet. But if he’s coming for a banquet, why bring along soldiers and warriors? Aha! I fear that there’s another reason behind this. Little ones, bring out my armor and have my steel crop ready, for I fear that he may turn violent suddenly. Let me go out to receive him and see what’s happening.” Having received this instruction, all the little fiends rubbed their fists to prepare themselves.

  When the iguana-dragon walked out of the door, he saw that there was in truth a regiment of marine soldiers encamped on the right. He saw

  Banners with sashes aflutter;

  Halberds arranged in bright mists;

  Treasure swords amassing luster;

  Long lances twirling flower tassels;

  Curved bows like many new moons;

  Arrows as wolves’ teeth stuck up;

  Scimitars big and gleaming;

  Short cudgels both rough and hard.

  Sea serpents, oysters, and whales,

  Crabs, turtles, fishes, and shrimps—

  Big and small they stood in order,

  Their weapons dense and thick like hemp.

  If the gen’ral did not command it,

  Who’d dare step out of line one bit?

  The iguana fiend went before the gate of the camp and cried out in a loud voice, “Big Cousin, your younger brother awaits you respectfully. Please come out.” A snail on patrol in the camp went hurriedly to the middle tent to report, “Your Highness, the iguana-dragon is outside calling for you.” Pressing down the golden helmet on his head and tightening the treasure belt around his waist, the prince picked up a three-cornered club7 and ran out of the camp in great strides. “Why did you ask me to come out?” he asked. Bowing, the iguana-dragon said, “Your younger brother sent an invitation card to Uncle this morning. But I suppose he has declined my invitation and sent you instead. If my Big Cousin is here for the banquet, why have you called up the troops? You did not enter the water residence but you pitched camp here instead. And you even put on armor and held a weapon. Why?”

  “Why did you invite your uncle to come?” asked the prince.

  The fiend replied, “It was his kindness which bestowed this place on me as a residence, but I have not seen him for a long time nor have I had an opportunity to express my filial love for him. Yesterday I happened to have caught a monk from the Land of the East who, so I have heard, possesses an original body that has practiced self-cultivation for ten incarnations. If a person eats him, his age will be lengthened. I was hoping to ask Venerable Uncle to look this monk over before I put him in an iron cage and have him steamed for Venerable Uncle to celebrate his birthday.”

  “You are so dim-witted!” shouted the prince. “Who do you think this monk is?” “He is a monk from the Tang court,” said the fiend, “a priest on his way to the Western Heaven to acquire scriptures.” The prince said, “You know only that he is the Tang Monk, but you don’t know how formidable his disciples are.” The fiend said, “He has under him a monk with a long snout, whose name is Zhu Eight Rules. I have caught him also and am about to have him steamed and eaten together with the Tang Monk. There is another disciple of his by the name of Sha Monk, a fellow rather dark in color and gloomy in complexion who uses a treasure staff. Yesterday this monk made a demand in front of my door for the return of his master, but I called out the river troops to face him. Several blows from my steel crop made him flee for his life. I don’t see how he could be called formidable!”

  “You are ignorant!” said the prince. “The Tang Monk still has another disciple, his eldest, who happens to be the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, a golden immortal of the Great Monad who did cause great disturbance in the Celestial Palace five hundred years ago. Now he is the guardian of the Tang Monk on his way to acquire scriptures in the Western Heaven, and his name has been changed to Pilgrim Sun Wukong at the time of his conversion by the great and merciful Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Potalaka Peak. Don’t you have any other thing to do but to cause such a great disaster as this? It was that Pilgrim Sun who ran into your messenger in our ocean; he took your invitation card and went straight into the Water-Crystal Palace, charging us father and son with the crimes of ‘conspiracy and kidnapping.’ You’d better send the Tang Monk and Eight Rules back to the shore of the river immediately and return them to the Great Sage Sun. You can then rely on my apologies to him to preserve your life. But if you utter only half a ‘No,’ you might as well forget about your life or any further opportunity to live in this place!”

  When the fiend heard this statement, he grew terribly angry, saying, “I’m an intimate first cousin of yours. How could you side with someone else? If I listen to you, I’ll have to send out the Tang Monk—just like that! You think there’s such an easy thing in this whole wide world? You may be afraid of that Sun Wukong, but you think I’m afraid of him, too? If he has any ability, let him come to the front of my water residence and fight with me for three rounds. I
’ll return his master then, but if he can’t withstand me, I’ll capture him also and have him steamed together with his master. I won’t recognize any relative, nor will I invite any more guests! I’ll shut my door and ask my little ones to sing and dance. I’ll take the honored seat above to enjoy myself. You bet I’ll eat his mother’s!”

  When the prince heard this, he opened his mouth wide and expostulated, “You brazen demon! You are truly audacious! Let’s not ask the Great Sage Sun to face you. Do you dare hold a contest with me?” “If I want to be a hero,” said the fiend, “you think I’ll be afraid of any contest?” He shouted to his little fiends, “Bring me my armor!” His cry immediately made those little fiends on his left and right bring up his armor and the steel crop. Changing their colors all at once, the two of them unleashed their strength and gave the order for the drums to sound on both sides. This battle was quite different from the previous one in which Sha Monk took part. You saw

  Flags and banners luminous;

  Spears and halberds ablaze.

  On that side the camps were quickly broken;

  On this side the doors were widely open.

  Prince Moang held high his golden club,

  Met by fiend iguana wielding his crop.

  The cannon’s one boom made river soldiers fierce;

  Three strokes of the gong aroused marine troops.

  Shrimps fought with shrimps;

  Crabs strove with crabs;

  The whale swallowed the red carp;

  The bream downed the yellow zhang;8

  The shark devoured the mullet and the mackerel fled;

  The rock oyster caught the clam and the mussel panicked.

  Hard like an iron rod was the stingray’s whip;

  Sharp like a razor was the swordfish’s jaw.

  The sturgeon chased the white eel;

  The whitebait seized the black pomfret.

  A river full of water fiends took up the fight;

  Dragon troops on both sides did join the fray

  And brawled for a long time as billows churned.

  Mighty as Indra was the prince Moang,

  Who with a cry brought down his golden club

  And caught the king of mischief, the iguana fiend.

  Holding his three-cornered club, the prince feigned an opening and the monster-spirit, not realizing that it was faked, lunged forward to attack. Sidestepping quickly from his opponent’s charge, the prince brought the club down hard on the monster-spirit’s right arm and knocked him to the ground. The prince rushed up to him and gave him another kick that sent him sprawling. The marine soldiers all surged forward to pin the monster-spirit to the ground; his arms were hog-tied behind his back and his chest bone was pierced and bound with an iron chain. He was taken up to the shore to appear before Pilgrim Sun, as the prince said, “Great Sage, your little dragon has caught the monster iguana. Let the Great Sage decide what shall be done with him.”

  When Pilgrim saw this, he said to the monster-spirit, “You have been disobedient to what you were told. When your Venerable Uncle gave you permission to live here, he intended for you to nourish your nature to preserve your body. At the time when you acquired a name, he would have transferred you to another post. How dare you use force to occupy the residence of the water god and abuse the kindness of your elders? How dare you exercise your paltry magic to deceive my master and my younger brother? I would like to give you a stroke of my rod, but this rod of old Monkey is quite heavy. One slight touch and your life will be finished. Let me ask you instead, where have you placed my master?” Kowtowing without ceasing, the fiend said, “Great Sage, this little iguana has no knowledge of the Great Sage’s reputation. Just now, I violated reason and morality to resist my elder cousin, who had me arrested. Now that I have seen you, I am eternally grateful to the Great Sage for sparing my life. Your master is still tied up in the water residence. I beg the Great Sage to loosen my iron chain and untie my hands. Let me go into the river and escort him out here.” On one side Moang said, “Great Sage, this is a rebellious fiend and most devious. If you turn him loose, I fear that he may plot something wicked.” “I know his residence,” said Sha Monk, “let me go and find Master.”

  He and the river god at once leaped into the waves and went to the water residence down below, where they found the doors wide open but not a single little fiend. When they walked inside to reach the pavilion, they found the Tang Monk and Eight Rules still bound there and completely naked. Sha Monk hurriedly untied his master as the river god loosened the ropes on Eight Rules, after which they placed the freed prisoners on their backs and darted back to the surface of the water. When Eight Rules discovered the monster-spirit on the shore all tied up with ropes and chains, he lifted his rake and wanted to strike him, crying, “You perverse beast! You still want to eat me?” Pilgrim tugged at him, saying, “Brother, let’s spare him. Have regard for the feelings of Aoshun and his son.” Bowing, Moang said, “Great Sage, your little dragon dares not linger any longer. Since we have succeeded in rescuing your master, I must bring this fellow back to see my father. Though the Great Sage has spared his life, my father will most certainly not permit him to go unpunished. He will dispose of him in some way, I’m sure, and then we shall report to the Great Sage along with our apologies once more.”

  “In that case,” said Pilgrim, “you may take him and leave. Please bow to your Honored Father for me and I shall thank him in person another time.” The prince at once led the marine soldiers and the monster-spirit into the water, where they found their way directly back to the Great Western Ocean and we shall speak no more of them.

  We tell you now about the river god of the Black River, who gave thanks to Pilgrim, saying, “I am deeply indebted to the Great Sage for the recovery of my water residence.” The Tang Monk said, “Disciples, we are still stranded on the eastern shore. How shall we cross this river?” The river god said, “Venerable Father, please do not worry and mount your horse. This humble deity will open up a path for Venerable Father to cross the river.” The master indeed climbed onto the white horse, while Eight Rules held the reins, Sha Monk poled the luggage, and Pilgrim took up the rear. The river god then exercised his magic of blocking the water; as the upper reaches of the river were dammed up, the lower part of the river soon turned dry, and a wide road was thus created. Master and disciples walked safely to the western shore and, after thanking the river god, they proceeded to high ground to set out again on their way. So it was that

  With help the Chan monk could now face the West;

  With no waves on earth, they could cross Black River.

  We do not know how finally they manage to see Buddha and acquire scriptures; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

  FORTY-FOUR

  The dharma-body in primal cycle meets the force of the cart;

  The mind, righting monstrous deviates, crosses the spine-ridge pass.

  The poem says:

  To seek scriptures and freedom they go to the West,

  An endless toil through countless mounts of fame.

  The days fly by like darting hares and crows;

  As petals fall and birds sing the seasons go.

  A little dust—the eye reveals three thousand worlds;

  The priestly staff—its head has seen four hundred isles.

  They feed on wind and rest on dew to seek their goal,1

  Not knowing which day they may all return.

  We were telling you about Tripitaka Tang and his disciples, who found the main road to the West. Truly they had to face the wind and brave the snow, to be capped by the moon and cloaked by the stars. They journeyed for a long time and soon it was the time of early spring. You see

  The cycled return of triple yang;2

  The radiance of all things.

  The cycled return of triple yang

  Makes all Heavens beguiling like a painted scroll;

  The radiance of all things

  Means flowers spread brocade through al
l the earth.

  The plums fade to a few specks of snow;

  The grains swell with the valley clouds.

  Ice breaks gradually and mountain streams flow;

  Seedlings sprout completely and unparched.

  Truly it is that

  The God of the Year rides forth;

  The God of the Woods takes a drive.

  Warm breezes waft floral fragrance;

  Light clouds renew the light of the sun.

  Willows by the wayside spread their curvate green;

  The rains give life; all things bear the looks of spring.

  As master and disciples traveled slowly along the road, enjoying the scenery as they proceeded, they suddenly heard a loud cry that seemed the roar of ten thousand voices. Tripitaka Tang was so startled that he immediately pulled in his reins and refused to go forward. Turning back, he said, “Wukong, where did that terrible din come from?” “Yes, it sounded as if the earth were splitting apart and the mountains were toppling,” said Eight Rules. “More like the crack of thunder I’d say,” said Sha Monk. Tripitaka said, “I still think it’s men shouting or horses neighing.” With a chuckle, Pilgrim Sun said, “None of you has guessed correctly. Stop here and let old Monkey go take a look.”

  Dear Pilgrim! He leaped up at once and rose into midair, treading on the cloudy luminosity. He peered into the distance and discovered a moated city; when he looked more carefully, he saw that it was veiled by auspicious luminosity after all and not by any baleful vapor. “This is a nice place,” Pilgrim thought to himself. “Why should there be such an ear-splitting roar? There are no banners or spears in sight in the city, and what we heard couldn’t possibly be the roar of cannons. Why is it then that we hear this hubbub of men and horses?” As he was thus thinking to himself, a large group of monks came into his sight: on a sandy beach outside the city gate they were trying to pull a cart up a steep ridge. As they strained and tugged, they cried out in unison to call on the name of the Bodhisattva King Powerful for help, and this was the noise that startled the Tang Monk. Pilgrim lowered his cloud gradually to take a closer look. Aha! The cart was loaded with bricks, tiles, timber, earth clods, and the like. The ridge was exceedingly tall, and leading up to it was a small spine-like path flanked by two perpendicular passes, with walls like two giant cliffs. How could the cart possibly be dragged up there? Though it was such a fine warm day that one would expect people to dress lightly, what the monks had on were virtually rags. They looked destitute indeed! Pilgrim thought to himself, “I suppose they must be trying to build or repair a monastery, and since a region like this undoubtedly yields a bountiful harvest, it must be difficult for them to find part-time laborers. That’s why these monks themselves have to work so hard.” As he was thus speculating, he saw two young Daoists swagger out of the city gate. “How were they dressed?” you ask.