by Wu Cheng-En
The wicked monarch's folly makes him forget the truth;
His health is ruined by his unbridled lusts.
Pursuing eternal life by killing little children,
He slaughters his subjects to avoid Heaven's punishment.
This is all more than the merciful monk can bear:
He cannot accept the official's worldly wisdom.
Long are his sighs as he weeps in the lamplight;
Stricken with grief is the Buddha worshipper.
“Master,” said Pig, going up to him, “what's the matter with you? What you're doing is like taking a stranger's coffin to your own home and weeping over it. Don't upset yourself like that. As the rhyme goes,
When a monarch insists that his subjects will die
None that are loyal to live will aspire;
When a father commands his own offspring to perish
Any dutiful son will most surely expire.
The people he's going to kill are his own subjects. What are they to you? Take off your clothes, get some sleep and 'don't worry about the ancients.'”
“Disciple,” said Sanzang, his tears still flowing, “you haven't a shred of compassion. The most important thing for us monks as we accumulate good deeds is to help others. How could this deluded king be so set in his wickedness? Never have I ever heard that eating human hearts could prolong life. How could something so terrible not grieve me?”
“Don't grieve so, Master,” said Friar Sand. “When you present our passport tomorrow and seethe king you can talk to him about it. Even if he doesn't accept your advice you'll be able to see what the Elder of the Nation looks like. Probably he's an evil spirit who's thought all this up because he wants to eat human hearts.”
“Wujing is right,” said Brother Monkey. “Go to bed now, Master, and tomorrow morning I'll go to court with you to see what this Elder of the Nation is like. If he's human he's probably a heretic who doesn't follow orthodox ways but believes in drugs, and I'll convert him with the essential teachings of intrinsic nature. If he's an evil spirit I'll catch him, show the king what he is, and urge the king to control his desires and build up his strength. Whatever happens I won't let him kill those children.”
As soon as he heard this Sanzang bowed to Monkey with great courtesy and said, “What an excellent suggestion! But when we see the deluded king we must say nothing about this in case he thinks we are guilty of not knowing our place and spreading slander. What could we do if that happened?”
“I've got my magic powers,” Monkey replied. “First of all I'm going to get the little boys in the coops away from the city so that he'll have nobody to take the hearts out of tomorrow. The local officials will of course report this and the king will be bound either to order a discussion with the Elder of the Nation or else to demand more information. This will give us a chance to submit our memorial without getting ourselves into trouble.” Sanzang was very pleased.
“How are you going to get the children out of the town now?” he asked. “If you really can rescue them you will be doing the greatest of good deeds, worthy disciple. But do it quick, because if you lose any time you may be too late.”
Summoning up his might Monkey stood up and gave Pig and Friar Sand their parting instructions: “Sit here with the master while I do my stuff. If you notice a magical wind blowing that'll be the boys leaving the city.”
Sanzang and the other two disciples said, “We invoke the Saviour Bhaisajya-guru Buddha. We invoke the Saviour Bhaisajya-guru Buddha.”
Once outside the doors the Great Sage whistled, rose into mid-air, made a spell with his hands and said the magic words, called out “Om pure dharma world,” and summoned the city god, the local deities, the officiating immortals, the Protectors of the Faith of the four quarters and the center, the Four Duty Gods, the Six Dings and the Six Jias and the Guardians of the Teaching.
They all came to him where he was in midair, bowed and said, “Great Sage, what is the urgent business on which you have summoned us in the middle of the night?”
“My journey has brought me to Bhiksuland,” Monkey replied, “where the king is a bad one who believes in evil doctrines. He wants to take the hearts out of little boys to make the adjuvant to a medicine that he hopes will make him live for ever. My master finds this utterly horrible and has asked me to rescue the boys and destroy the demon. That is why I've asked all you gentlemen here. I want you to use your magical powers to lift all the little boys, coops and all, over the city wall into a mountain hollow or somewhere deep in a forest. Keep them there for a day or two. Give them fruit to eat and don't let them go hungry. Keep watch over them in secret and don't frighten them or make them cry. When I've eliminated the evil, brought the country back to good government and persuaded the king to mend his ways and am about to leave, you must bring them back to me.”
The gods all listened to their orders then brought their clouds down to land so that they could use their magical powers. The city was filled with a blustering negative wind that brought with it an all-pervasive and sinister fog.
All the stars in the sky were obscured by the negative wind;
The moon was blacked out by the magical fog for many a mile.
At first the wind was gusty,
And then it blew like a hurricane.
When it was gusting
All ran to the gateways to rescue their children;
Then in the hurricane
They wanted to save their own flesh and blood in the coops.
The air turned so chilly that none dared show their heads;
The cold was so piercing that clothes froze like iron.
Vainly did parents look all around;
The families all were stricken with grief.
The sinister wind blew right across the land
As the boys in their baskets were carried off by the gods.
Although that was a night of bereavement and grief
Joy was coming to all the next day.
There is another poem about it that goes:
Compassion has always been strong in the Sakyamuni faith;
The achievement of goodness explains the Great Vehicle.
A multitude of holy ones all accumulate goodness;
For the Three Refuges and Five Precepts harmony is needed.
The land of Bhiksu was not to be ruined by its monarch
When a thousand little boys were to forfeit their lives.
Monkey and his master had brought them to safety,
Which conferred more merit than the Great Wisdom.
By the third watch of the night the gods had carried all the coops off and hidden them in all the safe places. Monkey then landed his auspicious light and went straight back to the government hostel, where to his secret delight he could hear the other three still chanting, “We invoke the Saviour Bhaisajya-guru Buddha.”
“Master,” he said, going up to them, “I'm back. What was the negative wind like?”
“Terrific,” said Pig.
“How did the rescue of the children go?” Sanzang asked.
“Every single one of them has been saved,” Monkey replied. “They'll all be brought back when we set out again.” The master thanked him over and over again before finally going to sleep.
When Sanzang awoke at dawn he dressed himself in his best vestments and said, “Wukong, I am going to the early audience to present our passport.”
“If you go by yourself, Master,” Monkey replied, “I'm afraid that you won't be able to manage. Let me go with you. Then I'll be able to find out about the evil in this country.”
“If you go you will refuse to pay homage,” said Sanzang, “and the king may well take it amiss.”
“I won't be seen,” said Monkey. “I'll go with you in secret and protect you.” This pleased Sanzang very much. He had told Pig and Friar Sand to look after the luggage and horse and was just about to set out when the superintendent of the hostel came in to see him. The superintendent was struck by the difference between vestme
nts he wore this day compared with what he had been wearing the day before.
His cassock was of brocade, set with exotic gems;
On his head he wore a gold-topped Vairocana mitre.
He held a nine-ringed monastic staff
And hid a divine radiance in his breast.
The passport was fastened tightly to his body,
Wrapped in brocade inside another cloth.
He moved like an arhat come down to earth;
His face was truly that of a living Buddha.
When the superintendent had greeted Sanzang courteously he murmured into his ear advice against meddling in matters that were none of his business. Sanzang nodded and assented. The Great Sage stole to a place by the gate, said the words of a spell, shook himself and turned into the tiniest of insects that flew with a high-pitched hum to Sanzang's mitre.
Sanzang left the government hostel and headed straight for the palace.
Arriving at the palace gates Sanzang saw a eunuch officer to whom he bowed and said, “This humble monk has been sent by the Great Tang in the East to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven. Now that I have reached your distinguished country I must present my passport to be inspected and returned. I beg Your Excellency to report this to His Majesty.” This the eunuch duly did.
The king was very pleased. “A monk from afar must be a holy man,” he said, ordering that Sanzang be asked in. When the venerable elder had paid his respects at the foot of the steps of the throne hall he was invited to enter the hall and take a seat. Sanzang thanked the king and sat down. The king looked weak and enervated. When he raised his hands to make a polite salutation he could not do so properly, and he was incapable of continuous speech. His right was so blurred that he had to make several attempts to read the document that Sanzang handed to him before he could sign, seal and return it to the Tang Priest, who put it away again.
The king was just about to ask why they were fetching the scriptures when one of his aides reported, “His Excellency the Elder of the Nation is here.” Leaning on one of his young eunuch attendants the king struggled down from his throne to greet the Elder. Sanzang hastily got to his feet, stood to one side and looked round to see that the Elder of the Nation was an aged Taoist who advanced with a swagger towards the steps of the throne.
On his head he wore a goose-yellow silken cap,
Round his body a scented cloak of silk and crane feathers,
And at his waist a triple sash of blue velvet.
On his feet were sandals of hemp and grasscloth;
At the top of his rattan stick coiled a dragon.
The pouch at his chest was embroidered with dragon, phoenix and flowers.
His jadelike face radiated well-being;
A gray beard blew about his chin.
Flames shot from golden pupils
In eyes even longer than his eyebrows.
Clouds followed his steps
As he wandered through incense-laden mists.
The officials below the steps received him with obeisances,
Announcing the presence of the Elder of the Nation.
When he reached the throne hall the Elder of the Nation performed no obeisance but arrogantly strode straight in. The king leaned forward in a bow and said, “We are most fortunate that you have condescended to make your immortal way here, Elder of the Nation.” He ordered that an embroidered stool be set on his left for the Elder to sit on.
Taking a step forward Sanzang bowed and said, “Greetings, Elder of the Nation.” The Elder sat majestically on his seat, but instead of returning Sanzang's courtesy he turned to the king and asked, “Where's this monk from?”
“He has been sent by the Tang court in the East to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven,” the king replied, “and is here to present his passport for inspection.”
“The road West is dark and dismal,” said the Elder of the Nation with a smile. “There's nothing good about it.”
“The West has always been a land of bliss,” Sanzang replied. “How could it not be good?”
“There is an old saying we once heard that monks are disciples of the Buddha,” said the king. “I wonder whether it is true that by being a monk and turning to the Buddha one can live for ever.” When Sanzang heard this he put his hands together and replied:
“One who becomes a monk gets away from all kinds of causation. By understanding nature he learns that all dharmas are empty. Great wisdom is casual and drifts in non-living. The true secret is hidden; it wanders in extinction. When the three worlds are empty all origins are ordered; when the six sense-organs are purified all troubles are finished. To be resolute, single-minded and enlightened one must understand the heart. When the heart is purified it can shine alone; when the heart is sincere all regions are imbued with it. The true appearance has neither deficiency nor excess and can be seen in life. The images of illusion always decay. Why seek what is beyond one's lot? The way to enter meditation is through meritorious deeds and by sitting in silence; the root of cultivating one's conduct truly is charity and kindness. Great skill appears as clumsiness and knows that all deeds are achieved through inaction. The finest plans involve no calculation; everything must be left alone. It only needs one heart not to move for every action to be perfect. It is truly absurd to try to strengthen the male by drawing on the female and nonsensical to try to extend one's years by taking elixirs. The only essential is that all the causation of every speck of dust must be discarded and that every type of matter should be empty. Live plain and pure; let your desires be few. Then naturally you will enjoy life without end for ever.”
When the Elder of the Nation heard this he laughed at it. “Phooey,” he said, pointing at the Tang Priest, “phooey! You're talking a load of rubbish, monk. Fancy you talking about understanding nature, and you a member of the faith that preaches nirvana. You don't have any idea of where nature comes from. Sitting still like a dead tree to enter dhyana is wasted effort as far as self-cultivation and tempering are concerned. In the words of the saying,
Sit, sit, sit;
Your backside's split.
The fire's too hot;
Good that's not.
What you don't realize at all is this:
“One who cultivates immortality has strong bones; one who attains the Way has the most magical spirit. Carrying his bowl and ladle he goes into the mountains to visit his friends; he picks every kind of herb to succor humanity. He makes a rainhat from immortal flowers, plucks the fragrant orchid to make his bed. He sings, claps and dances, then goes to sleep. When expounding the Way he teaches the doctrines of the Supreme One; he eliminates the evil of the human world with holy water. He takes the finest breath of heaven and earth, gathers the essence of the sun and moon. By controlling the negative and positive forces he creates the elixir; through the mastery of fire and water the foetus is formed. On the sixteenth day of the month the negative is eliminated, hazily and obscurely. In the twenty-seventh day of winter the positive begins to grow, darkly and mysteriously. He gathers the herbs of each of the four seasons, refining his elixir to nourish the nine transformations. Astride his blue phoenix he ascends to the purple palace; riding his white crane he goes to the jasper capital. He visits all the splendors of Heaven, showing the efficacy of the wonderful Way. Just compare it with the dhyana teachings of your Sakyamuni, your elimination of atman and your nirvana that enables you to shuffle off your stinking husk. None of this lifts you out of the worldly dust. Among the Three Teachings it is supreme; the Way alone has always been esteemed.”
The king was delighted to hear this exposition, and all the court officials exclaimed with admiration, “That's splendid, 'the Way alone has always been esteemed.'“ Sanzang was overcome by humiliation at all this praise going to his rival. The king then told his department of foreign relations to lay on a banquet of vegetarian food for the monks from a far country when they left the city to travel West.
Sanzang thanked the king for his kindness and withdrew.
As he was leaving the throne hall and going out of the palace Monkey flew down from the top of his mitre to say into his ear, “Master, the Elder of the Nation is an evil spirit, and the king has been bewitched. Go back to the hostel and wait for your meal while I get some information here.”
Sanzang understood this and left through the main gates of the palace.
Of him we will say no more. Watch Monkey as he flies straight to a jade screen in the throne hall and lands on it. From the ranks of officials the military commanders of the capital stepped forward to report, “Your Majesty, last night a cold wind carried away the little boys in their goose coops from every house in every ward of the city. They have vanished without a trace, coops and all.”
This report both alarmed and angered the king, who said to the Elder of the Nation, “Heaven must be destroying us. We had the good fortune to be given the formula for your elixir after months of serious illness that the royal physicians have been unable to cure. We were preparing to have the boys cut open at noon today and their hearts taken out to be made into the adjuvant for the elixir. Never did we imagine that a cold wind would blow them all away. If this is not Heaven destroying us what is it?”
“Don't upset yourself,” the Elder of the Nation replied with a smile. “By blowing them away Heaven is giving Your Majesty eternal life.”
“How can you maintain that Heaven is giving me eternal life when they have just been blown away?” the king asked.
“When I was coming to court this morning,” the Elder of the Nation replied, “I saw a uniquely marvellous adjuvant that will be far superior to 1,111 little boys' hearts. They would only lengthen Your Majesty's life by a thousand years, but if you take my elixir with this other adjuvant you can live for a hundred million years.”
