Journey to the West (vol. 3)

by Wu Cheng-En

  “How can you tell that, my lord,” the appalled monks asked.

  “You're just a bunch of mortals,” Monkey replied with a grin, “so you haven't realized what's been happening all these years. The evil spirits have fooled you into thinking they're true Buddhas coming down to accept the offerings of lamps. The Buddhas that appeared when the wind blew just now were three evil spirits. My master didn't realize who they were, so he went up on the top of the bridge to worship them. They covered up all the lights and carried him off together with the oil in the lamps. As I was a bit too late the three of them got away by wind.”

  “Brother,” said Friar Sand, “Whatever are we to do?”

  “Not a moment to lose,” said Monkey. “You two go back the monastery with the monks and look after the horse and the luggage. I'm going after them while this wind's still blowing.”

  The splendid Great Sage then shot up by his somersault cloud into mid air, picked up the stench of the wind and headed Northeast in pursuit, carrying on till all of a sudden the wind dropped at dawn. A great mountain could be seen, a most steep, towering and splendid mountain:

  Many a foothill and ravine,

  Twisting and bending streams.

  Creepers hang from the beetling precipice,

  Pine and cypress rise from the lonely rock.

  Cranes cry in the morning mists,

  Wild geese call among the clouds at dawn.

  Jutting peaks like a row of halberds,

  Jagged crags of interlocking rocks.

  The summits rise to eighty thousand feet,

  And sheer-walled ridges make a thousand angles.

  Wild flowers and noble trees all flourish with the spring;

  Cuckoo and oriole respond to the scenery with song.

  Majestic beauty,

  Towering grandeur,

  Steep, grotesque crags hard to climb.

  One will stay there long in silence:

  All that can be heard are tigers and leopards breathing.

  River deer and white deer wander around;

  Jade-coloured hares and gray wolves come and go.

  The stream in the deep ravine will flow for a million miles;

  Twisting torrents splash loud against the rocks.

  While the Great Sage was on the top of a scar looking for his way he saw four people coming from the Western slopes driving three goats and all shouting, “New Year.” Monkey's fiery eyes with their golden pupils flashed as he took a closer look to see that they were the four Duty Gods of the year, the month, the day and the hour in disguise.

  The Great Sage then pulled out his iron cudgel, shook it till it was as thick as a ricebowl and about twelve feet long and sprang down from the cliff with a shout of, “Where are you skulking off to like that, trying to hide your faces?”

  When the four Duty Gods realized that he had rumbled them they at once turned back into their normal selves, kowtowed beside the path and said, “Forgive us, Great Sage, forgive us.”

  “Just because I haven't had any jobs for you recently you thought I was getting lax and so you've all become very casual,” Monkey said. “You didn't even greet me. It's outrageous! Why aren't you giving my master your secret protection? Where are you going?”

  “Because your master somewhat forgot his dhyana nature and was so eager to enjoy himself in the Clouds of Compassion Monastery in Jinping Prefecture,” the Duty Gods said, “he met with evil at the height of splendor, his joy turned to disaster, and he was captured by the evil spirits. The Defenders of the Faith are looking after him at the moment. We realized that you would be coming after him this very night, Great Sage, and we came here to report to you in case you did not know the mountains and forests here.”

  “If you were here to report,” said Brother Monkey, “why did you disguise your identities, why were you driving three goats, and what were you shouting and yelling for?”

  “The three goats were for luck at the beginning of the year.

  They are to drive away the evil that's obstructing your master.”

  Monkey had been absolutely determined to beat them, but on hearing this explanation he let them off and put his cudgel away as his fury turned to delight. “Are there evil spirits on this mountain?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “yes. This mountain is called Green Dragon Mountain and there's a cave in it called the Dark Essence Cave where three evil spirits live. The oldest is called King Cold-avoider, the second is called King Heat-avoider and the third is called King Dust-avoider. They've lived here for a thousand years and have been fond of refined butter oil since they were children. Ever since they became spirits some years ago they've been pretending to be Buddhas to trick the officials and people of Jinping into setting out those golden lamps full of the refined butter oil that they take in their Buddha guises in the middle of every first month. When they saw your master this time they realized that he was a holy monk and carried him off to the cave too. Any day now they'll slice off his flesh to fry in the refined butter. You must use your skills to save him as soon as possible.”

  On hearing this Monkey dismissed the four Duty Gods with a shout and went round the mountain looking for the cave. Within a mile or two he saw a rock face by a gill, at the foot of which was a stone building with a pair of stone doors that stood ajar. Beside the doors was a stone tablet on which was inscribed

  GREEN DRAGON MOUNTAIN

  DARK ESSENCE CAVE

  Not daring to go in uninvited, Monkey stopped and called, “Give me my master back at once, monster.” With a great noise the doors burst wide open, and out rushed a crowd of bull-headed demons who glared as they asked, “Who are you, yelling here like that?”

  “I'm the senior disciple of the holy monk Tang Sanzang who's come from Great Tang in the East to fetch scriptures,” Monkey replied. “He was looking at the lanterns in Jinping along our way when your chief demons carried him off here. Give him back at once if you want me to spare your lives. If you don't I'll turn our den upside-down and turn all you demons into just pus and blood.”

  As soon as the junior demons heard this they rushed inside to report, “Disaster, Your Majesties, disaster!” The three old evil spirits had taken Sanzang into the depths of the cave and with no further ado were telling their underlings to strip him and wash him with water from the torrent. They were just about to have him sliced and diced into tiny pieces to fry in the refined butter when they heard the report of disaster from outside. The oldest demon king asked with some alarm what had happened.

  “There's a hairy-faced monk who looks like a thunder god outside,” the junior devils replied. “He's shouting that Your Majesties carried his master here and wants him given back straight away if our lives are to be spared. Otherwise he'll turn our den upside-down and turn us all into pus and blood.”

  This news shocked the demon kings, who all said, “We've only just caught the wretch, and haven't even asked him his name and his background. Little ones, dress him again and bring him here to be questioned. We must find out who he is and where he's from.”

  A crowd of devils untied the Tang Priest, put his clothes back on and pushed him to before the thrones, where he fell to his knees, trembling with fear, and pleaded, “Spare my life, Your Majesties, spare my life.”

  “Where are you from, monk?” the three evil spirits said, all talking at once, “and why did you rush into the way of our clouds instead of avoiding the Buddha images?”

  “I have been sent by the Great Tang Emperor in the East to worship the Lord Buddha and fetch the scriptures from the Great Thunder Monastery in India,” Sanzang replied with kowtows. “When I went into the Clouds of Compassion Monastery for a vegetarian meal the monks there pressed me to stay to see the lanterns at the Moon Festival. Seeing Your Majesties appearing as Buddhas from the bridge of golden lamps I kowtowed to you because my mortal eyes took you for real Buddhas. That's why I got in the way of your clouds, Your Majesties.”

  “How long was the journey from your country in the East to here?”
the evil spirits asked. “How many people have you got with you? What are they called? Tell us the truth straight away and we'll spare your life.”

  “My secular name was Chen Xuanzang,” the Tang Priest replied, “and I was a monk in the Jinshan Monastery from boyhood. Later I was given official rank as a monk in the Hongfu Monastery in Chang'an. When the minister Wei Zheng beheaded the Dragon King of the River Jing in his dream and the Tang emperor came back to life after his travels in the underworld, a Great Land and Water Mass was held for the rebirth of souls. The Tang emperor chose me to officiate at this ceremony and expound the great principles. The Bodhisattva Guanyin appeared during the mass and informed me that in the Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven there are three stores of true scriptures that can carry the dead up to Heaven. I was sent to fetch them and given the title Sanzang, or “Three Stores.” As I use Tang as my surname people call me Tang Sanzang. I have three disciples. The first one is called Sun Wukong the Novice, and he is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who has been converted to the truth.”

  This news came as a shock to the evil spirits, who asked, “Did this Great Sage Equaling Heaven make great havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago?”

  “Yes, yes,” the Tang Priest said. “The second one is called Zhu Wuneng or Zhu Bajie. He is Marshal Tian Peng come down to earth. The third is Sha Wujing, or Friar Sand, the Curtain-lifting General in mortal reincarnation.”

  “It's as well we haven't eaten him yet,” the evil spirits all exclaimed in horror. “Little ones, lock the Tang Priest in iron chains at the back. When we've caught his three disciples we'll eat them together.” They then mustered a force of armed yak, water-buffalo and ox spirits to go outside carrying bugles, waving banners and beating drums.

  Once the three evil spirits were fully clad in their armor they went out and shouted, “Who's that who dares come here shouting like that?” Monkey slipped round behind the scar to have a good look, and this is what the evil spirits were like:

  Multi-coloured faces, round eyes,

  Towering horns.

  Four sharp-pointed ears,

  Neat and shining bright.

  Bodies patterned like a painting,

  Covered with brocades that shine like fireflies.

  The first one wore a hat of foxes' fur

  And hot steam rose from the long hairs of his face.

  The second wore a flaming cloak of lightest gauze

  And had four gleaming, jade-like hooves.

  The third had a mighty roar like thunder;

  His sharp and pointed fangs were just like silver needles.

  Each was brave and fierce

  As they carried their three weapons;

  One used a battle-axe,

  One was an expert in the cutlass,

  And the third had a knotted flail resting on his shoulders.

  The other evil spirits, tall and short, fat and thin, senior and junior, were all cattle-headed monsters carrying spears or clubs. There were three big banners clearly inscribed with the words “King Cold-avoider,” “King Heat-avoider” and “King Dust-avoider.” After looking at all this for a while Monkey lost his patience and went up to them with a shout of, “Can you recognize Monkey, thieving damned ogres?”

  “Are you the Sun Wukong who made havoc in Heaven?” the evil spirits shouted back. “It really is a case of

  I heard your name before I saw your face:

  The sight of that would bring the gods disgrace.

  So all you are is a macaque.”

  “I'll get you, you lamp-oil thieves,” Monkey retorted in high dudgeon. “Don't talk such rubbish, you smooth-tongued monsters. Give my master back at once.” With that he advanced and swung his iron cudgel, to be parried by the old demons who raised their weapons to meet the blow. A splendid fight ensued in the mountain hollow:

  Battle-axe, cutlass and flail

  Met by the Monkey King's lone cudgel.

  Cold-avoider, Heat-avoider and Dust-avoider

  Had heard of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

  When the cudgel rose it scared demons and gods;

  Axe and cutlass hacked and flew.

  A primal dharma image of true emptiness

  Holding off three demons masquerading as Buddhas.

  Their noses all greasy with this year's stolen oil,

  They tried to snatch the monk sent by the emperor.

  One for his master's sake feared not the lengthy road;

  The others in their greed had lamps offered every year.

  All that could be beard was clash of axe and cutlass

  And the noisy clatter of the cudgel.

  With clashes and lunges three fought against one

  As each showed his skill with blocks and parries.

  They fought from dawn till almost nightfall

  And a victor had yet to emerge in the struggle.

  By the time Monkey's cudgel had gone 150 rounds with the three demons it was nearly evening and the outcome was still in doubt. Then Dust-avoider sprang forward from the ranks with a swing of his flail and waved a flag, whereupon the crowd of cattle-headed demons swarmed round Monkey, encircling him and swinging wildly at him with their weapons. Seeing that things were going badly, Monkey set off his somersault cloud and fled in a whoosh. The demons did not go after him but called their devils back so that everyone could have an evening meal. They told the junior devils to take a bowl of food to Sanzang as well: he was not to be dealt with until Monkey had been caught. As the master was a lifelong vegetarian and was besides feeling miserable he sobbed and let none of the food touch his lips.

  The story tells how Monkey rode his cloud back to the Clouds of Compassion Monastery and called, “Brothers.”

  On hearing this Pig and Friar Sand, who were waiting for him and discussing what to do, came out together to greet him with the words, “Brother, why are you only back now after being away all day? What's happened to the master?”

  “I followed the smell of the wind right through the night till we got to a mountain and it disappeared,” Monkey replied with a smile. “Luckily the four Duty Gods told me that the mountain's called Green Dragon Mountain and that there's a Dark Essence Cave on it where three evil spirits live: King Cold-avoider, King Heat-avoider and King Dust-avoider. They've been stealing the oil here for years on end by disguising themselves as Buddhas to trick the officials of Jinping Prefecture. When they came across us this year they wickedly carried our master off with them. I told the Duty Gods and the rest of them to give the master some secret protection while I shouted insults at them from outside their doors. When the three demons came out they all looked like bullheaded demons. The first of them fought with a battle-axe, the second with a cutlass and the third with a flail. They had a whole gang of cattle-headed monsters with them, waving banners and beating drums. The fight went on all day and was still in the balance when one of the demon kings waved a flag to bring all the junior devils forward. As it was late and I was worried that I couldn't beat them I came back by somersault cloud.”

  “I reckon it must be the Demon King of Fengdu who's making trouble for you,” said Pig.

  “What makes you guess that?” Friar Sand asked. “I can tell because our big brother said they were all cattle-headed monsters,” replied Pig with a laugh.

  “No, no,” said Monkey. “I saw them and they were all rhinoceros spirits.”

  “If they're rhinos we've just got to catch them and saw their horns off,” said Pig. “They'll be worth quite a bit of silver.”

  As they were talking the monks all asked Monkey if he had eaten any supper. “I'll have something if it's no trouble,” Brother Monkey replied, “but I can do without just as well.”

  “Surely you're hungry after fighting all day, my lord,” the monks said.

  “You can't get hungry in a mere day,” Monkey laughed. “I once went without food for five hundred years.” The monks did not know whether he was telling the truth or joking, and a little later food was brought in that Monk
ey ate, after which he said, “Tidy up and go to sleep. We'll go and fight them again tomorrow and capture the demon kings so as to rescue the master.”

  “What nonsense, brother,” said Friar Sand, who was standing to one side. “As the saying goes, 'Delay brings wisdom.' It'll be terrible if that monster stays awake tonight and murders the master. We'd better go there right now and make such a row that he can't do anything. It may go badly wrong if we lose a single moment.”

  When Pig heard this he braced himself and said, “Friar Sand's right. Let's go and put down those demons. The moon's bright enough.” Accepting their advice, Monkey left his instructions with the monks of the monastery.

  “Look after the luggage and the horse. When we've captured the evil spirits we'll bring them back here to prove to the prefect that they're imposters. Then he can end the oil levy and relieve the common people of this hardship. That'll be a good thing, won't it?” The monks all accepted their orders while the three of them left the city by auspicious cloud. Indeed:

  Idleness and unrestraint

  Threw the dhyana into confusion;

  Danger and catastrophe

  Led the Way-heart into delusion.

  If you don't know who was to win this encounter listen to the explanation in the next installment.

  Chapter 92

  Three Monks Wage a Great Fight on Green Dragon Mountain

  Four Stars Seize the Rhinoceros Monsters

  The story tells how after the Great Sage Monkey took his two brother disciples by gale and cloud to the Northeast they were soon bringing their cloud down at the entrance to the Dark Essence Cave on Green Dragon Mountain. Pig was just about to smash the doors in when Monkey said, “Wait a moment. I'll go in and find out whether the master's still alive before we have it out with him.”

  “But the doors are shut very tightly,” said Friar Sand. How will you get in?”