by Wu Cheng-En
To this day water-buffaloes still have devices called pegs put through their noses through which a rope can be run: this does the same job.
Lord Lao Zi then took his leave of the gods, mounted the buffalo, and rode on his multicolored cloud up to the Tushita Heaven, taking the demon with him on its lead.
Only then could the Great Sage Sun, Heavenly King Li and all of the host charge into the cave, killing all the hundred and more big and little devils and recovering their weapons and equipment. Monkey thanked Heavenly King Li and Nezha, who went back to Heaven; the thunder gods, who returned to their residence; the Star Lord of Fire, who went to his palace; the Earl of the Yellow River who went to his river; and the arhats, who returned to the Western Heaven. Finally he released the Tang Priest, Pig and Friar Sand and took back his iron cudgel. When the three of them had thanked Monkey the horse and the luggage were got ready and master and disciples left the cave to find the main route to the West.
As they were walking along they heard a call of “Holy Tang Priest, have a vegetarian meal,” which startled the master. If you do not know who was calling, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 53
The Dhyana Master Conceives after Eating a Meal
The Yellow-Wife Brings Waster to Remove a Devil Foetus
Eight hundred kinds of virtue must be cultivated,
Three thousand good deeds must be secretly performed.
Do not distinguish objects from self, or friend from foe:
That conforms with the teaching of the Western Heaven.
The rhinoceros demon feared no weapons;
No blame attached to the failure of water and fire.
Lord Lao Zi subdued him and took him to Heaven,
Turning the buffalo round with a smile.
The story goes on to tell who was calling by the wayside. The mountain god and local deity of Mount Jindou came out carrying a bowl of purple gold. “Holy monk,” they said, “this bowl of rice was begged by the Great Sage Monkey from a pious household. You fell into the clutches of an evil demon because you would not heed good advice, putting the Great Sage to endless trouble before he was finally able to free you today. Please eat this food before continuing on your way, and do not be ungrateful for the Great Sage's respect and sense of duty.”
“I am very grateful to you, disciple,” said Sanzang, “and I cannot find words to express all my thanks. If I had realized before that I should not step out of the circle I would never have been in such danger of being killed.”
“I tell you frankly, Master,” said Brother Monkey, “that because you did not trust the ring I drew you ended up the victim of someone else's ring. It caused so much trouble and suffering. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!”
“What do you mean about another ring?” Pig asked.
“It was all your fault, you evil-tongued cretin, for getting the master into that terrible danger,” said Monkey. “I had to turn heaven and earth upside down to fetch heavenly soldiers, water, fire, and even the Buddha's cinnabar sand, all of which was caught by his gleaming white ring. It was only because the Buddha gave a hint to the arhats who told me where the demon had come from that I could fetch Lord Lao Zi to subdue him. He was a water-buffalo turned demon.”
“Good disciple,” said Sanzang with infinite gratitude when he heard this, “after this experience I shall definitely take your advice in future.” The four of them then ate the steaming food. “Why is this rice still hot after such a long time?” Monkey asked. “I heated it up myself when I knew that the Great Sage had succeeded,” replied the local deity on his knees. The food was soon eaten, after which they put the bowl away and took their leave of the local deity and the mountain god. The master remounted and they crossed the high mountain. Their minds freed from worries, they returned to true perception; dining on the wind and sleeping in the dew they continued to the West. When they had been travelling for a long time it was once again early spring. They heard
The soft call of swallows,
The beauty of orioles.
The soft call of swallows tiring their fragrant voices;
The beauty of orioles and their frequent song.
The land is covered with flowers like brocade,
The emerald-green hills seem piled with cushions.
Fruit forms on the greengage trees on the ridge,
While an ancient cypress holds a cloud before the scar.
Pale is the misty light on the fertile plain;
Warm sands are bathed in the glow of sunset.
Orchards and trees now break into blossom;
Willows grow new shoots as the spring returns.
As they were walking along they came to a little river in which the water flowed cool, pure and deep. When he reined in his horse for a better look the Tang Priest could make out some of the roof of a thatched cottage under the green shade of willows. “That must be a ferryman's house,” said Monkey, pointing at the cottage. “It looks likely enough,” replied Sanzang, “but I would not like to be too sure as I cannot see any boat.”
“Ferryman!” yelled Pig at the top of his voice, putting the luggage down. “Bring the boat over.” After a number of these shouts a rowing boat came creaking out from under the willows and was soon near their bank. When they looked carefully this is what they saw:
Short oars dividing the waves,
Lightly skimming on the water.
The hull is painted in many colours,
Enclosing a full hold.
Iron chains are neatly coiled in the bows,
And bright is the tiller in the stern.
Although the skiff is only as light as a reed
It is the equal of an ocean-going vessel.
It may have no ivory mast or silken rigging,
But it does have cassia oars and a sternpost of pine.
Indeed this is no ship for mighty voyages,
Just a ferry fit to cross a single stream,
Coming and going between the river's banks,
Never leaving the ancient crossing place.
The boat was soon at the bank, “This way to cross the river,” called the boatman. Urging the horse forward for a closer look, Sanzang saw that the boatman looked like this:
A head wrapped in a toweling cloth,
Feet in black shoes of silk.
Many a patch on cotton-padded tunic and trousers,
And around the waist was a much-stitched cotton apron.
Horny skin on the hands, and muscles hard,
Eyes dim, a wrinkled brow, and an aged face.
But the voice was a melodious as an oriole's song;
At a closer look she was clearly an old woman.
“Do you do the ferrying?” asked Monkey, approaching the boat.
“Yes,” the woman replied.
“Why isn't the ferryman here?” Monkey asked. “Why has he left it to his wife to pole the boat?”
The woman smiled and said nothing as she put the gangplank into position. Friar Sand carried the luggage aboard while Monkey helped the master on then followed himself. Pig led the horse on, after which the plank was stowed. The woman pushed off and quickly rowed them across the river.
When they were on the Western bank Sanzang told Friar Sang to open one of the bundles and take out some coins to give her. The ferry woman did not argue about the amount, but moored the boat by its painter to a stake beside the water and went back into her cottage chuckling.
As he was thirsty and the water was so clear Sanzang said to Pig, “Get the bowl and fetch me some water to drink.” Pig did as he was told and handed the water to his master, who drank only about a third of it, leaving two-thirds for the idiot to snatch and down in a single draft before helping the master back on his horse.
Master and disciples had been going less than an hour on the road West when Sanzang started to groan, “My stomach's hurting.”
“I've got the bellyache too,” said Pig, who was behind him.
“It must be because you drank cold water
,” said Friar Sand, only to be interrupted by groans of “It's agony!” from his master and Pig. The two of them were in unbearable pain and their abdomens were gradually swelling. When they felt with their hands there was something like a lump of flesh and blood moving and jerking around incessantly. Sanzang was feeling very unsteady when he noticed two bundles of straw hanging from the top of a tree in a village by the road.
“That's good, Master,” said Monkey. “There's a wineshop there. I'll go and beg you some hot water and find out if anyone sells medicine there and will let you have some medicine to ease your pain.”
Sanzang was very pleased with the suggestion, so he whipped the white horse forward and was soon at the gates of the village, where he dismounted. An old woman was sitting on a bundle of straw outside the gates twisting hempen thread. Monkey went up to her, put his hands together in front of his chest in greeting, and said, “We monks have come from the Great Tang in the East. My master is the Tang Emperor's younger brother, and he has a stomachache because he drank some water from a river.”
“Which river did you drink from?” asked the old woman, laughing aloud.
“From the clear river to the East of here,” replied Monkey.
“What a laugh,” chuckled the old woman, “what a laugh! Come inside and I'll explain.”
Monkey supported Sanzang while Friar Sand helped pig into the thatched cottage where they sat down. The two of them were groaning in agony from their protruding bellies, their faces sallow and their foreheads creased with frowns. “Please boil some water for my master, missus,” said Monkey. “He must have it, and I'll be very grateful.”
Instead of doing this she went into the back of the house, still chuckling, and called, “Come and see, come and see!” There was a slap of sandals inside as two or three middle-aged women came out to stare at Sanzang with grins across their faces. This made Monkey so angry that he shouted and bared his teeth at them, sending them all scurrying and stumbling inside in terror.
Monkey went after them, grabbed the old woman, and said, “Boil some water this minute and I'll spare your life.”
“My lord,” said the old woman, “hot water won't be any use. I can't do anything to help those two with their bellyaches. If you let me go I'll tell you all about it.” When Monkey released her she continued, “This is the Womanland of Western Liang. All of us in this country are female, and there isn't a man among us, which is why we were so pleased to see you. It's terrible that the reverend father has drank from that river, which is called the Motherhood River. There is a Male-welcoming Post Station outside our capital with a Pregnancy-revealing Spring. In this country we only dare drink of the river's water when we reach the age of twenty. After drinking it we feel the stomach pains of pregnancy. Three days later we go to the Pregnancy-revealing Spring at the Male-welcoming Post Station. If we see a double reflection in the waters we give birth to a child. Because your master has drunk from the Motherhood River he's pregnant. He's going to have a baby soon. What will a hot drink do to help that?”
Sanzang went pale with shock at the news.
“What am I to do, disciple?” he asked.
“I'm going to have a child, but I'm a man,” said Pig, writhing around in his agony. “Where will the child come out? How am I to give birth to it?”
“As the old saying goes, a melon falls when it's ripe,” replied Monkey with a laugh. “When the time comes a hole will open under your ribs for it to be born through.”
This conversation made Pig shake with fear, and the pain was more than he could bear. “I can't take any more,” he said, “I can't take any more. I'm dying, I'm dying.”
“Stop fidgeting, brother,” said Friar Sand with a grin, “stop fidgeting or else you'll get the umbilical cord in a twist and be ill before the birth.”
The idiot's panic was now worse than ever as with tears in his eyes he held on to Monkey and said, “Brother, ask the old lady where there are midwives with a gentle touch and send for some. The pains are coming very close to each other now. They must be labor pains. It'll be very soon now.”
“If they're labor pains, brother, you'd better stop writhing about if you don't want your waters to break,” said Friar Sand, still grinning.
“My good lady,” groaned Sanzang, “are there any doctors round here? Send one of my disciples to buy some medicine that will make me abort.”
“Medicine won't be any use,” said the old woman. “There's a Miscarriage Spring in Childfree Cave in Mount Offspring Dissolved on the road due South from here. To end your pregnancy you must drink the water of that spring. But the spring water cannot be had now as a Taoist called the As-you-will Immortal came here the other year and changed the Childfree Cave to the Hermitage of Immortals. He's hoarding the waters of Miscarriage Spring, which he won't give away. Anyone who wants water must take him rich gifts. You have to offer mutton, wine and fruit, and be very reverent indeed before you can get a bowl of the water from him. You travelling monks couldn't possibly afford to do all that, so you'll just have to let fate take its course and have the babies when your time comes.” Monkey, who was very pleased to learn all this, then asked how far it was to Mount Offspring Dissolved. “Ten miles,” the old woman replied.
“Fine,” said Monkey. “You can stop worrying, Master. I'll go and get you some of the water.”
“Look after the master properly,” said the splendid Great Sage in his parting instructions to Friar Sand, “and if the people here try to bully him use your old trick of pulling a face to scare them till I get back with the water.”
Friar Sand was preparing to do as he was told when the old woman came out with a big earthenware bowl that she gave to Monkey. “Take this and fetch as much as you can,” she said, “so that we can keep some for emergencies.”
Monkey left the thatched cottage with the bowl in his hands and was off on his cloud, at which the old woman bowed to the sky and said, “That monk can ride on clouds, my lord.” Then she went inside and called the other women out to kowtow to the Tang Priest. They started calling him “arhat” and “Bodhisattva,” boiled water and prepared a meal to offer him.
Monkey's somersault cloud soon brought him within sight of a mountain that blocked his cloud, so he brought it down to gaze at the superb mountain. He saw
A brocade of subtle blossoms,
Wild flowers spreading a green carpet,
Streams running into each other,
Brooks and clouds both at their ease.
Dense grow the creepers in many a valley,
And trees are packed close on a distant ridge.
While songbirds call wild geese fly over,
Deer drink, and gibbons climb.
The green line of peaks stands like a screen;
The blue rock face is shaped like a topknot.
It is hard to reach it across the drifting sands;
None could tire of watching the waterfall.
Taoist boys roam in search of herbs;
Foresters return with loads of firewood.
It is a worthy rival to Mount Tiantai,
And better than the threefold Huashan summit.
As the Great Sage was looking at the mountain he saw a farmhouse on its Northern slope from where the barking of dogs could be heard. The Great Sage went straight down the mountainside to the farm, which was indeed a splendid place:
A bridge across a lively stream,
A cottage sheltered by the hill,
Dogs barking by the broken fence,
A recluse who comes and goes at will.
Monkey was soon at the gate, where he saw an old Taoist sitting on a green cushion. Putting down the earthenware bowl, Monkey went forward to greet him. The Taoist returned his greeting with a bow from where he sat and asked, “Where have you come from? What business brings you here to this hermitage?”
“I have been sent by the emperor of the Great Tang in the East to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven,” Brother Monkey replied. “My master's belly is
unbearably painful and swollen because he drank some of the water of the Motherhood River. When we asked the local people they said it was because he is pregnant, and that there is no cure for this apart from the Miscarriage Spring in Childfree Cave in Mount Offspring Dissolved. So I have come especially to pay my respects to the As-you-will Immortal and beg him for some of the spring water with which to save my master. Could you be so kind as to show me the way?”
“This was Childfree Cave,” said the Taoist with a smile, “but now it's called the Hermitage of Immortals. I am none other than the senior disciple of my master the As-you-will Immortal. Tell me your name and I will announce you.”
“I am the senior disciple of the Patriarch Tang Sanzang,” said Monkey politely, “and my name is Sun Wukong.”
“Where are your presents, your wine and your offerings?” the Taoist asked.
“I'm only a passing itinerant monk,” said Monkey, “so I haven't been able to arrange them.”
“Fool!” said the Taoist with a laugh. “My master controls the spring and never gives any thing away for nothing. You'd better go and fetch your offerings if you want me to announce you, or else go away and forget about it.”
“People will do more as a favour than on the emperor's command,” Monkey replied. “Go and tell him my name and he's bound to do me this favour. He might even give me the whole spring.”
The Taoist went in to report all this to the immortal, who was playing his qin zither, and waited till he had finished before saying, “Master, there's a Buddhist monk outside who says he's Sun Wukong, the senior disciple of Tang Sanzang. He is asking for some of the water of the Miscarriage Spring to save his master with.” Had the immortal not been told this the matter would have ended there, but at the name of Sun Wukong anger surged up from his heart and evil grew from his gall. He sprang to his feet, stepped down from the low table on which he was playing the qin, changed from his informal clothes into his Taoist robes, and rushed out through the gates of his hermitage with his As-You-Will hook in his hands. “Where is Sun Wukong?” he shouted, and Monkey turned to see that he looked like this:
