by Wu Cheng-En
The king was very pleased to hear all this, so he summoned the holy priest from Tang to the throne hall, where an embroidered stool was set for him to sit on. Sanzang went into the hall by himself and handed over the passport before gratefully accepting the courtesy stool.
When the king read the passport through he was delighted. “It appears that when your Great Tang emperor was ill he could choose an eminent monk who would not flinch from a long journey to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures. But all the monks in our country want to do is to steal, thus destroying the country and ruining their sovereign.”
When Sanzang heard this he put his hands together and replied, “How can you be so sure they are destroying the country and ruining their sovereign?”
“This country of ours is the leading one in the Western Regions. The foreign states all around always used to send tribute because of the golden pagoda in the Golden Light Monastery in this capital. A multicolored glow used to shine from the pagoda right up to the sky. But recently the pagoda's treasure has been stolen by the wicked monks in the monastery, and for three years now there has been no coloured glow and no tribute from the foreigners. It is all extremely upsetting for us.”
“Your Majesty,” said Sanzang, smiling as he put his hands together in front of his chest, “a little mistake can lead to a great disaster. Soon after entering the gates of your heavenly capital yesterday I saw a dozen or so monks in cangues. When I asked them why they told me that they were from the Golden Light Monastery and were the victims of injustice. On close investigation in the monastery I found that it was no fault of the monks there. When I swept the pagoda in the middle of the night I captured the thieving devils who had stolen the treasure.”
“Where are they?” asked the delighted king.
“My disciples have them locked up in the Golden Light Monastery,” Sanzang replied.
The king ordered royal guards to be sent at once to the Golden Light Monastery to fetch the thieving devils so that he could interrogate them himself. “Your Majesty, I think it would be best if my disciple went with the guards.”
“Where is he?” the king asked.
“Standing by the steps of the throne,” Sanzang replied.
The king was shocked by what he saw. “How can your disciple be so ugly when you, reverend sir, are so handsome?” he asked.
When he heard this the Great Sage Sun shouted at the top of his voice, “Your Majesty, you should no more judge people by their faces than you'd measure the sea with a bucket. Good looks would never have captured the thieving devils.”
This calmed the king's alarm, and he said, “You are right, holy monk. We do not know how to select men of talent here. The ones who catch the thieves and recover the treasure are best.” He then ordered his aides to have a carriage prepared and told the royal guards to look after the holy monk as he went to fetch the thieving devils. The aides had a large palanquin with a yellow canopy got ready in which eight guardsmen carried Monkey with eight more as escorts who shouted to clear the way to the Golden Light Monastery. By now the whole city had heard the news; everyone came out to see the holy monk and the thieving devils.
Hearing the shouts Pig and Friar Sand, imagining that the king must have sent some of his officials, hurried out to meet them, only to see Monkey riding in the palanquin. “Now you're yourself again, brother,” laughed Pig.
“What do you mean?” Monkey asked, putting his hand on Pig to steady himself as he stepped out of the chair.
“There you are, being carried by eight men in a carrying chair under a royal yellow canopy,” said Pig. “Isn't that the way the Handsome Monkey King should travel? That's why I said you're yourself again.”
“Stop joking,” said Monkey, who then had the two devils brought for him to escort to the king.
“Won't you take me along too?” Friar Sand asked.
“You stay here and look after the luggage and the horse,” Monkey replied.
“My lords,” said the monks in cangues and chains, “why don't you all go to see His Majesty? We can look after your things here.”
“In that case we'll all go to report to the king,” said Monkey, “and then have you released.” With Pig manhandling one devil and Friar Sand the other, Monkey got back into the palanquin, and led the devils to the court.
They were soon at the steps of the throne hall, where the king was told that the devils had arrived. He came down from his dragon throne to examine them with the Tang Priest and his civil and military officials. One of the devils had bulging cheeks, black scales, a pointed mouth and sharp teeth. The other had slimy skin, a fat belly, a big mouth and long whiskers. Although they had legs and could walk it was obvious that they had only assumed a certain appearance of humanity through transformation.
“Where are you from, you thieving devils, you evil spirits?” the king asked. “How long have you been preying on this country? Which year did you steal our treasure? How many of you bandits are there? What are your names? I want it all, and I want the truth.” The two devils fell to their knees before him, and although blood was gushing from their necks they did not feel the pain. This was what they had to say:
“Three years ago, on the first day of the seventh month, the Infinitely Sage Dragon King brought a crowd of his relations to live in the Southeast corner of this country, in the Green Wave Pool on Ragged Rock Mountain about forty miles from here. He has an extremely attractive daughter for whom he found a husband to live in our palace, Prince Ninehead. His magic powers are unbeatable. He knew that you had a rare treasure in your tower, so he plotted with the dragon king to steal it. First he made it rain blood and then he stole the Buddha relic. Now it lights up the dragon palace, which is as bright as day even in the darkest night. Then the princess used her powers to sneak up and steal the Queen Mother's magic fungus to keep the treasure warm in the pool. We two aren't the bandit chiefs. We're just private soldiers sent here by the dragon king who were captured last night. This is the truth.”
“As you have made this confession,” the king said, “why don't you tell me your names?”
“I am Benborba,” one of them replied, “and he is Baborben. I am a catfish monster and he is a snakehead monster.”
The king then told the royal guards to keep them safely behind bars and ordered, “Release all the monks of the Golden Light Monastery from their cangues and chains, and have the Office of Foreign Affairs prepare a banquet in the Unicom Hall to congratulate the holy monks on their great achievements in catching the thieves. We shall now invite them to capture the ringleaders.”
The Office of Foreign Affairs then laid on a double banquet of both meat and vegetarian food, for which the king invited Sanzang and his disciples to take their places in the Unicorn Hall.
“May I ask your title, holy monk?” he said to Sanzang, who replied, his hands together, “My lay surname is Chen, and my Buddhist name Xuanzang. My emperor granted me the surname Tang and the title Sanzang.”
“What are your disciple's titles?” the king asked.
“They do not have titles,” Sanzang replied. “The senior one is called Sun Wukong, the second one Zhu Wuneng, and the third Sha Wujing. These were the names the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Southern Sea gave them. When they became my disciples I called Wukong Sun the Novice, Wuneng Bajie and Wujing Friar Sand.”
The king then asked Sanzang to take the place of honour while Monkey sat at his left and Pig and Friar Sand at his right. Their banquet was all vegetarian: fruit, vegetables, tea and rice. In front of them was a table of meat dishes at which sat the king, and below him were a hundred or more tables set with meat dishes for all the civil and military officials. The officials all thanked the king for his kindness, and the disciples sat down with the permission of their master. When all were seated the king raised his goblet, and though Sanzang would not drink his three disciples all drank to the success of the banquet. Woodwinds and strings then began to sound as the court musicians performed.
Just wat
ch Pig as he eats for all he is worth, gobbling his food down whole like a tiger or a wolf and emptying the table. Soon more soup and food was brought, only to disappear in the same way. Every time servants brought more wine he drained the cup, never refusing. The feast went on till after midday before it broke up.
When Sanzang expressed his thanks for the sumptuous banquet the king wanted to keep him longer. “It was just a gesture to thank you holy monks for catching the demons.” He then ordered the Office of Foreign Affairs to move the banquet to the Jianzhang Palace so that he could discuss with the holy monks how the ringleaders were to be captured and the treasure brought back to the pagoda.
“If we are to capture the thieves and recover the treasure,” Sanzang said, “another banquet won't be needed. We shall take our leave of Your Majesty now and set off to catch the demons.”
But the king insisted on taking them to the Jianzhang Palace for another banquet. “Which of you holy monks will lead the force that is to capture the monsters?” he asked, raising his goblet.
“Send my senior disciple Sun Wukong,” Sanzang replied. The Great Sage raised his clasped hands and bowed in acknowledgement.
“If the venerable Sun is going how big a force of cavalry and foot will he need,” the king asked, “and when will he be setting out?”
At this Pig could not restrain himself from shouting, “We won't need any soldiers, and we don't care when we go. With a good meal and a few drinks inside us he and I can go and catch them right now, just by laying our hands on them.”
“Bajie,” said Sanzang with delight, “you're getting very keen.”
“Very well then,” said Monkey. “Friar Sand, you guard the master while we two go.”
“Even if you two venerable elders don't need troops,” the king said, “surely you need weapons.”
“We don't need your weapons,” laughed Pig. “We carry our own.” On hearing this the king fetched two huge goblets and drank a toast to them on their journey.
“We won't have any more to drink,” said Monkey. “But we'd like the royal guards to bring those little demons to us. We need them as guides.” The king gave the order and they were brought out at once. Then Monkey and Pig, each firmly grasping a demon, rode the wind and used carrying magic to take them off to the Southeast. Indeed:
Only when king and court saw the magical clouds
Did they realize that the four of them were truly holy monks.
If you don't know how the capture went and what they found, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 63
Two Monks Wipe out the Demons in the Dragon Palace
The Sages Destroy Evil and Recover the Treasure
The story tells how the king of Jisai and his officials high and low watched as the Great Sage Monkey and Pig disappeared by wind and cloud, carrying the two demons with them. Then all of them bowed in homage to heaven, saying, “Their fame is well founded. Only today can we really believe that such immortals and living Buddhas exist.” As Monkey and Pig vanished into the distance the king bowed again to thank Sanzang and Friar Sand.
“Our mortal eyes were only able to see that your illustrious disciples had the power to capture thieving devils. We never realized that you were superior immortals with the power to ride on winds and clouds.”
“I do not have any dharma powers,” Sanzang replied. “On my journey I have depended very much on my three disciples.”
“I tell you the truth, Your Majesty,” said Friar Sand. “My senior fellow-disciple is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who has been converted. He once made havoc in Heaven, and none of the hundred thousand heavenly troops was a match for his gold-banded cudgel. He had the Supreme Lord Lao Zi and the Jade Emperor both scared. My next senior fellow-disciple is Marshal Tian Peng, now a faithful Buddhist. He once commanded 80,000 sailors on the River of Heaven. I'm the only one of us with no magic powers: I was the Curtain-lifting General before I took my vows. We're useless at everything except capturing demons and monsters, arresting thieves and runaways, subduing tigers and dragons, and kicking the sky into a well. And we know a thing or two about stirring up the sea and turning rivers upside-down. Oh yes, and then there's riding clouds and mists, summoning wind and rain, moving the stars around in the sky, carrying mountains, and chasing the moon: but those are just extras.” All this made the king treat them with very great respect Indeed:
Inviting Sanzang to take the place of honour, he kept addressing him as “Buddha” and referring to Friar Sand and the others as bodhisattvas. All the civil and military officials were delighted, and the citizens of the country kowtowed to them.
The story switches to the Great Sage Monkey and Pig riding their storm wind to the Green Wave Pool on the Ragged Rock Mountain, where they stopped their clouds.
Blowing a magic breath on his gold-banded cudgel Wukong told it to change and turned it into a monk's knife with which he cut an ear off the snakehead and the lower lip of the catfish, then threw the two demons into the water with a shout of, “Tell the Infinitely Sage Dragon King that Lord Sun, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, is here. If he wants me to spare the lives of him and his family he'd better hand over the treasure from the pagoda of the Golden Light Monastery in Jisai at once. If there's even the hint of a 'no' from him I'll give this pool such a stirring that there'll be no water left in it and then exterminate his whole family.”
Having been given this order the two little devils fled for their lives in great pain, jumping into the water, chains, ropes and all, to the alarm of the various turtle, alligator, shrimp, crab and fish spirits, who crowded round them to ask, “Why are you roped and chained?”
Once of them shook his head and waved his tail with his hand over his ear; the other stamped and beat his chest as he covered his mouth. There was much shouting and commotion as they both went to the dragon king's palace to report, “Disaster, Your Majesty.”
The Infinitely Sage Dragon King was drinking with his son-in-law Prince Ninehead when the two of them arrived. “What disaster?” the dragon king asked, putting down his cup.
“We were on sentry duty last night,” they reported, “when the Tang Priest and Sun the Novice captured us as they were sweeping the pagoda. We were chained up and taken to see the king this morning. Then Sun the Novice and Pig dragged us here. One of us had an ear cut off and the other a lip. Then they threw us into the water to come to ask for the treasure from the top of the pagoda.” They then told the whole story in great detail. The news about Sun the Novice, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, gave the ancient dragon such a fright that his souls left his body and were scattered beyond the sky.
“Son-in-law,” he said to the prince, shivering and shaking, “anyone else would have been easy enough to deal with; but if it's him it's terrible.”
“Relax, father-in-law,” the prince replied. “I've been studying the martial arts since childhood and made friends with quite a few of the world's heroes. He's nothing to be scared of. After three rounds with me I guarantee the wretch will surrender with his head hanging so low he won't even dare look you in the face.”
The splendid demon jumped to his feet, put on his armor, took the weapon he used, a crescent-bladed halberd, walked out of the palace, parted the waters, and when he reached the surface called out, “What's all this about a 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven'? Come and give yourself up at once.” Standing on the bank, Pig and Monkey saw how the evil spirit was dressed:
A silver helmet on his head,
Outshone the whitest snow;
The suit of armor that he wore
Was higher than autumn frost.
Over it was a battle-robe of brocade,
With dragons, cloud-patterns and pearls;
The rhinoceros-patterned belt at his waist
Was like a python wrapped in gold.
He held a crescent halberd
That flew and flashed like lightning;
The pigskin boots on his feet
Moved as smoothly as wat
er or waves.
From a distance he seemed to have only one face and head,
But seen from close to there were faces all around him:
Eyes in front and eyes behind
That could see in all directions;
Mouths to the left and mouths to the right,
Nine of them, all talking.
One shout from him would make the sky shake
Like the call of the crane resounding through the stars.
As nobody answered he shouted again, “Which of you is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?”
Touching the golden band round his head and fingering his iron cudgel, Monkey replied, “I am.”
“Where do you live?” the demon asked. “Where are you from? What brought you to Jisai to look after the king's pagoda? Why did you have the effrontery to capture and mutilate two of our officers? And why are you here demanding battle now?”
“Thieving devil,” replied Monkey abusively, “it's obvious you don't know who I am. Come a little closer and I'll tell you:
My people come from the Mount of Flowers and Fruit,
From the Water Curtain Cave in the middle of the sea.
Since childhood I have made my body indestructible;
The Jade Emperor created me Heaven-equaling Sage.
When I made havoc in the Dipper and Bull Palace
All the gods of Heaven were not enough to beat me.
The Buddha then was asked to use his great and subtle powers;
His infinite wisdom went beyond the mortal world.
When I matched my powers with his and made my somersaults
His hand turned to a mountain and crushed me underneath.
There I was kept for full five hundred years,
