The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 4

by Unknown

  Though the countries he visited were innumerable, the scriptures he succeeded in acquiring had a definite number. Of those important texts of the Mahāyāna he received, there are thirty-five titles17 in altogether five thousand and forty-eight scrolls. When they are translated and spread through China, they will proclaim18 the surpassing merit of Buddhism, drawing the cloud of mercy from the Western extremity to shower the dharma-rain on the Eastern region. The Holy Religion, once incomplete, is now returned to perfection. The multitudes, once full of sins, are now brought back to blessing. Like that which quenches the fire in a burning house,19 Buddhism works to save humanity lost on its way to perdition. Like a golden beam shining on darkened waters,20 it leads the voyagers to ascend safely the other shore.

  Thus we know that the wicked will fall because of their iniquities, but the virtuous will rise because of their karmic affinities. The root causes of such rise and fall are all self-made by man. Consider the cinnamon flourishing high on the mountain, its flowers nourished by cloud and mist, or the lotus growing atop the green waves, its leaves unsoiled by dust. This is not because the lotus is by nature clean or because the cinnamon itself is chaste, but because what the cinnamon depends on for its existence is lofty, and thus it will not be weighed down by trivia; and because what the lotus relies on is pure, and thus impurity cannot stain it. Since even the vegetable kingdom, which is itself without intelligence, knows that excellence comes from an environment of excellence, how can humans who understand the great relations not search for well-being by following well-being?

  May these scriptures abide forever as the sun and moon and may the blessings they confer spread throughout the universe!

  After the secretary had finished writing this treatise, the sage monk was summoned. At the time, the elder was already waiting outside the gate of the court. When he heard the summons, he hurried inside and prostrated himself to pay homage to the emperor.

  Taizong asked him to ascend the hall and handed him the document. When he had finished reading it, the priest went to his knees again to express his gratitude. “The style and rhetoric of my Lord,” said the priest, “are lofty and classical, while the reasoning in the treatise is both profound and subtle. I would like to know, however, whether a title has been chosen for this composition.”

  “We composed it orally last night,”21 replied Taizong, “as a token of thanks to our royal brother. Will it be acceptable if I title this ‘Preface to the Holy Religion’?” The elder kowtowed and thanked him profusely. Once more Taizong said,

  “Our talents pale before the imperial tablets,

  And our words cannot match the bronze and stone inscriptions.22

  As for the esoteric texts,

  Our ignorance thereof is even greater.

  Our treatise orally composed

  Is actually quite unpolished—

  Like mere spilled ink on tablets of gold.

  Or broken tiles in a forest of pearls.

  Writing it in self-interest,

  We have quite ignored even embarrassment.

  It is not worth your notice,

  And you should not thank us.”

  All the officials present, however, congratulated the emperor and made arrangements immediately to promulgate the royal essay on Holy Religion inside and outside the capital.

  Taizong said, “We would like to ask the royal brother to recite the true scriptures for us. How about it?”

  “My Lord,” said the elder, “if you want me to recite the true scriptures, we must find the proper religious site. The treasure palace is no place for recitation.” Exceedingly pleased, Taizong asked his attendants, “Among the monasteries of Chang’an, which is the purest one?”

  From among the ranks stepped forth the Grand Secretary, Xiao Yu, who said, “The Wild-Goose Pagoda Temple23 in the city is purest of all.” At once Taizong gave this command to the various officials: “Each of you take several scrolls of these true scriptures and go reverently with us to the Wild-Goose Pagoda Temple. We want to ask our royal brother to expound the scriptures to us.” Each of the officials indeed took up several scrolls and followed the emperor’s carriage to the temple. A lofty platform with proper appointments was then erected. As before, the elder told Eight Rules and Sha Monk to hold the dragon horse and mind the luggage, while Pilgrim was to serve him by his side. Then he said to Taizong, “If my Lord would like to circulate the true scriptures throughout his empire, copies should be made before they are dispersed. We should treasure the originals and not handle them lightly.”

  Smiling, Taizong said, “The words of our royal brother are most appropriate! Most appropriate!” He thereupon ordered the officials in the Hanlin Academy and the Central Drafting Office to make copies of the true scriptures. For them he also erected another temple east of the capital and named it the Temple for Imperial Transcription.

  The elder had already taken several scrolls of scriptures and mounted the platform. He was just about to recite them when he felt a gust of fragrant wind. In midair the Eight Vajra Guardians revealed themselves and cried, “Recitants, drop your scripture scrolls and follow us back to the West.” From below, Pilgrim and his two companions together with the white horse immediately rose into the air. The elder, too, abandoned the scriptures and rose from the platform. They all left soaring through the air. So startled were Taizong and the many officials that they all bowed down toward the sky. Thus it was that

  Since scriptures were the sage monk’s ardent quest,

  He went on fourteen years throughout the West

  A bitter journey full of trials and woes,

  With many streams and mountains as his foes.

  Nine merits more were added to eight times nine;

  His three thousand works did on the great world shine.

  The wondrous texts brought back to the noble state

  Would in the East until now circulate.

  After Taizong and many officials had finished their worship, they immediately set about the selection of high priests so that a Grand Mass of Land and Water could be held right in that Wild-Goose Pagoda Temple. Furthermore, they were to read and recite the true scriptures from the Great Canon in order that the damned spirits would be delivered from nether darkness and the celebration of good works be multiplied. The copies of transcribed scriptures would also be promulgated throughout the empire, and of this we shall speak no more.

  We must tell you now about those Eight Great Vajra Guardians, who mounted the fragrant wind to lead the elder, his three disciples, and the white horse back to Spirit Mountain. The round trip was made precisely within a period of eight days. At that time the various divinities of Spirit Mountain were all assembled before Buddha to listen to his lecture. Ushering master and disciples before his presence, the Eight Vajra Guardians said, “Your disciples by your golden decree have escorted the sage monk and his companions back to the Tang nation. The scriptures have been handed over. We now return to surrender your decree.” The Tang Monk and his disciples were then told to approach the throne of Buddha to receive their appointments.

  “Sage Monk,” said Tathāgata, “in your previous incarnation you were originally my second disciple named Master Gold Cicada. Because you failed to listen to my exposition of the law and slighted my great teaching, your true spirit was banished to find another incarnation in the Land of the East. Happily you submitted and, by remaining faithful to our teaching, succeeded in acquiring the true scriptures. For such magnificent merit, you will receive a great promotion to become the Buddha of Candana Merit.

  “Sun Wukong, when you caused great disturbance at the Celestial Palace, I had to exercise enormous dharma power to have you pressed beneath the Mountain of Five Phases. Fortunately your Heaven-sent calamity came to an end, and you embraced the Buddhist religion. I am pleased even more by the fact that you were devoted to the scourging of evil and the exaltation of good. Throughout your journey you made great merit by smelting the demons and defeating the fiends. For being faithful in the
end as you were in the beginning, I hereby give you the grand promotion and appoint you the Buddha Victorious in Strife.

  “Zhu Wuneng, you were originally an aquatic deity of the Heavenly River, the Marshal of Heavenly Reeds. For getting drunk during the Festival of Immortal Peaches and insulting the divine maiden, you were banished to an incarnation in the Region Below which would give you the body of a beast. Fortunately you still cherished and loved the human form, so that even when you sinned at the Cloudy Paths Cave in Fuling Mountain, you eventually submitted to our great religion and embraced our vows. Although you protected the sage monk on his way, you were still quite mischievous, for greed and lust were never wholly extinguished in you. For the merit of toting the luggage, however, I hereby grant you promotion and appoint you Janitor of the Altars.”

  “They have all become Buddhas!” shouted Eight Rules. “Why am I alone made Janitor of the Altars?”

  “Because you are still talkative and lazy,” replied Tathāgata, “and you retain an enormous appetite. Within the four great continents of the world, there are many people who observe our religion. Whenever there are Buddhist services, you will be asked to clear the altars. That’s an appointment which offers you plenty of enjoyment. How could it be bad?

  “Sha Wujing, you were originally the Great Curtain-Raising Captain. Because you broke a crystal chalice during the Festival of Immortal Peaches, you were banished to the Region Below, where at the River of Flowing-Sand you sinned by devouring humans. Fortunately you submitted to our religion and remained firm in your faith. As you escorted the sage monk, you made merit by leading his horse over all those mountains. I hereby grant you promotion and appoint you the Golden-Bodied Arhat.”

  Then he said to the white horse, “You were originally the prince of Dragon King Guangjin of the Western Ocean. Because you disobeyed your father’s command and committed the crime of unfiliality, you were to be executed. Fortunately you made submission to the Law and accepted our vows. Because you carried the sage monk daily on your back during his journey to the West and because you also took the holy scriptures back to the East, you too have made merit. I hereby grant you promotion and appoint you one of the dragons belonging to the Eight Classes of Supernatural Beings.”24

  The elder, his three disciples, and the horse all kowtowed to thank the Buddha, who ordered some of the guardians to take the horse to the Dragon-Transforming Pool at the back of the Spirit Mountain. After being pushed into the pool, the horse stretched himself, and in a little while he shed his coat, horns began to grow on his head, golden scales appeared all over his body, and silver whiskers emerged on his cheeks. His whole body shrouded in auspicious air and his four paws wrapped in hallowed clouds, he soared out of the pool and circled inside the monastery gate, on top of one of the Pillars that Support Heaven.

  As the various Buddhas gave praise to the great dharma of Tathāgata, Pilgrim Sun said also to the Tang Monk, “Master, I’ve become a Buddha now, just like you. It can’t be that I still must wear a golden fillet! And you wouldn’t want to clamp my head still by reciting that so-called Tight-Fillet Spell, would you? Recite the Loose-Fillet Spell quickly and get it off my head. I’m going to smash it to pieces, so that that so-called Bodhisattva can’t use it anymore to play tricks on other people.”

  “Because you were difficult to control previously,” said the Tang Monk, “this method had to be used to restrain you. Now that you have become a Buddha, naturally it will be gone. How could it be still on your head? Try touching your head and see.” Pilgrim raised his hand and felt along his head, and indeed the fillet had vanished. So at that time, Buddha Candana, Buddha Victorious in Strife, Janitor of the Altars, and Golden-Bodied Arhat all assumed the position of their own rightful fruition. The Heavenly dragon-horse too returned to immortality, and we have a testimonial poem for them. The poem says:

  One Real Body dropped to the dusty plain

  Fuses with Four Signs to tend the self again.25

  In Five Phases terms forms are dead and void;

  The fiends’ vain names one should all avoid.

  Great Bodhi’s the right Candana fruition;

  Appointments crown this rise from perdition.

  Gracious light of scriptures now worldwide dilates,

  As five sages live within Advaya’s gates.

  At the time when these five sages assumed their positions, the various Buddhist Patriarchs, Bodhisattvas, sage priests, arhats, guardians, bhikṣus, upāsakas and upāsikās, the immortals of various mountains and caves, the grand divinities, the Gods of Darkness and Light, the Sentinels, the Guardians of Monasteries, and all the immortals and preceptors who had attained the Way all came to listen to the proclamation before retiring to their proper stations. Look now at

  Colored mists crowding the Spirit Vulture Peak,

  And hallowed clouds gathered in the world of bliss.

  Gold dragons safely sleeping, Jade tigers resting in peace;

  Black hares scampering freely, Snakes and turtles circling at will.

  Phoenixes, red and blue, gambol pleasantly;

  Black apes and white deer saunter happily.

  Strange flowers of eight periods,

  Divine fruits of four seasons,

  Hoary pines and old junipers,

  Jade cypresses and aged bamboos.

  Five-colored plums often blossoming and bearing fruit;

  Millennial peaches frequently ripening and fresh.

  A thousand flowers and fruits vying for beauty;

  A whole sky full of auspicious mists.

  Pressing their palms together to indicate their devotion, the holy congregation all chanted:

  I submit to Dīpaṁkara, the Buddha of Antiquity.

  I submit to Bhaiṣajya-vaiḍūrya-prabhāṣa, the Physician and Buddha of Crystal Lights.

  I submit to the Buddha Śākyamuni.

  I submit to the Buddha of the Past, Present, and Future.

  I submit to the Buddha of Pure Joy.

  I submit to the Buddha Vairocana.

  I submit to the Buddha, King of the Precious Banner.

  I submit to the Maitreya, the Honored Buddha.

  I submit to the Buddha Amitābha.

  I submit to Sukhāvativyūha, the Buddha of Infinite Life.

  I submit to the Buddha who Receives and Leads to Immortality.

  I submit to the Buddha of Diamond Indestructibility.

  I submit to Sūrya, the Buddha of Precious Light.

  I submit to Mañjuśrī, the Buddha of the Race of Honorable Dragon Kings.

  I submit to the Buddha of Zealous Progress and Virtue.

  I submit to Candraprabha, the Buddha of Precious Moonlight.

  I submit to the Buddha of Presence without Ignorance.

  I submit to Varuna, the Buddha of Sky and Water. I submit to the Buddha Nārāyaṇa.

  I submit to the Buddha of Radiant Meritorious Works.

  I submit to the Buddha of Talented Meritorious Works.

  I submit to Svāgata, the Buddha of the Well-Departed.

  I submit to the Buddha of Candana Light.

  I submit to the Buddha of Jeweled Banner.

  I submit to the Buddha of the Light of Wisdom Torch.

  I submit to the Buddha of the Light of Sea-Virtue.

  I submit to the Buddha of Great Mercy Light.

  I submit to the Buddha, King of Compassion-Power.

  I submit to the Buddha, Leader of the Sages.

  I submit to the Buddha of Vast Solemnity.

  I submit to the Buddha of Golden Radiance.

  I submit to the Buddha of Luminous Gifts.

  I submit to the Buddha Victorious in Wisdom.

  I submit to the Buddha, Quiescent Light of the World.

  I submit to the Buddha, Light of the Sun and Moon.

  I submit to the Buddha, Light of the Sun-and-Moon Pearl.

  I submit to the Buddha, King of the Victorious Banner.

  I submit to the Buddha of Wondrous Tone and Sound.

&n
bsp; I submit to the Buddha, Banner of Permanent Light.

  I submit to the Buddha, Lamp that Scans the World.

  I submit to the Buddha, King of Surpassing Dharma.

  I submit to the Buddha of Sumeru Light.

  I submit to the Buddha, King of Great Wisdom.

  I submit to the Buddha of Golden Sea Light.

  I submit to the Buddha of Great Perfect Light.

  I submit to the Buddha of the Gift of Light.

  I submit to the Buddha of Candana Merit.

  I submit to the Buddha Victorious in Strife.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, Great Power-Coming.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva Viśvabhadra and other Bodhisattvas.

  I submit to the various Bodhisattvas of the Great Pure Ocean.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, the Buddha of Lotus Pool and Ocean Assembly.

  I submit to the various Bodhisattvas in the Western Heaven of Ultimate Bliss.

  I submit to the Great Bodhisattvas, the Three Thousand Guardians.

  I submit to the Great Bodhisattvas, the Five Hundred Arhats.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, Bhikṣu-īkṣṇi.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva of Boundless and Limitless Dharma.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, Diamond Great Scholar-Sage.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, Janitor of the Altars.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva, Golden-Bodied Arhat of Eight Jewels.

  I submit to the Bodhisattva of Vast Strength, the Heavenly Dragon of Eight Divisions of Supernatural Beings.

  Such are these various Buddhas in all the worlds.

  I wish to use these merits

  To adorn Buddha’s pure land—

  To repay fourfold grace above

  And save those on three paths below.

  If there are those who see and hear,

  Their minds will find enlightenment.