Chapter 12: The Tang King, in Sincere Devotion, Holds the Great Assembly; Guanyin Reveals Her True Form and Awakens the Golden Cicada

Now then: the ghost-messengers came up from the underworld with Liu Quan and his wife. The yin-wind curled all around them as they reached the great city of Chang'an. Liu Quan's soul was thrust back into his body at the Pavilion of Golden Grace, while Cuilian's soul was carried into the inner palace.

There, in the shade of flowers, Princess Yuying was strolling over green moss when the ghost-messengers sprang upon her, knocked her to the ground, seized her living soul, and shoved Cuilian's spirit into Yuying's body instead. Then they returned to the underworld, and we leave them there.

As for the palace maids, when they saw Yuying fall as if dead, they ran at once to the Golden Hall and reported to the empresses:

"The princess has fallen dead!"

The empresses were thrown into alarm and at once informed Emperor Taizong. Hearing it, the emperor gave a slow nod and sighed.

"So it proves true. When I asked the Ten Kings after the old and young of the palace, they answered, 'All are safe, though we fear your younger sister's span is short.' Their words have now come true."

All the women of the palace gathered in grief and rushed beneath the flowers to look. They found that the princess still retained a little breath.

"Do not cry," said Taizong. "Do not frighten her."

He stepped forward himself, lifted her head in his hands, and called:

"Younger sister, wake. Wake."

The princess suddenly turned over and cried,

"Husband, go slowly. Wait for me."

Taizong said, "Sister, it is we here."

The princess lifted her head, opened her eyes, and stared.

"Who are you people, to lay hands on me?"

Taizong said, "I am your elder brother, and here is your sister-in-law."

The princess answered, "What elder brother and sister-in-law have I? My maiden family is Li, and my childhood name is Li Cuilian. My husband is surnamed Liu and named Quan. We are both people of Junzhou. Three months ago I drew out a gold hairpin at the gate to give alms to a fasting monk. My husband blamed me for stepping beyond the inner rooms and failing in proper wifely conduct. I was so choked with anger that I hanged myself from a beam with a white silk sash, leaving behind a son and daughter who wept day and night. Now because my husband was sent by Emperor Taizong to carry melons and fruits to the underworld, the kings there took pity on us and sent us back together. He was walking before me. I came too late, stumbled, and fell.

"You people are rude beyond bearing. You do not even know my name. How dare you seize hold of me?"

Hearing this, Taizong said to the palace women, "It seems my younger sister has been stunned by the fall and talks nonsense."

He ordered the imperial physicians to bring medicine and had Yuying carried back inside the palace.

But just then an attendant of the imperial presence came into the hall and reported:

"Your Majesty, the man who carried the melons and fruits, Liu Quan, has returned to life and awaits command outside the court gate."

The Tang king started in surprise and ordered him admitted. Liu Quan came in and prostrated himself on the vermilion steps.

Taizong asked, "How went the business of the melons and fruit?"

Liu Quan replied, "Your servant balanced the melons on his head and went straight to Ghost Gate Pass, then was led into the Hall of Senluo and saw the Ten Kings. I presented the melons and fruits and conveyed in full Your Majesty's earnest thanks. The kings were greatly pleased and bade your servant bow again and again in your name, saying: 'He truly is an emperor of faith and virtue, this Taizong of Tang.'"

The emperor asked, "And what did you see in the underworld?"

Liu Quan answered, "Your servant did not travel far and saw little. I only heard the kings ask after my native place and my name. I told them how I had abandoned home and children because my wife had hanged herself, and how I had willingly come to present the melons and fruit. At once they ordered the ghost-attendants to fetch my wife, and there we met again beneath the Hall of Senluo. Then they consulted the ledgers of life and death and said that husband and wife alike still had years fit for ascent among immortals. So they sent us back. I walked before and my wife followed. By good fortune I returned to life. But I do not know into what body my wife has entered."

Taizong asked sharply, "Did the kings say anything else concerning your wife?"

Liu Quan replied, "They did not say much. I heard only the ghost-attendants say: 'Li Cuilian has been long dead in the underworld, and her body no longer exists.' Then the kings said: 'The imperial younger sister Li Yuying of Tang is now due to die. Let Cuilian borrow her body and return in it.' Your servant does not know where this 'imperial younger sister of Tang' might dwell, nor have I yet gone to seek her."

When Taizong heard this, his heart filled with joy. Before the assembled court he said:

"When I parted from the kings below, I asked after the affairs of the palace. They answered, 'All are well, though your younger sister's life may be cut short.' Just now my younger sister Yuying fell down under the flowers. When I lifted her, she cried, 'Husband, go slowly. Wait for me.' I thought she spoke in delirium from the fall. But when questioned further, her words matched Liu Quan's exactly."

Wei Zheng stepped forward.

"When the princess's life-span was briefly cut short and she revived, that was surely the borrowing of her body by Liu Quan's wife. If it pleases Your Majesty, let the princess be brought out again and asked what more she may say."

Taizong said, "I have just ordered the physicians to attend her. I do not know how she fares."

So he ordered the women of the palace to fetch her. Inside, the woman inhabiting Yuying's body was already shouting in complaint:

"What medicine am I to drink? What place is this? This is no house of mine. My home is a cool tile-roofed house, not this jaundiced den with its gaudy, fox-bright doors. Let me out! Let me out!"

Even as she cried out, four or five women officers and two or three eunuchs half-supported, half-led her into the hall.

Taizong asked, "Do you know your husband?"

The woman answered, "What kind of talk is that? We were man and wife from the time of our first hair-knot, and bore children together. How could I not know him?"

Taizong ordered the eunuchs to help her down from the throne. The moment she reached the white jade steps and saw Liu Quan, she rushed forward and caught him by the arm.

"Husband, where were you going, not waiting for me? I stumbled and fell, and then all these senseless people crowded around me shouting. What is any of this supposed to mean?"

Liu Quan heard the words and knew them for his wife's speech, yet the face before him was not hers, and he did not dare acknowledge her.

Taizong said, "Truly, one may see mountains collapse and earth split, but to see a dead soul borrow a living body is not a common thing."

This king of clear understanding immediately ordered that all Princess Yuying's dressing-cases, robes, ornaments, and jewels be given to Liu Quan, as though they were a bridal dowry. He further bestowed upon him an imperial decree exempting him forever from labor service and commanded him to take the imperial younger sister home with him.

Husband and wife bowed in thanks before the steps and returned to their native place in joy.

A verse bears witness:

Man's life and death are bound by causes before him;
whether short or long, each has his allotted years.
Liu Quan took melons into the underworld and came back to the world above;
Li Cuilian borrowed a body and returned in life again.

They took leave of the king and went straight back to Junzhou. There they found their old property and their children safe. Husband and wife lived on proclaiming the fruits of goodness, and we need say no more of them here.

Now then: Yuchi Gong carried the treasury of gold and silver to Kaifeng in Henan to look for Xiang Liang. It turned out that Xiang Liang made his living selling water, and he and his wife, Madam Zhang, scraped out a bare existence by selling black earthen basins and clay wares at the door. They earned little more than enough to support themselves, yet whatever they could spare they used to feed monks, give alms, and buy gold and silver spirit-paper to burn and deposit in the underworld. That was the root of the good fortune now ripening upon them.

In the world above Xiang Liang was a poor man who loved goodness. In the world below he was a wealthy elder, with piles of jade and mountains of gold to his name.

When Yuchi Gong brought the treasury to their door, the old couple were terrified out of their wits. Added to that, the local magistrates and officials were there as well, their carts and horses crowding the poor lane beyond the thatch house. The old pair stood dumb as if struck senseless and knelt only to kowtow.

Yuchi Gong said, "Old sir, old madam, rise. Though I come as an imperial envoy, I carry my lord's gold and silver here to repay you."

Trembling all over, Xiang Liang answered, "This poor man has never lent out gold or silver in his life. How could he dare accept wealth whose source he does not know?"

Yuchi said, "I too have learned that you are poor, yet because you feed monks and give alms, using what little you have to buy spirit-gold and spirit-silver and deposit them in the underworld, you have laid up treasure there. It was our Emperor Taizong - dead for three days and then alive again - who borrowed one treasury of your gold and silver below. I have now brought it back in full. Take it all, so that I may return and report."

The old couple only bowed toward Heaven.

"We dare not accept. If we were to take such gold and silver, it would shorten our lives. Even if we burned spirit-paper and deposited it in the world below, such things belong to the hidden realm. Besides, what proof is there that His Majesty borrowed it in that world? We absolutely dare not receive it."

Yuchi replied, "His Majesty said there is proof. Judge Cui himself stood guarantee for the loan. Accept it."

But Xiang Liang answered, "Even if I die for refusing, I still dare not."

Seeing him resist so firmly, Yuchi Gong had no choice but to send up a memorial and ask for further instructions. When Taizong read it and learned that Xiang Liang would not accept the gold and silver, he said, "This truly is a good and kindly elder."

He therefore issued another decree:

"Let the gold and silver be used in his name to repair monasteries, build shrines, and invite monks to perform good works. Count that as repayment to him."

When the order arrived, Yuchi Gong faced the palace and thanked the throne, then proclaimed the decree openly. With the money he purchased a broad tract of land in the city, some fifty mu in extent, free from obstruction by army or people. There he raised a monastery by imperial order, with a living shrine to Xiang Liang and his wife on the left side. Stone tablets were carved and inscriptions cut, bearing the words, Supervised by Yuchi Gong.

This is the monastery later known as the Great Xiangguo Monastery.

When the work was complete and Yuchi Gong returned to report, Taizong was greatly pleased. He then gathered the ministers once more, posted notices seeking monks, and ordered that the great Water-Land Assembly be prepared to deliver the lonely spirits of the underworld. Notices were sent throughout the realm, commanding every district and prefecture to recommend high monks of true virtue to come to Chang'an and take part in the rite.

Within a month monks from all beneath Heaven had arrived. Taizong ordered Fu Yi, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, to select among them the worthy monks who should conduct the Buddhist services.

Fu Yi, on receiving the command, submitted a memorial opposing the religion of the Buddha and declaring that there was no Buddha at all. His memorial said in essence:

The law of the Western Regions knows neither ruler nor subject, father nor son. With talk of the three evil destinies and the six roads, it deceives the foolish. It traces sins to what is past and peers after blessings to come, mouths barbarian syllables, and hopes thereby to slip free. Yet life and death, length of days and briefness of days, all belong to nature itself; punishment, virtue, majesty, and blessing rest with the ruler among men. Now I hear vulgar followers pretending that all things come from Buddha. But from the Five Emperors through the Three Kings there was no Buddhism. Even so, rulers were enlightened, ministers loyal, and reigns long. Only with Emperor Ming of Han was the barbarian god first set up, and even then the teaching was no more than what monks of the Western Regions brought of themselves. It is but a foreign encroachment upon China and not worthy of belief.

Taizong, reading this, threw the memorial down before the gathered ministers and told them to debate it.

At once Chancellor Xiao Yu stepped out, bowed low, and said:

"The Buddha's teaching has flourished through many reigns, promoting good and restraining evil, assisting the state in hidden ways. It cannot lightly be abolished. Buddha is a sage. Those who are not sages should not be allowed to slander him. I ask severe punishment for anyone who does so."

Fu Yi and Xiao Yu argued face to face. Fu Yi said:

"Ritual begins in serving one's parents and one's ruler. Yet the Buddhist leaves his father behind and goes forth from home, and a common man so doing sets himself against the Son of Heaven. Thus he betrays both ritual and kinship. Xiao Yu was not born from an empty mulberry tree, yet he follows a doctrine without fathers. Truly, the unfilial man has no kin."

Xiao Yu only joined his palms and said, "Hell was made for men such as this."

Taizong then summoned Zhang Daoyuan, Minister of the Imperial Stud, and Zhang Shiheng, Secretariat Director, and asked what benefit Buddhist rites might truly bring. The two ministers answered:

"At root the Buddha teaches purity, mercy, and forbearance. His fruition is true, and his emptiness is Buddha-emptiness. Emperor Wu of Zhou ranked the Three Teachings in order. The great Chan master Dahui praised the profound and remote; through all ages the offerings made to the Buddha have never failed to show their signs. The Fifth Patriarch was reborn by choice, and Bodhidharma manifested his image. Since ancient times all have said that the Three Teachings are honored and cannot be destroyed or cast aside. We beg Your Majesty to judge with holy clarity."

Taizong was greatly pleased.

"Your words accord with reason. If anyone speaks further in opposition, punish him."

He therefore ordered Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, and Zhang Daoyuan to invite the Buddhas and select one monk of great virtue to preside over the altar and conduct the rite. All bowed and withdrew.

From that time forth a law was set down: whoever slandered monks or reviled the Buddha would lose an arm.

The next day the three ministers gathered the monks at the Altar of Mountains and Rivers and inspected them from beginning to end. Among them they chose one high monk of true virtue. And who was he? He was the monk once known in the Pure Land as the Golden Cicada, who in another life had listened carelessly to the Buddha's sermon and so been sent down to suffer in the mortal dust.

He had been born into danger, cast into the river, taken up at Jinshan Monastery, and reared by the monk Faming. His father was Chen Guangrui, First Scholar of Haizhou; his maternal grandfather, Chancellor Yin Kaishan of the Tang court. He had grown to eighteen, found his mother, called in his grandfather, avenged his father, and afterward refused office so that he might devote himself wholly to the quiet search for the Way. His childhood name had been River-Drift. His Dharma name was Chen Xuanzang.

On that day the three ministers brought Master Xuanzang before the throne. He bowed, and they reported:

"Your servants, obeying the sacred command, have selected as high monk Chen Xuanzang."

Hearing the name, Taizong pondered for a long moment.

"Is this not Xuanzang, son of the Academician Chen Guangrui?"

River-Drift bowed his head.

"Your servant is he."

The emperor rejoiced.

"Then he has indeed been well chosen. He is truly a monk of virtue and Chan-heart."

At once Taizong bestowed upon him the rank of Chief of Monastic Administration for the whole realm. Xuanzang bowed and thanked the throne. The emperor also granted him one woven cassock of five-colored gold and one Vairocana cap.

He then ordered him to inquire carefully among the eminent monks, arrange the ranks of the acharyas, draft the imperial notices, proceed to Huasheng Monastery, choose an auspicious day, and there open the preaching of the scriptures.

Xuanzang bowed again, received the command, and went straight to Huasheng Monastery. There he gathered the monks, had meditation platforms built, merit-halls decorated, and the music set in order. In all he selected one thousand two hundred monks of greater and lesser distinction and arranged them into upper, middle, and lower halls. Before every Buddha image the offerings were set out complete, each thing in due place.

At last, on the third day of the ninth month, an auspicious yellow-road day, the forty-nine-day Water-Land Assembly was opened. A memorial was submitted to the throne, and Emperor Taizong, together with the civil ministers, the military nobles, the imperial kindred, and the ladies of the palace, all came in due course to burn incense and hear the preaching.

A verse bears witness:

In Zhenguan thirteen, with dragons gathering in the year,
the king called the great assembly to speak the scriptures.
The ritual grounds opened to the measureless Law,
while cloud and mist shone about the shrine of great vows.
Imperial favor descended to raise the lofty temple;
the Golden Cicada shed its shell and opened westward.
Good fruit was spread abroad to lift the drowned and the sunken,
and the teaching was proclaimed before and after in perfect faith.

In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, on the third day of the ninth month, Chen Xuanzang, Chief of Monastic Administration, gathered the twelve hundred high monks in Huasheng Monastery at Chang'an and there began to expound the wondrous scriptures in all their divisions.

The emperor, once the morning audience was done, led out the civil and military officers, mounted phoenix carriage and dragon car, and went in person to the monastery to burn incense. Truly his progress was a sight:

A whole heaven of auspicious breath,
ten thousand shafts of blessed light.
The wind of benevolence moved lightly through the day of transformation.
Thousands of officials with jade pendants circled him before and behind;
the five guards' banners stood ranked on either side.
Gold maces and battle-axes were borne in pairs;
scarlet lanterns and the imperial censer shone in solemn splendor.
Dragon flew, phoenix danced,
hawks were raised, eagles lifted.
The emperor himself was righteous and clear;
the great ministers loyal and good.
Blessings through a thousand years beyond Shun and Yu,
peace through ten thousand ages surpassing Yao and Tang.
Curved-handled parasols, dragon robes rolling,
radiance striking radiance;
jade-linked rings and phoenix-feather fans,
auspicious mist afloat in the air.
Pearl crowns, jade belts,
purple sashes and gold seals.
A thousand escort troops guarded the carriage,
with two files of officers upholding the throne.
This emperor of Great Tang had bathed in sincerity and honored the Buddha;
he took joy in the fruits of goodness and came to burn incense.

The royal progress reached the monastery early. Music was stilled, and Taizong descended from the carriage, led the ministers within, and with them burned incense and bowed before the Buddha. After three circuits were complete, he lifted his head and saw indeed a splendid ritual ground.

There were banners streaming, jeweled canopies flashing. The banners swayed in colored cloud through the air, the canopies glittered like red lightning in the sun. The World-Honored One's golden image shone in all perfection, the jade forms of the arhats stern in majesty. Vases held immortal flowers; braziers burned sandal and aloes. Bright fruit piled on vermilion platters, curious sweets on painted tables. Rows of high monks recited the true scriptures, vowing to draw the lonely dead out of suffering.

Taizong and all the court ministers burned incense, bowed before the golden image of the Buddha, and paid reverence to the arhats. Then they saw Xuanzang, Great Master and Chief of Monastic Administration, leading the monks in prostration before the Tang king. When the rites were done, all took their seats in order.

The Master then presented to Taizong the proclamation for rescuing the lonely dead. It read in part:

The utmost virtue is dim and measureless; the Chan source still and extinguished. Pure, clear, and numinous, it circulates through the Three Realms. Through a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations it gathers yin and yang to itself. Its substance and its use are eternally true, without end. Therefore the lonely dead deserve deep compassion. By command of the holy Emperor Taizong, monks have been assembled to meditate and proclaim the Law, so that the gate of skillful means may be flung wide, the ferries of mercy may be launched far and broad, the beings of the bitter sea may all be rescued, and the sickness of the six destinies cut away. May they be led onto the road of truth and look upon the Great Beginning. Motion and stillness alike return to non-action, blending into simplicity and purity. By this good cause may reward be sought in the crimson towers of the pure capital; by this victorious assembly may souls escape their prison of hell and common dust. May they ascend early into utter bliss, roaming freely to and from the Western Paradise.

A verse says:

One censer of incense for eternal life,
a few scrolls of registers that release the dead.
Boundless the wondrous Law proclaimed,
limitless the heavenly grace bestowed.
Every grievance and evil bond is swept away;
every lonely soul leaves prison.
May it preserve our realm and house,
in peace and all prosperity.

Taizong read it and was filled with joy.

"You have taken up this service with loyal sincerity. Do not fail in the least in the Buddha's work. When all is complete and merit comes to each of you, I will reward you heavily and will by no means let your labor go empty."

The twelve hundred monks all bowed in thanks.

That day the three ritual meals were completed, and the Tang king returned to the palace. After the full seven days of the proper assembly, he came again to burn incense. By then evening had fallen, and all the officials withdrew.

How lovely that evening was:

Over ten thousand li the sky dimmed into the afterglow;
a few homeward crows dropped late to roost.
Citywide the lamps were lit and human noise fell still.
It was just the hour for Chan monks to enter meditation.

One night's scene may rest there. The next day the Master again mounted the seat and gathered the monks to recite the scriptures.

Meanwhile Guanyin of Mount Putuo in the South Sea, acting under the Buddha's command, had long been searching Chang'an for the faithful pilgrim who should go west for the scriptures, but until now had not found one of true virtue. Suddenly she heard of the Water-Land Assembly ordered by Taizong, saw that the altar-master was none other than River-Drift - the monk who was in truth the Buddha-child descended from Paradise, the very elder whose rebirth she had once helped guide - and she was overjoyed.

So she took up the treasures the Buddha had given her and entered the long streets to sell them, with Hui'an beside her. And what were those treasures? One brocade cassock of rare wonder and one nine-ringed monk's staff. The three golden fillets for fastening, tightening, and forbidding she kept hidden away for later use. Only the cassock and the staff she offered for sale.

Among the monks of Chang'an were some dull creatures who had failed in selection and still possessed a few strings of village cash. When they saw the Bodhisattva in her transformed form of a scabby-headed mendicant, ragged of robe, bare of foot, holding up the cassock that flamed with beauty and light, one of them came forward and asked:

"Hey, leprous monk, what do you want for that cassock?"

The Bodhisattva answered, "The cassock is worth five thousand taels, the staff two thousand."

The fool laughed.

"These two ragged monks are madmen, fools. Those two rough things are worth seven thousand taels of silver? Unless putting them on made a man deathless and turned him straight into Buddha or Patriarch, they wouldn't be worth half of that. Take them away. You won't sell them here."

The Bodhisattva did not argue. She and Hui'an walked on. Before long they came to the East Flower Gate, where by chance Chancellor Xiao Yu was returning from court and his attendants were clearing the street. The Bodhisattva did not yield the road. She walked straight up in the middle of the street holding the cassock before him.

The Chancellor reined in and looked. Seeing the cassock blaze with color, he sent a servant to ask the price.

"Five thousand taels for the cassock, two thousand for the staff."

Xiao Yu said, "What good can there be in them to make them worth so high a price?"

The Bodhisattva answered, "The cassock has its good uses and its bad; there are times when it asks for money and times when it does not."

"What are the good and bad?"

"If you wear my cassock, you will not sink into damnation, will not fall into hell, will not suffer evil poisons, and will not meet the disasters of tiger and wolf. That is the good. But foolish monks greedy for lust and delight in disaster, monks who neither fast nor keep the precepts, common men who revile scriptures and mock the Buddha - such folk are not fit even to behold my cassock's face. That is the bad."

The Chancellor asked again, "And what do you mean by times of paying and not paying?"

The Bodhisattva said, "If a man does not honor the Buddha's law or the Three Treasures, and tries to buy the cassock and the staff by force, then I demand the full seven thousand taels. That is the paying way. But if a man reveres the Three Treasures, delights in goodness, takes refuge in my Buddha, and is fit to receive them, then I gladly give him the cassock and the staff without taking a coin, only to form a good bond. That is the way of not paying."

When Xiao Yu heard this, his face brightened as if with spring.

"Great Dharma elder, forgive Xiao Yu's fault. Our emperor of Great Tang is deeply given to goodness, and the whole court follows the same way. Even now he has opened the Water-Land Assembly. This cassock is exactly the thing for Great Master Xuanzang, our chief preacher, to wear. Come with me into court and see the emperor."

The Bodhisattva gladly agreed and went with him through the East Flower Gate. The Yellow Gate officials reported the matter, and by imperial command they were summoned into the precious hall. Xiao Yu led the two leprous monks up to the foot of the steps. The Tang king asked:

"What brings Xiao Yu before us?"

Xiao Yu bowed low.

"When I came out through the East Flower Gate, I met these two monks selling a cassock and a monk's staff. I thought that Master Xuanzang should rightly wear such things, and so I have brought them in to be presented."

Taizong was pleased and at once asked the price of the cassock. Standing below the steps, the Bodhisattva and Hui'an did not bow. Asked the price, they answered:

"Five thousand taels for the cassock. Two thousand for the staff."

Taizong asked, "What virtue has this cassock that it should be worth so much?"

The Bodhisattva replied:

This cassock, if a dragon wears but one thread of it, is spared the calamity of being swallowed by the roc; if a crane bears one strand of it, it gains the wonder of crossing from mortal to saint. Wherever one sits in it, ten thousand gods will pay courtly homage. Wherever one moves in it, seven Buddhas will follow close behind.

It was woven from the silk of ice-silkworms, reeled into thread by subtle craftsmen, woven by immortal maidens and finished by goddess hands. Panel joined to panel, it is stitched in flowers; piece helping piece, it mounts in brocade heaps. The little fragments glitter and flare with jeweled splendor. Once worn, red cloud wraps the whole body. Once taken off, a strip of colored mist flies away. Beyond the Three Gates of Heaven its original light shines through; before the Five Sacred Peaks it gives off treasure-breath. Layer upon layer are set the western lotus-patterns; bright and burning hang the jewel-stars and planetary forms. At the four corners are night-shining pearls; at the crown, one emerald great-jewel. Though it cannot wholly reveal its own true substance, still it gathers the eight treasures into living light. When folded away in peace, a thousand layers hold in rainbow radiance. Only when a saint wears it are Heaven's gods and earth's spirits shaken.

Upon it are wish-granting pearls, mani pearls, dust-warding pearls, and wind-fixing pearls; red agates, purple coral, night-shining jewels, and relic seeds. Its moon-white gleam rivals the sun's red glow. Thread by thread immortal vapor fills the air; blossom by blossom auspicious light upholds the holy one. It lights the passes of Heaven and shadows the worlds below. It startles tigers and leopards in the mountains, stirs fish and dragons in the seas. Along the edge run gold locks in paired lines; at the collar white jade rings are clasped one into another.

A verse says:

The Three Treasures stand high, and the Way is worthy of reverence;
the four births and six roads are all judged by them.
It clears the mind and nourishes the heavenly law in man;
seeing into nature, it passes on the lamp of wisdom.
It guards the body and adorns the golden worlds;
it makes heart and self clean as jade in a crystal flask.
Since the Buddha first ordained the monk's cassock,
who through ten thousand kalpas has dared to cut one down?

Taizong, hearing this in the precious hall, was overjoyed. He then asked, "And what virtue has this nine-ringed staff?"

The Bodhisattva answered:

Copper-set and iron-forged, with nine linked rings,
this nine-jointed fairy vine keeps beauty from decay.
Once taken in hand, it tires of the thinness of old green bone;
once brought down the mountain, it comes back lightly with white cloud.
With it one of old the Fifth Patriarch roamed the heavenly courts;
with it Mulian sought his mother and broke the underworld gates.
It is untouched by even a grain of red-dust foulness
and delights to go with holy monks toward jade mountains.

Taizong ordered the cassock unfolded and examined it from beginning to end. Indeed it was a marvelous treasure.

"Great Dharma elder, to speak plainly: I have now opened a broad gate of goodness and planted a wide field of blessings. At Huasheng Monastery many monks are gathered and expounding the scriptures. Among them is one of great virtue, the monk Xuanzang. I would buy these two treasures and grant them to him. Tell me the true price."

When the Bodhisattva heard the name, she and Hui'an joined their palms and bowed.

"Since there is true virtue, this poor monk gladly gives them. I will not take a single coin."

Having said this, she made as if to depart. Taizong hurriedly had Xiao Yu hold them back. Standing up from the throne, he said:

"A moment ago you named the price as five thousand taels for the cassock and two thousand for the staff. Now, because I would buy them, you demand nothing. Is it that you think I rely on imperial power to seize your goods by force? Never would I do such a thing. I will pay your original price in full. You must not decline."

The Bodhisattva made a gesture of reverence.

"This poor monk made a vow beforehand. I said that if I found one who reveres the Three Treasures, delights in goodness, and takes refuge in the Buddha, then I would ask no payment and gladly give the things away. Now I see in Your Majesty enlightened virtue and the resting of the heart in goodness. You honor the Buddha's gate. Moreover this high monk is a man of real merit and conduct, proclaiming the Great Law. It is only right that I offer them. I will not take money. Let me leave these treasures here and go."

Taizong, seeing how sincere she was, was deeply pleased. He ordered the Court of Imperial Entertainments to lay a grand vegetarian banquet in thanks. But the Bodhisattva firmly refused it and withdrew in joy, returning as before to hide in the earth god's shrine in the capital.

Now then: Taizong held his noon audience and ordered Wei Zheng to carry the decree and summon Xuanzang into court. The Master was then gathered with the monks upon the altar, chanting scriptures and verses. The moment he heard the summons, he stepped down, straightened his robes, and went with Wei Zheng to see the king.

Taizong said:

"You have labored in proving the work of goodness, Master, and I have had nothing with which to repay you. This morning Xiao Yu met two monks who wished to present a rare brocade cassock and a nine-ringed monk's staff. I now especially summon you to receive and use them."

Xuanzang bowed and thanked the throne.

Taizong said, "If the Master does not disdain it, put them on and let me see."

The Master unfolded the cassock and put it on, took the staff in his hand, and stood before the steps. King and ministers alike were delighted. Truly he was a son of the Buddha. Look at him:

Grave in majesty, elegant in form,
the Buddha-robes fitted him as though cut to measure.
Radiance and splendor filled Heaven and Earth;
color upon color gathered through the universe.
Bright pearls were ranged above and below,
layered threads of gold ran front and back.
Fine gauze edged the robe on every side,
and ten thousand rare embroideries spread across it.
The eight-treasured blossoms bound the knotted cords;
gold rings fastened the collar with hanging tassels.
The Buddha-heavens, high and low, stood ordered there;
stars and planets took their noble ranks left and right.
Great Master Xuanzang had the deepest fate:
this thing before all others was fit for him to bear.
He looked like a living arhat fresh from Paradise,
surpassing even the awakened beauties of the Western World.
The monk's staff rang with its nine linked circles,
and the Vairocana cap made his fullness more plain.
Truly he was a Buddha-son and no false tale,
more worthy than Bodhi itself of trust and reverence.

At once the civil and military officials shouted their praise beneath the steps. Taizong was delighted beyond measure. He ordered the Master to wear the cassock and carry the precious staff, then granted him two files of attendants and ordered the ministers to escort him out through the court gate and let him proceed down the great street back to the monastery, just as if he were a First Scholar being honored in triumph.

So Xuanzang bowed again and again in thanks, then went out into the street in full splendor. All Chang'an came to stare: merchants and traders, noble sons, scholars, men, women, young and old. All said:

"What a master! Truly a living arhat come down to earth, a living bodhisattva walking among men."

Xuanzang returned straight to the monastery, where the monks came down from their platforms to receive him. The moment they saw the cassock upon him and the staff in his hand, they all cried that Ksitigarbha himself had arrived. One after another they took refuge and stood at his sides. Xuanzang went up into the hall and burned incense before the Buddha.

After speaking to the gathered monks of the emperor's grace, he returned to his meditation seat. Before long the red wheel of the sun sank in the west. Truly:

The sun set and smoke blurred tree and grass;
in the imperial city bells and drums first sounded.
Stroke on stroke, the curfew broke men's going.
Street before and street behind fell still.
The great monastery blazed with lamps,
while lonely villages were silent and cold.
Chan monks entered meditation and sorted the unfinished scriptures.
It was the proper hour for refining demons and nurturing the nature.

Time passed like a finger-snap, and the full seventh day of the assembly arrived. Xuanzang again submitted a memorial inviting the Tang king to burn incense. By now the good report of the assembly had spread through all the realm.

Taizong set out in state once more, leading the civil officials, the military nobles, the women of the palace, and the imperial kindred to the monastery. The whole city came as well, high and low alike, to listen.

Guanyin said to Hui'an:

"Today is the true day of the Water-Land Assembly. One seven carried through to seven sevens is enough. Let us mingle among the crowd. In one way we may see what sort of assembly this truly is. In another we may see whether the Golden Cicada is worthy to wear the treasures I gave. And in a third, we may hear what scriptures he is preaching."

So the two entered the monastery. It was just one of those fated meetings where an old acquaintance appears again at the root-place of prajna.

Once inside, they found a scene fit for a great kingdom under Heaven - not inferior to Jetavana at Sravasti, nor below any sacred monastery of the Buddha-world. Immortal music rang everywhere, and the Buddha's name was shouted without cease. The Bodhisattva came all the way to the edge of the Treasure Terrace and there indeed saw the clear sign of the Golden Cicada.

A verse says:

With ten thousand forms made clear and all dust gone,
Great Canon Xuanzang sat high upon the dais.
Lonely souls came in secret to be released;
men of high and low rank came in streams from the market.
Gifts were bestowed according to the heart's path;
rebirth was opened freely through the hidden gate.
He preached the immeasurable Law face to face,
and young and old alike rejoiced to hear it.

Another verse says:

Wandering through the Dharma hall,
one meets a knowing friend unlike the common sort.
They speak of a thousand matters before the eye,
and of many merits through dust-filled kalpas.
Dharma-clouds trail and cover the gathered peaks;
the net of teaching spreads across the whole sky.
If men would only inspect their lives and turn their minds to good,
then flowers would rain red from Heaven in profusion.

Now the Master on the dais first recited from the Scripture of Bestowing Life and Delivering the Dead, then expounded the talismanic text for securing the realm, then again proclaimed the scroll of exhortation to merit. At that the Bodhisattva stepped up close to the Treasure Terrace, struck it with her hand, and cried in a stern voice:

"You monk there, you know only how to preach the Small Vehicle. Can you preach the Great?"

Xuanzang heard this and was inwardly overjoyed. He turned at once, leapt down from the dais, and saluted the Bodhisattva with joined palms.

"Old master, your disciple failed to recognize you and is deeply at fault. All the monks before me have been expounding only the teachings of the Small Vehicle. I do not know what the teaching of the Great Vehicle may be."

The Bodhisattva said:

"That Small Vehicle teaching of yours cannot lift the dead to Heaven. It can only smooth over the world and mix with the dust. But I have the Great Vehicle treasury of three collections. It can raise the dead to Heaven, deliver the afflicted from suffering, cultivate bodies of limitless life, and bring about the state of no coming and no going."

Just then the officials patrolling the incense and hall hastened to Taizong and reported:

"While the Master was expounding the subtle Law, two scabby wandering monks dragged him down and started talking wild nonsense."

The king ordered them seized and brought in. The two were pushed through the crowd and into the back Dharma Hall. Taizong recognized them at once.

"Are you not the monk who brought the cassock the other day?"

"We are."

Taizong said:

"If you came here to hear the preaching, you had only to eat the vegetarian fare and sit quietly. Why disturb my Master and interrupt the scriptures, disrupting the Buddha's business?"

The Bodhisattva answered, "Your Master is preaching only the Small Vehicle. It cannot raise the dead to Heaven. I have the Great Vehicle treasury of three collections, which can deliver the dead from suffering and give them bodies beyond decay."

Taizong straightened in delight.

"And where is this Great Vehicle teaching?"

"In the great country of India in the Western Heaven, at the Great Thunderclap Monastery, in the place of my Buddha the Tathagata. It can untie the knots of a hundred grievances and dissolve disasters born of falsehood."

"Do you remember it well?"

"I do."

The Tang king was overjoyed.

"Then let the Master lead you up and have you preach from the high terrace."

At that the Bodhisattva took Hui'an with her, rose upon auspicious cloud, and went straight up into the high sky, there revealing her true body of compassion with pure vase and willow branch in hand, Hui'an beside her gripping his iron staff and blazing with spirit.

The joy that seized Taizong was so great he forgot the empire itself. The civil and military officials forgot courtly bearing and dropped to their knees burning incense. Throughout the monastery, monks, nuns, laymen, women, scholars, traders - all cried out:

"A true Bodhisattva! A true Bodhisattva!"

And indeed she was:

Bright auspicious cloud spread everywhere,
blessed radiance guarding the Dharma-body.
Within the river of the Ninth Heaven there appeared a true holy woman.
On her head she wore a crown of golden leaflets, kingfisher flowers, and pearl strands
that shone and cast out living grace.
On her body was a blue robe of pale and delicate hue,
woven with coiling dragons and flying phoenixes.
At her breast hung moon-bright pendants,
precious beads and jade gathered into sweet perfume.
At her waist fell a brocade skirt of ice-silkworm thread and golden edging,
suited to colored clouds and the sea of jade.
Before her flew a parrot from the Eastern Sea,
yellow-feathered, red-beaked, white of breast,
preaching gratitude and filial conduct through the world.
In her hand she bore the treasure vase that bestows grace and saves all beings,
and in that vase stood a willow branch
that sprinkles the blue sky, scatters great evil, and sweeps away the remnant mists.
Jade rings through embroidered clasps,
gold lotus deep beneath her feet.
She passes in and out of the Three Heavens at will.
This was truly Guanyin, who saves the suffering and rescues the distressed.

Taizong was so delighted that he forgot his own kingdom. The court ministers lost the very forms of their rites. All the multitude did nothing but chant, Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva.

At once the Tang king ordered that the Bodhisattva's true likeness be painted. In response to the command, there was chosen a master of divine and saintly portraiture, none other than Wu Daozi, he who would later paint the meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion.

He unfolded his wondrous brush and painted the sacred form. Meanwhile the Bodhisattva's auspicious cloud drifted farther away, and in an instant the golden light was gone.

Then from midair a slip of paper came whirling down. Upon it were written several clear lines of praise:

Bow before the lord of Great Tang:
in the West there is a wondrous teaching.
The road runs a hundred and eight thousand li.
Go forth in earnest for the Great Vehicle.
When these scriptures return to the central realm,
they will raise the dead beyond their kind.
If there is one willing to go,
he may seek the golden body of true fruition.

When Taizong read the lines, he at once commanded the assembly:

"Bring this victorious meeting to a close for now. When I have sent for the Great Vehicle scriptures from the West, then with full sincerity I will again cultivate the fruits of goodness."

All obeyed.

Then the king asked in the monastery:

"Who is willing to take my command and go west to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures?"

Before he could finish asking, Xuanzang stepped out from the side, bowed before the throne, and said:

"This poor monk is unworthy, but he is willing to offer the labor of a dog or horse and seek the true scriptures on Your Majesty's behalf, praying that our king's realm may stand secure forever."

Taizong was delighted beyond measure. He came forward himself and lifted the Master up with his own hands.

"If the Master truly has the loyal courage to do this, fearing neither the great distance of the road nor the hardship of mountains and rivers, then I would gladly swear brotherhood with you."

Xuanzang bowed again and thanked him. The Tang king, being a ruler of uncommon virtue, went then before the Buddha image in the monastery and there he and Xuanzang bowed four times, the emperor naming him from that day forth Imperial Younger Brother, Holy Monk.

Xuanzang said with deep gratitude:

"What virtue or power have I, that Heaven's favor should fall on me in such a way? Yet from this day I will cast away my body if need be and press on straight to the Western Heaven. If I do not reach the West and obtain the true scriptures, then even in death I will not dare return to the realm, but willingly sink forever into the hell of perdition."

So he took incense before the Buddha and made that vow.

Taizong was overjoyed. He ordered the court to return to the palace, there to choose an auspicious date, draw up the travel warrant, and send him on his way.

Xuanzang meanwhile returned to Hongfu Monastery. The monks there, together with several of his disciples, had already heard of the scripture quest and came to ask:

"Master, is it true that you have vowed to go to the Western Heaven?"

"It is true."

His disciples said, "Master, we have always heard that the road to the West is long beyond measure and thick with tigers, leopards, demons, and monsters. We fear there may be a going without a coming back, and that your life will not be safe."

Xuanzang answered:

"I have already sworn my great vow. If I do not bring back the true scriptures, I will fall forever into the hell of perdition. In the end I am bearing the emperor's grace, and I must repay it with loyalty. This journey truly is dim and boundless before me. Who can say whether it ends in fortune or disaster?"

Then he added:

"Disciples, once I am gone, watch the pine branch over the monastery gate. If after three years, or five, or seven, it bends eastward, then I will be coming home. If not, then I shall never return."

His disciples remembered those words and treasured them.

The next morning Taizong held court, gathered the civil and military ranks, and had the travel warrant written and stamped with the imperial seal of passage. Then the Director of the Bureau of Astronomy reported:

"Today the stars are favorable for a revered man. It is an excellent day for setting out on a long road."

Taizong was greatly pleased.

Just then a palace eunuch reported:

"Your Majesty's younger brother, the Holy Monk, waits outside the court gate for command."

He was at once summoned into the hall. Taizong said:

"Younger brother, today is an auspicious day for travel. Here is the warrant of passage. I also have for you a purple-gold alms bowl, for gathering food on the road. I have chosen two attendants to travel with you, and I grant you as well one horse to serve your long journey. You may depart at once."

Xuanzang was overjoyed, thanked the throne, received the gifts, and had no more thought of delay. The Tang king arranged his own carriage and, together with many officials, personally escorted him to the pass beyond the city.

There the monks of Hongfu Monastery and Xuanzang's disciples had already brought out his summer and winter clothes and were waiting outside the pass. The Tang king first ordered the baggage and horse set in order. Then he had an officer bring a wine-flagon.

Raising the cup, Taizong asked:

"Younger brother, what style-name shall we call you by?"

Xuanzang answered, "This poor monk, being a monk, has not dared take any style-name."

Taizong said:

"That day the Bodhisattva said there are scriptures in three collections in the Western Heaven. Let your title be taken from the scriptures themselves. What say you to the name [Tripitaka](/en/characters/tang-sanzang)?"

Xuanzang thanked him again and accepted the name.

Then he took up the cup of wine, but just as he was about to drink, he said:

"Your Majesty, wine is the first of the prohibitions for those in religion. Since I first came into this world, I have never touched it."

Taizong said:

"This departure is not like other occasions. This is pure vegetarian wine. Drink only this one cup, to fulfill my farewell from the heart."

Tripitaka dared not refuse. He took the cup. But at that moment the Tang king lowered his head, lifted a pinch of earth with his finger, and flicked it into the wine.

Tripitaka did not understand. The king smiled.

"Younger brother, once you have gone west, when will you return?"

"In no more than three years, and straight back to the realm."

Taizong then said:

"The years may be long, the road far, mountains and rivers hard between. So drink this wine with the thought: better to cherish one pinch of native soil than to love ten thousand taels of foreign gold."

Only then did Tripitaka understand the meaning of the earth. He thanked the emperor once more, drained the cup, bowed farewell, and set out through the pass.

The Tang king returned to the city.

But how that journey fared from then on is another matter, and must wait for the next chapter.