Chapter 98: When the Monkey Is Tamed and the Horse Trained, the Shell Falls Away; When the Work Is Done, True Suchness Appears

Kou Hong, having been restored to life, once again set up banners, drums, and escort music to send the pilgrims on their way, and we need not linger on that here.

Tripitaka and his disciples took the road westward. Indeed, once they entered the Buddha-land of the West, everything differed from what they had known before. They saw jade-like flowers and glowing grasses, ancient cypresses and dark-green pines. Wherever they passed, every house practiced goodness, and every home offered monks a meal. When they came near mountains, they saw lay believers cultivating themselves; in the woods, they heard travelers reciting sutras.

They traveled by night and rested by day for six or seven days. Then they saw a line of high towers and several tiers of soaring pavilions. Truly it was a place like this:

A hundred feet pierced the sky, rising into the vault of heaven.
It seemed one could lower the head to watch the sunset,
and stretch out a hand to pluck the flying stars.
Its open windows swallowed the universe;
its towering beams met the cloud-curtain.
Yellow cranes brought news as the autumn trees aged;
colored phoenixes delivered letters in the cool evening wind.
This was a treasure palace of spirit halls and jade courts,
a true shrine where the Way was spoken and the scriptures were handed down.
Flowers were lovely when spring came; pines grew green after rain.
Purple mushrooms and immortal fruits flourished year after year;
the vermilion phoenix circled overhead, stirring awe wherever it flew.

Tripitaka pointed with his whip and said, "Wukong, what a fine place."

Wukong said, "Master, you knelt so eagerly before false scenery and false Buddha-images. Now that you have come to true scenery and true Buddha-images, why do you not even dismount?"

Tripitaka was startled and hurried down from the horse. They had reached the gate of the towers, where a young Daoist boy was standing sideways by the mountain entrance.

"Travelers," he called, "are you the Eastern Land monks who seek the scriptures?"

Tripitaka quickly straightened his robes and looked up.

The boy was:

Clad in brocade, with a jade whisk in hand.
He wore brocade robes and attended banquets in jewel pavilions and jade pools;
he held the jade whisk and swept the dust of the purple courts.
An immortal register hung at his elbow, and cloud-shoes covered his feet.
He was a true transcendent, lovely and rare.
He had forged his life beyond death,
and risen from dust into a realm of enduring light.
The holy pilgrim did not know this guest from Lingshan,
but this was the Golden Top Immortal of Jade True Monastery.

Sun Wukong recognized him at once. "Master, this is the Golden Top Immortal from Jade True Monastery at the foot of Lingshan. He has come to receive us."

Tripitaka bowed. The immortal laughed and said, "Holy monk, you have only just arrived this year. Guanyin tricked me. She received the Buddha's golden decree ten years ago and said she would send the scripture seeker from the Eastern Land to me within two or three years. I waited year after year and heard nothing. I did not expect to meet you only now."

Tripitaka pressed his palms together and thanked him for his trouble.

So the four travelers led the horse and carried the luggage into the monastery. They were welcomed one by one, served tea, and given a vegetarian meal. Then the boy attendants heated bath water so the holy monk could wash before entering the Buddha-land.

Truly this was fitting:

When work is complete and practice fulfilled, bathing is proper;
when the self is trained, one returns to what is true.
Thousands of hardships and pains come to rest at last;
only then do the three refuges and five precepts begin anew.
With the demons exhausted, one may indeed ascend to Buddha-land;
when disaster is spent, one at last sees the monk's path.
Washed clean of dust and grime, nothing remains stained;
one returns to the source and does not lose the body.

The pilgrims bathed, and before they knew it, evening had fallen. They spent the night at Jade True Monastery.

The next morning Tripitaka changed his clothes, put on his brocade cassock and Vairocana cap, took up his monk's staff, and went in to take leave of the immortal. The immortal smiled and said, "Yesterday you were in rags; today you are bright and splendid. Seeing you like this, I know you are truly a Buddha-son."

Tripitaka bowed and set out.

"Wait," said the immortal. "Let me see you off."

Wukong said, "No need. Old Sun knows the road."

"You know the cloud road," said the immortal. "Holy monk has not yet reached the cloud road. You must go by the proper road."

"That makes sense," said Wukong. "I have walked this way before, but only on clouds. I never once set foot on the ground. Since there is a proper road, I trouble you to guide us. My master is set on worshiping the Buddha. Please do not delay."

The immortal laughed and took Tripitaka by the hand, leading him onto the Dharma road. In truth, the road did not leave the monastery gate at all; it simply passed through the central hall and out the back gate.

He pointed at Lingshan and said, "Holy monk, look. That five-colored light and thousandfold auspicious haze in the sky is the high peak of Eagle Ridge, the Buddha's holy realm."

Tripitaka bowed at once. Wukong laughed. "Master, this is not the time to bow. As the saying goes, when you see the mountain, stop the horse only after you reach it. The peak is still far off. If you bow here, how many more times will you have to bow before you get there?"

The immortal said, "Holy monk, you and the Great Sage, and Heavenly Marshal Pig and Curtain-Lowering are already in blessed ground. Since you can see Lingshan, I will turn back now."

Tripitaka bowed him away.

The Great Sage led the way, and Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Wujing followed at an unhurried pace up Lingshan. Within five or six li they came upon a stretch of living water, rushing and foaming, eight or nine li wide, with no trace of human traffic.

Tripitaka grew alarmed. "Wukong, we have come the wrong way. Could the immortal have pointed us wrong? This water is so broad and so wild, and there is no boat. How are we to cross?"

Wukong laughed. "Not wrong. Look over there. Is that not a great bridge? We must cross by that bridge before we can reach true fruition."

When the elder looked more closely, he saw a signboard by the bridge with the three characters Lingyun Du, Crossing the Clouds. Yet it was only a single-log bridge.

Far away it looked like a jade beam spanning empty air;
up close it was only a rotten branch stretched across the water.
It may be easy to bridge a river or span the sea;
how can a single wooden plank be crossed by ordinary people?
A ten-thousand-foot rainbow lay there as if flattened on its side,
a thousand zhang of white silk reached from shore to shore.
It was slippery beyond measure and impossible to cross at all,
unless an immortal walked it like a trail of colored clouds.

Tripitaka was shaken. "Wukong, this bridge is not for human feet. Let us seek another road."

"This is the road," said Wukong. "This is the road."

Bajie panicked. "This is a road? Who would dare walk it? The water is broad, the waves are high, and there is only a single plank - so narrow and so slick. How could one possibly put a foot on it?"

Wukong said, "You all wait here. Let Old Sun go across and show you."

The Great Sage strode to the bridge, leaped onto the single log, and ran across it in a blur, swaying but never falling. He called back, "Come on over, come on over."

Tripitaka only shook his head. Bajie and Sha Wujing bit their fingers and said, "Hard. Impossible."

Wukong ran back, took Bajie by the hand, and said, "Dummy, follow me. Follow me."

Bajie flopped to the ground. "Too slippery, too slippery. I cannot do it. Spare me. Let me ride the wind and mist across."

Wukong held him down. "What kind of place do you think this is? You expect to ride wind and mist here? You must cross this bridge before you can become Buddha."

"Brother," Bajie said, "if I cannot become Buddha, so be it. I truly cannot walk it."

The two of them tugged and wrestled there at the bridgehead until Sha Wujing came to mediate, and only then did they let go.

Tripitaka turned back and saw, downstream, a boat being poled toward them. A voice called, "Board the ferry! Board the ferry!"

The elder was overjoyed. "Disciples, stop your rough play. A ferry has come."

The three of them sprang up and looked closely. The boat was already near, and it was a bottomless boat. Wukong's fiery eyes recognized at once that it was the Buddha of Guidance, also called the Buddha of Precious Banner Light. He did not expose the truth, but only called, "Here! Bring it here!"

In a moment the boat had reached shore and the voice called again, "Board the ferry!"

Tripitaka was alarmed again. "How can a broken boat with no bottom carry people?"

The Buddha said:

From chaos first split, my name already stood;
fortunate I am to ferry you and change not.
With waves and wind I remain steady still;
without beginning or end I know only peace.
Unstained by the six dusts, I return to one;
through ten thousand kalpas I travel at ease.
A bottomless boat is hard to bring across the sea,
yet from age to age I ferry living beings.

Sun Wukong folded his hands and gave thanks. "We are much obliged for the guidance, sir. Master, get aboard. Though the boat has no bottom, it is steady enough. No matter the wind and waves, it will not overturn."

Tripitaka was still doubtful, but Wukong crossed his arms and gave him a push. The master could not keep his footing and tumbled into the water. At once the boatman drew him up and set him on the boat. Tripitaka shook the water from his robe and boots and grumbled at Wukong.

Wukong then guided Sha Wujing and Bajie, and the white horse and luggage too, all onto the boat. The Buddha put his shoulder to the pole and rowed gently. Suddenly, from up the stream, a corpse drifted down.

Tripitaka saw it and was greatly alarmed.

Wukong laughed. "Master, do not fear. That was you."

Bajie said, "It was you, it was you."

Sha Wujing clapped his hands and said, "It was you, it was you."

The boatman too sang out, "It was you indeed, how fortunate, how fortunate."

The three disciples all answered together. In no time at all, the boat had carried them safely across the Lingyun Crossing. Tripitaka turned around and stepped lightly onto the far shore.

There is a verse to prove it:

The fleshly shell of body and womb is cast off;
only the primal spirit is truly close and dear.
Only when today's journey is fulfilled do we become Buddha;
then the six and six dusts of old are washed clean.
This is the great wisdom indeed, the law of reaching the far shore.

The four pilgrims looked back from the bank, but the bottomless boat had already vanished. Only then did Wukong explain that the ferryman was the Buddha of Guidance. Tripitaka at last understood and turned to thank his three disciples again.

Wukong said, "No need for thanks either way. We have all leaned on one another. We were lucky that the master gave us release and a road to cultivate merit, so that we could fulfill our true fruition. And the master has also relied on us for protection and support, so that by holding to the teaching you have escaped the mortal shell. Look at the flowers, grass, pines, bamboos, phoenixes, cranes, and deer before us. How much finer is this than any place where demons reveal themselves? What is good, and what is evil? What is blessing, and what is danger?"

Tripitaka thanked him again and again. One by one they went lightly up the slopes of Lingshan.

Soon they saw, under the pinewoods, rows of laymen, and among the cypresses, ranks of good believers. Tripitaka bowed as he went, which startled the lay men and women, monks and nuns, who all pressed their palms together and said, "Holy monk, do not bow yet. Wait until you have seen the Muni, then we may speak."

Wukong laughed. "Too early, too early. First go and bow to the highest seat."

The elder laughed and jumped and bounded along behind Wukong until they reached the outer gate of Thunderclap Monastery. There the Four Vajra Guardians met them and asked, "Holy monk has come?"

Tripitaka bowed and said, "Yes. Your disciple Tripitaka has arrived."

When he had answered, he was about to go in.

The Vajras said, "Holy monk, wait a moment while we report."

One Vajra turned to the gatehouse, reported to the second gate, "Tripitaka has arrived," and the second passed it to the third, "Tripitaka has arrived." Inside the third gate were the Buddha's attendant monks, who heard that Tripitaka had come and hurried to report beneath the Great Hero Hall to the Venerable Shakyamuni Buddha: "The holy monk from Tang has come to the treasure mountain to seek the scriptures."

The Buddha was delighted. He immediately summoned the eight bodhisattvas, four Vajras, five hundred arhats, three thousand revealer-spirits, eleven great luminaries, and eighteen guardians, and had them line up on both sides. Then he sent forth a golden decree to summon Tripitaka inside.

Layer by layer the command was passed down: "Holy monk, enter."

So Tripitaka, following the rules without the slightest slip, led Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing, with horse and baggage, through the gate. This was indeed the day when he had set out in obedience to the imperial command and left the palace steps with his travel document in hand. At dawn he climbed the mountains through mist and dew; at dusk he lay on stones under the clouds. His bamboo staff had crossed three thousand waters; his long road had spanned ten thousand cliffs. Ever in his heart he sought true fruition, and today at last he had reached the Tathagata.

The four pilgrims reached the front of the Great Hero Hall and prostrated themselves before the Buddha. After bowing, they bowed again to the attendants at either side, and after circling three times they knelt once more and presented the travel document.

The Buddha examined it all and returned it to Tripitaka.

Tripitaka bowed low and said, "Your disciple Tripitaka, by decree of the Emperor of Great Tang in the Eastern Land, has traveled far to this treasure mountain to bow before the true scriptures and save the living. I beg the compassion of the Buddha and ask that you grant us leave to return to our country soon."

Then the Buddha spoke to Tripitaka in a voice full of mercy. "Your Eastern Land lies in the Southern Continent. Heaven stretches high above it, earth spreads broad below it, and its people are beyond count. So too are greed and slaughter there, lust and deceit, cheating and fraud. Men do not follow the Buddha's teaching, do not seek wholesome ties, do not honor the Three Luminaries, and do not respect the Five Grains. They are disloyal and unfilial, unjust and unkind, hiding dark hearts behind bright faces, using large measures to buy and small balances to sell, taking life and slaughtering beasts. They heap up boundless karma until the measure of their sins is full, and then they fall into hell, where they are pounded and ground without end, or else are changed into beasts. So many go clad in fur and crowned with horns because they are repaying old debts with their own bodies and feeding their flesh to others.

Those who sink forever into Avici hell and never rise do so for this reason. Confucius set down the teaching of benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and wisdom there, and emperors after him ruled by exile, strangling, and the axe, yet what can be done with the foolish, the blind, and the lawless? I now hold three baskets of scripture that can deliver beings from suffering and turn aside calamity.

One basket is teaching, one is reasoning, and one is scripture. In all, there are thirty-five collections and 15,144 scrolls. They are the true road of cultivation and the proper gate of goodness. They contain every sort of astronomy, geography, person, beast, flower, tree, utensil, and human affair in the four great continents of the world.

You have come from far away, and I intended to hand all of them over to you. But the people of that land are foolish and stubborn, and they revile the true words, not knowing the hidden meaning of a monk's path."

He then said, "Ananda, Kasyapa, you two, lead these four pilgrims beneath the treasure tower. Serve them a meal first. After they have eaten, open the jeweled cabinet and select a few scrolls from each of the thirty-five collections for them, so that they may carry the teaching back to the Eastern Land and forever spread my great favor."

The two venerables obeyed the Buddha's command and led the pilgrims beneath the tower.

There was no end to the strange treasures and jewels displayed there. The gods in attendance had arranged a vegetarian feast, all of it immortal dishes, immortal food, immortal tea, and immortal fruit, a hundred rare delicacies unlike anything in the mortal world.

The pilgrims bowed in thanks for the Buddha's grace and ate as they pleased. Truly it was:

Jewel flames and gold light dazzled the eye;
strange fragrances and marvelous dishes grew ever finer.
A thousand tiers of golden chambers shone without end;
a flood of celestial music rang clear in the ear.
Plain tastes and immortal flowers are seldom seen by men;
fragrant tea and wondrous food bring long life.
After long suffering through a thousand pains,
today, at last, they rejoiced in glory and the completion of the Way.

This was good fortune indeed for Bajie, and Sha Wujing profited as well. In the Buddha's presence, the food itself was fit to prolong life and remake bone and flesh, and they got the full benefit of it.

When the two venerables had finished dining with the pilgrims, they entered the treasure cabinet, opened the doors, and looked over the scriptures.

There were rosy clouds and auspicious vapors in every direction, layered a thousand deep. On the scripture shelves and outer cases were red labels written in regular script with the names of the volumes. The thirty-five collections were the Nirvana Sutra, the Bodhisattva Sutra, the Emptiness Store Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Great Compilation of Grace and Intention, the Decisive Sutra, the Treasure Store Sutra, the Flower Garland Sutra, the Homage to Suchness Sutra, the Great Prajna Sutra, the Bright Light Sutra, the Never-Before-Seen Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Separate Treatise of the Three Schools, the Diamond Sutra, the Right Dharma Treatise Sutra, the Buddha's Former Conduct Sutra, the Five Dragons Sutra, the Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra, the Great Collection Sutra, the Mojie Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Yoga Sutra, the Treasure Constant Sutra, the Western Heaven Treatise Sutra, the Sangha Sutra, the Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha-Land, the Awakening of Faith Treatise Sutra, the Great Wisdom Sutra, the Treasure Might Sutra, the Original Pavilion Sutra, the Correct Discipline Sutra, the Great Peacock Sutra, the Consciousness-Only Treatise Sutra, and the Abhidharma-Kosa Treatise Sutra.

Ananda and Kasyapa led Tripitaka through the names one by one and then said, "Holy monk, you have traveled here from the Eastern Land. What gifts have you brought us? Bring them out quickly so that we may transmit the scriptures to you."

Tripitaka said, "Your disciple Tripitaka came a very long way and did not prepare any gifts."

The two venerables laughed. "Fine, fine. Then you would transmit the scriptures with empty hands, and future generations would starve."

Wukong heard them making coy excuses and refusing to hand over the teaching, and he could not keep from shouting, "Master, let us go complain to the Buddha and have him come himself to deliver the scriptures to Old Sun."

Ananda said, "Do not shout. What sort of place do you think this is? How dare you be so rude? Come this way and receive the scriptures."

Bajie and Sha Wujing held their temper and held Wukong back. Then they turned and received the scrolls, one by one, packing them into the luggage. They loaded two more burdens of them on the horse, while Bajie and Sha Wujing carried the rest. Wukong led the horse and Tripitaka took up his staff. He adjusted his Vairocana cap, shook out his brocade cassock, and at last, delighted beyond measure, they returned before the Buddha.

This was precisely:

The great canon of true scriptures tastes sweet indeed;
the Tathagata's making of it is stern and exact.
One must know the hardship Tripitaka suffered in climbing the mountain;
how laughable that Ananda should love money so much.
At first the losses were not understood, for the ancient Buddha;
later, in truth, all came to rest.
Today the scriptures are sent with honor to the Eastern Land,
and all the people together share the dew and rain of grace.

Ananda and Kasyapa led Tripitaka to see the Buddha. The Buddha sat high upon his lotus throne and commanded the Two Great Arhats, Subduer-of-Dragons and Tamer-of-Tigers, to strike the cloud-bells and summon the throng.

Three thousand Buddhas, three thousand revealer-spirits, eight Vajras, four bodhisattvas, five hundred arhats, eight hundred monks, and all the laymen, nuns, and female believers of the assembly, together with the gods and cave-spirits of every blessed land on Lingshan, were arranged in ranks. Those to sit were invited to jeweled thrones, and those to stand took their places on both sides. At once heavenly music was heard from afar, immortal notes rang out clearly, and blessed light and auspicious vapor filled the sky. The Buddhas gathered in full and paid their respects to the Tathagata.

The Buddha asked, "Ananda, Kasyapa, how many scrolls did you hand over? Report them one by one."

The two venerables replied, "We now present to the Tang monk:

• Nirvana Sutra, 400 scrolls
• Bodhisattva Sutra, 360 scrolls
• Emptiness Store Sutra, 20 scrolls
• Shurangama Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Great Compilation of Grace and Intention, 40 scrolls
• Decisive Sutra, 40 scrolls
• Treasure Store Sutra, 20 scrolls
• Flower Garland Sutra, 81 scrolls
• Homage to Suchness Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Great Prajna Sutra, 600 scrolls
• Great Bright Light Sutra, 50 scrolls
• Never-Before-Seen Sutra, 550 scrolls
• Vimalakirti Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Separate Treatise of the Three Schools, 42 scrolls
• Diamond Sutra, 1 scroll
• Right Dharma Treatise Sutra, 20 scrolls
• Buddha's Former Conduct Sutra, 116 scrolls
• Five Dragons Sutra, 20 scrolls
• Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra, 60 scrolls
• Great Collection Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Mojie Sutra, 140 scrolls
• Lotus Sutra, 10 scrolls
• Yoga Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Treasure Constant Sutra, 170 scrolls
• Western Heaven Treatise Sutra, 30 scrolls
• Sangha Sutra, 110 scrolls
• Miscellaneous Sutras of the Buddha-Land, 1,638 scrolls
• Awakening of Faith Treatise Sutra, 50 scrolls
• Great Wisdom Sutra, 90 scrolls
• Treasure Might Sutra, 140 scrolls
• Original Pavilion Sutra, 56 scrolls
• Correct Discipline Sutra, 10 scrolls
• Great Peacock Sutra, 14 scrolls
• Consciousness-Only Treatise Sutra, 10 scrolls
• Abhidharma-Kosa Treatise Sutra, 10 scrolls

In all, there are thirty-five collections, from which 5,048 scrolls have been selected and now remain in the care of the holy monk from the East, to be carried to Tang. All are packed and arranged on horse and shoulder, waiting only for your blessing."

Tripitaka and the three disciples tied up the horse and set down the loads, then pressed their palms together and bowed to the Buddha.

The Buddha said to Tripitaka, "The merit of these scriptures cannot be measured. They are not only the mirror of our school, but the source of the three teachings as well. When they reach your Southern Continent, let all beings see them, but do not take them lightly. Unless one has bathed and fasted, one must not open them. Treasure them. Honor them.

Within them are the secrets of becoming immortal and attaining the Way, and the marvelous methods by which the ten thousand transformations may be made plain."

Tripitaka knocked his head on the ground to thank the Buddha. He accepted the command and practiced it faithfully. Then he bowed three full times before the Buddha, took his leave with reverence, and received the scriptures to depart. When they reached the Three Gates, they again thanked all the holy beings and will not dwell on that here.

After the Buddha sent Tripitaka away, he dismissed the scripture assembly. Then Guanyin stepped forward with palms joined and said to the Tathagata, "In years past I received the golden decree to seek the scripture seeker from the Eastern Land. Now the task is complete. It has taken fourteen years in all, that is 5,040 days, and we are still eight days short of the full count of the canon. I beg the World-Honored One to grant the holy monk an eastward return and a westward completion, so that within eight days the canon may be made whole. Permit me to return the golden decree."

The Buddha was very pleased. "What you say is exactly right. The decree may be returned."

He then ordered the eight Vajra guardians, "Go quickly and display your divine power. Escort the holy monk eastward, where he will transmit and keep the true scriptures, and then lead him back west. It must all be completed within eight days, so that the canon's full count may be fulfilled. Delay nothing."

The Vajras at once caught up with Tripitaka and called, "Scripture seeker, follow us."

Tripitaka and the others all became light of body and sound of spirit. Floating and swaying, they followed the Vajras and rose on the clouds.

This was indeed:

When mind is made clear and nature is seen, one may join the Buddha.
When merit is fulfilled and practice complete, one rises into the sky.

But how they returned to the Eastern Land and passed on the teaching is a matter for the next chapter.