Our Buddha Creates the Scriptures and Passes on Perfect Bliss
Guanyin Obeys a Decree and Goes to Chang'an
If you try to ask about the dhyana
Or investigate the innumerable
You will waste your life and achieve nothing.
Polishing bricks to make mirrors,
Or piling up snow to turn it into grain—
However many years have you wasted like that?
A hair can contain an ocean,
A mustard-seed can hold a mountain,
And the golden Kasyapa only smiles.
When you are awakened you will surpass the Ten Stages and the Three Vehicles,
And stop the four kinds of birth and the six types of reincarnation.
Who has ever heard, before the cliff of thoughts extinguished,
Under the tree that has no shadow,
The sound of the cuckoo in a spring dawn?
The path by the Cao Stream is dangerous,
The Vulture Peak is high in the clouds:
Here the voice of the ancients was a mystery.
On a cliff ten thousand feet high
Five-leaved lotuses bloom
As scent coils round the shutters of the old palace.
At that time
Your knowledge smashes all the currents of thought;
The Dragon King and the Three Treasures can be seen.
我佛造经传极乐
观音奉旨上长安
试问禅关，参求无数，往往到头虚老。
磨砖作镜，积雪为粮，迷了几多年少？
毛吞大海，芥纳须弥，金色头陀微笑。
悟时超十地三乘，凝滞了四生六道。
谁听得绝想崖前，无阴树下，杜宇一声春晓？
曹溪路险，鹫岭云深，此处故人音杳。
千丈冰崖，五叶莲开，古殿帘垂香袅。
那时节，识破源流，便见龙王三宝。
This lyric poem is set to the tune Su Wu Man. Our story goes on to how our Buddha, the Tathagata, left the Jade Emperor and went back to the Thunder Monastery, where he saw the three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight great Vajrapanis and countless Bodhisattvas standing under the pairs of sala trees at the foot of the Vulture Peak, all holding banners, canopies, jewels and magical flowers. The Tathagata brought his propitious cloud to a halt and addressed them thus:
这一篇词名《苏武慢》。
话表我佛如来，辞别了玉帝，回至雷音宝刹，但见那三千诸佛、五百阿罗、八大金刚、无边菩萨，一个个都执着幢幡宝盖，异宝仙花，摆列在灵山仙境，娑罗双林之下接迎。如来驾住祥云，对众道：我以——
“With my deep insight
I surveyed the Three Worlds.
The origin of nature
Is ultimately emptiness,
Like the great void,
Containing nothing at all.
The subjection of this evil monkey
Was a mystery beyond understanding.
It is called the beginning of life and death:
Such is the appearance of things.
甚深般若，遍观三界。
根本性原，毕竟寂灭。
同虚空相，一无所有。
殄伏乖猴，是事莫识，
名生死始，法相如是。
When he had spoken a sacred light filled the sky with forty-two rainbows that linked North and South together. All who saw them bowed, and a moment later the Buddha gathered together some felicitous cloud and climbed to the supreme Lotus Throne, where he seated himself in majesty.
Then the three thousand Buddhas, the five hundred Arhats, the eight Vajrapanis and the four Bodhisattvas came forward to bow to him with their hands together and ask, “Who was it who wrecked the Heavenly Palace and ruined the Peach Banquet?”
“The wretch was a monkey fiend born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit,” the Buddha replied, “whose towering crimes would beggar description. None of the heavenly generals were able to subdue him, and when Lord Lao Zi refined him with fire after Erlang had captured him, he was unharmed. When I went there he was in the middle of the thunder generals, giving a great display of his martial prowess and his spirit. I stopped the fighting and asked him what it was all about. He said that he had divine powers, was able to do transformations, and could ride a somersault cloud for thirty-six thousand miles at a single jump. I made a wager with him that he could not jump out of my hand, then grabbed him, turned my fingers into the Five Elements Mountain, and sealed him under it. The Jade Emperor opened wide the golden gates of the Jade Palace, and invited me to be the guest of honour at a Banquet to Celebrate Peace in Heaven he gave to thank me. After that I took my leave of him and came back here.” They were all delighted by the news and they congratulated him effusively, after which they withdrew group by group, each to go about his duties as all rejoiced in the divine truth. Indeed:
说罢，放舍利之光，满空有白虹四十二道，南北通连。大众见了，皈身礼拜。少顷间，聚庆云彩雾，登上品莲台，端然坐下。那三千诸佛、五百罗汉、八金刚、四菩萨，合掌近前礼毕，问曰：“闹天宫搅乱蟠桃者，何也？”如来道：“那厮乃花果山产的一妖猴，罪恶滔天，不可名状，概天神将，俱莫能降伏；虽二郎捉获，老君用火锻炼，亦莫能伤损。我去时，正在雷将中间，扬威耀武，卖弄精神，被我止住兵戈，问他来历，他言有神通，会变化，又驾筋斗云，一去十万八千里。我与他打了个赌赛，他出不得我手，却将他一把抓住，指化五行山，封压他在那里。玉帝大开金阙瑶宫，请我坐了首席，立安天大会谢我，却方辞驾而回。”大众听言喜悦，极口称扬。谢罢，各分班而退，各执乃事，共乐天真。果然是——
Propitious vapours filled Paradise,
Rainbows surround the Venerable One.
The Western Paradise, known as the best,
Is ruled by the dharma King of non-phenomenon.
Black apes are always offering fruit,
Deer hold flowers in their mouths;
Blue phoenixes dance,
Coloured birds call;
Sacred turtles offer long life,
Immortal cranes present magic mushrooms.
Here they peacefully enjoy the Pure Land of the Jetavana Park,
The infinite realms of the Dragon Palace.
Every day flowers bloom,
Fruit is always ripe.
Through practicing silence they return to the truth,
Achieving reality by contemplation.
There is no birth nor death;
They neither wax nor wane.
Mists follow them as they come and go;
Untouched by heat or cold, they do not notice the years.
瑞霭漫天竺，虹光拥世尊。
西方称第一，无相法王门。
常见玄猿献果，麋鹿衔花；
青鸾舞，彩凤鸣；
灵龟捧寿，仙鹤噙芝。
安享净土祗园，受用龙宫法界。
日日花开，时时果熟。
习静归真，参禅果正。
不灭不生，不增不减。
烟霞缥缈随来往，寒暑无侵不记年。
诗曰：
去来自在任优游，也无恐怖也无愁。
极乐场中俱坦荡，大千之处没春秋。
One day, as the Buddha dwelt in the Thunder Monastery on the Vulture Peak, he called together all the other Buddhas, Arhats, guardian deities, Bodhisattvas, Vajrapanis, monks and nuns and said, “As we are beyond time, I don't know how long it has been since the crafty ape was subdued and Heaven pacified, but by earthly reckoning it must be about five hundred years. As today is a fine early autumn day and I have a precious bowl filled with a hundred kinds of rare flowers and a thousand varieties of exotic fruit, what would you say to our having an Ullambana Feast?” They all put their hands together and performed the reverence of going round him three times in acceptance. The Buddha then ordered Ananda to hold the bowl of flowers and fruit while Kasyapa laid them out. The hosts were moved to gratitude, which they expressed in verse.
The poem on happiness went:
佛祖居于灵山大雷音宝刹之间。一日，唤聚诸佛、阿罗、揭谛、菩萨、金刚、比丘僧、尼等众曰：“自伏乖猿安天之后，我处不知年月，料凡间有半千年矣。今值孟秋望日，我有一宝盆，盆中具设百样奇花，千般异果等物，与汝等享此盂兰盆会，如何？”概众一个个合掌，礼佛三匝领会。如来却将宝盆中花果品物，着阿傩捧定，着迦叶布散。大众感激，各献诗伸谢。
福诗曰：
The Star of Happiness shines bright before the Venerable One;
Gifts of happiness spread wide and deep, ever richer.
Fortune is boundless and lasts as long as the Earth;
A happy fate has the luck to be linked with Heaven.
Fields of happiness are widely sown and flourish every year;
The sea of happiness is mighty and deep, never changing.
Happiness fills Heaven and Earth, leaving legacies of happiness
Happiness grows beyond measure, eternally complete.
福星光耀世尊前，福纳弥深远更绵。
福德无疆同地久，福缘有庆与天连。
福田广种年年盛，福海洪深岁岁坚。
福满乾坤多福荫，福增无量永周全。
The poem on official rank went:
禄诗曰：
With rank as high as a mountain, coloured phoenixes call;
With rank ever increasing, we praise the evening star.
Salary raised to ten thousand bushels, and a healthy body;
Salary raised to a thousand tons, and the world at peace.
Rank and salary equaling Heaven, and eternal too;
Rank and fame as great as the sea, and even clearer.
Rank and favour continuing for ever, greatly to be admired;
Rank and nobility without bounds, like ten thousand kingdoms.
禄重如山彩凤鸣，禄随时泰祝长庚。
禄添万斛身康健，禄享千钟世太平。
禄俸齐天还永固，禄名似海更澄清。
禄恩远继多瞻仰，禄爵无边万国荣。
The poem on longevity went:
寿诗曰：
The Star of Longevity shines towards the Buddha;
The glories of the land of longevity start from here.
Fruits of longevity fill the bowls, glowing with good omen;
Longevity's flowers are newly plucked and placed on the lotus throne.
Poems of longevity, pure and elegant, full of rare conceits,
Songs of longevity sung with exquisite talent.
Life as long as sun and moon,
Life that will outlast both mountains and seas.
寿星献彩对如来，寿域光华自此开。
寿果满盘生瑞霭，寿花新采插莲台。
寿诗清雅多奇妙，寿曲调音按美才。
寿命延长同日月，寿如山海更悠哉。
When the Bodhisattvas had presented all the poems they asked the Buddha to expound the fundamentals to them. Then the Tathagata opened his excellent mouth and expounded the great Law and retribution. He spoke about the wonderful scriptures of the Three Vehicles and the theory of the Five Aggregates as contained in the Surangama-sutra; the deities and nagas gathered round, and flowers came raining down in profusion. Indeed:
The meditating heart shines like the moon in a thousand rivers;
The true nature embraces ten thousand miles of sky.
众菩萨献毕。因请如来明示根本，指解源流。那如来微开善口，敷演大法，宣扬正果，讲的是三乘妙典，五蕴楞严。但见那天龙围绕，花雨缤纷。正是：禅心朗照千江月，真性清涵万里天。
When the Buddha had finished his sermon he said to the host, “I have observed that the morality of the living creatures of the four continents varies. In the Eastern Continent of Superior Body they worship Heaven and Earth, their minds are livery and they are even-tempered. In the Northern Kuru Continent they are given to killing living things, but they only do it to feed themselves; they are stupid and lazy by nature, but they do not trample much on others. Our Western Continent of Cattle-gift has people who neither covet nor kill. They nourish the vital essence and submerge the spirit; and although they produce no saints of the highest order, they all live to a ripe old age. But in the Southern Jambu Continent they are greedy and lecherous and delight in the sufferings of others; they go in for a great deal of killing and quarrelling. That continent can with truth be called a vicious field of tongues and mouths, an evil sea of disputation. I now have Three Stores of True Scriptures with which they can be persuaded to be good.”
On hearing this, all the Bodhisattvas put their hands together in submission, then went forward to ask, “What Three Stores of True Scriptures does the Tathagata have?”
“I have one store of the Vinaya, the law, which is about Heaven; one of Sastras, expositions which are concerned with Earth; and one of Sutras, or scriptures, which save ghosts. The Three Stores consist of fifteen thousand one hundred and forty-four scrolls in thirty-five classes. They are the scriptures for cultivating the truth, and the gate to real goodness. I want to send them to the Eastern lands because it is intolerable that the beings of that quarter should all be such stupid wretches who slander and defame the true word, do not understand the gist of my Law, and have lapsed from the orthodox Yogacara Sect. How am I to find one with the magic powers to go to the East, choose a worthy believer and bid him make the arduous crossing of a thousand mountain and ten thousand rivers in search of the scriptures until he finally comes to this abode of mine to receive them? When he does come they will be sent to the East for ever to convert all living beings, which will be a blessing as big as a mountain, a cause for congratulation as deep as the sea. Is anyone willing to go and find him?”
The Bodhisattva Guanyin went up to the lotus throne, and after going round the Buddha three times by way of salutation she said, “Your untalented disciple wishes to go to the East to find a man to come and fetch the scriptures.” All present raised their heads to look at the Bodhisattva:
如来讲罢，对众言曰：“我观四大部洲，众生善恶，各方不一。东胜神洲者，敬天礼地，心爽气平；北巨芦洲者，虽好杀生，只因糊口，性拙情疏，无多作践；我西牛贺洲者，不贪不杀，养气潜灵，虽无上真，人人固寿；但那南赡部洲者，贪淫乐祸，多杀多争，正所谓口舌凶场，是非恶海。我今有三藏真经，可以劝人为善。”诸菩萨闻言，合掌皈依，向佛前问曰：“如来有那三藏真经？”如来曰：“我有《法》一藏，谈天；《论》一藏，说地；经一藏，度鬼。三藏共计三十五部，该一万五千一百四十四卷，乃是修真之经，正善之门。我待要送上东土，叵耐那方众生愚蠢，毁谤真言，不识我法门之旨要，怠慢了瑜迦之正宗。怎么得一个有法力的，去东土寻一个善信，教他苦历千山，远经万水，到我处求取真经，永传东土，劝化众生，却乃是个山大的福缘，海深的善庆。谁肯去走一遭来？”当有观音菩萨，行近莲台，礼佛三匝道：“弟子不才，愿上东土寻一个取经人来也。”诸众抬头观看，那菩萨——
Her understanding filling out the four virtues,
Wisdom filling her golden body.
From her necklace hang pearls and jade,
Her bracelet is made of jewels.
Her hair is black clouds skillfully piled like coiling dragons;
Her embroidered girdle lightly sways, a phoenix wing.
Seagreen jade buttons,
A gown of white silk gauze,
Bathed with sacred light;
Brocade skirts,
A girdle of gold,
Shielded by propitious vapours.
Eyebrows like crescent moons,
Eyes like a pair of stars.
A jade face full of heavenly happiness,
Scarlet lips making a touch of red.
Her pure bottle of sweet dew is ever full,
The willow twigs in it are always green.
She delivers from the eight disasters,
Saves all living beings,
Great is her compassion.
She stays on Mount Tai,
Lives in the Southern Sea,
Rescues the suffering when she bears their cries,
Never failing to answer every call,
Infinitely divine and miraculous.
Her orchid heart admires the purple bamboo;
Her orchid nature loves the fragrant creeper.
She is the merciful ruler of Potaraka Island,
The living Guanyin of the Tide Cave.
理圆四德，智满金身。
缨络垂珠翠，香环结宝明。
乌云巧迭盘龙髻，绣带轻飘彩凤翎。
碧玉纽，素罗袍，祥光笼罩；
锦绒裙，金落索，瑞气遮迎。
眉如小月，眼似双星。
玉面天生喜，朱唇一点红，
净瓶甘露年年盛，斜插垂杨岁岁青。
解八难，度群生，大慈悯。
故镇太山，居南海，
救苦寻声，万称万应，千圣千灵。
兰心欣紫竹，蕙性爱香藤。
他是落伽山上慈悲主，潮音洞里活观音。
The Buddha was very pleased to see her.
“No one but the venerable Guanyin, whose divine powers are so great, will do for this mission,” he said.
“What instructions have you for your disciple as she goes to the East?” Guanyin asked.
“You must watch the route all the way,” said the Buddha. “You may not go via the Milky Way, but if necessary you may have a little cloud or mist. As you cross mountains and rivers you must note the distances carefully to enable you to give full instructions to the man who will come to fetch the scriptures. But that true believer will, I'm afraid, have a difficult journey, so I shall give you five treasures for him.” The Buddha ordered Ananda and Kasyapa to bring out a brocade cassock and a nine-ringed monk's staff.
“Give this cassock and staff to him who will come to fetch the scriptures: they are for him to use. If he is determined to come here, he can avoid the Wheel of Reincarnation by wearing this cassock, and he will be free from evil if he carries this staff.” The Bodhisattva bowed and took them. The Buddha then produced three bands.
“These precious things are called 'tight bands,'“ he told the Bodhisattva as he handed them to her. “Although all three of them look the same, they have different uses. I also have three Band-Tightening Spells. If you meet any devils with great magic powers on your journey you should persuade them to reform and become the disciples of the pilgrim who will come to fetch the scriptures. If they do not do is they are told these bands should be put on their heads, where they will of themselves take root in the flesh. If the appropriate spell for each one is recited the victim's eyes will bulge, his head will ache, and his forehead will split open. He will thus be certainly induced to adopt our religion.”
如来见了，心中大喜道：“别个是也去不得，须是观音尊者，神通广大，方可去得。”菩萨道：“弟子此去东土，有甚言语吩咐？”如来道：“这一去，要踏看路道，不许在霄汉中行，须是要半云半雾：目过山水，谨记程途远近之数，叮咛那取经人。但恐善信难行，我与你五件宝贝。”即命阿傩、迦叶，取出锦蝠袈裟一领，九环锡杖一根，对菩萨言曰：“这袈裟、锡杖，可与那取经人亲用。若肯坚心来此，穿我的袈裟，免堕轮回；持我的锡杖，不遭毒害。”这菩萨皈依拜领。如来又取出三个箍儿，递与菩萨道：“此宝唤做紧箍儿。虽是一样三个，但只是用各不同，我有金紧禁的咒语三篇。假若路上撞见神通广大的妖魔，你须是劝他学好，跟那取经人做个徒弟。他若不伏使唤，可将此箍儿与他戴在头上，自然见肉生根。各依所用的咒语念一念，眼胀头痛，脑门皆裂，管教他入我门来。”
When he finished speaking the Bodhisattva bowed eagerly and withdrew. She told Huian the Novice to accompany her, and he took his iron staff weighing a thousand pounds with him so that he could as a demon-quelling strongman for the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva wrapped the cassock up in a bundle and gave it to him to carry. She then put the golden bands away safely and went down the Vulture Peak with the staff in her hand. This journey was to have consequences:
The Buddha's disciple comes back to his original vow;
The Venerable Golden Cicada is dressed in sandalwood.
那菩萨闻言，踊跃作礼而退。即唤惠岸行者随行。那惠岸使一条浑铁棍，重有千斤，只在菩萨左右，作一个降魔的大力士。菩萨遂将锦蝠袈裟，作一个包裹，令他背了。菩萨将金箍藏了，执了锡杖，径下灵山。这一去，有分教：佛子还来归本愿，金蝉长老裹啃檀。
When the Bodhisattva reached the foot of the mountain the Gold-headed Immortal of the Jade Truth Temple stopped her at the temple gate and invited her to take some tea. But she dared not stop for long, and so she said, “I have been given a sacred command by the Tathagata to go to the East and find a man who will come to fetch the scriptures.”
“When will he arrive?” the Immortal asked.
“It is not definite,” the Bodhisattva replied, “but he will probably reach here in two or three years' time.” She took her leave of the Immortal and as she traveled amid cloud and mist she estimated the distances. There are some verses to prove it:
那菩萨到山脚下，有玉真观金顶大仙在观门首接住，请菩萨献茶。菩萨不敢久停，曰：“今领如来法旨，上东土寻取经人去。”大仙道：“取经人几时方到？”菩萨道：“未定，约摸二三年间，或可至此。”遂辞了大仙，半云半雾，约记程途。有诗为证。诗曰：
She cared nothing of the journey of ten thousand miles to find him,
But worried about finding the right man.
Looking for the man seemed to be very chancy,
But how can it be a mere coincidence?
One who teaches the Way for the wrong motives will distort it;
He who explains it without faith will preach in vain.
Whoever will try and know it with his whole being,
Is bound to have a future ahead of him.
万里相寻自不言，却云谁得意难全？
求人忽若浑如此，是我平生岂偶然？
传道有方成妄语，说明无信也虚传。
愿倾肝胆寻相识，料想前头必有缘。
As the teacher and her disciple were on their journey they suddenly noticed a thousand miles of weak water, which was the River of Flowing Sands.
“Disciple,” said the Bodhisattva, “this will be hard to cross for the man who will come to fetch the scriptures, as he will be of impure bone and mortal flesh. How will he do it?”
“Teacher, how wide does the river look to you?” asked Huian. The Bodhisattva stopped her cloud to investigate. She saw:
师徒二人正走间，忽然见弱水三千，乃是流沙河界。菩萨道：“徒弟呀，此处却是难行。取经人浊骨凡胎，如何得渡？”惠岸道：“师父，你看河有多远？”那菩萨停立云步看时，只见——
Joining up with the deserts to the East,
Reaching the foreign kingdoms in the West,
Wuge in the South
The Tatars in the North.
It was about three hundred miles across,
And three million miles long.
As the waters flowed it was like the earth turning over,
The waves were like rearing mountains.
Broad and boundless,
Vast and mighty:
From three miles' distance the mighty flood is heard.
Immortals' rafts do not reach here,
Lotus leaves cannot float on it.
The sun slants through withered plants and bathes the crooked shore;
Brown clouds block its light and darken the long bank.
How could merchants pass this way?
Has a fisherman ever moored here?
No geese alight on the sandbanks,
But apes cry on the distant shore.
Its color comes from bountiful red smartweed,
While delicate white duckweed drifts together.
东连沙碛，西抵诸番，南达乌戈，北通鞑靼。
径过有八百里遥，上下有千万里远。
水流一似地翻身，浪滚却如山耸背。
洋洋浩浩，漠漠茫茫，十里遥闻万丈洪。
仙槎难到此，莲叶莫能浮。
衰草斜阳流曲浦，黄云影日暗长堤。
那里得客商来往？何曾有渔叟依栖？
平沙无雁落，远岸有猿啼。
只是红蓼花蘩知景色，白灊香细任依依。
As the Bodhisattva was surveying the scene she heard a splash and saw a hideous ogre leap out of the waves. He was
菩萨正然点看，只见那河中，泼剌一声响喨，水波里跳出一个妖魔来，十分丑恶。他生得——
Not really blue,
Not really black,
With an evil face;
Neither tall,
Nor short,
Bare legs and a muscular body.
His eyes flashed
Like a pair of tortoise-shell lanterns;
The comers of his mouth were as sinister
As a butcher's cauldron.
Protruding fangs like swords,
Red hair, matted and unkempt.
He roared like a clap of thunder,
And ran across the waves with the speed of wind.
青不青，黑不黑，晦气色脸；
长不长，短不短，赤脚筋躯。
眼光闪烁，好似灶底双灯；
口角丫叉，就如屠家火钵。
獠牙撑剑刃，红发乱蓬松。
一声叱咤如雷吼，两脚奔波似滚风。
This ogre climbed up the bank with a pole in his hands to catch the Bodhisattva, but was stopped by Huian's staff.
“Don't run away,” Huian shouted as the ogre advanced towards him. The battle that ensued between them was quite terrifying:
那怪物手执一根宝杖，走上岸就捉菩萨，却被惠岸掣浑铁棒挡住，喝声“休走！”那怪物就持宝杖来迎。两个在流沙河边，这一场恶杀，真个惊人——
Moksa with his iron club,
Using his divine powers to protect the Bodhisattva;
The ogre with his demon-quelling pole
Displaying his valour for all be was worth.
A pair of silver dragons dancing by the river;
Two holy monks in battle on the bank.
The one used his skill to control the River of Flowing Sands
The other had distinguished himself in protecting Guanyin.
The one could make the waves leap and roll,
The other could breathe out fogs and gales.
When the waves leapt and rolled, Heaven and Earth were darkened;
In the fogs and gales, sun and moon were dimmed.
The demon-quelling pole
Was like a white tiger coming down from the mountain;
The iron club
Was like a crouching yellow dragon.
When one goes into action
It beats the undergrowth to start the snakes;
When the other lashes out,
It parts the pines to flush the sparrowhawks.
They fight till the sky goes dark
And the stars twinkle.
Then the mist rises,
And earth and sky are dim.
The one has long been unrivalled in the Weak Waters;
The other has always been the hero of Vulture Peak.
木叉浑铁棒，护法显神通；
怪物降妖杖，努力逞英雄。
双条银蟒河边舞，一对神僧岸上冲。
那一个威镇流沙施本事，这一个力保观音建大功。
那一个翻波跃浪，这一个吐雾喷风。
翻波跃浪乾坤暗，吐雾喷风日月昏。
那个降妖杖，好便似出山的白虎；
这个浑铁棒，却就如卧道的黄龙。
那个使将来，寻蛇拨草；
这个丢开去，扑鹞分松。
只杀得昏漠漠，星辰灿烂；
雾腾腾，天地朦胧。
那个久住弱水惟他狠，这个初出灵山第一功。
When the pair of them had fought several dozen rounds inconclusively the ogre blocked his opponent's iron staff and asked, “Where are you from, monk, that you dare to take me on?”
“I am Prince Moksa, the second son of the Pagoda-bearing Heavenly King Li,” the other replied. “I am also Huian the Novice. I am now protecting my teacher on her journey to the East to find the man who will fetch the scriptures. Which monster are you? How dare you stand in our way?” The ogre then realized who he was.
“I remember,” he said, “you used to cultivate your conduct with Guanyin of the Southern Sea in the Purple Bamboo Grove. Why have you come here?”
“Can't you see my teacher standing there on the bank?”
他两个来来往往，战上数十合，不分胜负。那怪物架住了铁棒道：“你是那里和尚，敢来与我抵敌？”木叉道：“我是托塔天王二太子木叉惠岸行者。今保我师父往东土寻取经人去。你是何怪，敢大胆阻路？”那怪方才醒悟道：“我记得你跟南海观音在紫竹林中修行，你为何来此？”木叉道：“那岸上不是我师父？”
When the ogre heard this he chanted “na-a-aw” several times to show his respect, withdrew his pole and let Moksa seize it. Then he bowed to Guanyin and said, “Forgive me, Bodhisattva, and listen to what I have to tell you. I am not a demon, but the Curtain Raising General who used to stand in attendance by the imperial chariot in the Hall of Miraculous Mist. Just because I accidentally smashed a crystal dish at a Peach Banquet the Jade Emperor had me given eight hundred strokes of the rod, exiled me to the lower world, and made me look like this. And on top of it all every seven days he sends a flying sword here to stab my chest over a hundred times before it goes back again. It's agony. I get so unbearably cold and hungry that I have to emerge from the waves every two or three days to devour a traveler. I never thought that in my ignorance I would insult the merciful Bodhisattva today.”
“You were exiled here for a crime against Heaven, but now you are deepening your guilt by harming living beings. I am now going to the East on the Buddha's orders to find the man who will fetch the scriptures. Why don't you become one of us and ensure yourself good retribution in future by accompanying the pilgrim as a disciple and ascending to the Western Heaven to pay homage to the Buddha and seek the scriptures? I will see to it that the flying sword stops coming to pierce you, and when you are successful you will be forgiven your crimes and your old job will be given back to you. What do you think of that?”
“I am willing to return to the truth,” the ogre replied, then went closer as he continued, “Bodhisattva, I have lost count of the number of people I have eaten here, and I have even devoured some pilgrims who were trying to fetch scriptures. I throw the heads of all my victims into the river, and they all sink to the bottom as not even goose-down will float on this water. But the skeletons of those nine pilgrims floated and would not sink. I was so impressed by this that I threaded them together with rope and play with them in my spare time. But I am afraid that the man who is to fetch the scriptures may not get this far, which would wreck my future.”
“Of course he'll get here,” the Bodhisattva replied. “You should hang those skeletons from your head and wait for him. They will come in useful.”
“In that case,” the ogre said, “I shall await your instructions.” The Bodhisattva then laid her hands on his head and administered the monastic rules to him, chose for him the surname Sha (“Sand") and gave him the Buddhist name of Wujing (“Awakened to Purity"). Then he entered monkish life and took the Bodhisattva across the river. He washed his heart, cleansed his thoughts, and stopped killing living creatures. All he did now was to wait for the pilgrim who would come to fetch the scriptures.
怪物闻言，连声喏喏，收了宝杖，让木叉揪了去，见观音纳头下拜，告道：“菩萨，恕我之罪，待我诉告。我不是妖邪，我是灵霄殿下侍銮舆的卷帘大将。只因在蟠桃会上，失手打碎了玻璃盏，玉帝把我打了八百，贬下界来，变得这般模样。又教七日一次，将飞剑来穿我胸胁百余下方回，故此这般苦恼。没奈何，饥寒难忍，三二日间，出波涛寻一个行人食用。不期今日无知，冲撞了大慈菩萨。”菩萨道：“你在天有罪，既贬下来，今又这等伤生，正所谓罪上加罪。我今领了佛旨，上东土寻取经人。你何不入我门来，皈依善果，跟那取经人做个徒弟，上西天拜佛求经？我教飞剑不来穿你。那时节功成免罪，复你本职，心下如何？”那怪道：“我愿皈正果。”又向前道：“菩萨，我在此间吃人无数，向来有几次取经人来，都被我吃了。凡吃的人头，抛落流沙，竟沉水底。这个水，鹅毛也不能浮。惟有九个取经人的骷髅，浮在水面，再不能沉。我以为异物，将索儿穿在一处，闲时拿来顽耍。这去，但恐取经人不得到此，却不是反误了我的前程也？”菩萨曰：“岂有不到之理？你可将骷髅儿挂在头项下，等候取经人，自有用处。”怪物道：“既然如此，愿领教诲。”菩萨方与他摩顶受戒，指沙为姓，就姓了沙，起个法名，叫做个沙悟净。当时入了沙门，送菩萨过了河，他洗心涤虑，再不伤生，专等取经人。
After leaving him the Bodhisattva and Huian hurried on towards the East. When they had been travelling for a long time they saw a high mountain veiled with an evil mist, and they were unable to climb it on foot. Just when they were intending to cross the mountain by cloud, a gale wind blew up and a monster suddenly appeared. He too was very menacing to behold:
菩萨与他别了，同木叉径奔东土。行了多时，又见一座高山，山上有恶气遮漫，不能步上。正欲驾云过山，不觉狂风起处，又闪上一个妖魔。他生得又甚凶险，但见他——
His entrails hung from his mouth, rolled up and knotted;
His ears were like rush fans, his eyes shone gold.
His teeth were sharp as steel files,
And when he opened his mouth it was like a brazier.
His golden helmet was tied firmly round his cheeks;
His armour, bound with a silken sash, was a python's sloughed-off skin.
In his hands he held a nailed rake like a dragon's claw,
At his waist hung a curved bow the shape of a half-moon.
His martial might overawed the Year Planet;
His overweening spirit threatened the heavenly gods.
卷脏莲蓬吊搭嘴，耳如蒲扇显金睛。
獠牙锋利如钢锉，长嘴张开似火盆。
金盔紧系腮边带，勒甲丝绦蟒退鳞。
手执钉钯龙探爪，腰挎弯弓月半轮。
纠纠威风欺太岁，昂昂志气压天神。
He rushed upon them, and without a second thought smote at the Bodhisattva with his rake. Moksa the Novice parried his blow, and shouted at the top of his voice, “Remember your manners, damned monster, and watch out for my staff.”
“Monk,” the other replied, “you don't know how to keep yourself in one piece. Mind my rake!” At the foot of the mountain the pair of them rushed upon each other as they struggled for supremacy. It was a fine battle:
他撞上来，不分好歹，望菩萨举钉钯就筑。被木叉行者挡住，大喝一声道：“那泼怪，休得无礼！看棒！”妖魔道：“这和尚不知死活！看钯！”两个在山底下，一冲一撞，赌斗输赢。真个好杀——
The fierce and murderous ogre;
Huian, imposing and able.
The iron staff could pulverize the heart;
The rake struck at the face.
The dust thrown up darkened Heaven and Earth;
The flying sand and stones startled gods and ghouls.
The nine-toothed rake
Gleamed and flashed
As its pair of rings resounded;
The lone staff
Was ominously black
As it whirled in its owner's hands.
One was the heir of a Heavenly King,
One defended the Law on Potaraka Island.
The other was an evil fiend in a mountain cave.
In their battle for mastery,
None knew who the winner would be.
妖魔凶猛，惠岸威能。
铁棒分心捣，钉钯劈面迎。
播土扬尘天地暗，飞砂走石鬼神惊。
九齿钯，光耀耀，双环响喨；
一条棒，黑悠悠，两手飞腾。
这个是天王太子，那个是元帅精灵。
一个在普陀为护法，一个在山洞作妖精。
这场相遇争高下，不知那个亏输那个赢。
Just when the fight was getting really good, Guanyin threw down a lotus flower from mid-air to separate the two weapons. The monster, shocked at the sight of it, asked, “Where are you from, monk? How dare you try to fool me with a 'flower in front of the eyes?'”
“I'll get you, you stinking, flesh-eyed mortal,” replied Moksa. “I am a disciple of the Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea, and this lotus was thrown down by her. Don't you know that?”
“By the Bodhisattva of the Southern Sea do you mean Guanyin Who Eliminates the Three Calamities and Saves from the Eight Disasters?” the monster asked.
“Who else could I mean?” retorted Moksa. The monster threw down his rake, bowed to him, and asked, “Where is the Bodhisattva, elder brother? May I trouble you to introduce me?” Moksa looked up and pointed.
“There she is,” he said. The monster kowtowed to her and shouted in a shrill voice, “Forgive me, Bodhisattva, forgive me.” Guanyin brought her cloud down to earth, went over to him and asked, “Are you a wild boar become a devil or a pig turned monster? How dare you block my way?”
“I'm neither a wild boar nor a pig,” the monster replied. “I used to be Marshal Tian Peng in the Milky Way. Because I took some wine to seduce the moon maiden, the Jade Emperor sentenced me to two thousand hammer blows and exile in the mortal world. My spirit had to find a womb to occupy, but I lost my way and entered the womb of a sow. That's why I look like this. I ate up my sow mother, drove all the other pigs away, and seized this mountain, where I keep myself by eating people. I never meant to offend you, Bodhisattva. Save me, save me, I beg you.”
“What is this mountain called?” the Bodhisattva asked.
“It's called the Mount of Blessing, and the cave in it is called the Cloud Pathway Cave. Second Sister Luan, who used to live there, saw that I knew how to fight and asked me to be the head of her household as her husband, but she died within a year and all her property became mine. As the days lengthened into years I found that I had no way of supporting myself, so I had to eat people to keep myself going as I had done before. Forgive me my sins, I beg of you, Bodhisattva.”
他两个正杀到好处，观世音在半空中，抛下莲花，隔开钯杖。怪物见了心惊，便问：“你是那里和尚，敢弄什么眼前花儿哄我？”木叉道：“我把你个肉眼凡胎的泼物！我是南海菩萨的徒弟。这是我师父抛来的莲花，你也不认得哩！”那怪道：“南海菩萨，可是扫三灾救八难的观世音么？”木叉道：“不是他是谁？”怪物撇了钉钯，纳头下礼道：“老兄，菩萨在那里？累烦你引见一引见。”木叉仰面指道：“那不是？”怪物朝上磕头，厉声高叫道：“菩萨，恕罪，恕罪！”观音按下云头，前来问道：“你是那里成精的野豕，何方作怪的老彘，敢在此间挡我？”那怪道：“我不是野豕，亦不是老彘，我本是天河里天蓬元帅。只因带酒戏弄嫦娥，玉帝把我打了二千锤，贬下尘凡。一灵真性，竟来夺舍投胎，不期错了道路，投在个母猪胎里，变得这般模样。是我咬杀母猪，可死群彘，在此处占了山场，吃人度日。不期撞着菩萨，万望拔救拔救。”菩萨道：“此山叫做什么山？”怪物道：“叫做福陵山。山中有一洞，叫做云栈洞。洞里原有个卵二姐，他见我有些武艺，招我做了家长，又唤做倒猃门。不上一年，他死了，将一洞的家当，尽归我受用。在此日久年深，没有个赡身的勾当，只是依本等吃人度日。万望菩萨恕罪。”
“There is an old saying,” the Bodhisattva replied, “that goes, 'If you want to have a future, don't do anything with no future in it?' You broke the law in the upper world, and since then your vicious nature has not been reformed. You have further sinned by taking life, so this surely means that you will be doubly punished.”
“Future!” said the monster angrily. “According to you I should have lived on air! As the saying goes, 'By the government's law you're beaten to death, and by the Buddha's law you starve to death.' Clear off! Clear off! If you don't I'll capture this pilgrim and eat this plump and tender old woman. I don't give a hoot if it's double sinning, triple sinning, or sinning a thousand or ten thousand times over.”
“'If a man wishes to be good, Heaven will certainly allow him to be,'“ said the Bodhisattva. “If you are prepared to submit to the truth, there are of course, ways to feed yourself. There are the five kinds of food-grains, and they are sufficient to assuage hunger, so why eat people to keep alive?”
When the monster heard these words it was as if he awoke from a dream, and he said to the Bodhisattva, “I would love to reform, but isn't it true that 'a sinner against Heaven has nowhere to pray to?'”
“I'm going to the East on the orders of the Buddha to find the man who will fetch the scriptures,” she replied. “You can be a disciple of his and make this journey to the Western Heaven; thus you will gain merit and atone for your crimes, and I will see to it that you are freed from disaster.”
“I'll go with him, I'll go with him,” the monster said over and over again. The Bodhisattva then laid her hands on his head and he accepted the monastic rules. She gave him the surname Zhu (“Pig") because of his appearance, and gave him the Buddhist name Zhu Wuneng (“Pig Awakened to Power"). She ordered him to adhere to the truth and eat only vegetarian food, cutting out the five pungent vegetables as well as the three forbidden things; wild goose, dog and fish. He was now to wait single-mindedly for the pilgrim who would come to fetch the scriptures.
菩萨道：“古人云，若要有前程，莫做没前程。你既上界违法，今又不改凶心，伤生造孽，却不是二罪俱罚？”那怪道：“前程前程，若依你，教我嗑风！常言道，依着官法打杀，依着佛法饿杀。去也，去也！还不如捉个行人，肥腻腻的吃他家娘！管什么二罪三罪，千罪万罪！”菩萨道：“人有善愿，天必从之。汝若肯归依正果，自有养身之处。世有五谷，尽能济饥，为何吃人度日？”怪物闻言，似梦方觉，向菩萨施礼道：“我欲从正，奈何获罪于天，无所祷也！”菩萨道：“我领了佛旨，上东土寻取经人。你可跟他做个徒弟，往西天走一遭来，将功折罪，管教你脱离灾瘴。”那怪满口道：“愿随，愿随！”菩萨才与他摩顶受戒，指身为姓，就姓了猪，替他起了法名，就叫做猪悟能。遂此领命归真，持斋把素，断绝了五荤三厌，专候那取经人。
The Bodhisattva and Moksa then took their leave of the Pig Awakened to Power and continued on their way by low-altitude cloud. As they were travelling along they heard a jade dragon call to them in mid-air.
“Which dragon are you?” the Bodhisattva asked as she went up to him. “And why are you undergoing punishment here?”
“I am the son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the Western Sea. Because I burnt up the bright pearls in the palace, my father reported me to the court of Heaven as a rebel. The Jade Emperor had me hung up in mid-air and given three hundred strokes, and I am to be executed any day now. I beg you to save me, Bodhisattva.”
When she heard his plea the Bodhisattva went in through the Southern Gates of Heaven with Moksa. Here they were met by the Heavenly Teachers Qiu and Zhang, who asked them, “Where are you going?”
“I would like an audience with the Jade Emperor.” The two Heavenly Teachers hurried in to announce her, and the Jade Emperor came out of his palace to receive her. The Bodhisattva went forward to greet him and said, “On my way to the East on the orders of the Buddha to find the man to fetch the scriptures, I met a wicked dragon suspended in mid-air.. I have come here especially to ask you to spare his life and give him to me so that I can teach him to serve the pilgrim with his legs.” On hearing this the Jade Emperor issued a decree pardoning him, and he sent a heavenly general to release him and give him to the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva thanked him for his generosity and left. The young dragon kowtowed to show how grateful he was for having his life spared, and he obediently did what the Bodhisattva told him to. She took him to a deep ravine, where he was to wait until the pilgrim came. When that happened he was to turn into a white horse and achieve merit by going to the Western Heaven. On receiving his orders the young dragon hid himself.
菩萨却与木叉，辞了悟能，半兴云雾前来。正走处，只见空中有一条玉龙叫唤，菩萨近前问曰：“你是何龙，在此受罪？”那龙道：“我是西海龙王敖闰之子，因纵火烧了殿上明珠，我父王表奏天庭，告了忤逆。玉帝把我吊在空中，打了三百，不日遭诛。望菩萨搭救搭救。”观音闻言，即与木叉撞上南天门里，早有邱、张二天师接着，问道：“何往？”菩萨道：“贫僧要见玉帝一面。”二天师即忙上奏，玉帝遂下殿迎接。菩萨上前礼毕道：“贫僧领佛旨上东土寻取经人，路遇孽龙悬吊，特来启奏，饶他性命，赐与贫僧，教他与取经人做个脚力。”玉帝闻言，即传旨赦宥，差天将解放，送与菩萨，菩萨谢恩而出。这小龙叩头谢活命之恩，听从菩萨使唤。菩萨把他送在深涧之中，只等取经人来，变做白马，上西方立功。小龙领命潜身不题。
The Bodhisattva led Moksa the Novice across this mountain, and they hurried on towards the East. Before they had gone much further they suddenly saw ten thousand beams of golden light and a thousand wisps of propitious vapour.
“Teacher,” said Moksa, “the place where all the light is coming from is the Five Elements Mountain, where the Tathagata's restriction order is posted.”
“This must be cause that Great Sage Equaling Heaven who wrecked the Peach Banquet and threw the Heavenly Palace into chaos is imprisoned there.”
“That's right,” Moksa replied, and teacher and pupil climbed the mountain together to look at the paper. On it were written the true words Om mani padme bum, and when the Bodhisattva saw them she sighed deeply and composed a poem that went:
菩萨带引木叉行者过了此山，又奔东土。行不多时，忽见金光万道，瑞气千条，木叉道：“师父，那放光之处，乃是五行山了，见有如来的压帖在那里。”菩萨道：“此却是那搅乱蟠桃会大闹天宫的齐天大圣，今乃压在此也。”木叉道：“正是，正是。”师徒俱上山来，观看帖子，乃是“络嘛呢叭迷底”六字真言。菩萨看罢，叹惜不已，作诗一首，诗曰：
“Pity the evil monkey who did not obey the lord
In his arrogance he showed off his valour in the old days,
In his folly he wrecked the Peach Banquet,
And he had the effrontery to sin in the Tushita Palace.
In the army of a hundred thousand there was none to match him;
His might was felt above the ninefold heavens.
But now he has been caught by our Tathagata, the Buddha:
Will he ever be able to unleash his talents and win more glory?”
堪叹妖猴不奉公，当年狂妄逞英雄。
欺心搅乱蟠桃会，大胆私行兜率宫。
十万军中无敌手，九重天上有威风。
自遭我佛如来困，何日舒伸再显功！
The conversation between teacher and disciple had disturbed the Great Sage, who shouted from under the roots of the mountain, “Who's that up there?” When she heard this the Bodhisattva hurried down the mountain to visit him. At the foot of the mountainside the local gods, the mountain gods and the heavenly generals who were guarding the Great Sage all bowed to the Bodhisattva in greeting and took her to the Great Sage. She saw that he was pressed down inside a stone box, so that he could speak but could not move his body.
“Monkey,” the Bodhisattva said, “do you know who I am?” The Great Sage opened wide his fiery eyes with their golden pupils, nodded his head and shouted at the top of his voice, “Of course I recognize you. You, thank goodness, are the All-Compassionate. All-Merciful Deliverer from Suffering, the Bodhisattva Guanyin from Potaraka Island in the Southern Sea. You're a very welcome visitor. Every day here seems like a year, and nobody I know has ever come to see me. Where have you come from?”
“I have received a mandate from the Buddha to go to the East and find the man who will fetch the scriptures,” she replied, “and as I was passing this way I decided to come over and see you.”
“The Buddha fooled me and crushed me under this mountain—I haven't been able to stretch myself for five hundred years. I desperately hope that you will be obliging enough to rescue me, Bodhisattva.”
“You wretch,” she replied, “you have such an appalling criminal record that I'm afraid you'd only make more trouble if I got you out.”
“I have already repented,” he said, “and hope that you will show me the road I should follow. I want to cultivate my conduct.” Indeed:
师徒们正说话处，早惊动了那大圣。大圣在山根下高叫道：“是那个在山上吟诗，揭我的短哩？”菩萨闻言，径下山来寻看，只见那石崖之下，有土地、山神、监押大圣的天将，都来拜接了菩萨，引至那大圣面前。看时，他原来压于石匣之中，口能言，身不能动。菩萨道：“姓孙的，你认得我么？”大圣睁开火眼金睛，点着头儿高叫道：“我怎么不认得你，你好的是那南海普陀落伽山救苦救难大慈大悲南无观世音菩萨。承看顾，承看顾！我在此度日如年，更无一个相知的来看我一看。你从那里来也？”菩萨道：“我奉佛旨，上东土寻取经人去，从此经过，特留残步看你。”大圣道：“如来哄了我，把我压在此山，五百余年了，不能展挣。万望菩萨方便一二，救我老孙一救！”菩萨道：“你这厮罪业弥深，救你出来，恐你又生祸害，反为不美。”大圣道：“我已知悔了，但愿大慈悲指条门路，情愿修行。”这才是——
When an idea is born in a man's mind
It is known throughout Heaven and Earth.
If good and evil are not rewarded and punished
The world is bound to go to the bad.
人心生一念，天地尽皆知。
善恶若无报，乾坤必有私。
The Bodhisattva was delighted to hear what he had to say.
“The sacred scriptures say,” she replied, '“If one's words are good, they will meet with a response from even a thousand miles away; if they are bad, they will be opposed from the same distance.' If this is your state of mind, then wait while I go to the East to find the man who will fetch the scriptures; I'll tell him to rescue you. You can be his disciple, observe and uphold the faith, enter our Buddha's religion, and cultivate good retribution for yourself in the future. What do you say to that?”
“I'll go, I'll go,” the Great Sage repeated over and over again.
“As you have reformed,” she said, “I'll give you a Buddhist name.”
“I've already got a name. It's Sun Wukong.” The Bodhisattva, very pleased, said, “I made two converts earlier, and their names both contained Wu ('Awakened'). There's no need to give you any further instructions, so I'll be off.” The Great Sage, now aware of his own Buddha-nature, was converted to the Buddha's religion; and the Bodhisattva devotedly continued her search for a saintly monk.
那菩萨闻得此言，满心欢喜，对大圣道：“圣经云：‘出其言善，则千里之外应之；出其言不善，则千里之外违之。’你既有此心，待我到了东土大唐国寻一个取经的人来，教他救你。你可跟他做个徒弟，秉教伽持，入我佛门，再修正果，如何？”大圣声声道：“愿去，愿去！”菩萨道：“既有善果，我与你起个法名。”大圣道：“我已有名了，叫做孙悟空。”菩萨又喜道：“我前面也有二人归降，正是“悟”字排行。你今也是“悟”字，却与他相合，甚好，甚好。这等也不消叮嘱，我去也。”那大圣见性明心归佛教，这菩萨留情在意访神僧。
After leaving that place she and Huian carried straight on to the East, and before long they reached Chang'an, the capital of the Great Tang. Putting away their mists and clouds, teacher and pupil turned themselves into a pair of scabby itinerant monks and went inside the city of Chang'an. It was already dark, and beside the great market street they saw a shrine to a local tutelary god and went in. The local god was thrown into confusion at the sight of them, and the devil soldiers quaked with terror; they knew that she was a Bodhisattva, and kowtowed to her in greeting. The local god then scurried off to tell the City God, the Lord of the Alter, and the gods of all the other shrines in Chang'an. When they knew that the Bodhisattva had come they all went to report to her and said, “Bodhisattva, please forgive us for our crime in being late to welcome you.”
“You mustn't let a whisper of this get out,” she said. “I have come here on a decree from the Buddha to find someone to fetch the scriptures. I shall be borrowing your temple for a few days while I find this true monk, and then I shall go back.” All the gods returned to their own shrines, and they took the local god to stay in the temple of the City God. Teacher and disciple disguised their true appearances. If you don't know whom they found to fetch the scriptures, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
他与木叉离了此处，一直东来，不一日就到了长安大唐国。敛雾收云，师徒们变作两个疥癞游僧，入长安城里，早不觉天晚。行至大市街旁，见一座土地神祠，二人径入，唬得那土地心慌，鬼兵胆战，知是菩萨，叩头接入。那土地又急跑报与城隍、社令，及满长安各庙神祗，都知是菩萨，参见告道：“菩萨，恕众神接迟之罪。”菩萨道：“汝等切不可走漏一毫消息，我奉佛旨，特来此处寻访取经人。借你庙宇，权住几日，待访着真僧即回。”众神各归本处，把个土地赶在城隍庙里暂住，他师徒们隐遁真形。毕竟不知寻出那个取经人来，且听下回分解。