NINETY-NINE

Nine times nine ends the count and Māra’s all destroyed;

The work of three times three¹ done, the Dao reverts to its root.

We shall not speak of the Eight Vajra Guardians escorting the Tang Monk back to his nation. We turn instead to those Guardians of the Five Quarters, the Four Sentinels, the Six Gods of Darkness and the Six Gods of Light, and the Guardians of Monasteries, who appeared before the triple gates and said to the Bodhisattva Guanyin, “Your disciples had received the Bodhisattva’s dharma decree to give secret protection to the sage monk. Now that the work of the sage monk is completed, and the Bodhisattva has returned the Buddhist Patriarch’s golden decree to him, we too request permission from the Bodhisattva to return your dharma decree to you.”

Highly pleased also, the Bodhisattva said, “Yes, yes! You have my permission.” Then she asked, “What was the disposition of the four pilgrims during their journey?”

“They showed genuine devotion and determination,” replied the various deities, “which could hardly have escaped the penetrating observation of the Bodhisattva. The Tang Monk, after all, had endured unspeakable sufferings. Indeed, all the ordeals that he had to undergo throughout his journey have been recorded by your disciples. Here is the complete account.” The Bodhisattva started to read the registry from its beginning, and this was the content:

The Guardians in obedience to your decree

Record with care the Tang Monk’s calamities.

Gold Cicada banished is the first ordeal [see chap. 8];²

Being almost killed after birth is the second ordeal [chap. 9];

Being thrown in the river hardly a month old is the third ordeal [chap. 9];

Seeking parents and their vengeance is the fourth ordeal [chap. 9];

Meeting a tiger after leaving the city is the fifth ordeal [chap. 13];

Falling into a pit and losing followers is the sixth ordeal [chap. 13];

The Double-Fork Ridge is the seventh ordeal [chap. 13];

The Mountain of Two Frontiers is the eighth ordeal [chap. 13];

Changing horse at a steep brook is the ninth ordeal [chap. 15];

Burning by fire at night is the tenth ordeal [chap. 16];

Losing the cassock is the eleventh ordeal [chap. 16];

Bringing Eight Rules to submission is the twelfth ordeal [chaps. 18–19];

Being blocked by the Yellow Wind Fiend is the thirteenth ordeal [chap. 20];

Seeking aid with Lingji is the fourteenth ordeal [chap. 21];

Hard to cross Flowing-Sand is the fifteenth ordeal [chap. 22];

Taking in Sha Monk is the sixteenth ordeal [chap. 22];

The Four Sages’ epiphany is the seventeenth ordeal [chap. 23];

The Five Villages Temple is the eighteenth ordeal [chap. 24];

The ginseng hard to revive is the nineteenth ordeal [chap. 26];

Banishing the Mind Monkey is the twentieth ordeal [chap. 27];

Getting lost at Black Pine Forest is the twenty-first ordeal [chap. 28];

Sending a letter to Precious Image Kingdom is the twenty-second ordeal [chap. 29];

Changing into a tiger at the Golden Chimes Hall is the twenty-third ordeal [chap. 30];

Meeting demons at Level-Top Mountain is the twenty-fourth ordeal [chap. 32];

Being hung high at Lotus-Flower Cave is the twenty-fifth ordeal [chap. 33];

Saving the ruler of Black Rooster Kingdom is the twenty-sixth ordeal [chap. 37];

Running into a demon’s transformed body is the twenty-seventh ordeal [chap. 37];

Meeting a fiend in Roaring Mountain is the twenty-eighth ordeal [chap. 40];

The sage monk abducted by wind is the twenty-ninth ordeal [chap. 40];

The Mind Monkey being injured is the thirtieth ordeal [chap. 41];

Asking the sage to subdue monsters is the thirty-first ordeal [chap. 42];

Sinking in the Black River is the thirty-second ordeal [chap. 43];

Hauling at Cart Slow Kingdom is the thirty-third ordeal [chap. 44];

A mighty contest is the thirty-fourth ordeal [chaps. 45–46];

Expelling Daoists to prosper Buddhists is the thirty-fifth ordeal [chap. 47];

Meeting a great water on the road is the thirty-sixth ordeal [chap. 47];

Falling into the Heaven-Reaching River is the thirty-seventh ordeal [chap. 48];

The Fish-Basket revealing her body is the thirty-eighth ordeal [chap. 49];

Meeting a fiend at Golden Helmet Mountain is the thirty-ninth ordeal [chap. 50];

Heaven’s gods find it hard to win is the fortieth ordeal [chaps. 51–52];

Asking the Buddha for the source is the forty-first ordeal [chap. 52];

Being poisoned after drinking water is the forty-second ordeal [chap. 53];

Detained for marriage at Western Liang Kingdom is the forty-third ordeal [chap. 54];

Suffering at the Cave of the Lute is the forty-fourth ordeal [chap. 55];

Banishing again the Mind Monkey is the forty-fifth ordeal [chap. 56];

The macaque hard to distinguish is the forty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 57–58];

The road blocked at the Mountain of Flames is the forty-seventh ordeal [chap. 59];

Seeking the palm-leaf fan is the forty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 59–60];

Binding the demon king is the forty-ninth ordeal [chap. 61];

Sweeping the pagoda at Sacrifice Kingdom is the fiftieth ordeal [chap. 62];

Recovering the treasure to save the monks is the fifty-first ordeal [chap. 63];

Chanting poetry at the Brambled Forest is the fifty-second ordeal [chap. 64];

Meeting disaster at Little Thunderclap is the fifty-third ordeal [chap. 65];

The celestial gods being imprisoned is the fifty-fourth ordeal [chap. 66];

Being blocked by filth at Pulpy Persimmon Alley is the fifty-fifth ordeal [chap. 67];

Applying medication at the Scarlet-Purple Kingdom is the fifty-sixth ordeal [chaps. 68–69];

Healing fatigue and infirmity is the fifty-seventh ordeal [chaps. 68–69];

Subduing monster to recover a queen is the fifty-eighth ordeal [chaps. 69–71];

Delusion by the seven passions is the fifty-ninth ordeal [chap. 72];

Being wounded by Many Eyes is the sixtieth ordeal [chap. 73];

The way blocked at the Lion-Camel Kingdom is the sixty-first ordeal [chaps. 74–75];

The fiends divided into three colors is the sixty-second ordeal [chaps. 74–77];

Meeting calamity in the city is the sixty-third ordeal [chaps. 76–77];

Requesting Buddha to subdue the demons is the sixty-fourth ordeal [chap. 77];

Rescuing the lads at Bhikṣu is the sixty-fifth ordeal [chap. 78];

Distinguishing the true from the deviate is the sixty-sixth ordeal [chap. 79];

Saving a fiend at a pine forest is the sixty-seventh ordeal [chap. 80]:

Falling sick in a priestly chamber is the sixty-eighth ordeal [chap. 81];

Being imprisoned at the Bottomless Cave is the sixty-ninth ordeal [chaps. 81–83];

Difficulty in going through Dharma-Destroying Kingdom is the seventieth ordeal [chap. 84];

Meeting demons at Mist-Concealing Mountain is the seventy-first ordeal [chaps. 85–86];

Seeking rain at Phoenix-Immortal Prefecture is the seventy-second ordeal [chap. 87];

Losing their weapons is the seventy-third ordeal [chap. 88];

The festival of the rake is the seventy-fourth ordeal [chap. 89];

Meeting disaster at Bamboo-Knot Mountain is the seventy-fifth ordeal [chap. 90];

Suffering at Mysterious Flower Cave is the seventy-sixth ordeal [chap. 91];

Capturing the rhinoceroses is the seventy-seventh ordeal [chap. 92];

Being forced to marry at India is the seventy-eighth ordeal [chaps. 93–95];

Jailed at Bronze Estrade Prefecture is the seventy-ninth ordeal [chap. 97];

Delivered of mortal stock at Cloud-Transcending Ferry is the eightieth ordeal [chap. 98];

The journey: one hundred and eight thousand miles.

The sage monk’s ordeals are clearly on file.

After the Bodhisattva had read through the entire registry of ordeals, she said hurriedly, “Within our gate of Buddhism, nine times nine is the crucial means by which one returns to perfection. The sage monk has undergone eighty ordeals. Because one ordeal, therefore, is still lacking, the sacred number is not yet complete.”

At once she gave this order to one of the Guardians: “Catch the Vajra Guardians and create one more ordeal.” Having received this command, the Guardian soared toward the east astride the clouds. After a night and a day he caught the Vajra Guardians and whispered in their ears, “Do this and this . . . ! Don’t fail to obey the dharma decree of the Bodhisattva.” On hearing these words, the Eight Vajra Guardians immediately retrieved the wind that had borne aloft the four pilgrims, dropping them and the horse bearing the scriptures to the ground. Alas! Truly such is

Nine times nine, hard task of immortality!

Firmness of will yields the mysterious key.

By bitter toil you must the demons spurn;

Cultivation will the proper way return.

Regard not the scriptures as easy things.

So many are the sage monk’s sufferings!

Learn of the old, wondrous Kinship of the Three:³

Elixir won’t gel if there’s slight errancy.

When his feet touched profane ground, Tripitaka became terribly frightened. Eight Rules, however, roared with laughter, saying, “Good! Good! Good! This is exactly a case of ‘More haste, less speed’!”

“Good! Good! Good!” said Sha Monk. “Because we’ve speeded up too much, they want us to take a little rest here.” “Have no worry,” said the Great Sage. “As the proverb says,

For ten days you sit on the shore;

In one day you may pass nine beaches.”

“Stop matching your wits, you three!” said Tripitaka. “Let’s see if we can tell where we are.” Looking all around, Sha Monk said, “I know the place! I know the place! Master, listen to the sound of water!”

Pilgrim said, “The sound of water, I suppose, reminds you of your ancestral home.” “Which is the Flowing-Sand River,” said Eight Rules. “No! No!” said Sha Monk. “This happens to be the Heaven-Reaching River.” Tripitaka said, “O Disciples! Take a careful look and see which side of the river we’re on.”

Vaulting into the air, Pilgrim shielded his eyes with his hand and took a careful survey of the place before dropping down once more. “Master,” he said, “this is the west bank of the Heaven-Reaching River.”

“Now I remember,”⁴ said Tripitaka. “There was a Chen Village on the east bank. When we arrived here that year, you rescued their son and daughter. In their gratitude to us, they wanted to make a boat to take us across. Eventually we were fortunate enough to get across on the back of a white turtle. I recall, too, that there was no human habitation whatever on the west bank. What shall we do this time?”

“I thought that only profane people would practice this sort of fraud,” said Eight Rules. “Now I know that even the Vajra Guardians before the face of Buddha can practice fraud! Buddha commanded them to take us back east. How could they just abandon us in mid-journey? Now we’re in quite a bind! How are we going to get across?” “Stop grumbling, Second Elder Brother!” said Sha Monk. “Our master has already attained the Way, for he had already been delivered from his mortal frame previously at the Cloud-Transcending Ferry. This time he can’t possibly sink in water. Let’s all of us exercise our magic of Displacement and take Master across.”

“You can’t take him over! You can’t take him over!” said Pilgrim, chuckling to himself. Now, why did he say that? If he were willing to exercise his magic powers and reveal the mystery of flight, master and disciples could cross even a thousand rivers. He knew, however, that the Tang Monk had not yet perfected the sacred number of nine times nine. That one remaining ordeal made it necessary for them to be detained at the spot.

As master and disciples conversed and walked slowly up to the edge of the water, they suddenly heard someone calling, “Tang Sage Monk! Tang Sage Monk! Come this way! Come this way!” Startled, the four of them looked all around but could not see any sign of a human being or a boat. Then they caught sight of a huge, white, scabby-headed turtle at the shoreline. “Old Master,” he cried with outstretched neck, “I have waited for you for so many years! Have you returned only at this time?”

“Old Turtle,” replied Pilgrim, smiling, “we troubled you in a year past, and today we meet again.” Tripitaka, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk could not have been more pleased. “If indeed you want to serve us,” said Pilgrim, “come up on the shore.” The turtle crawled up the bank. Pilgrim told his companions to guide the horse onto the turtle’s back. As before, Eight Rules squatted at the rear of the horse, while the Tang Monk and Sha Monk took up positions to the left and to the right of the horse. With one foot on the turtle’s head and another on his neck, Pilgrim said, “Old Turtle, go steadily.”

His four legs outstretched, the old turtle moved through the water as if he were on dry level ground, carrying all five of them—master, disciples, and the horse—straight toward the eastern shore. Thus it is that

In Advaya’s⁵ gate will Dharma profound

Reveal Heav’n and Earth and demons confound.

The original visage now they see;

Causes find perfection in one body.

Freely they move when Triyāna’s won,

And when the elixir’s nine turns are done.

The luggage and the staff there’s no need to tote,

Glad to return on old turtle afloat.

Carrying the pilgrims on his back, the old turtle trod on the waves and proceeded for more than half a day. Late in the afternoon they were near the eastern shore when he suddenly asked this question: “Old Master, in that year when I took you across, I begged you to question Tathāgata, once you got to see him, when I would find my sought-after refuge and how much longer would I live. Did you do that?”

Now, that elder, since his arrival at the Western Heaven, had been preoccupied with bathing in the Jade Perfection Abbey, being renewed at Cloud-Transcending Ferry, and bowing to the various sage monks, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. When he walked up the Spirit Mountain, he fixed his thought on the worship of Buddha and on the acquisition of scriptures, completely banishing from his mind all other concerns. He did not, of course, ask about the allotted age of the old turtle. Not daring to lie, however, he fell silent and did not answer the question for a long time. Perceiving that Tripitaka had not asked the Buddha for him, the old turtle shook his body once and dove with a splash into the depths. The four pilgrims, the horse, and the scriptures all fell into the water as well. Ah! It was fortunate that the Tang Monk had cast off his mortal frame and attained the Way. If he were like the person he had been before, he would have sunk straight to the bottom. The white horse, moreover, was originally a dragon, while Eight Rules and Sha Monk both were quite at home in the water. Smiling broadly, Pilgrim made a great display of his magic powers by hauling the Tang Monk right out of the water and onto the eastern shore. But the scriptures, the clothing, and the saddle were completely soaked.

Master and disciples had just climbed up the riverbank when suddenly a violent gale arose; the sky darkened immediately and both thunder and lightning began as rocks and grit flew everywhere. What they felt was

One gust of wind

And the whole world teetered;

One clap of thunder

And both mountains and streams shuddered.

One flash of lightning

Shot flames through the clouds;

One sky of fog

Enveloped this great Earth.

The wind’s mighty howl;

The thunder’s violent roar;

The lightning’s scarlet streaks;

The fog blanking moon and stars.

The wind hurtled dust and dirt at their faces;

The thunder sent tigers and leopards into hiding;

The lightning raised among the fowl a ruckus;

The fog made the woods and trees disappear.

That wind caused waves in the Heaven-Reaching River to toss and churn;

That lightning lit up the Heaven-Reaching River down to its bottom;

That thunder terrified the Heaven-Reaching River’s dragons and fishes;

That fog covered the shores of Heaven-Reaching River with a shroud of darkness.

Marvelous wind!

Mountains cracked as pines and bamboos toppled.

Marvelous thunder!

Its power stirred insects and injured humans.

Marvelous lightning!

Like a gold snake it brightened both land and sky.

Marvelous fog!

It surged through the air to screen the Ninefold Heaven.

So terrified were the pilgrims that Tripitaka held firmly to the scripture wraps and Sha Monk threw himself on the poles. While Eight Rules clung to the white horse, Pilgrim wielded his iron rod with both hands to give protection left and right. That wind, fog, thunder, and lightning, you see, had been a storm brought on by invisible demons, who wanted to snatch away the scriptures the pilgrims had acquired. The commotion lasted all night, and only by morning did the storm subside. Soaked from top to bottom and shaking all over, the elder said, “Wukong, how did this storm come about?”

“Master, you don’t seem to understand,” said Pilgrim, panting heavily, “that when we escorted you to acquire these scriptures, we had, in fact, robbed Heaven and Earth of their creative powers. For our success meant that we could share the age of the universe; like the light of the sun and moon, we would enjoy life everlasting for we had put on an incorruptible body. Our success, however, had also incurred the envy of Heaven and Earth, the jealousy of both demons and gods, who wanted to snatch away the scriptures from us. They could not do so only because the scriptures were thoroughly wet and because they had been shielded by your rectified dharma-body, which could not be harmed by thunder, lightning, or fog. Moreover, old Monkey was brandishing his iron rod to exercise the nature of pure yang and give you protection. Now that it is morning, the forces of yang are evermore in ascendancy, and the demons cannot prevail.”

Only then did Tripitaka, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk realize what had taken place, and they all thanked Pilgrim repeatedly. In a little while, the sun was way up in the sky, and they moved the scriptures to high ground so that the wraps could be opened and their contents dried. To this day the boulders have remained on which the scriptures were spread out and sunned. By the side of the boulders they also spread out their own clothing and shoes. As they stood, sat, or jumped about, truly this was their situation:

The one pure yang body facing the light

Has put invisible demons all to flight.

Know that true scriptures will o’er water prevail.

They fear not the thunder-and-lightning assail.

Henceforth to Sambodhi they’ll go in peace,

And to fairy land they’ll return with ease.

Rocks for sunning scriptures are still found here,

Though no demon would ever dare come near.

The four of them were examining the scriptures scroll by scroll to see if they had completely dried when some fishermen arrived at the shore. When they saw the pilgrims, one of the fishermen recognized them and said, “Old Masters, aren’t you the ones who crossed this river some years ago on your way to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures?”

“Indeed, we are!” replied Eight Rules. “Where are you from? How is it that you recognize us?”

“We are from the Chen Village,” said the fisherman. “How far is the village from here?” asked Eight Rules. The fisherman said, “Due south of this canal, about twenty miles.”

“Master,” said Eight Rules, “let’s move the scriptures to the Chen Village and dry them there. They have a place for us to sit and food for us to eat. We can even ask their family to starch our clothing. Isn’t that better than staying here?”

“Let’s not go there,” replied Tripitaka. “As soon as the scriptures are dried here, we can collect them and be on our way.”

The fishermen, however, went back south of the canal and ran right into Chen Cheng. “Number Two,” they cried, “the masters who offered themselves as sacrifice-substitutes for your children years ago have returned.” “Where did you see them?” asked Chen Cheng. Pointing with their hands, the fishermen said, “Near the boulders over there, where they’re sunning scrolls of scriptures.”

Chen Cheng took some of his farmhands and ran past the canal. When he caught sight of the pilgrims, he hurriedly went to his knees and said, “Venerable Fathers, now that you have returned, having accomplished your work and merit of acquiring scriptures, why did you not come straight to our home? Why are you loitering here instead? Please, please come to our home!”

“Wait till we’ve dried the scriptures in the sun,” said Pilgrim, “and we’ll go with you.” “How is it,” asked Chen Cheng again, “that the clothing and scriptures of the venerable fathers are soaking wet?”

“In that previous year,” replied Tripitaka, “we were indebted to a white turtle for taking us on his back to the western shore. This time he again offered to carry us back to the eastern shore. When we were about to reach the bank, he asked me whether I had remembered to inquire of Buddha for him about how much longer it would take for him to achieve human form. I had actually forgotten about the matter, and he dove into the water. That was how we got wet.”

After Tripitaka had thus given a thorough account of what had taken place, Chen Cheng kowtowed and urged them to go back to the house. At length Tripitaka gave in, and they began to collect the scriptures together. They did not expect, however, that several scrolls of the Buddha-carita-kāvya Sūtra would be stuck to the rocks, and a part of the sūtra’s ending was torn off. This is why the sūtra today is not a complete text, and the top of that particular boulder on which the sūtra had dried still retains some traces of writing. “We’ve been very careless!” said Tripitaka sorrowfully. “We should have been more vigilant.”

“Hardly! Hardly!” said Pilgrim, laughing. “After all, even Heaven and Earth are not perfect. This sūtra may have been perfect, but a part of it has been torn off precisely because only in that condition will it correspond to the profound mystery of nonperfection. What happened isn’t something human power could anticipate or change!” After master and disciples had finished packing up the scriptures, they headed for the village with Chen Cheng.

The news of the pilgrims’ arrival was passed from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand, till all the people, old and young, came to receive them. When Chen Qing got the news, he immediately set up an incense altar in front of his door and called for drummers and musicians to play. The moment they arrived, Chen led his entire household to kowtow to the pilgrims so as to thank them once more for their previous kindness of saving their children. Then he ordered tea and maigre for them.

Since Tripitaka had partaken of the immortal victuals prepared for him by the Buddhist Patriarch, and since he had been delivered from his mortal frame to become a Buddha, he had no desire at all for profane food. The two old men begged and begged, and only to please them did he pick up the merest morsel. The Great Sage Sun, who never ate much cooked food anyway, said almost immediately, “Enough!” Sha Monk did not show much appetite either. As for Eight Rules, even he did not resemble his former self, for he soon put down his bowl.

“Idiot, aren’t you eating anymore?” asked Pilgrim.

“I don’t know why,” said Eight Rules, “but my stomach seems to have weakened all at once!” They therefore put away the food, and the two old men asked about the enterprise of scripture seeking. Tripitaka gave a thorough account of how they bathed at the Jade Perfection Abbey first, how their bodies turned light and agile at the Cloud-Transcending Ferry, how they bowed to Tathāgata at Thunderclap, and how they were feted beneath the precious tower and received scriptures at the treasure loft. He then went on to tell how the two Honored Ones, failing to obtain a gift at first, gave them wordless scriptures instead, how the second audience with Tathāgata had resulted in acquiring a canonical sum of scriptures, how the white turtle dove into the water, and how invisible demons tried to rob them. After this detailed rehearsal, he immediately wanted to leave.

The entire household of the two old men, of course, absolutely refused to let them go. “We could never have repaid,” they said, “your profound kindness in saving the lives of our son and daughter except by building a temple to your memory. We have named it the Life-Saving Monastery so that we might offer you the perpetual sacrifice of incense.” Then they called Chen Guanbao and One Load of Gold, the son and daughter for whom Pilgrim and Eight Rules originally served as substitutes on that occasion of child-sacrifice, to come out to kowtow again to their benefactors before they invited the pilgrims to view the monastery.

Leaving the scripture-wraps in front of their family hall, Tripitaka recited a scroll of the Precious Permanence Sūtra for their entire household. When they reached the monastery, food had already been laid out there by the Chen family. Hardly had they been seated than another banquet was sent in by another family. Before they could even raise their chopsticks, still another banquet was brought in. There seemed, in fact, to be an unending stream of visitors and food vying for the pilgrims’ attention. Not wishing to decline such sincere display of the people’s hospitality, Tripitaka forced himself to make some show of tasting what was set before him. That monastery, by the way, was a handsome building indeed.

The temple’s bright red-painted doors

Reflect the work of all donors.

From that moment one edifice would rise

With two porticoes adding to its size.

Screens and casements scarlet;

Seven treasures exquisite.

Incense and clouds interlace

As pure light floods the airy space.

A few young cypresses need water still:

Pines have yet to form clusters on the hill.

A living stream in front

Reaches Heaven with its tossing billows;

A tall ridge behind,

The mountain range through which the earth pulse flows.

After he had looked at the monastery from the outside, Tripitaka then went up to the tall tower, where he found the four statues of himself and his disciples.

When Eight Rules saw these, he gave Pilgrim a tug and said, “Your statue looks very much like you!” “Second Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “yours has great resemblance, too. But Master’s seems to look even more handsome.” “It’s about right! It’s about right!” said Tripitaka, and they descended the tower. In the front hall and the rear corridor, more vegetarian dishes were laid out for them.

Pilgrim asked the Chens, “Whatever happened to the shrine of that Great King?”

“It was pulled down that very year,” replied the two old men. “Since this monastery was built, Venerable Father, we have been enjoying a rich harvest every year. This has to be the blessing you bestowed on us.”

“It’s actually the gift of Heaven!” said Pilgrim, chuckling. “We have nothing to do with it. But after we leave this time, we shall try to give you all the protection we can, so that the families of your entire village may enjoy abundant posterity, the peaceful births of the six beasts, and annually wind and rain in due season.” All the people kowtowed again to express their thanks.

Before and behind the monastery, there seemed to have gathered a numberless crowd all wanting to offer fruits and maigre to their benefactors. With a giggle Eight Rules said, “It’s just my lousy luck! At the time when I could eat, there wasn’t a single household that would give me ten meals. Today I have no appetite, but one family after another is pressing me with invitations.” Though he felt stuffed, he raised his hands slightly and once more devoured eight or nine platters of vegetarian food. Though he claimed his stomach had weakened, he nonetheless put away twenty or thirty buns. The pilgrims all ate to their fullest capacity, but still there were other households waiting to invite them. “What contribution have these disciples made,” said Tripitaka, “that we should receive such great outpouring of your affection? I beg you all to call a halt tonight. Wait till tomorrow and we shall be glad to be the recipients again.”

It was already deep in the night. As he wanted to guard the true scriptures, Tripitaka dared not leave. He remained seated below the tower and meditated, so as to watch his possessions. By about the hour of the third watch, Tripitaka whispered, “Wukong, the people here have already perceived that we have finished our enterprise and attained the Way. As the ancients put it,

The adept does not show himself;

He who shows himself’s no adept.

If they detain us too long, I fear that we may lose out in our main enterprise.”

“What you say is quite right, Master,” replied Pilgrim. “While it is still deep in the night and people are all sound asleep, let us leave quietly.” Eight Rules now had become quite alert, and Sha Monk was most understanding. Even the white horse seemed to know their thoughts. They all arose, silently loaded the packs on the saddle, took up the poles, and toted their belongings through the corridor. When they reached the monastery gate, they found it padlocked. Using his magic, Pilgrim opened the locks on both the second-level gate and the main gate. As they were searching for the way toward the East, a voice rang out in midair. “You who are fleeing,” cried the Eight Vajra Guardians, “follow us!” As the elder smelled a strange fragrance, he rose with the others into the wind. Truly

Elixir formed, he knows the original face;⁶

His healthy frame, natural and free, bows to his lord.

We do not know how he finally managed to see the Tang emperor; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.