After the Buddhist Patriarch had pressed together his hands to thank the Queen Mother, she ordered the immortal singing girls and the divine maidens to sing and dance. All the immortals at the banquet applauded enthusiastically. Truly there were
Whorls of Heavenly incense filling the seats,
And profuse array of divine petals and stems.
Jade capital and golden arches in what great splendor!
How priceless, too, the strange goods and rare treasures!
Every pair had the same age as Heaven.
Every set increased through ten thousand kalpas.
Mulberry fields or vast oceans, let them shift and change.
He who lives here has neither grief nor fear.
The Queen Mother commanded the immortal maidens to sing and dance, as wine cups and goblets clinked together steadily. After a little while, suddenly
A wondrous fragrance came to meet the nose,
Rousing Stars and Planets in that great hall.
The gods and the Buddha put down their cups.
Raising his head, each waited with his eyes.
There in the air appeared an aged man,
Holding a most luxuriant long-life plant.
His gourd had elixir often thousand years.
His book listed names twelve millennia old.
Sky and earth in his cave knew no constraint.
Sun and moon were perfected in his vase.
He roamed the Four Seas in joy serene,
And made the Ten Islets his tranquil home.
Getting drunk often at the Peaches Feast
He woke; the moon shone brightly as of old.
He had a long head, short frame, and large ears.
His name: Star of Long Life from South Pole.
After the Star of Long Life arrived and greeted the Jade Emperor, he also went up to thank Tathāgata, saying, "When I first heard that the baneful monkey was being led by Laozi to the Tushita Palace to be refined by alchemical fire, I thought peace was surely secured. I never suspected that he could still escape and it was fortunate that Tathāgata in his goodness had subdued this monster. When I got word of the thanks giving banquet, I came at once. I have no other gifts to present to you but these purple agaric, jasper plant, jade green lotus root and golden elixir."
The poem says:
Jade-green lotus and golden drug are given to Śākya.
Like the sands of Ganges is the age of Tathāgata.
The brocade of the three wains is calm, eternal bliss.
The nine-grade garland is a wholesome, endless life.
The true master of the Mādhyamika School
Dwells in the Heaven of both form and emptiness.
The great earth and cosmos all call him Lord.
His sixteen-foot diamond frame's great in blessing and age.Tathāgata accepted the thanks cheerfully, and the Star of Long Life went to his seat. Again there was pouring of wine and exchanging of cups.
The Great Immortal of Naked Feet also arrived. After prostrating himself before the Jade Emperor, he too went to thank the Buddhist Patriarch, saying, "I am profoundly grateful for your dharma, which subdued the baneful monkey. I have no other things to convey my respect but two magic pears and some lire dates, which I now present to you."
The poem says:
The Naked- Feet Immortal brought fragrant pears and dates
To give to Amitābha, whose count of years is long.
Firm as a hill is his Lotus Platform of Seven Treasures;
Brocadelike is his Flower Seat of Thousand Gold adorned.
No false speech is this—his age equals Heaven and Earth;
Nor is this a lie—his luck is great as the sea.
Blessing and long life reach in him their fullest scope,
Dwelling in that Western Region of calm, eternal bliss.
Tathāgata again thanked him and asked Ānanda and Kāśyapa to put away the gifts one by one before approaching the Jade Emperor to express his gratitude for the banquet. By now, everyone was somewhat tipsy. A Spirit Minister of Inspection then arrived to make the report, "The Great Sage is sticking out his head!"
"No need to worry," said the Buddhist Patriarch. He took from his sleeve a tag on which were written in gold letters the words Oṁ maṇi padme hūṁ.
Handing it over to Ānanda, he told him to stick it on the top of the mountain. This deva received the tag, took it out of the Heaven Gate and stuck it tightly on a square piece of rock at the top of the Mountain of Five Phases.
The mountain immediately struck root and grew together at the seams, though there was enough space for breathing and for the prisoner's hands to crawl out and move around a bit. Ānanda then returned to report, "The tag is tightly attached."
Tathāgata then took leave of the Jade Emperor and the deities and went with the two devas out of the Heaven Gate. Moved by compassion, he recited a divine spell and called together a local spirit and the Fearless Guards of Five Quarters to stand watch over the Five-Phases Mountain.
They were told to feed the prisoner with iron pellets when he was hungry and to give him melted copper to drink when he was thirsty. When the time of his chastisement was fulfilled, they were told, someone would be coming to deliver him. So it is that
The brash, baneful monkey in revolt against Heaven Is brought to submission by Tathāgata.
He drinks melted copper to endure the seasons, And feeds on iron pellets to pass the time. Tried by this bitter misfortune sent from the Sky, He's glad to be living, though in a piteous lot. If this hero is allowed to struggle anew, He'll serve Buddha in future and go to the West.
Another poem says:
Prideful of his power once the time was ripe,
He tamed dragon and tiger, flaunting wily might. Stealing peaches and wine, he roamed Heaven's He found trust and grace in the City of Jade.
He's now bound, for his evil's full to the brim.
By good stock unfailing his breath will rise again.
If he's indeed to flee Tathāgata's hands,
He must await from Tang court the holy monk.
We do not know in what month or year hereafter the days of his penance will be fulfilled; let's listen to the explanation in the next chapter.