Bodhisattva said, "There is an old saying:
If you want to have a future, Don't act heedless of the future.You have already transgressed in the Region Above and yet you have not changed your violent ways but indulge in the taking of life. Don't you know that both crimes will be punished?"
"The future! The future!" said the fiend.
"If I listen to you, I might as well feed on the wind! The proverb says,
you follow the law of the court, you'll be beaten to death;
If you follow the law of Buddha, you'll be starved to death!
Let me go! Let me go! I would much prefer catching a few travelers and munching on the plump and juicy lady of the family.
Why should I care about two crimes, three crimes, a thousand crimes, or ten thousand crimes?"
"There is a saying," said the Bodhisattva,
A man with good intent
Will win Heaven's assent.
If you are willing to return to the fruits of truth, there will be means to sustain your body. There are five kinds of grain in this world and they all can relieve hunger. Why do you need to pass the time by devouring humans?"
When the fiend heard these words, he was like one who woke from a dream, and he said to the Bodhisattva, "I would very much like to follow the truth. But since I have offended Heaven, even my prayers are of little avail."
"I have received the decree from Buddha to go to the Land of the East to find a scripture pilgrim," said the Bodhisattva. "You can follow him as his disciple and make a trip to the Western Heaven; your merit will cancel out your sins and you will surely be delivered from your calamities."
"I'm willing. I'm willing," promised the fiend with enthusiasm. The Bodhisattva then touched his head and gave him the instructions. Pointing to his body as a sign, she gave him the surname "Zhu" and the religious name "Wuneng."
From that moment on, he accepted the commandment to return to the real. He fasted and ate only a vegetable diet, abstaining from the five forbidden viands and the three undesirable foods so as to wait single-mindedly for the scripture pilgrim.
The Bodhisattva and Mokṣa took leave of Wuneng and proceeded again halfway between cloud and mist. As they were journeying, they saw in midair a young dragon calling for help. The Bodhisattva drew near and asked, "What dragon are you and why are you suffering here?"
The dragon said, "I am the son of Aorun, Dragon King of the Western Ocean. Because I inadvertently set fire to the palace and burned some of the pearls there in, my father the king memorialized to the Court of Heaven and charged me with grave disobedience. The Jade Emperor hung me in the sky and gave me three hundred lashes and I shall be executed in a few days. I beg the Bodhisattva to save me."
When Guanyin heard these words, she rushed with Mokṣa up to the South Heaven Gate. She was received by Qiu and Zhang, the two Celestial Masters, who asked her, "Where are you going?"
"This humble cleric needs to have an audience with the Jade Emperor," said the Bodhisattva. The two Celestial Masters promptly made the report and the Jade Emperor left the hall to receive her.
After presenting her greetings, the Bodhisattva said, "By the decree of Buddha, this humble cleric is journeying to the Land of the East to find ascripture pilgrim. On the way I met a mischievous dragon hanging in the sky. I have come specially to beg you to spare his life and grant him to me. He can be a good means of transportation for the scripture pilgrim."
When the Jade Emperor heard these words, he at once gave the decree of pardon, ordering the Heavenly sentinels to release the dragon to the Bodhisattva.
The Bodhisattva thanked the Emperor, while the young dragon also kowtowed to the Bodhisattva to thank her for saving his life and pledged obedience to her command.
The Bodhisattva then sent him to live in a deep mountain stream with the instruction that when the scripture pilgrim should arrive, he was to change into a white horse and go to the Western Heaven.
The young dragon obeyed the order and hid himself, and we shall speak no more of him for the moment.
The Bodhisattva then led Mokṣa past the mountain, and they headed again toward the Land of the East. They had not traveled long before they suddenly came upon ten thousand shafts of golden light and a thousand layers of radiant vapor.
"Teacher," said Mokṣa, "that luminous place must be the Mountain of Five Phases. I can see the tag of Tathāgata imprinted on it."
"So, beneath this place," said the Bodhisattva, "is where the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, who disturbed Heaven and the Festival of Immortal Peaches, is being imprisoned."
"Yes, indeed," said Mokṣa. The mentor and her disciple ascended the mountain and looked at the tag, on which was inscribed the divine words Oṁ mani padme hūṁ.
When the Bodhisattva saw this, she could not help sighing, and composed the following poem:
I rue the impish ape not heeding the Law,
Who let loose wild heroics in bygone years.
His mind puffed up, he wrecked the Peach Banquet
And boldly stole in Tushita Palace.
He found no worthy match in ten thousand troops;
Through Ninefold Heaven he displayed his power.
Imprisoned now by Sovereign Tathāgata,
When will he be free to show once more his might?
As mentor and disciple were speaking, they disturbed the Great Sage, who shouted from the base of the mountain, "Who is up there on the mountain composing verses to expose my faults?" When the Bodhisattva heard those words, she came down the mountain to take a look.
There beneath the rocky ledges were the local spirit, the mountain god and the Heavenly sentinels guarding the Great Sage. They all came and bowed to receive the Bodhisattva, leading her before the Great Sage.
She looked and saw that he was pinned down in a kind of stone box: though he could speak, he could not move his body. "You whose name is Sun," said the Bodhisattva, "do you recognize me?"
The Great Sage opened wide his fiery eyes and diamond pupils and nodded. "How could I not recognize you?" he cried. "You are the Mighty Deliverer, the Great Compassionate Bodhisattva Guanyin from the Potalaka Mountain of the South Sea. Thank you, thank you for coming to see me! At this place every day is like a year, for not a single acquaintance has ever come to visit me. Where did you come from?"
"I have received the decree from Buddha," said the Bodhisattva, "to go to the Land of the East to find a scripture pilgrim. Since I was passing through here, I rested my steps briefly to see you."
"Tathāgata deceived me," said the Great Sage, "and imprisoned me beneath this mountain. For over five hundred years already I have not been able to move. I implore the Bodhisattva to show a little mercy and rescue old Monkey!"
"Your sinful karma is very deep," said the Bodhisattva. "If I rescue you, I fear that you will again perpetrate violence and that will be bad indeed."
"Now I know the meaning of penitence," said the Great Sage. "So I entreat the Great Compassion to show me the proper path, for I am willing to practice cultivation."
Truly it is that
One wish born in the heart of man
Is known throughout Heaven and Earth.
If vice or virtue lacks reward,
Unjust must be the universe.
When the Bodhisattva heard those words from the prisoner, she was filled with pleasure and said to the Great Sage, "The scripture says,
When a good word is spoken,
An answer will come from beyond a thousand miles;
When an evil word is spoken,
Opposition will hail from beyond a thousand miles.
If you have such a purpose, wait until I reach the Great Tang Nation in the Land of the East and find the scripture pilgrim. He will be told to come and rescue you, and you can follow him as a disciple. You shall keep the teachings and hold the rosary to enter our gate of Buddha, so that you may again cultivate the fruits of righteousness. Will you do that?"
"I'm willing, I'm willing," said the Great Sage repeatedly.
"If you are indeed seeking the fruits of virtue," said the Bodhisattva, "let me give you a religious name."
"I have one already," said the Great Sage, "and I'm called Sun Wukong."
"There were two persons before you who came into our faith," said the delighted
Bodhisattva, "and their names, too, are built on the word 'Wu'. Your name will agree with theirs perfectly and that is splendid indeed. I need not give you any more instruction, for I must be going."
So our Great Sage, with manifest nature and enlightened mind returned to the Buddhist faith, while our Bodhisattva, with attention and diligence, sought the divine monk.
She left the place with Mokṣa and proceeded straight to the east; in a few days they reached Chang'an of the Great Tang Nation.
Forsaking the mist and abandoning the cloud, mentor and disciple changed themselves into two wandering monks covered with scabby sores and went into the city. It was already dusk. As they walked through one of the main streets, they saw a temple of the local spirit.
They both went straight in, alarming the spirit and the demon guards, who recognized the Bodhisattva. They kowtowed to receive her, and the local spirit then ran quickly to report to the city's guardian deity, the god of the soil, and the spirits of various temples of Chang'an. When they learned that it was the Bodhisattva, they all came to pay homage, saying, "Bodhisattva, please pardon us for being tardy in our reception."
"None of you," said the Bodhisattva, "should let a word of this leak out! I came here by the special decree of Buddha to look for a scripture pilgrim. I would like to stay just for a few days in one of your temples, and I shall depart when the true monk is found."
The various deities went back to their own places, but they sent the local spirit off to the residence of the city's guardian deity so that the teacher and the disciple could remain incognito in the spirit's temple.
We do not know what sort of scripture pilgrim was found. Let's listen to the explanation in the next chapter.