The old woman changed herself into a shaft of golden light and vanished toward the east. Then Tripitaka realized that it was the Bodhisattva Guanyin who had taught him the True Words; he hurriedly picked up a few pinches of earth with his fingers and scattered them like incense, bowing reverently toward the East. He then took the shirt and the cap and hid them in his bag. Sitting beside the road, he began to recite the True Words for Controlling the Mind.
After a few times, he knew it thoroughly by heart, but we shall speak no more of him for the time being.
We now tell you about Wukong, who, having left his master, headed straight toward the Eastern Ocean with a single cloud somersault. He stopped his cloud, opened up a path in the water, and went directly to the Water Crystal Palace. Learning of his arrival, the Dragon King came out to welcome him.
After they had exchanged greetings and sat down, the Dragon King said, "I heard recently that the ordeal of the Great Sage had been completed, and I apologize for not having congratulated you yet. I suppose you have again taken occupancy in your immortal mountain and returned to the ancient cave."
"I was so inclined," said Wukong, "but I became a monk instead."
"What sort of a monk?" asked the Dragon King. "I was indebted to the Bodhisattva of South Sea," said Pilgrim, "who persuaded me to do good and seek the truth. I was to follow the Tang Monk from the Land of the East to go worship Buddha in the West. Since entering the fold of Buddhism, I was given also the name 'Pilgrim'."
"That is indeed praiseworthy!" said the Dragon King. "You have, as we say, left the wrong and followed the right; you have been created anew by setting your mind on goodness. But if that's the case, why are you not going toward the West, but are returning eastward instead?"
Pilgrim laughed and said, "That Tang Monk knows nothing of human nature! There were a few ruffians who wanted to rob us, and I slew them all. But that Tang Monk couldn't stop nagging me, telling me over and over how wrong I was. Can you imagine old Monkey putting up with that sort of tedium? I just left him! I was on my way back to my mountain when I decided to come visit you and ask for a cup of tea."
"Thanks for coming! Thanks for coming!" exclaimed the Dragon King. At that moment, the Dragon sons and grandsons presented them with aromatic tea. When they finished the tea, Pilgrim happened to turn around and saw hanging behind him on the wall a painting on the "Presentation of Shoes at Yi Bridge."
"What's this all about?" asked Pilgrim. The Dragon King replied, "The incident depicted in the painting took place some time after you were born, and you may not recognize what it was—the threefold presentation of shoes at Yi Bridge."
"What do you mean by the threefold presentation of shoes?" asked Pilgrim. "The immortal in the painting," said the Dragon King, "was named Huang Shigong and the young man kneeling in front of him was called Zhang Liang. Shigong was sitting on the Yi Bridge when suddenly one of his shoes fell off and dropped under the bridge.
He asked Zhang Liang to fetch it, and the young man quickly did so, putting it back on for him as he knelt there. This happened three times. Since Zhang Liang did not display the slightest sign of pride or impatience, he won the affection of Shigong, who imparted to him that night a celestial manual and told him to support the house of Han.
Afterwards, Zhang Liang ,made his plans sitting in a military tent to achieve victories a thousand miles away.
When the Han dynasty was established, he left his post and went into the mountains, where he followed the Daoist, Master Red Pine, and became enlightened in the way of immortality.
Great Sage, if you do not accompany the Tang Monk, if you are unwilling to exercise diligence or to accept instruction, you will remain a bogus immortal after all. Don't think that you'll ever acquire the Fruits of Truth." Wukong listened to these words and fell silent for some time.
The Dragon King said, "Great Sage, you must make the decision yourself. It's unwise to allow momentary comfort to jeopardize your future."
"Not another word!" said Wukong. "Old Monkey will go back to accompany him, that's all!"
Delighted, the Dragon King said, "If that's your wish, I dare not detain you. Instead, I ask the Great Sage to show his mercy at once and not permit his master to wait any longer." When Pilgrim heard this exhortation to leave, he bounded right out of the oceanic region; mounting the clouds, he left the Dragon King.
On his way he ran right into the Bodhisattva of South Sea. "Sun Wukong," said the Bodhisattva, "why did you not listen to me and accompany the Tang Monk? What are you doing here?" Pilgrim was so taken aback that he saluted her on top of the clouds. "I'm most grateful for the kind words of the Bodhisattva," he said.
"A monk from the Tang court did appear, lifted the seal, and saved my life. I became his disciple, but he blamed me for being too violent. I walked out on him for a little while, but I'm going back right now to accompany him."
"Go quickly then," said the Bodhisattva, "before you change your mind again." They finished speaking and each went on his way. In a moment, our Pilgrim saw
the Tang Monk sitting dejectedly at the side of the road. He approached him and said, "Master, why are you not on the road? What are you doing here?"
"Where have you been?" asked Tripitaka, looking up. "Your absence has forced me to sit here and wait for you, not daring to walk or move." Pilgrim replied, "I just went to the home of the old Dragon King at the Eastern Ocean to ask for some tea."
"Disciple," said Tripitaka, "those who have left the family should not lie. It was less than an hour since you left me, and you claim to have had tea at the home of the Dragon King?"
"To tell you the truth," said Pilgrim, laughing, "I know how to cloud somersault, and a single somersault will carry me one hundred and eight thousand miles. That's why I can go and return in no time at all."
Tripitaka said, "Because I spoke to you a little sharply, you were offended and left me in a rage. With your ability, you could go and ask for some tea, but a person like me has no other prospect but to sit here and endure hunger. Do you feel comfortable about that?"
"Master," said Pilgrim, "if you're hungry, I'll go beg some food for you."
"There's no need to beg," said Tripitaka, "for I still have in my bag some dried
goods given to me by the mother of Guardian Liu. Fetch me some water in that bowl.I'll eat some food and we can start out again." Pilgrim went to untie the bag and found some biscuits made of unrefined flour, which he took out and handed over to the master.
He then saw light glowing from a silk shirt and a flower cap inlaid with gold. "Did you bring this garment and cap from the Land of the East?" he asked. "I wore these in my childhood," said Tripitaka nonchalantly. "If you wear the hat, you'll know how to recite scriptures without having to learn them; if you put on the garment, you'll know how to perform rituals without having to practice them."
"Dear Master," said Pilgrim, "let me put them on."
"They may not fit you," said Tripitaka, "but if they do, you may wear them." Pilgrim thereupon took off his old shirt made of white cloth and put on the silk shirt, which seemed to have been made especially for him. Then he put on the cap as well. When Tripitaka saw that he had put on the cap, he stopped eating the dried goods and began to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell silently.
"Oh, my head!" cried Pilgrim. "It hurts! It hurts!"
The master went through the recitation several times without ceasing, and the pain was so intense that Pilgrim was rolling on the ground, his hands gripping the flower cap inlaid with gold. Fearing that he might break the gold fillet, Tripitaka stopped reciting and the pain ceased.
Pilgrim touched his head with his hand and felt that it was tightly bound by a thin metal band; it could be neither pulled off nor ripped apart, for it had, as it were, taken root on his head. Taking the needle out of his ear, he rammed it inside the fillet and started prying madly.
Afraid that he might break the fillet with his prying, Tripitaka started his recitation again, and Pilgrim's head began to hurt once more. It was so painful that he did cartwheels and somersaults. His face and even his ears turned red, his eyes bulged, and his body grew weak. When the master saw his appearance, he was moved to break off his recitation, and the pain stopped as before. "My head," said Pilgrim, "the master has put a spell on it."
"I was just saying the Tight-Fillet Sūtra," said Tripitaka. "Since when did I put a spell on you?"
"Recite it some more and see what happens," said Pilgrim. Tripitaka accordingly began to recite, and the Pilgrim immediately started to hurt. "Stop! Stop!" he cried. "I hurt the moment you begin to recite.How do you explain that?"
"Will you listen now to my instructions?" asked Tripitaka. "Yes, I will," replied Pilgrim. "And never be unruly again?"
"I dare not," said Pilgrim.
Although he said that with his mouth, Pilgrim's mind was still devising evil. One wave of the needle and it had the thickness of a rice bowl; he aimed it at the Tang Monk and was about to slam it down on him.
The priest was so startled that he went through the recitation two or three more times. Falling to the ground, the monkey threw away the iron rod and could not even raise his hands.
"Master," he said, "I've learned my lesson! Stop! Please stop!"
"How dare you be so reckless," said Tripitaka, "that you should want to strike me?"
"I wouldn't dare strike you," said Pilgrim, "but let me ask you something. Who taught you this magic?" It was an old woman," said Tripitaka, "who imparted it to me a few moments ago."
Growing very angry, Pilgrim said, "You needn't say anything more! The old woman had to be that Guanshiyin! Why did she want me to suffer like this? I'm going to South Sea to beat her up!"
"If she had taught me this magic," said Tripitaka, "she had to know it even before I did. If you go looking for her, and she starts her recitation, won't you be dead?" Pilgrim saw the logic of this and dared not remove himself.
Indeed, he had no alternative but to kneel in contrition and plead with Tripitaka, saying, "Master, this is her method of controlling me, allowing me no alternative but to follow you to the West. I'll not go to bother her, but you must not regard this spell as a plaything for frequent recitation either! I'm willing to accompany you without ever entertaining the thought of leaving again."
"If that's so," said Tripitaka, "help me onto the horse and let's get going."
At that point, Pilgrim gave up all thoughts of disobedience or rebellion. Eagerly he tugged at his silk shirt and went to gather the luggage together, and they headed again toward the West. We do not know what is to be told after their departure; let's listen to the explanation in the next chapter.