The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 (78 page)

    
The bronze mallet was kept busy all the time,

    
Blocking staff on the left and rake on the right.

The three of them fought for some two hours underneath the water and no decision could be reached. Supposing that they could not prevail against him, Eight Rules winked at Sha Monk, and the two of them at once feigned defeat. They turned and fled, their weapons trailing behind them. “Little ones,” ordered the fiend, “stay here. Let me catch up with these fellows and bring them back for you to eat.” Look at him! Like the wind blowing dead leaves and the rain beating down the withered flowers, he pursued them right up to the surface of the water.

On
the eastern shore, the Great Sage Sun was staring at the water with unblinking eyes. Suddenly huge waves arose in the river and there were shouts and roars. Eight Rules was the first to leap ashore, crying, “He’s coming! He’s coming!” Sha Monk, too, rushed up to the bank, crying, “He’s coming! He’s coming!” He was pursued by the fiend, who yelled, “Where are you running to?” No sooner did he clear the water, however, than he was met by Pilgrim, shouting, “Watch the rod!” Quickly swerving to dodge the blow, the fiend met him with upraised mallet. One of them churned up the waves near the edge of the river, while the other showed forth his power on the bank. Before they reached even three rounds after they closed in, the fiend had already weakened. With a splash he plunged back into the river and disappeared; the wind and the waves thus subsided.

Pilgrim went back to high ground and said, “Brothers, you’ve worked very hard!” “Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “this monster-spirit might not do so well on land, but he was quite formidable beneath the water. Second Elder Brother and I attacked him left and right and both of us could only manage to fight him to a draw. What shall we do to rescue Master?” “Let’s not dillydally,” said Pilgrim, “for I fear that he may harm Master.” “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, “we’ll go and try to entice him to come out again. You be quiet and wait for him in midair. Once his head emerges, you give him one of those garlic-pounding blows squarely on the top of his skull. Even if you don’t kill him, you’ll knock him dazed. Old Hog can then finish him off with one blow of the rake.” “Exactly! Exactly!” said Pilgrim. “That’s what we call mutual cooperation. Only that can accomplish anything.” The two of them dove into the water again, and we shall leave them for the moment.

We tell you now about that fiend, who fled in defeat and returned to his residence. As the various fiends met him, the perch-mother went up to him and said, “Great King, where did you chase those two monks to?” The fiend said, “I didn’t realize that those monks have another helper, who, when they leaped ashore, tried to hit me with an iron rod. I dodged the blow and fought with him. God knows how heavy that rod of his is! My bronze mallet could not stand up to it at all. Before we finished three rounds, I had to flee in defeat.” “Great King,” said the perch-mother, “can you remember how that helper looked?” “He has a hairy face and a thunder-god beak,” said the fiend, “forked ears and broken nose. A monk with fiery eyes and diamond pupils.” When the perch-mother heard this, she shuddered and said, “O Great King! It was smart of you to flee, and you escaped with your life! Three more rounds and you won’t live at all! I know who that monk is.” “Who is he?” asked the fiend. “Some years back I was living in the Great Eastern Ocean,” said the perch-mother, “and I heard the old Dragon King talking about him and his reputation. This monk is the Great Sage, Equal to
Heaven,
the Handsome Monkey King who is a golden immortal of the great monad and of the primal chaos in the Region Above. Five hundred years ago, he caused great havoc in the Celestial Palace, but now he has embraced Buddhism to accompany the Tang Monk to go to the Western Heaven for scriptures. He has changed his name to Pilgrim Sun Wukong. He has tremendous magic powers and knows many ways of transformation. Great King, how could you tangle with him? From now on, you must not fight with him at all.” Hardly had she finished speaking when one of the little imps dashed in to report, “Great King, those two monks are here again to provoke battle.” The monster-spirit said, “My worthy sister’s opinion is very sound! I’m not going to face them again. See what they can do!” He gave hurriedly this order, “Little ones, shut the gates. As the proverb says,

    
You may call outside the door;

    
Your cries I’ll wholly ignore!

They may even stay here for a couple of days, but when they get tired of it, they’ll leave. Then we can freely and leisurely enjoy the Tang Monk.” All those little fiends started to haul rocks and mud to seal up the entrance to the residence. When Eight Rules and Sha Monk shouted repeatedly without receiving any reply, Idiot in perturbation began to batter the gates with his rake. The gates, of course, were tightly shut, but a few blows of the rake broke them down. Inside the gates, however, was a solid wall of mud and rocks piled sky-high. When Sha Monk saw it, he said, “Second Elder Brother, this fiend is terribly afraid, and that’s why he shuts himself up and refuses to come out. You and I should go back up to shore and discuss the matter with Big Brother.” Eight Rules agreed and they returned to the eastern shore.

Halfway between cloud and fog, Pilgrim stood waiting and holding his iron rod. When he saw the two of them emerge without the fiend, he lowered his cloud and met them on the bank. “Brothers,” he asked, “how is it that that thing has not come up?” Sha Monk said, “The fiend has shut his doors tightly and refused to come out to meet us. When Second Elder Brother broke the doors, we ran into a solid wall of mud and rocks inside. That’s why we could not even do battle with him. We decided to return to talk to you and see how we could make plans to rescue Master.” “If that’s how he behaves,” said Pilgrim, “it’s quite hard to think of anything to overcome him. You two had better patrol the banks to make certain that he doesn’t escape to another place. Let me make a trip.” “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, “where are you going?” Pilgrim said, “I’m going to the Potalaka Mountain to make inquiry of the Bodhisattva. I want to find out the origin of this monster, his name, and how I may search out his ancestral home. After I have seized his kinsfolk and all his relations, I can return here to
rescue
Master.” With a laugh, Eight Rules said, “Elder Brother, the way you do things will waste a lot of time and energy!” “I won’t waste any time or energy!” said Pilgrim. “I go, and I’ll be back at once!”

Dear Great Sage! Mounting the auspicious luminosity quickly, he left the river and headed straight for the South Sea. In less than half an hour, the Potalaka Mountain came into sight as he lowered his cloud and went up to the summit. The Twenty-four devas, the Great Mountain-Guardian, the disciple Mok
ṣ
a, Child Sudhana, and the Pearl-Bearing Dragon Girl all came forward to greet him. “Why did the Great Sage come here?” they asked, and Pilgrim said, “I must see the Bodhisattva.” “The Bodhisattva left the cave this morning,” said the deities, “and forbade anyone to follow her. She went by herself into the bamboo grove, though she left word that you would arrive today and that we should be here to receive you. She said she would not be able to see you immediately and she asked you to be seated before the cliff for awhile and wait for her to come out.”

Pilgrim obeyed and before he had even taken a seat, the Child Sudhana approached him bowing and said, “Great Sage Sun, I must thank you for your past kindness. The Bodhisattva was gracious enough to take me in and I have been her constant companion, waiting upon her beneath her lotus platform. She has, in fact, shown me great favors.” Recognizing that he was formerly the Red Boy, Pilgrim said with a laugh, “In the past you were gripped by demonic delusions. Now that you have attained the right fruit, you must realize that old Monkey is a good person!”

After having waited for a long time, Pilgrim grew very anxious, and he said, “Please make the announcement for me, all of you. If there’s further delay, I do fear for my master’s life.” “We dare not,” said the deities, “for the Bodhisattva gave specific instruction that you should wait for her to come out.” As he had always been impulsive, Pilgrim, of course, could stand it no longer and dashed all at once into the bamboo grove. Aha!

    
This Handsome Monkey King

    
Was by nature most impulsive.

    
The devas could not detain him

    
When he wished to go inside.

    
Deep into the grove he strode,

    
His open eyes stealing a glance.

    
There the salvific Honored-One

    
Sat, cross-legged, on bamboo leaves.

    
Carefree and without makeup

    
She looked so gentle and mild.

    
Her tresses, undone, flowed down;

    
She
had no headgear with fringes.

    
Her blue robe she did not wear,

    
But only a small waistcoat.

    
A silk skirt wrapped round her waist.

    
Her two feet were both naked.

    
Her cloak’s silk sash was untied;

    
Her two arms were completely bare.

    
Her jadelike hand held up a knife

    
With which she peeled off bamboo skin.

When Pilgrim saw her, he could not refrain from calling aloud, “Bodhisattva, your disciple, Sun Wukong, pays you sincere homage.” “Wait outside,” commanded the Bodhisattva. Pilgrim went to his knees to kowtow, saying, “Bodhisattva, my master is facing a terrible ordeal. I came especially to ask you concerning the origin of the fiend at Heaven-Reaching River.” “Go out of the grove,” said the Bodhisattva, “and wait till I come out.”

Not daring to force her, Pilgrim had no choice but to walk out of the bamboo grove. He said to the various devas, “The Bodhisattva seems to be all wrapped up today in her domestic affairs. Why is she not sitting at her lotus platform? Why is she not made up? Why does she look so gloomy, making bamboo slips in the grove?” “We don’t know,” said the deities. “When she left the cave this morning, she went at once into the grove before she was even properly dressed. She told us also to wait for the Great Sage, and she must be doing something for your affairs.” Pilgrim could do nothing but wait.

After awhile, the Bodhisattva emerged from the grove holding a purple-bamboo basket. “Wukong,” she said, “I’ll go with you to rescue the Tang Monk.” Kneeling down hurriedly, Pilgrim said, “Your disciple dares not press you. Let the Bodhisattva dress and ascend her seat first.” “No need to dress,” said the Bodhisattva. “I can go with you just like this.” Abandoning the devas, the Bodhisattva mounted the auspicious clouds immediately and rose into the air. Great Sage Sun had to follow her!

In a moment, they arrived at the Heaven-Reaching River. On seeing them, Eight Rules said to Sha Monk, “Elder Brother is so impulsive! I wonder what sort of wild clamor he made at South Sea that forced an undressed and unadorned Bodhisattva to come here!” Hardly had he finished speaking when the Bodhisattva landed on the bank. Bowing, the two disciples said, “Bodhisattva, we have intruded upon you. Please forgive us!” Untying her sash from her vest, the Bodhisattva fastened it to the basket and rose halfway into the air on the clouds. She held the sash and lowered the basket into the river, pulling it toward the upper reach. Then she recited a spell,
saying,
“The dead depart; the living remain! The dead depart, the living remain!” She repeated this seven times and then lifted up the basket. Inside was a shiny goldfish, still blinking its eyes and tossing about.

“Wukong,” cried the Bodhisattva, “go into the water quickly and rescue your master.”

“But we have not yet captured the fiend,” said Pilgrim. “How could we rescue Master?” “Isn’t the fiend in the basket?” asked the Bodhisattva. Bowing, Eight Rules and Sha Monk said, “How could the little fish get to be so powerful?”

“He is a goldfish reared in my lotus pond,” said the Bodhisattva. “Every day, he would float with the current to the surface to listen to my lectures, and his powers were acquired from his self-cultivation. That nine-petaled bronze mallet is a stalk supporting an unopened lotus bud, which the process of his magic cultivation has made into a weapon. I don’t know which day it was when high tide carried him to this place. When I watched my flowers leaning on the railing this morning, this fellow did not come out to greet me. I made calculations then by consulting the grooves on my fingers and learned that he had become a spirit here, seeking to harm your master. That was why I did not even bother to put on my clothes or jewels, for I was exercising my divine powers to fashion this basket to catch him.”

“Bodhisattva,” said Pilgrim, “please remain here for a moment. Let me go and call together the believers in the Chen village so that they may gaze upon your golden visage. This will be your great favor toward them, and, moreover, the account of how you have captured the fiend will help these mortal humans to become your devout worshippers.” “All right,” said the Bodhisattva. “Go and call them together quickly.” Eight Rules and Sha Monk sprinted back to the village, screaming, “Come, all of you, to see the living Bodhisattva Guanyin!” The inhabitants of the entire village, young and old, all rushed to the edge of the river. Without regard for the mud and water, they all knelt down and kowtowed. Someone skilled in painting among them at once made a portrait of the goddess, and that was how the picture of the Guanyin with a fish basket came about. Thereafter, the Bodhisattva returned to South Sea.