Output:
Eating and sleeping in the open, the three of them traveled on, and before long the heat of summer was upon them.

The blossoms were over, the butterflies’ passion spent.

High in the trees the cicadas screeched.

Wild silkworms spun cocoons amid the pomegranate blossom,

As lotus flowers opened in the pool.

As they were travelling along one evening they saw a cottage beside the road. “Look,” said Sanzang, “the sun is setting behind the Western hills, hiding its mirror of fire, and the moon is rising from the Eastern sea to show its wheel of ice. How lucky that there is a family living by our path. Let’s spend the night here and set off again tomorrow morning.”

“Well said,” put in Pig. “I’m a bit hungry, and if we begged some food from that house I’d have more strength for carrying the luggage.”

“Homesick ghost,” remarked Brother Monkey, “you’ve only been away from home for a few days, but you’re already regretting that you came.”


Output:
“Elder brother,” Pig replied, “I can’t live on wind and mist like you. You couldn’t realize how the hunger’s been gnawing at my stomach all these days I’ve been following our master.”

“Pig,” said Sanzang, “if your heart is still at home, you are not intended for a religious life, and you’d better go back.”

The oafish Pig fell to his knees and pleaded, “Master, please don’t pay any attention to what my elder brother says: it’s an insult. He says I wish I hadn’t come, but in fact I’ve had no regrets at all. I may be stupid, but I’m straight. I just said that I was hungry and want to beg for some food, and he starts calling me a homesick ghost. But the Bodhisattva told me about the prohibitions, and you have been so kind to me; so I really do want to serve you on your journey to the West. I’ll never have any regrets, I swear I won’t. This is what they call ‘cultivating conduct the hard way’. What right have you to say I shouldn’t be a monk?”

“Very well then,” said Sanzang, “up you get.”


Output:
“Very well then,” said Sanzang, “up you get.”

The idiot leapt up, and picked up the carrying-pole, chattering incessantly. Then he pressed grimly on. Before long they reached the roadside house, where Sanzang dismounted as Monkey took the bridle and Pig put down his burden. They all stood in a green shade. Sanzang took his nine-ringed monastic staff, straightened his rattan hat, and hurried to the gates, where he saw an old man lying back on a bamboo bed mumbling Buddhist scriptures to himself.

Not wanting to shout loudly, Sanzang said in a quiet voice, “Greetings, benefactor.”

The old man sprang to his feet, straightened his clothes, and came out through the gate to return his greeting. “Excuse my discourtesy, venerable sir,” he said, going on to ask, “Where are you from, and why have you come to my humble abode?”


Output:
“I am a monk from the Great Tang in the East,” Sanzang replied, “and I bear an imperial command to worship the Buddha in the Thunder Monastery and ask for the scriptures. As we find ourselves in this district at nightfall, I would be enormously obliged if you could allow us to spend the night in your mansion.”

“You’ll never get there,” said the old man with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head. “It’s impossible to get scriptures from the Western Heaven. If you want scriptures you’d better go to the Eastern Heaven.” Sanzang said nothing as he asked himself why the old man was telling them to go East when the Bodhisattva had instructed them to go West. How could the scriptures be obtained in the East, he asked himself. In his embarrassment he was at loss for words, so he made no reply.


Output:
Monkey, who was rough by his very nature, could not stand for this, so he went up to the old man and shouted, “Old fellow, you may be very ancient but you’re a complete fool. We holy men from far away come to ask for lodging, but all you can do is to try to put us off. If your house is too poky and there isn’t room for us to sleep in it, we’ll sit under the trees all night and won’t trouble you any further.” The old man grabbed hold of Sanzang and said, “Master, you didn’t warn me that you had a disciple with such a twisted face and no chin to speak of, looking like a thunder god with his red eyes. You shouldn’t let a demon of sickness like him alarm and offend a person of my age.”

“You’re completely lacking in judgement, old man,” Monkey said with a laugh. “Those pretty boys may look good but, as they say, they don’t taste good. I may be little but I’m tough, and it’s all muscle under my skin.”

“I suppose you must have some powers,” the old man remarked.


Output:
“Without wishing to boast,” Monkey replied, “I can get by.”

“Where is your home,” the old man asked, “and why did you shave your head and become a monk?”


Output: “My ancestral home is the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit in the land of Aolai which lies across the sea to the East of the Eastern Continent of Superior Body. I learned how to be an evil monster from childhood, and my name was Wukong, or Awakened to Emptiness. I used my abilities to make myself the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, but as I declined heavenly office and raised a great rebellion against the Heavenly Palace, I brought a disaster down on my own head. My sufferings are now over. I’ve turned to the Buddhist faith and am seeking a good reward for the future by escorting His Tang Excellency, my master, on his journey to the Western Heaven to visit the Buddha. I’m not afraid of high mountains with precipitous paths, or of broad rivers with huge waves. I can catch monsters and subdue demons, capture tigers or dragons, walk in the sky, or burrow into the earth. As long as your mansion has a few broken bricks and tiles, a singing pot and an open door, I’ll be able to rest here


Output: pot and an open door, I’ll be able to rest here contented.”


Output:
After hearing this speech, the old man said with a chuckle, “So you’re a monk with the gift of the gab who suddenly switched destinies.”

“You’re the gabber, my child,” retorted Monkey. “I’m too tired after the strain of the journey with my master to be able to talk.”

“It’s as well you are,” the old man replied, “or you’d be talking me to death. If you have all these powers you’ll be able to reach the West. How many of you are there? Please come into my cottage for the night.”

“Thank you very much for not losing your temper with him,” Sanzang said. “There are three of us.”

“Where is the third?” the old man asked.

“Your eyes are very dim, old man,” said Monkey, pointing as he continued, “Can’t you see him standing in the shade there?”

When the old man, whose eyes were indeed dim, looked carefully and saw Pig’s face he was so terrified that he ran into the house shouting, “Shut the gates, shut the gates, there’s a monster here.”


Output:
Monkey ran after him and grabbed him. “Don’t be afraid, old fellow,” he said, “he’s not an evil monster, he’s a fellow-disciple of mine.”

“Very well then,” replied the old man, who was trembling all over, “but what a hideous creature to be a monk.”

As the old man was talking to the three monks in front of the gates, two young men appeared at the Southern end of the farm bringing an old woman and three or four children back from transplanting rice-seedlings, for which reason their clothes were tucked up and their feet were bare.

When they saw the white horse and the carrying pole with luggage and heard the shouting at the gates of their home, they did not know what was up, so they rushed forward and asked, “What are you doing?” Pig turned round, flapped his ears, and thrust his snout at them, at which they all collapsed in terror or fled.


Output:
In the confusion Sanzang kept calling out, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we are good men, we are monks going to fetch the scriptures.” The old man then came out again, and helped the old woman to her feet.

“Up you get, wife,” he said, “there’s no call for panic. This holy father is from the Tang court, and although his disciples are a bit ugly, their hearts are in the right place. Please take the youngsters inside.” The old woman clung to the old man while the two young men took the children inside.

As he sat on a bamboo chair in the gatehouse, Sanzang said indignantly, “Disciples, the pair of you are ugly to look at, and your language is too coarse. You gave that whole family a terrible fright, and got me into trouble.”

“I tell you truthfully, master,” Pig replied, “that I’ve grown better-looking since I’ve been following you. When I lived in Gao Village I looked so awful that I often used to scare twenty or thirty people to death by making a face and waggling my ears.”


Output:
“Don’t exaggerate, stupid,” said Monkey with a smile, “and tidy that ugly mug of yours up a bit.”

“What nonsense you’re talking, Monkey,” said Sanzang. “He was born that way, so how can you expect him to tidy his face up?”

“He could stick his rake of a snout into his chest, and not bring it out; and he could lay those fan-shaped ears down behind his head and not waggle them. That would tidy his appearance up.” Pig then tucked his snout away and laid his ears back, and stood beside Sanzang with his head bowed. Brother Monkey took the luggage inside and tethered the white horse to a post.


Output:
The old man came out again with a young man who was carrying a tray with three cups of tea on it, and when it had been drunk he gave instructions for a vegetarian meal to be prepared. The young man then brought out an old, dented, and unlacquered table, as well as a pair of benches with chipped tops and broken legs, which he put in a cool spot before asking the three of them to sit down. Sanzang then asked the old man his surname, and was told, “Your humble servant’s surname is Wang.”

“How many descendants have you?”

“Two sons and three grandchildren.”

“Congratulations, congratulations,” said Sanzang; then he asked the old man how old he was.

“I have lived in my stupidity to sixty-one.”

“Splendid, splendid, you have begun a new cycle,” said Sanzang. “Benefactor,” he continued, “why did you say at first that it would be impossible to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven?”


Output:
“There is no problem about actually getting the scriptures,” the old man replied, “it’s just that the journey will be very difficult. Only some twelve miles to the West of here is a mountain called the three-hundred mile Yellow Wind Ridge, and it’s full of evil monsters. That’s why I said it would be impossible to get the scriptures. But as this younger gentleman says he has so many magic powers, you will be able to get there.”

“Certainly, certainly,” said Monkey. “With me, my master and my fellow-disciple, no devils, however fierce, will dare to provoke us.”

As he spoke the youth came in with food, which he put on the table with the words, “Please eat.” Sanzang put his hands together and started to recite the grace. By then Pig had already swallowed a bowlful, and the moron finished three more before the short prayer was over.

“What a chaff-guzzler,” said Monkey. “We do seem to have run into a hungry ghost.”


Output:
Old Wang, however, found the speed at which Pig ate very amusing, and said, “This reverend gentleman must be very hungry. Give him more rice at once.” The stupid creature indeed had a large stomach. Look at him, keeping his head down as he devours at least a dozen bowls. Sanzang and Monkey had not been able to finish two bowls, but the idiot would not stop and was still eating. “As this is far from being haute cuisine, I cannot press you too hard, but please take another mouthful.”

“We have eaten enough,” said Sanzang and Monkey; but Pig said, “What are you going on about, old fellow? Who’s been telling your fortune? Is that why you’re going on about quizzing? Anyhow, as long as there’s rice, give me some more.” In a single meal the idiot ate all the rice in the house, and still said that he was only half-full. Then the table was cleared away, bamboo beds were set out for them in the gatehouse, and they went to sleep.


Output:
At dawn the next morning Monkey went to saddle the horse while Pig packed the luggage. Old Wang told his wife to prepare some pastries and hot water for then, after which the three of them thanked him and said good-bye. “If anything goes wrong on your journey,” the old man said, “you must come to our place.”

“Don’t be so discouraging, old fellow,” said Monkey. “We’re dedicated, and there’s no turning back for us.”

With that they whipped the horse, picked up the carrying-pole, and headed West.

Alas! On their journey there was no good path to the West, and there were undoubtedly demons and great disasters in store for them. Before they had been going for half a day, they reached the mountain. It was most precipitous. Sanzang rode as far as the edge of a cliff, then dismounted to have a look.

High was the mountain,

Craggy the ridge;

Steep the cliffs,

Deep the valleys.

Springs could be heard,

And sweet smelt the flowers.

Was that mountain high?

Its summit touched the azure heavens.


Output:
Its summit touched the azure heavens.

Were the gorges deep?

At their bottom you could see the Underworld.

In front of the mountain

Were rolling white clouds,

And towering crags.

There were no end of myriad-fathom, soul-snatching cliffs,

In which were twisting caves for dragons,

Caves full of stalactites dripping with water.

He saw deer with branching antlers,

And river-deer gazing with fixed stare,

Coiled, red-scaled pythons,

And mischievous, white-faced apes.

At evening tigers climbed the hills to find their dens;

Dragons emerged from the waves at dawn,

To enter their caves with thunderous roars.

Birds flying in the grass

Rose in a flurry;

Beasts walking in the woods

Hurried helter-skelter.

Suddenly a pack of wolves ran past,

Making the heart pound hard with fear.

This is a place where caves are linked with caves,

And mountains stand with mountains.

The green of the peak made it like ten thousand feet of jade,

As a myriad clouds were piled above it like a cover of bluish gauze.


Output:
While Sanzang urged his silvery steed slowly forward, Monkey strolled ahead on his cloud and Pig ambled along with the carrying-pole. As they looked at the mountain they heard a whirlwind blowing up, and Sanzang was alarmed.

“Wukong,” he said, “there’s a whirlwind coming.”

“What’s there to be afraid of about a wind?” said Monkey. “It’s only weather, after all, and nothing to be scared of.”

“But this is a very evil wind, not like a natural wind at all,” Sanzang replied.

“How can you tell?” Monkey asked.

“Just look at it,” said Sanzang:

“Mighty and majestic it howls and roars,

Coming out of the distant heavens.

As it crosses the ridge the trees moan,

The trunks bend when it enters the wood.

“The willow on the bank is shaken to its roots,

And flowers and leaves go swirling round the garden.

On the fishing boats gathering in nets, they pull hard on the cables;

Ships lower their sails, and all cast anchor.

“The traveler loses his way in mid-journey,


Output:
“The traveler loses his way in mid-journey,

The woodcutter in the hills cannot carry his load.

The monkeys scatter in the orchards of fairy fruit,

The deer flee from the clumps of rare flowers.

“Locust trees and cedars collapse before the cliff,

While pine and bamboo in the valley are stripped of leaves.

There are stinging blasts of dirt and sand,

And waves boil on rivers and seas.”

Pig went up to Monkey and grabbed hold of him. “Brother,” he said, “this is a terrific storm. Let’s take shelter.”

“You’re useless, brother,” replied Monkey with a mocking laugh. “If a big wind makes you want to hide, what are you going to do when you meet an evil spirit?”

“Elder brother, have you never heard the saying, ‘Avoid a pretty girl as you would an enemy, avoid a wind as you would an arrow?’” Pig replied. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t take shelter.”

“Stop talking, will you, while I get a hold on that wind and take a sniff at it,” said Monkey.


Output:
“You’re talking through your hat again,” said Pig with a grin. “As if you could get a hold on a wind. Besides, even if you did, your hand would go through it.”

“What you don’t know, brother, is that I have a magic way of catching winds,” Monkey replied. Letting the head of the wind pass, the splendid Monkey grabbed the tail and sniffed at it. It had rather a foul stench. “It certainly isn’t a good wind,” he remarked. “It smells like either a tiger wind or a monster wind. There’s definitely something suspicious about it.”

Before the words were out of his mouth, a ferocious striped tiger leapt out at the foot of the slope, slashing with its tail and rushing towards them. Sanzang was so scared that he could no longer keep his seat in his carved saddle, but fell headfirst off his white horse and lay sprawled in a witless heap beside the path.


Output:
Pig threw down the luggage, grabbed his rake and, not letting Monkey move forward, roared, “Animal, where d’you think you’re going?” He went straight after it and smote it on the head. The tiger stood up on its hind legs, and with a swing of its front left claws ripped at its own chest. There was a tearing noise as its skin all came off, and then the creature stood beside the path. Just see how hideous was:

A gory, skinned body,

Round, red legs and feet.

Fiery, matted hair,

And straight, bristling eyebrows.

Four sinister steely white fangs,

A pair of glittering golden eyes.

With soaring spirits it gave a mighty roar,

A mighty and majestic shout.

“Not so fast,” it yelled, “not so fast. I am none other than the Commander of the Vanguard for the Great Yellow Wind King. I bear His Majesty’s strictest command to patrol the mountain and catch a few common mortals as tidbits for him to nibble with his wine. Where are you from, monk, and how dare you wound me with that weapon of yours?”


Output: “I’ll get you, you beast,” replied Pig abusively. “You don’t seem to realize that I’m not just any old passing traveler: I’m a disciple of Sanzang, the younger brother of the Tang Emperor of the East, who has been sent by the Emperor to visit the Buddha in the Western Heaven and ask for the scriptures. If you clear off, stop blocking our path, and don’t frighten my master any more, I’ll spare your life. But if you go on raging about like that, there’ll be no mercy for you.”


Output: Not bothering to argue, the evil spirit rushed at Pig, feinted, and clawed at his face. Pig dodged nimbly and swung his rake at the monster, who turned and fled as he was unarmed. With Pig at his heels he made for the bottom of the slope and produced two bronze swords from the tangled undergrowth there; then, brandishing them, he turned to face Pig. The two of them battled away at the foot of the hill, lunging and hitting at each other. Monkey, who was helping the Tang Priest to sit up, said, “Don’t be afraid, master. You sit here while I help Pig to defeat that monster, then we can be on our way.” Sanzang, who had managed to sit up, was shaking all over and intoning the Heart Sutra. Monkey grabbed his cudgel and shouted, “Get it.” Pig made a tremendous effort, and the monster fled from the scene of battle. “Don’t let him get away,” yelled Monkey, “you must catch it.” The pair of them chased the monster down the mountain, waving the rake and the cudgel. The monster was so hard-pressed that it did a “golden


Output: monster was so hard-pressed that it did a “golden cicada shedding its skin” trick. It reverted to its real form—a ferocious tiger—with a somersault, but Monkey and Pig would still not let it get away, and were hot on its heels, determined to destroy it. When the monster saw how close they were, it ripped at its chest and tore off its skin again, then laid it over a rock that was shaped like a crouching tiger. Then it abandoned its real body, turned into a hurricane, and went straight back to the path, where it noticed Sanzang reciting the Heart Sutra. Sanzang was grabbed by the monster and carried away on the wind. Poor Sanzang:


Output:
The Monk of the River was fated to suffer much;

In the faith of Nirvana it is hard to win merit.

Carrying the Tang Priest to the mouth of the cave, the monster stilled the hurricane and said to the gatekeepers, “Report to His Majesty at once that the Tiger of the Vanguard has caught a monk and is awaiting further instructions outside the gates.” He was then admitted on the orders of the chieftain. With his two bronze swords stuck in his belt and holding the Tang Priest in both hands, he went forward and genuflected before the chieftain. “Your Majesty,” he said, “your humble underling was patrolling the mountain as ordered when suddenly I met a monk. He is the Patriarch Sanzang, the younger brother of His Majesty the Great Tang Emperor, and he was going to the West to visit the Buddha and ask for the scriptures. I have captured him and now offer him as a dish for your table.”


Output:
The chieftain was astonished at the news. “I’ve heard tell of the Patriarch Sanzang, the holy priest sent by the Great Tang Emperor to fetch the scriptures. He has a disciple called Brother Monkey whose magical powers are tremendous and whose cunning is considerable. However did you manage to catch him?”

“He has two disciples. The first one to come at me was a fellow with a long nose and big ears who wields a nine-pronged rake, and the second one has a gold-banded iron cudgel and fiery eyes with golden pupils. When the pair of them were after me and about to attack, I used a ‘golden cicada shedding its skin’ trick to make my getaway, then I caught this monk to offer to Your Majesty as a snack.”

“He’s not to be eaten yet,” the chieftain said.

“You must be off your food, Your Majesty, if you won’t eat what’s put before you,” said the Tiger of the Vanguard.


Output:
“You don’t get my point,” the chieftain replied. “It’s not eating him that worries me, but the thought that those two disciples of his may come here to make trouble, which would be dangerous. Tie him to the wind-settling stake in the garden at the back, and leave him there for a few days till we’re sure his disciples won’t be coming to make trouble for us. This way he’ll be nice and clean, and we can do what we like with him without any arguments. Whether we have him boiled, steamed, fried or scrambled, we can eat him at our leisure.”

“Your Majesty’s plans are most far-sighted, and you are quite right,” said the Tiger of the Vanguard, who then ordered his underlings to take Sanzang away.

Seven or eight of them crowded forward to tie up Sanzang and take him away; they were like hawks seizing bramblings as they bound him tightly. Then did the unfortunate Monk of the River long for Brother Monkey; the holy priest in his troubles wished Pig would come.


Output:
“Disciples,” he called out, “I don’t know on what mountain you are catching monsters, or where you’re subduing evil spirits, but I’ve met with disaster and been captured by a demon. Alas, when will I ever see you again? If you come soon, you can save my life, but if you are too long about it I will be finished.” His tears poured down like rain as he moaned and sighed.

As Monkey and Pig chased the tiger down the mountain side they saw that it had reached the bottom and was crouching at the foot of the cliff. Monkey raised his cudgel and brought it down as hard as he could, thus hurting his own hands. Pig took another swipe at the beast with his rake, which made its prongs splay apart. The Tiger turned out to be only a tiger skin spread over a rock shaped like crouching tiger.

“This is terrible,” said Monkey, “he’s tricked us.”

“How?” Pig asked.


Output:
“How?” Pig asked.

“The trick is called ‘the golden cicada shedding its skin’. He put his tiger-skin over this rock and got away. We’d better go back and see that our master comes to no harm.” The two of them rushed back to find that Sanzang had disappeared. “Whatever shall we do?” cried Monkey in a voice as loud as thunder. “It’s caught our master.”

Pig led the horse over and said through his tears, “Heaven help us. Wherever shall we look for him?”

“Don’t cry,” said Monkey, raising his head, “don’t cry. If you cry you’ll dampen our spirits. I’m convinced he must be somewhere on this mountain. We must start searching for him.”

The two of them hurried deep into the mountain, going through passes and crossing ridges, and after they had been going for a long time they saw a cave palace at the foot of a rock-face. They stopped to gaze at it, and saw an awe-inspiring sight:

Screened by many a jagged peak,

With ancient paths winding around;

Green pines merged with bluish bamboo;


Output:
Green pines merged with bluish bamboo;

The softness of willows and wutong trees.

Odd boulders stood in pairs before the cliff,

While birds made couples hidden in the woods.

The water in the gully splashed against the rock-wall,

As the spring waters trickled over the sandbank.

Under the billowing clouds,

Rare herbs grew lush.

Fox spirits and crafty hares darted around;

Horned deer and river-deer fought for mastery.

Ancient creepers hung across the rocks,

And a thousand-year cypress was suspended in a chasm.

In pinnacled majesty it vied with Mount Hua;

The flowers and birdsong rivaled Tiantai Peak.

“Worthy brother,” said Monkey, “put our baggage in the wind-storing cave, let the horse out to pasture, and lie low while I go to the gates of that place and fight it out with them. I must catch that evil spirit before I can rescue our master.”

“There’s no need to give me instructions,” Pig replied. “Go at once.”


Output:
Monkey straightened his tunic, tightened his tiger-skin kilt, and went straight to the gate with his cudgel in his hands. Above the gate he saw YELLOW WIND CAVE OF THE YELLOW WIND RIDGE written in large letters. Taking a firm stance and brandishing the club he shouted, “Evil monsters, send my master out if you don’t want this den of yours turned upside-down and your home trampled flat.”

When the junior fiends heard this they were terrified, and they ran trembling inside to announce, “Your Majesty, a disaster.”

“What is it?” asked the Yellow Wind Monster who was sitting inside.

“There’s a thunder-voiced, hairy-faced monk outside with a great thick iron cudgel in his hands, and he wants his master back,” they said.


Output:
The alarmed chieftain sent for the Tiger of the Vanguard and said to him, “When I sent you to patrol the mountain you were only supposed to catch mountain oxen, wild boar, deer, and goats. Why on earth did you bring that Tang Priest here? It’s provoked his disciple into coming to make trouble. What are we to do?”

“There is no need for Your Majesty to worry,” the Tiger replied. “Your incompetent underling will take fifty junior officers out with me and bring back that Brother Monkey as a second course for the meal.”

“Apart from the higher and lower ranking commanders, we have about six hundred junior officers here,” said the chieftain. “Take as many of them as you like with you. If you catch that Monkey, we can dine off the priest at our leisure, and I promise to make you my sworn brother. But I’m afraid that you won’t be able to get him, and that he’ll kill you. If that happens, don’t blame me.”


Output:
“Rest assured,” the tiger monster said, “rest assured. I’ll soon be back with him.” Mustering fifty strong and spirited young fiends, he charged out of the gates with drums rolling and banners waving; his two bronze swords were tied to his body. “Where are you from, ape monk?” he shrieked at the top of his voice. “What do you mean by all this yelling and shouting?”

“You skinned beast,” Monkey retorted, “you played that trick of skinning yourself to capture my master, and you have the nerve to ask me what I’m doing! Bring my master out at once and I’ll spare your life.”

“Yes, I captured your master,” the monster replied, “and he’s going to be served up at His Majesty’s dinner table. If you have any sense, go away. Otherwise I’ll catch you too, and you’ll be served up with him. As I’ve got one of you, I’ll let the other off.” Monkey was now furious, and he gnashed his steely teeth as his fiery eyes opened wide in a terrible glare.


Output:
“What powers have you,” he roared, brandishing his iron cudgel, “to give you the nerve to talk so big? Hold it a moment, and take this.” The tiger put his hands on his swords, and a terrible fight ensued as each of them showed off his powers.

The monster was like a goose egg,

Monkey was an egg-shaped stone.

Trying to ward off Monkey with bronze swords

Was like throwing eggs at a stone.

How can a crow or jackdaw fight a phoenix?

What chance has a pigeon against a hawk?

The monster snorted out winds that covered the mountain with dust,

But Monkey breathed a fog that blotted out the sun.

After fighting it out for many a round,

The Vanguard was exhausted, his strength all gone.

He turned away, defeated, to flee for his life,

Only to have Monkey harry him to death.


Output:
Only to have Monkey harry him to death.

When he could defend himself no longer, the monster turned to flee. As he had talked so boastfully in front of his chieftain he dared not return to the cave, so he tried to escape up the mountain side. Monkey, who had no intention of letting him go, chased him as fast as he could, waving his cudgel, roaring, and howling. He chased him as far as the hollow where the wind was stored, where Pig could be seen pasturing the horse. As soon as Pig heard the shouting he turned to look, and when he saw Monkey pursuing the defeated tiger monster he let go of the horse, raised his rake, and struck the tiger diagonally across the head. The poor monster, who thought he had made his way out of the silken net, never realized that he had been caught by a fish-trapper. Pig’s rake made nine holes from which the blood gushed, and the brains all spurted out. There is a pome to prove it that goes:

Converted to the true faith several years before,


Output:
He avoided meat and was awakened to emptiness.

Determined with all his heart to defend Sanzang

He won this merit early in his religious life.

Planting his foot in the middle of the monster’s back, Pig swung the rake with both hands and smote him again. When Monkey saw this he was delighted, and he said, “That’s the way, brother. He led a few dozen petty fiends out to do battle with me, but I beat him. Instead of running back to the cave he came this way, as if he wanted to die. If you hadn’t been here to meet him, he’d have got away again.”

“Was he the one who made a gale and carried off our master?” Pig asked.

“The very one,” Monkey replied. “Did you ask him where our master is?” Pig asked.


Output:
“He took our master into the cave and wanted to give him to his chieftain to eat with his rice. This made me so angry that I fought him all the way to here, where you finished him off. The credit for this must go to you, brother. You’d better go on looking after the horse and our things while I drag that monster’s body over to the cave and challenge them to another fight. We must capture the chief monster if we’re to rescue our master.”

“You’re right,” said Pig, “so off you go. If you beat that chief monster, mind you chase him this way for me to corner and kill.” Splendid Monkey went straight to the mouth of the cave with his cudgel in one hand and the dead tiger in the other. Indeed:

When the patriarch was in danger from evil monsters,

Emotion and Nature combined to subdue the demons.

If you don’t know whether he defeated the evil monsters and saved Sanzang, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Protectors of the Faith Build a Farm for the Great Sage


Output:
Lingji from Sumeru Pacifies the Wind Devil

The fifty petty devils fled routed into the cave, their banners and drums smashed, to report, “Your Majesty, the Tiger of the Vanguard is no match for the hairy-faced monk, who chased him down the mountain.” The old fiend was very angry at the news, and he sat silent with his head bowed as he thought over what to do.

Then the petty demons from the gate came in to announce, “Your Majesty, the hairy-faced monk has killed the Tiger of the Vanguard and dragged his body to the gates, where he’s insulting us to provoke us to fight.”


Output:
The old fiend was angrier than ever when he heard this, and he said, “This wretch doesn’t know what he’s doing, killing my Commander of the Vanguard although I haven’t eaten his master. Hateful beast. Bring my armour. I’ve heard of this Brother Monkey, and now I think I’ll go out to have a look at this nine-headed, eight-tailed monk. I’ll capture him to avenge my Tiger of the Vanguard.” The junior devils brought the armour as fast as they could, and when the old fiend had put it all on properly, he took his steel trident and led his devilish host out of the cave. He was full of martial dignity as he came out, and you can see how he was equipped:

His golden helmet shone in the sun,

And light was reflected from his golden armour.

A pheasant’s tail floated above his helmet,

And the thin silk robe over his armour was pale goose-yellow.

The belt that girded his armour was dragon-brilliant;

His shining breastplate dazzled the eye.

His deerskin boots

Were the color of locust-tree blossom;

His brocade kilt


Output:
His brocade kilt

Was patterned with willow leaves.

With a sharp steel trident in his hand,

He was no less awesome than the Little Sage Erlang.

As he came out of his cave the old fiend shouted at the top of his voice, “Are you Brother Monkey?”

Monkey, who was jumping up and down on the tiger monster’s corpse and brandishing his cudgel, replied, “Your grandfather, Monkey, is here. Send my master out.” The evil spirit looked carefully at Monkey and saw that he had a miserable little body and a pinched face, and did not even stand four feet tall.

“Poor little thing,” he said with a laugh. “I’d imagined that you were some sort of invincible hero, but now I see what a little sick devil you really are, all skin and bone.”

Monkey smiled back and said, “You’ve no eyes in your head, my child. I may be tiny, but if you hit me on the head with the handle of your trident, I’ll grow another six feet.”

“Make your head hard then,” the monster replied, “here it comes.”


Output:
The Great Sage did not flinch as the monster hit him, then with a bend of his waist he grew six feet taller, making himself ten feet tall altogether, to the astonishment of the monster, who put his trident down and shouted, “Brother Monkey, why do you come and do these defensive transformations at my gate? Stop fooling around, and come over here so we can compare tricks.”

“My child,” Monkey replied, “as the saying goes, ‘If you have any warm feelings, don’t raise your hand in anger; and if you raise your hand in anger, put all feelings aside.’ I have a very heavy hand, and I’m afraid that you may not be able to stand my cudgel.” No longer wishing to talk, the monster whirled his trident round and lunged at Monkey’s chest. With unrushed expertise Monkey did a “Black Dragon Pawing the Ground” movement to parry the trident with his cudgel before striking at the monster’s head. There followed a fine duel between the pair of them at the mouth of the Yellow Wind Gave:

The demon king was furious,


Output:
The demon king was furious,

The Great Sage showed his might.

The furious demon king

Wanted to catch Monkey in revenge for his Vanguard Commander;

The mighty Great Sage

Intended to capture the evil spirit and rescue his master.

When the trident came the cudgel parried,

When the cudgel struck the trident blocked.

One was supreme commander of the mountain,

The other was the Handsome Monkey King, Protector of the Law.

At first they fought in the dust,

But then they rose into mid-air.

The steel-tipped trident

Was bright-pointed and deadly sharp;

The As-You-Will cudgel

Was black and banded with gold.

Whoever was run through would go to the Underworld;

If either was hit he would surely meet King Yama.

All depended on a fast hand and a quick eye;

Strength and vigor were essential.

Each was mindless of life or death,

Who would survive, and who would be killed?


Output:
Who would survive, and who would be killed?

After some thirty rounds of combat between the old fiend and the Great Sage the issue was still not settled. As Monkey wanted to win glory he used an “extra body” trick: plucking a hair out, he chewed it into little bits, blew them all out, and shouted, “Change!” They turned into well over a hundred Monkeys, all dressed like him and wielding iron cudgels. They surrounded the monster in mid-air, and in his fright he countered with a trick of his own. He turned his head sharply to the Southeast opened his mouth three times, and blew. A yellow hurricane suddenly arose. It was really terrible.

As it howled and moaned all was changed;

Without sign or shadow the yellow dust whirled,

Whistling through forests, toppling mountains, and uprooting trees,

Picking up dust to blot out the tumbling ridge.

The Yellow River’s waters were all in turmoil,

While the Yangtse’s waves were blown backwards.

The Polar palace was rocked in the sky,


Output:
The Polar palace was rocked in the sky,

The Senluo Palace in the Underworld was all but blown down.

Heaven was filled with the shouting of Arhats,

The Eight Great Vajrapanis were all yelling wildly.

Manjusri’s black-coated lion fled,

Samantabhadra’s white elephant was nowhere to be found.

The True Martial Emperor’s tortoise and snake were missing,

Zi Tong’s mule was blown away by its saddle-cloth.

Travelling merchants called on Heaven,

Boatmen made vows to the gods as they sought safety.

Lives were washed away in the torrent,

Fortune or death was decided by the waters.

The cave palace on the magic mountain was murky dark,

And Penglai, island of joy, was wrapped in gloom.

Lao Zi could hardly manage to look after his furnace,

The Star of Longevity put away his fan of dragon’s beard grass.

The Queen Mother, on her way to a Peach Banquet,

Had the pendants at her waist blown in a tangle.

Erlang could not find his city of Guanzhou;

Nezha could scarcely draw his sword from its scabbard.


Output:
Heavenly King Li lost sight of the pagoda in his hand,

Lu Ban the carpenter dropped his gold-tipped awl.

Three stories of the pagoda at Thunder Monastery fell,

And the stone bridge at Zhaozhou collapsed.

The red wheel of the sun sent out no light,

And all the stars in the sky were dimmed.

The birds of the Southern hills were carried to the North,

The waters of the East lake flowed to the West.

Husband was parted from wife,

Mother snatched from child.

The dragon king searched the seas for his yakshas,

The thunder god hunted everywhere for his lightning.

The Ten Kings of hell looked for the judge,

While the bull-headed demons searched for the horse-faced.

This hurricane overturned Potaraka Island,

Rolling up all of Guanyin’s scriptures.

The white lotus went flying beyond the seas,

And the twelve courts of the Bodhisattva were all blown down.

Pan Gu, who had seen all winds since creation,

Had never seen one as fine as this,

Howl, howl—

As mountains and seas trembled,


Output:
Howl, howl—

As mountains and seas trembled,

Heaven and Earth were all but blasted asunder.

The hurricane that the monster had summoned up made all the little Monkeys that the Great Sage had produced from his hair whirl round in mid-air like so many spinning-wheels, and, far from being able to use their cudgels, they could not even control their own bodies. At this critical moment Monkey shook his hair and put it back on his body, then advanced to give battle with his iron cudgel held high. The monster blew another yellow hurricane at him, and it was so strong that Monkey had to shut his fiery eyes with their golden pupils tight. Opening them was out of the question. Unable to use his iron cudgel, he had to flee from the scene of battle, at which the monster put his wind away and went back to his cave.


Output: When Pig saw the great yellow hurricane blow up and cast Heaven and Earth into darkness, he held on to the horse and kept a grip on the carrying pole while he crouched in the hollow on the mountain side, not daring to open his eyes or raise his head as he invoked the Buddha and made all sorts of vows to him. He did not know whether Monkey had won or lost, or whether their master was still alive. As he worried about all this the wind died down and the sky became clear again. He raised his head to look towards the entrance of the cave, but he could neither see any weapons nor hear any gongs or drums. The idiot did not want to get any nearer to those gates, and there was nobody else to look after the horse and the baggage, so he was stuck there, not knowing what to do, and feeling miserable. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Monkey shouting to the West of him. Pig half rose to his feet to welcome him and said, “That was quite a wind, elder brother. Where’ve you been?”


Output:
“That was terrible,” said Monkey, “Never in my life have I known such a hurricane. That old fiend came out to fight me with a steel trident, and after we’d been at it for thirty rounds I used my extra body trick to surround him. This made him so worried that he deliberately summoned up the wind. It was really vicious—it blew so hard I couldn’t stand my ground, so I had to put my tricks away and clear out. What a wind, what a wind! I can call up wind or rain, but I’ve never produced anything as vicious as his.”

“Can that evil monster fight well?” Pig asked.

“He’s not bad at all,” Monkey replied, “and he has a very neat way with this trident. We were evenly matched, apart from that foul wind, which makes him unbeatable.”

“Then how are we going to rescue our master?” Pig asked.

“His rescue will have to wait,” Monkey replied. “I wonder if there’s an oculist near here to treat my eyes.”

“What’s happened to them?” Pig asked.


Output:
“What’s happened to them?” Pig asked.

“When that monster blew his wind at me,” said Monkey, “it made my eyes very sore, and they keep on watering.”

“We’re halfway up a mountain, and night’s falling,” said Pig. “Never mind about an oculist, there’s nowhere for us to shelter for the night.”

“There’s no problem about shelter,” Monkey replied. “I don’t think that evil spirit will dare to do our master any harm, so let’s find the main path and look for a house to stay in tonight. We can come back here at first light to subdue that fiend.”

“Very well, very well,” Pig replied.

Leading the horse and carrying the baggage, they came out of the hollow and went along the path. The dusk was gradually deepening when they heard dogs barking under a hill to the South of the path. They stopped to look and saw a farmhouse with a lamp shining brightly in its window. The pair of them stopped bothering to look for the path and cut straight through the grass to the gate. They saw

Dark magic fungus,

Greeny white rocks.


Output:
Dark magic fungus,

Greeny white rocks.

The magic fungus was dark among the many herbs,

The white rocks were green with moss.

Some tiny fireflies made dots of light

Against the dense ranks of the forest trees.

Heavy was the fragrance of the orchid,

And the tender bamboo had been newly cut.

A pure spring flowed along a winding bed,

An ancient cypress hung over a cliff.

No travelers came to this remote spot,

And only wild flowers bloomed before the gate.

As they did not want to march straight in, the two of them shouted, “Open up, open up.”

An old man came out at the head of several farm hands carrying forks, rakes and brooms. “Who are you,” he asked, “who are you?”


Output: “We are the disciples of the holy priest of the Great Tang in the East,” replied Monkey with a bow. “We were crossing these mountains on our way to the West to visit the Buddha and ask for the scriptures when the Great King of the Yellow Wind snatched our master away. We haven’t been able to rescue him yet, but as it is getting dark we have come to beg for a night’s lodging in your mansion, and we hope very much that you will help us.”


Output:
The old man returned his bow and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t welcome you properly. This is a place where we see a lot of clouds but very few people, and when I heard you shouting at the gate I feared it might be fox-spirits, tigers, bandits from the mountains, or something of the sort. I am afraid that I have stupidly offended you: I did not realize it would be two reverend gentlemen. Please come in.” Taking the horse and the luggage with them they went inside, tethered the animal, put down the carrying pole, bowed to the old man, and sat down. A servant came in with tea, and when they had drunk it some bowls of sesame meal were produced. After they had eaten, the old man had beds prepared for them and suggested that they went to bed. “We don’t need to sleep yet,” Monkey replied, adding, “may I ask you, kind sir, if eye ointment is sold anywhere around here?”

“Do you have a chronic eye complaint, reverend sir?” the old man asked.


Output:
“I can tell you truthfully, sir,” Monkey replied, “that we religious men have never been ill before, and I’ve never had trouble with my eyes before.”

“Then why are you asking for ointment?” the old man asked.

“We were trying to rescue our master on the Yellow Wind Ridge today,” Monkey explained, “when that monster started blowing his wind at me, which made my eyes ache. They’re streaming with tears now, which is why I want to find some eye ointment.”

“A fine story,” the old man commented. “How could you tell such lies, a reverend gentleman, and so young a one at that? The Great King of the Yellow Wind’s hurricane is really terrible. It can’t be compared with spring winds, autumn winds, pine and bamboo winds, or North, South, East and West winds.”

“It must be a brain-snatching wind,” interrupted Pig, “or a goat’s ear wind, or a hemp wind, or a head-twisting wind.”

“No, no,” the old man said, “it’s called a Divine Samadhi Wind.”

“What’s it like?” Monkey asked.

“It can darken Heaven and Earth,


Output:
“It can darken Heaven and Earth,

Make gods and devils gloomy,

Split rocks open and bring cliffs down,

And it doesn’t stop till you’re dead,”

the old man replied. “If you’d encountered that wind, you couldn’t possibly have survived. Only a god or an Immortal would be able to survive such a wind.”

“Quite right,” Monkey replied, “quite right. Although we’re not gods or Immortals ourselves, I regard them as my juniors, and this life of mine is extremely hard to snuff out—all the wind could do was to make my eyes very sore.”

“If what you say is true,” the old man said, “you must really be somebody. Although there is nowhere that sells eye ointment here, I sometimes suffer from watering eyes myself when I’m in the wind, and I once met an unusual person who gave me a prescription for ‘Three Flower Nine Seed Ointment’. This cures all inflammations of the eye.”


Output:
Monkey bowed his head, chanted a respectful “na-a-aw,” and said, “Please put a little on my eyes for me to try.” The old man consented, went inside, and brought out a tiny agate bottle. Removing the stopper, he dipped a jade hairpin inside and put a tiny amount in Monkey’s eyes, then told him not to open them. He could go to sleep without worrying, and in the morning he would be cured. When he had finished applying it he put the stopper back the bottle and gave it to a servant to put away inside. Pig opened their bundles, spread out their bedding, and told Monkey to go to bed.

Monkey groped about so wildly with his eyes shut that Pig laughed at him and said, “Would you like a blind man’s stick, sir?”

“Chaff-guzzling moron,” Monkey retorted, “do you want to make a blind man of me?” The idiot chuckled himself quietly to sleep, but Monkey sat thinking on the bed until midnight before he dozed off.


Output:
At about five the next morning, just before the break of day, Brother Monkey rubbed his face, opened his eyes and said, “It certainly is good ointment—I can see far, and more clearly than ever.” He turned round to look behind him, and to his astonishment there was no house, windows, or doors; all that could be seen were some ancient locust trees and tall willows. The pair of them were sleeping on cushions of green sedge.

“What are you shouting for?” asked Pig as he woke up.

“Open your eyes and look,” replied Monkey. The idiot raised his head, and when he saw that there was nobody there, he leapt up in a panic with the words, “Where’s our horse?”

“Over there, tied to a tree,” said Monkey.

“What about the luggage?”

“There, beside your head.”

“The wretches,” said Pig, “moving way in the middle of the night. Damn it, we must have been almost dead asleep. However did they dismantle the house without us hearing a thing?”


Output:
“Idiot,” said Monkey with a snigger, “don’t go shouting all over the place. Can you see what that piece of paper on the tree over there is?” Pig went over, tore it down, and saw that there were four lines of verse on it:

“This farm was not inhabited by mortals;

The Revealers of the Truth produced the house by magic.

I gave you good medicine to cure your eyes:

Subdue demons with all your heart, and never hesitate.”

“So those tough gods came to play their tricks, although I haven’t called the roll since they changed the dragon into a horse,” said Monkey.

“Don’t show off, brother,” said Pig. “How could they possibly answer to your roll-call?”


Output:
“You don’t realize,” Monkey replied, “that the Protectors of the Faith, the Six Dings, the Six Jias, the Revealers of the Truth of the Five Regions and the Four Duty Gods have all been ordered by the Bodhisattva to give secret protection to our master. They reported their names to me then, but as I’ve had you with me recently I haven’t needed them again, which is why I haven’t called the roll.”

“Brother,” Pig replied, “if they have been ordered to protect our master in secret, then of course they can’t appear in their true forms. That was why they produced the magic farm. You mustn’t be angry with them. Yesterday they gave you eye ointment and fed us—they did all they could. Don’t be angry with them. Let’s go and rescue the master instead.”


Output:
“How right you are,” said Monkey. “It’s not far from here to the Yellow Wind Cave, so there’s no need for you to move. You’d better stay in the wood and look after the horse and the luggage while I go to the cave to see what I can find out about where our master is before fighting the monster again.”

“Yes,” said Pig, “find out for sure whether he’s alive or dead. If the master’s dead, we’d better each go our own way, and if he’s alive we’ll do everything we can to save him.”

“Stop talking such nonsense,” replied Monkey. “I’m off.”

With a single jump he arrived at the entrance to the cave, where the gates were still locked as everyone was asleep. Monkey did not call on them to open the gates as he did not want to alarm the monsters. Instead he said a spell, made a magic movement with his hand, shook himself, and turned into a neat little mosquito. There are some lines about it that go:

Its troublesome little body has a sharp bite,

Its faint buzz echoes like thunder.


Output:
Its faint buzz echoes like thunder.

Clever at getting through the curtains round the bed,

It particularly loves the summer’s warm weather.

It fears only smoke and fly-swatters,

And loves the brilliance of the lamp.

Light and tiny, it flies straight in,

Entering the evil spirit’s cave.

Seeing that the lowly demon on the gate was fast asleep and snoring, Monkey bit him on the face, at which the creature woke up and said, “My lord! What an enormous mosquito! It’s raised a huge lump with a single bite.” Then he opened his eyes and announced, “It’s light.” The two gates creaked open, and Monkey flew inside with a buzz to see the old demon giving orders that a very close watch was to be kept at all the gates, and all the weapons are to be assembled at such-and-such a spot.

“I’m afraid that yesterday’s wind may not have killed Brother Monkey,” he was saying, “and I think he’s bound to come back today. When he does, I’ll finish him off.”


Output:
When he heard this, Monkey flew across to the back of the hall where he saw a door that was tightly closed. He slipped through the crack between the two leaves of the door and found himself in a large empty garden, on one side of which was the wind-settling stake with the Tang Priest tied to it. The tears were pouring down Sanzang’s face as he wondered where Monkey and Pig were. Monkey stopped flying as he stung his shaven pate and called, “Master.”

“Monkey,” said Sanzang, recognizing his voice, “do you want to get me killed? Where are you calling me from?”

“I’m on your head, master. Don’t be anxious or worried. We are sure to catch that evil spirit and save your life.”

“How long will it be till you catch that evil spirit, disciple?”

“Pig has already killed the tiger monster who captured you,” Monkey replied, “but that old fiend has a terrible way with a hurricane. All the same, I’m certain that I can catch him today, so don’t worry and stop crying. I’m off now.”


Output:
With those words he buzzed away to the front hall, where he saw the old monster sitting on his throne and reviewing his captains. A junior evil spirit suddenly rushed in with a command flag in his hands and announced, “I had just gone out to patrol the mountain, Your Majesty, when I saw a monk with a long snout and big ears sitting in the woods. If I hadn’t run as fast as I could, he’d have caught me. But I didn’t see that hairy-faced monk.”

“If Brother Monkey wasn’t there,” the old fiend said, “he must have been killed by the wind, and he won’t be going off to get soldiers to rescue his master.”

“If the wind killed him, Your Majesty,” the other devils said, “we are in luck. But if he wasn’t killed and went to fetch divine soldiers instead, what’s to be done?”

“What’s so frightening about divine soldiers?” the old fiend said. “None of them can put down my wind except the Bodhisattva Lingji, so there’s no need to fear the rest of them.”


Output:
When Monkey heard this as he sat on a roof-beam, he was beside himself with delight. Flying straight out, he reverted to his real form and went back to the wood, calling, “Brother.”

“Where have you been?” Pig asked. “I chased an evil spirit with a command flag away just now.”

“Good for you,” said Monkey with a smile, “good for you. I changed myself into a mosquito and went into the cave to see our master. He was tied to a wind-settling stake in there and crying. I told him not to cry, flew up to a roof-beam, and had a good listen. I saw the one with the command flag come puffing and panting in to report that you’d chased him away and that he hadn’t seen me. The old fined was making some wild guesses. First he said that I had been killed by his wind, then he said I’d gone to ask for the help of divine soldiers. It’s wonderful—he gave the fellow’s name away.”

“Whose name?” Pig asked.


Output:
“Whose name?” Pig asked.

“He said that no divine soldier could suppress his wind except the Bodhisattva Lingji,” Monkey continued, adding, “but I don’t know where the Bodhisattva Lingji lives.”

As they were wondering what to do, an old man came along the road. Look at him:

He was strong enough not to need a stick,

But his beard was like ice and his flowing hair snowy.

Although his gold-flecked sparkling eyes seemed somewhat dim,

His aged bones and muscles had not lost their strength.

Slowly he walked, back bent, and head bowed down,

But his broad brow and rosy cheeks were those of a boy.

If you gave him a name from his looks,

The Star of Longevity had come out of his cave.

When Pig saw him he said with delight, “Brother, you know the saying, ‘If you want to know the way down the mountain, ask a regular traveler.’ Why don’t you ask him?” The Great Sage put his iron cudgel away, unhitched his clothes, and went up to the old man. “Greetings, grandfather,” he said.


Output:
Half replying to him and half not, the old man returned his bow and asked, “Where are you from, monk, and what are you doing in this desolate spot?”

“We are holy monks going to fetch the scriptures,” Monkey replied. “Yesterday we lost our master here, and we would like to ask you, sir, where the Bodhisattva Lingji lives.”

“Lingji lives a thousand miles due South of here,” the old man said, “on a mountain called Little Mount Sumeru. There is a holy place there which is the monastery where he preaches the scriptures. Are you going to fetch scriptures from him.”

“No,” Monkey replied, “we’re going not to fetch scriptures from him, but to trouble him over something else. How does one get there?”


Output:
The old man pointed South and said, “That twisting path will take you.” Thus tricking the Great Sage into turning round to look, the old man turned into a puff of wind and disappeared from sight. All that could be seen of him was a piece of paper he had left beside the road. On it there were four lines of verse that read:

“I report to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,

That I am Long Life Li.

On Sumeru Mountain there is a Flying Dragon Staff,

The weapon the Buddha once gave to Lingji.”

Brother Monkey took the note turned, and set off. “What lousy luck we’ve been having for the last few days, brother,” said Pig. “For the last couple of days we’ve been seeing ghosts even in broad daylight. Who was that old man who turned into a wind?” Monkey handed the piece of paper to him, and when he had read it he said, “Who is this Long Life Li?”

“He’s the Great White Planet of the West,” Monkey replied.


Output:
Pig immediately bowed low and said, “My benefactor, my benefactor. If he hadn’t put in a memorial to the Jade Emperor, I don’t know what would have become of me.”

“So you’re capable of feeling gratitude,” said Monkey. “Meanwhile, you’re to hide deep in these woods without showing yourself, and keep a close watch on the baggage and the horse while I go to Mount Sumeru to ask the Bodhisattva to come.”

“Understood,” said Pig, “understood. You go as fast as you can. I’ve learned the tortoise’s trick, and can pull my head in when necessary.”


Output:
The Great Sage Monkey leapt into the air and headed South on his somersault cloud at tremendous speed. He could cover a thousand miles with a nod of his head, and do eight hundred stages with a twist of his waist. It was only an instant before he saw a high mountain surrounded by auspicious clouds and a propitious aura. In a valley on the mountain there was a monastery from which the distant sounds of bells and stone chimes could be heard, and a haze of incense smoke hung above it. Monkey went straight to the gate, where he saw a lay brother with prayer beads round his neck who was invoking the Buddha.

“Greetings, lay brother,” said Monkey, clasping his hands in salutation.

The lay brother bowed to him in reply and said, “Where are you from, sir?”

“Is this where the Bodhisattva Lingji preaches the scriptures?” Monkey asked.

“Yes, this is the place,” the lay brother replied. “Have you a message for him?”


Output:
“I would like you to tell him that I am Brother Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, a disciple of the Patriarch Sanzang, the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang in the East, and there is a matter about which I should like to see the Bodhisattva.”

“That’s far too many words for me to remember, sir,” said the lay brother with a smile.

“Then tell him that the Tang Priest’s disciple Sun Wukong is here,” Monkey replied. The lay brother did as he asked and went into the preaching hall to pass on the message. The Bodhisattva put on his cassock, burnt some incense, and prepared to receive him. As the Great Sage went through the gate and looked inside he saw:

A hall full of brocade,

A room of awe-inspiring majesty.

All the monks were chanting the Lotus Sutra

While the aged head priest lightly struck the golden chime.

The offerings made to the Buddha

Were magic fruit and magic flowers;

Set out on tables

Were meatless delicacies.

Dazzling candles


Output:
Were meatless delicacies.

Dazzling candles

Sent golden flames up to the rainbow,

From fragrant incense

Jade smoke rose to the translucent mist.

With the sermon over and the mind at peace, a trance was entered.

White clouds coiled around the tops of the pine trees.

When the sword of wisdom is sheathed, the demon is beheaded;

Great are the powers of the prajna-paramita.

The Bodhisattva straightened his clothes and came out to meet Monkey, who climbed the steps into the hall and sat in the guest’s seat. When the orders were given for tea to be brought, Monkey said, “I won’t trouble you to give me tea. My master is in trouble on the Yellow Wind Mountain, and I have come to ask you, Bodhisattva, to use your great powers to subdue the demon and rescue my master.”


Output: “I have been ordered by the Tathagata Buddha to guard over the Yellow Wind Monster,” the Bodhisattva replied. “The Tathagata gave me a Wind-settling Pill and a Flying Dragon Staff. When I captured that monster before, the Tathagata spared his life and exiled him to live in seclusion on this mountain, where he is not allowed to kill or do any other evil. I never imagined that he would want to murder your master today. I must hold myself responsible for this as I have failed to carry out my orders.” The Bodhisattva wanted to keep Monkey for a meal and a talk, but in response to Monkey’s urgent pleading he took his Flying Dragon Staff and rode off with the Great Sage by cloud.


Output:
A moment later they reached the Yellow Wind Mountain, and the Bodhisattva said, “Great Sage, as this evil monster is a bit scared of me, I’d better stay here inside the cloud while you go down and challenge him to come out and fight. Once you’ve lured him out, I can use my divine power.” Doing as he suggested, Monkey brought his cloud down to land; and without more ado he smashed down the gates of the cave with his iron cudgel.

“Fiendish monster,” he shouted, “give my master back.”


Output: The junior fiends on the gate all rushed back to report this, and the old monster said, “That damned ape really has a cheek—instead of behaving himself properly, he comes to smash my gates down. This time I’ll use a magic wind that will certainly blow him to death.” Putting on his armour and taking his trident as before, he went out through the gate, and the moment he saw Monkey, he thrust straight at his chest with his trident, not uttering a single word. Monkey sidestepped to dodge it and hit back at the monster’s face with his cudgel. When only a few rounds had been fought, the monster turned to the Southeast and was just going to open his mouth and blow out a wind when the Bodhisattva Lingji appeared in mid-air and dropped the Flying Dragon Staff on him. While the monster recited all sorts of spells, an eight-clawed golden dragon grabbed him with two of its claws and smashed him several times against a rock-face. At this the monster reverted to his real form—a brown marten.


Output:
Monkey rushed at it and had raised his cudgel to kill it when the Bodhisattva stopped him and said, “Don’t kill it, Great Sage. I must take it back to see the Tathagata. He used to be a marten who had obtained the Way underneath the Vulture Peak, and once he stole some of the pure oil from a crystal lamp. When the lamp went out he was so afraid of being caught by a Vajrapani that he ran away and became a spirit monster here. The Tathagata decided that as this was not a capital offence I should be sent to keep guard over him; but if he took life or committed any other evil deeds he was to be taken to the Vulture Peak. As he has now offended you, Great Sage, and captured the Tang Priest with the intention of murdering him, I must take him to see the Tathagata to be sentenced for his crime before this business can be regarded as cleared up.”

Pig, meanwhile, who had been wondering about Monkey as he waited in the wood, heard a shout from the mountainside, “Pig, bring the luggage and the horse out.”


Output:
Recognizing the voice as Monkey’s, the idiot rushed out of the wood with the things and asked Monkey, “How did it go?”

“I asked the Bodhisattva Lingji to come, and he used his Flying Dragon Staff to capture the evil spirit, who turned out to have been the spirit of a brown-coated marten and was taken off to the Vulture Peak by the Bodhisattva to see the Buddha. We two had better go into the cave to rescue our master.” The idiot was very pleased to hear the news.


Output:
The pair of them charged into the cave and killed all the evil hares, fox-fiends, roebuck, and deer inside with the iron club and the rake. Then they went into the garden at the back to rescue their master. When he was outside he asked, “How did you two capture that evil spirit? How did you manage to rescue me?” Monkey told him all about how Lingji had subdued the fined, and Sanzang expressed his gratitude at great length while the two prepared a meal from the meatless food that there was in the cave. Then they left the cave and looked for the main path West once more.

If you don’t know what happened later, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

The Protectors of the Faith Build a Farm for the Great Sage

Lingji from Sumeru Pacifies the Wind Devil


Output:
Lingji from Sumeru Pacifies the Wind Devil

The fifty petty devils fled routed into the cave, their banners and drums smashed, to report, “Your Majesty, the Tiger of the Vanguard is no match for the hairy-faced monk, who chased him down the mountain.” The old fiend was very angry at the news, and he sat silent with his head bowed as he thought over what to do.

Then the petty demons from the gate came in to announce, “Your Majesty, the hairy-faced monk has killed the Tiger of the Vanguard and dragged his body to the gates, where he’s insulting us to provoke us to fight.”


Output:
The old fiend was angrier than ever when he heard this, and he said, “This wretch doesn’t know what he’s doing, killing my Commander of the Vanguard although I haven’t eaten his master. Hateful beast. Bring my armour. I’ve heard of this Brother Monkey, and now I think I’ll go out to have a look at this nine-headed, eight-tailed monk. I’ll capture him to avenge my Tiger of the Vanguard.” The junior devils brought the armour as fast as they could, and when the old fiend had put it all on properly, he took his steel trident and led his devilish host out of the cave. He was full of martial dignity as he came out, and you can see how he was equipped:

His golden helmet shone in the sun,

And light was reflected from his golden armour.

A pheasant’s tail floated above his helmet,

And the thin silk robe over his armour was pale goose-yellow.

The belt that girded his armour was dragon-brilliant;

His shining breastplate dazzled the eye.

His deerskin boots

Were the color of locust-tree blossom;

His brocade kilt


Output:
His brocade kilt

Was patterned with willow leaves.

With a sharp steel trident in his hand,

He was no less awesome than the Little Sage Erlang.

As he came out of his cave the old fiend shouted at the top of his voice, “Are you Brother Monkey?”

Monkey, who was jumping up and down on the tiger monster’s corpse and brandishing his cudgel, replied, “Your grandfather, Monkey, is here. Send my master out.” The evil spirit looked carefully at Monkey and saw that he had a miserable little body and a pinched face, and did not even stand four feet tall.

“Poor little thing,” he said with a laugh. “I’d imagined that you were some sort of invincible hero, but now I see what a little sick devil you really are, all skin and bone.”

Monkey smiled back and said, “You’ve no eyes in your head, my child. I may be tiny, but if you hit me on the head with the handle of your trident, I’ll grow another six feet.”

“Make your head hard then,” the monster replied, “here it comes.”


Output:
The Great Sage did not flinch as the monster hit him, then with a bend of his waist he grew six feet taller, making himself ten feet tall altogether, to the astonishment of the monster, who put his trident down and shouted, “Brother Monkey, why do you come and do these defensive transformations at my gate? Stop fooling around, and come over here so we can compare tricks.”

“My child,” Monkey replied, “as the saying goes, ‘If you have any warm feelings, don’t raise your hand in anger; and if you raise your hand in anger, put all feelings aside.’ I have a very heavy hand, and I’m afraid that you may not be able to stand my cudgel.” No longer wishing to talk, the monster whirled his trident round and lunged at Monkey’s chest. With unrushed expertise Monkey did a “Black Dragon Pawing the Ground” movement to parry the trident with his cudgel before striking at the monster’s head. There followed a fine duel between the pair of them at the mouth of the Yellow Wind Gave:

The demon king was furious,


Output:
The demon king was furious,

The Great Sage showed his might.

The furious demon king

Wanted to catch Monkey in revenge for his Vanguard Commander;

The mighty Great Sage

Intended to capture the evil spirit and rescue his master.

When the trident came the cudgel parried,

When the cudgel struck the trident blocked.

One was supreme commander of the mountain,

The other was the Handsome Monkey King, Protector of the Law.

At first they fought in the dust,

But then they rose into mid-air.

The steel-tipped trident

Was bright-pointed and deadly sharp;

The As-You-Will cudgel

Was black and banded with gold.

Whoever was run through would go to the Underworld;

If either was hit he would surely meet King Yama.

All depended on a fast hand and a quick eye;

Strength and vigor were essential.

Each was mindless of life or death,

Who would survive, and who would be killed?


Output:
Who would survive, and who would be killed?

After some thirty rounds of combat between the old fiend and the Great Sage the issue was still not settled. As Monkey wanted to win glory he used an “extra body” trick: plucking a hair out, he chewed it into little bits, blew them all out, and shouted, “Change!” They turned into well over a hundred Monkeys, all dressed like him and wielding iron cudgels. They surrounded the monster in mid-air, and in his fright he countered with a trick of his own. He turned his head sharply to the Southeast opened his mouth three times, and blew. A yellow hurricane suddenly arose. It was really terrible.

As it howled and moaned all was changed;

Without sign or shadow the yellow dust whirled,

Whistling through forests, toppling mountains, and uprooting trees,

Picking up dust to blot out the tumbling ridge.

The Yellow River’s waters were all in turmoil,

While the Yangtse’s waves were blown backwards.

The Polar palace was rocked in the sky,


Output:
The Polar palace was rocked in the sky,

The Senluo Palace in the Underworld was all but blown down.

Heaven was filled with the shouting of Arhats,

The Eight Great Vajrapanis were all yelling wildly.

Manjusri’s black-coated lion fled,

Samantabhadra’s white elephant was nowhere to be found.

The True Martial Emperor’s tortoise and snake were missing,

Zi Tong’s mule was blown away by its saddle-cloth.

Travelling merchants called on Heaven,

Boatmen made vows to the gods as they sought safety.

Lives were washed away in the torrent,

Fortune or death was decided by the waters.

The cave palace on the magic mountain was murky dark,

And Penglai, island of joy, was wrapped in gloom.

Lao Zi could hardly manage to look after his furnace,

The Star of Longevity put away his fan of dragon’s beard grass.

The Queen Mother, on her way to a Peach Banquet,

Had the pendants at her waist blown in a tangle.

Erlang could not find his city of Guanzhou;

Nezha could scarcely draw his sword from its scabbard.


Output:
Heavenly King Li lost sight of the pagoda in his hand,

Lu Ban the carpenter dropped his gold-tipped awl.

Three stories of the pagoda at Thunder Monastery fell,

And the stone bridge at Zhaozhou collapsed.

The red wheel of the sun sent out no light,

And all the stars in the sky were dimmed.

The birds of the Southern hills were carried to the North,

The waters of the East lake flowed to the West.

Husband was parted from wife,

Mother snatched from child.

The dragon king searched the seas for his yakshas,

The thunder god hunted everywhere for his lightning.

The Ten Kings of hell looked for the judge,

While the bull-headed demons searched for the horse-faced.

This hurricane overturned Potaraka Island,

Rolling up all of Guanyin’s scriptures.

The white lotus went flying beyond the seas,

And the twelve courts of the Bodhisattva were all blown down.

Pan Gu, who had seen all winds since creation,

Had never seen one as fine as this,

Howl, howl—

As mountains and seas trembled,


Output:
Howl, howl—

As mountains and seas trembled,

Heaven and Earth were all but blasted asunder.

The hurricane that the monster had summoned up made all the little Monkeys that the Great Sage had produced from his hair whirl round in mid-air like so many spinning-wheels, and, far from being able to use their cudgels, they could not even control their own bodies. At this critical moment Monkey shook his hair and put it back on his body, then advanced to give battle with his iron cudgel held high. The monster blew another yellow hurricane at him, and it was so strong that Monkey had to shut his fiery eyes with their golden pupils tight. Opening them was out of the question. Unable to use his iron cudgel, he had to flee from the scene of battle, at which the monster put his wind away and went back to his cave.


Output: When Pig saw the great yellow hurricane blow up and cast Heaven and Earth into darkness, he held on to the horse and kept a grip on the carrying pole while he crouched in the hollow on the mountain side, not daring to open his eyes or raise his head as he invoked the Buddha and made all sorts of vows to him. He did not know whether Monkey had won or lost, or whether their master was still alive. As he worried about all this the wind died down and the sky became clear again. He raised his head to look towards the entrance of the cave, but he could neither see any weapons nor hear any gongs or drums. The idiot did not want to get any nearer to those gates, and there was nobody else to look after the horse and the baggage, so he was stuck there, not knowing what to do, and feeling miserable. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Monkey shouting to the West of him. Pig half rose to his feet to welcome him and said, “That was quite a wind, elder brother. Where’ve you been?”


Output:
“That was terrible,” said Monkey, “Never in my life have I known such a hurricane. That old fiend came out to fight me with a steel trident, and after we’d been at it for thirty rounds I used my extra body trick to surround him. This made him so worried that he deliberately summoned up the wind. It was really vicious—it blew so hard I couldn’t stand my ground, so I had to put my tricks away and clear out. What a wind, what a wind! I can call up wind or rain, but I’ve never produced anything as vicious as his.”

“Can that evil monster fight well?” Pig asked.

“He’s not bad at all,” Monkey replied, “and he has a very neat way with this trident. We were evenly matched, apart from that foul wind, which makes him unbeatable.”

“Then how are we going to rescue our master?” Pig asked.

“His rescue will have to wait,” Monkey replied. “I wonder if there’s an oculist near here to treat my eyes.”

“What’s happened to them?” Pig asked.


Output:
“What’s happened to them?” Pig asked.

“When that monster blew his wind at me,” said Monkey, “it made my eyes very sore, and they keep on watering.”

“We’re halfway up a mountain, and night’s falling,” said Pig. “Never mind about an oculist, there’s nowhere for us to shelter for the night.”

“There’s no problem about shelter,” Monkey replied. “I don’t think that evil spirit will dare to do our master any harm, so let’s find the main path and look for a house to stay in tonight. We can come back here at first light to subdue that fiend.”

“Very well, very well,” Pig replied.

Leading the horse and carrying the baggage, they came out of the hollow and went along the path. The dusk was gradually deepening when they heard dogs barking under a hill to the South of the path. They stopped to look and saw a farmhouse with a lamp shining brightly in its window. The pair of them stopped bothering to look for the path and cut straight through the grass to the gate. They saw

Dark magic fungus,

Greeny white rocks.


Output:
Dark magic fungus,

Greeny white rocks.

The magic fungus was dark among the many herbs,

The white rocks were green with moss.

Some tiny fireflies made dots of light

Against the dense ranks of the forest trees.

Heavy was the fragrance of the orchid,

And the tender bamboo had been newly cut.

A pure spring flowed along a winding bed,

An ancient cypress hung over a cliff.

No travelers came to this remote spot,

And only wild flowers bloomed before the gate.

As they did not want to march straight in, the two of them shouted, “Open up, open up.”

An old man came out at the head of several farm hands carrying forks, rakes and brooms. “Who are you,” he asked, “who are you?”


Output: “We are the disciples of the holy priest of the Great Tang in the East,” replied Monkey with a bow. “We were crossing these mountains on our way to the West to visit the Buddha and ask for the scriptures when the Great King of the Yellow Wind snatched our master away. We haven’t been able to rescue him yet, but as it is getting dark we have come to beg for a night’s lodging in your mansion, and we hope very much that you will help us.”


Output:
The old man returned his bow and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t welcome you properly. This is a place where we see a lot of clouds but very few people, and when I heard you shouting at the gate I feared it might be fox-spirits, tigers, bandits from the mountains, or something of the sort. I am afraid that I have stupidly offended you: I did not realize it would be two reverend gentlemen. Please come in.” Taking the horse and the luggage with them they went inside, tethered the animal, put down the carrying pole, bowed to the old man, and sat down. A servant came in with tea, and when they had drunk it some bowls of sesame meal were produced. After they had eaten, the old man had beds prepared for them and suggested that they went to bed. “We don’t need to sleep yet,” Monkey replied, adding, “may I ask you, kind sir, if eye ointment is sold anywhere around here?”

“Do you have a chronic eye complaint, reverend sir?” the old man asked.


Output:
“I can tell you truthfully, sir,” Monkey replied, “that we religious men have never been ill before, and I’ve never had trouble with my eyes before.”

“Then why are you asking for ointment?” the old man asked.

“We were trying to rescue our master on the Yellow Wind Ridge today,” Monkey explained, “when that monster started blowing his wind at me, which made my eyes ache. They’re streaming with tears now, which is why I want to find some eye ointment.”

“A fine story,” the old man commented. “How could you tell such lies, a reverend gentleman, and so young a one at that? The Great King of the Yellow Wind’s hurricane is really terrible. It can’t be compared with spring winds, autumn winds, pine and bamboo winds, or North, South, East and West winds.”

“It must be a brain-snatching wind,” interrupted Pig, “or a goat’s ear wind, or a hemp wind, or a head-twisting wind.”

“No, no,” the old man said, “it’s called a Divine Samadhi Wind.”

“What’s it like?” Monkey asked.

“It can darken Heaven and Earth,


Output:
“It can darken Heaven and Earth,

Make gods and devils gloomy,

Split rocks open and bring cliffs down,

And it doesn’t stop till you’re dead,”

the old man replied. “If you’d encountered that wind, you couldn’t possibly have survived. Only a god or an Immortal would be able to survive such a wind.”

“Quite right,” Monkey replied, “quite right. Although we’re not gods or Immortals ourselves, I regard them as my juniors, and this life of mine is extremely hard to snuff out—all the wind could do was to make my eyes very sore.”

“If what you say is true,” the old man said, “you must really be somebody. Although there is nowhere that sells eye ointment here, I sometimes suffer from watering eyes myself when I’m in the wind, and I once met an unusual person who gave me a prescription for ‘Three Flower Nine Seed Ointment’. This cures all inflammations of the eye.”


Output:
Monkey bowed his head, chanted a respectful “na-a-aw,” and said, “Please put a little on my eyes for me to try.” The old man consented, went inside, and brought out a tiny agate bottle. Removing the stopper, he dipped a jade hairpin inside and put a tiny amount in Monkey’s eyes, then told him not to open them. He could go to sleep without worrying, and in the morning he would be cured. When he had finished applying it he put the stopper back the bottle and gave it to a servant to put away inside. Pig opened their bundles, spread out their bedding, and told Monkey to go to bed.

Monkey groped about so wildly with his eyes shut that Pig laughed at him and said, “Would you like a blind man’s stick, sir?”

“Chaff-guzzling moron,” Monkey retorted, “do you want to make a blind man of me?” The idiot chuckled himself quietly to sleep, but Monkey sat thinking on the bed until midnight before he dozed off.


Output:
At about five the next morning, just before the break of day, Brother Monkey rubbed his face, opened his eyes and said, “It certainly is good ointment—I can see far, and more clearly than ever.” He turned round to look behind him, and to his astonishment there was no house, windows, or doors; all that could be seen were some ancient locust trees and tall willows. The pair of them were sleeping on cushions of green sedge.

“What are you shouting for?” asked Pig as he woke up.

“Open your eyes and look,” replied Monkey. The idiot raised his head, and when he saw that there was nobody there, he leapt up in a panic with the words, “Where’s our horse?”

“Over there, tied to a tree,” said Monkey.

“What about the luggage?”

“There, beside your head.”

“The wretches,” said Pig, “moving way in the middle of the night. Damn it, we must have been almost dead asleep. However did they dismantle the house without us hearing a thing?”


Output:
“Idiot,” said Monkey with a snigger, “don’t go shouting all over the place. Can you see what that piece of paper on the tree over there is?” Pig went over, tore it down, and saw that there were four lines of verse on it:

“This farm was not inhabited by mortals;

The Revealers of the Truth produced the house by magic.

I gave you good medicine to cure your eyes:

Subdue demons with all your heart, and never hesitate.”

“So those tough gods came to play their tricks, although I haven’t called the roll since they changed the dragon into a horse,” said Monkey.

“Don’t show off, brother,” said Pig. “How could they possibly answer to your roll-call?”


Output:
“You don’t realize,” Monkey replied, “that the Protectors of the Faith, the Six Dings, the Six Jias, the Revealers of the Truth of the Five Regions and the Four Duty Gods have all been ordered by the Bodhisattva to give secret protection to our master. They reported their names to me then, but as I’ve had you with me recently I haven’t needed them again, which is why I haven’t called the roll.”

“Brother,” Pig replied, “if they have been ordered to protect our master in secret, then of course they can’t appear in their true forms. That was why they produced the magic farm. You mustn’t be angry with them. Yesterday they gave you eye ointment and fed us—they did all they could. Don’t be angry with them. Let’s go and rescue the master instead.”


Output:
“How right you are,” said Monkey. “It’s not far from here to the Yellow Wind Cave, so there’s no need for you to move. You’d better stay in the wood and look after the horse and the luggage while I go to the cave to see what I can find out about where our master is before fighting the monster again.”

“Yes,” said Pig, “find out for sure whether he’s alive or dead. If the master’s dead, we’d better each go our own way, and if he’s alive we’ll do everything we can to save him.”

“Stop talking such nonsense,” replied Monkey. “I’m off.”

With a single jump he arrived at the entrance to the cave, where the gates were still locked as everyone was asleep. Monkey did not call on them to open the gates as he did not want to alarm the monsters. Instead he said a spell, made a magic movement with his hand, shook himself, and turned into a neat little mosquito. There are some lines about it that go:

Its troublesome little body has a sharp bite,

Its faint buzz echoes like thunder.


Output:
Its faint buzz echoes like thunder.

Clever at getting through the curtains round the bed,

It particularly loves the summer’s warm weather.

It fears only smoke and fly-swatters,

And loves the brilliance of the lamp.

Light and tiny, it flies straight in,

Entering the evil spirit’s cave.

Seeing that the lowly demon on the gate was fast asleep and snoring, Monkey bit him on the face, at which the creature woke up and said, “My lord! What an enormous mosquito! It’s raised a huge lump with a single bite.” Then he opened his eyes and announced, “It’s light.” The two gates creaked open, and Monkey flew inside with a buzz to see the old demon giving orders that a very close watch was to be kept at all the gates, and all the weapons are to be assembled at such-and-such a spot.

“I’m afraid that yesterday’s wind may not have killed Brother Monkey,” he was saying, “and I think he’s bound to come back today. When he does, I’ll finish him off.”


Output:
When he heard this, Monkey flew across to the back of the hall where he saw a door that was tightly closed. He slipped through the crack between the two leaves of the door and found himself in a large empty garden, on one side of which was the wind-settling stake with the Tang Priest tied to it. The tears were pouring down Sanzang’s face as he wondered where Monkey and Pig were. Monkey stopped flying as he stung his shaven pate and called, “Master.”

“Monkey,” said Sanzang, recognizing his voice, “do you want to get me killed? Where are you calling me from?”

“I’m on your head, master. Don’t be anxious or worried. We are sure to catch that evil spirit and save your life.”

“How long will it be till you catch that evil spirit, disciple?”

“Pig has already killed the tiger monster who captured you,” Monkey replied, “but that old fiend has a terrible way with a hurricane. All the same, I’m certain that I can catch him today, so don’t worry and stop crying. I’m off now.”


Output:
With those words he buzzed away to the front hall, where he saw the old monster sitting on his throne and reviewing his captains. A junior evil spirit suddenly rushed in with a command flag in his hands and announced, “I had just gone out to patrol the mountain, Your Majesty, when I saw a monk with a long snout and big ears sitting in the woods. If I hadn’t run as fast as I could, he’d have caught me. But I didn’t see that hairy-faced monk.”

“If Brother Monkey wasn’t there,” the old fiend said, “he must have been killed by the wind, and he won’t be going off to get soldiers to rescue his master.”

“If the wind killed him, Your Majesty,” the other devils said, “we are in luck. But if he wasn’t killed and went to fetch divine soldiers instead, what’s to be done?”

“What’s so frightening about divine soldiers?” the old fiend said. “None of them can put down my wind except the Bodhisattva Lingji, so there’s no need to fear the rest of them.”


Output:
When Monkey heard this as he sat on a roof-beam, he was beside himself with delight. Flying straight out, he reverted to his real form and went back to the wood, calling, “Brother.”

“Where have you been?” Pig asked. “I chased an evil spirit with a command flag away just now.”

“Good for you,” said Monkey with a smile, “good for you. I changed myself into a mosquito and went into the cave to see our master. He was tied to a wind-settling stake in there and crying. I told him not to cry, flew up to a roof-beam, and had a good listen. I saw the one with the command flag come puffing and panting in to report that you’d chased him away and that he hadn’t seen me. The old fined was making some wild guesses. First he said that I had been killed by his wind, then he said I’d gone to ask for the help of divine soldiers. It’s wonderful—he gave the fellow’s name away.”

“Whose name?” Pig asked.


Output:
“Whose name?” Pig asked.

“He said that no divine soldier could suppress his wind except the Bodhisattva Lingji,” Monkey continued, adding, “but I don’t know where the Bodhisattva Lingji lives.”

As they were wondering what to do, an old man came along the road. Look at him:

He was strong enough not to need a stick,

But his beard was like ice and his flowing hair snowy.

Although his gold-flecked sparkling eyes seemed somewhat dim,

His aged bones and muscles had not lost their strength.

Slowly he walked, back bent, and head bowed down,

But his broad brow and rosy cheeks were those of a boy.

If you gave him a name from his looks,

The Star of Longevity had come out of his cave.

When Pig saw him he said with delight, “Brother, you know the saying, ‘If you want to know the way down the mountain, ask a regular traveler.’ Why don’t you ask him?” The Great Sage put his iron cudgel away, unhitched his clothes, and went up to the old man. “Greetings, grandfather,” he said.


Output:
Half replying to him and half not, the old man returned his bow and asked, “Where are you from, monk, and what are you doing in this desolate spot?”

“We are holy monks going to fetch the scriptures,” Monkey replied. “Yesterday we lost our master here, and we would like to ask you, sir, where the Bodhisattva Lingji lives.”

“Lingji lives a thousand miles due South of here,” the old man said, “on a mountain called Little Mount Sumeru. There is a holy place there which is the monastery where he preaches the scriptures. Are you going to fetch scriptures from him.”

“No,” Monkey replied, “we’re going not to fetch scriptures from him, but to trouble him over something else. How does one get there?”


Output:
The old man pointed South and said, “That twisting path will take you.” Thus tricking the Great Sage into turning round to look, the old man turned into a puff of wind and disappeared from sight. All that could be seen of him was a piece of paper he had left beside the road. On it there were four lines of verse that read:

“I report to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,

That I am Long Life Li.

On Sumeru Mountain there is a Flying Dragon Staff,

The weapon the Buddha once gave to Lingji.”

Brother Monkey took the note turned, and set off. “What lousy luck we’ve been having for the last few days, brother,” said Pig. “For the last couple of days we’ve been seeing ghosts even in broad daylight. Who was that old man who turned into a wind?” Monkey handed the piece of paper to him, and when he had read it he said, “Who is this Long Life Li?”

“He’s the Great White Planet of the West,” Monkey replied.


Output:
Pig immediately bowed low and said, “My benefactor, my benefactor. If he hadn’t put in a memorial to the Jade Emperor, I don’t know what would have become of me.”

“So you’re capable of feeling gratitude,” said Monkey. “Meanwhile, you’re to hide deep in these woods without showing yourself, and keep a close watch on the baggage and the horse while I go to Mount Sumeru to ask the Bodhisattva to come.”

“Understood,” said Pig, “understood. You go as fast as you can. I’ve learned the tortoise’s trick, and can pull my head in when necessary.”


Output:
The Great Sage Monkey leapt into the air and headed South on his somersault cloud at tremendous speed. He could cover a thousand miles with a nod of his head, and do eight hundred stages with a twist of his waist. It was only an instant before he saw a high mountain surrounded by auspicious clouds and a propitious aura. In a valley on the mountain there was a monastery from which the distant sounds of bells and stone chimes could be heard, and a haze of incense smoke hung above it. Monkey went straight to the gate, where he saw a lay brother with prayer beads round his neck who was invoking the Buddha.

“Greetings, lay brother,” said Monkey, clasping his hands in salutation.

The lay brother bowed to him in reply and said, “Where are you from, sir?”

“Is this where the Bodhisattva Lingji preaches the scriptures?” Monkey asked.

“Yes, this is the place,” the lay brother replied. “Have you a message for him?”


Output:
“I would like you to tell him that I am Brother Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, a disciple of the Patriarch Sanzang, the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang in the East, and there is a matter about which I should like to see the Bodhisattva.”

“That’s far too many words for me to remember, sir,” said the lay brother with a smile.

“Then tell him that the Tang Priest’s disciple Sun Wukong is here,” Monkey replied. The lay brother did as he asked and went into the preaching hall to pass on the message. The Bodhisattva put on his cassock, burnt some incense, and prepared to receive him. As the Great Sage went through the gate and looked inside he saw:

A hall full of brocade,

A room of awe-inspiring majesty.

All the monks were chanting the Lotus Sutra

While the aged head priest lightly struck the golden chime.

The offerings made to the Buddha

Were magic fruit and magic flowers;

Set out on tables

Were meatless delicacies.

Dazzling candles


Output:
Were meatless delicacies.

Dazzling candles

Sent golden flames up to the rainbow,

From fragrant incense

Jade smoke rose to the translucent mist.

With the sermon over and the mind at peace, a trance was entered.

White clouds coiled around the tops of the pine trees.

When the sword of wisdom is sheathed, the demon is beheaded;

Great are the powers of the prajna-paramita.

The Bodhisattva straightened his clothes and came out to meet Monkey, who climbed the steps into the hall and sat in the guest’s seat. When the orders were given for tea to be brought, Monkey said, “I won’t trouble you to give me tea. My master is in trouble on the Yellow Wind Mountain, and I have come to ask you, Bodhisattva, to use your great powers to subdue the demon and rescue my master.”


Output: “I have been ordered by the Tathagata Buddha to guard over the Yellow Wind Monster,” the Bodhisattva replied. “The Tathagata gave me a Wind-settling Pill and a Flying Dragon Staff. When I captured that monster before, the Tathagata spared his life and exiled him to live in seclusion on this mountain, where he is not allowed to kill or do any other evil. I never imagined that he would want to murder your master today. I must hold myself responsible for this as I have failed to carry out my orders.” The Bodhisattva wanted to keep Monkey for a meal and a talk, but in response to Monkey’s urgent pleading he took his Flying Dragon Staff and rode off with the Great Sage by cloud.


Output:
A moment later they reached the Yellow Wind Mountain, and the Bodhisattva said, “Great Sage, as this evil monster is a bit scared of me, I’d better stay here inside the cloud while you go down and challenge him to come out and fight. Once you’ve lured him out, I can use my divine power.” Doing as he suggested, Monkey brought his cloud down to land; and without more ado he smashed down the gates of the cave with his iron cudgel.

“Fiendish monster,” he shouted, “give my master back.”


Output: The junior fiends on the gate all rushed back to report this, and the old monster said, “That damned ape really has a cheek—instead of behaving himself properly, he comes to smash my gates down. This time I’ll use a magic wind that will certainly blow him to death.” Putting on his armour and taking his trident as before, he went out through the gate, and the moment he saw Monkey, he thrust straight at his chest with his trident, not uttering a single word. Monkey sidestepped to dodge it and hit back at the monster’s face with his cudgel. When only a few rounds had been fought, the monster turned to the Southeast and was just going to open his mouth and blow out a wind when the Bodhisattva Lingji appeared in mid-air and dropped the Flying Dragon Staff on him. While the monster recited all sorts of spells, an eight-clawed golden dragon grabbed him with two of its claws and smashed him several times against a rock-face. At this the monster reverted to his real form—a brown marten.


Output:
Monkey rushed at it and had raised his cudgel to kill it when the Bodhisattva stopped him and said, “Don’t kill it, Great Sage. I must take it back to see the Tathagata. He used to be a marten who had obtained the Way underneath the Vulture Peak, and once he stole some of the pure oil from a crystal lamp. When the lamp went out he was so afraid of being caught by a Vajrapani that he ran away and became a spirit monster here. The Tathagata decided that as this was not a capital offence I should be sent to keep guard over him; but if he took life or committed any other evil deeds he was to be taken to the Vulture Peak. As he has now offended you, Great Sage, and captured the Tang Priest with the intention of murdering him, I must take him to see the Tathagata to be sentenced for his crime before this business can be regarded as cleared up.”

Pig, meanwhile, who had been wondering about Monkey as he waited in the wood, heard a shout from the mountainside, “Pig, bring the luggage and the horse out.”


Output:
Recognizing the voice as Monkey’s, the idiot rushed out of the wood with the things and asked Monkey, “How did it go?”

“I asked the Bodhisattva Lingji to come, and he used his Flying Dragon Staff to capture the evil spirit, who turned out to have been the spirit of a brown-coated marten and was taken off to the Vulture Peak by the Bodhisattva to see the Buddha. We two had better go into the cave to rescue our master.” The idiot was very pleased to hear the news.


Output:
The pair of them charged into the cave and killed all the evil hares, fox-fiends, roebuck, and deer inside with the iron club and the rake. Then they went into the garden at the back to rescue their master. When he was outside he asked, “How did you two capture that evil spirit? How did you manage to rescue me?” Monkey told him all about how Lingji had subdued the fined, and Sanzang expressed his gratitude at great length while the two prepared a meal from the meatless food that there was in the cave. Then they left the cave and looked for the main path West once more.

If you don’t know what happened later, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Pig Fights a Great Battle in the Flowing Sands River

Moksa Obeys the Dharma and Wins Friar Sand Over