Amid all the noisy yelling on the bank a great shout came from the river, “Great Sage Sun, don't waste other people's money building a boat. I shall carry you all, master and disciples, across the river.” When the crowd heard this they were all terrified. The more timid among them slipped home, while the bolder stayed to watch, shivering and shaking. A moment later a monster emerged from the water. This is what it was like:
A divine square-headed and extraordinary beast,
The miraculous creature, the immortal of the waters.
Wagging his tail he can live for many an age,
Hiding still and silent in the depths of the rivers.
Leaping through the waves he rushes to the bank,
Or lies beside the sea facing sun and wind.
He has mastered the true Way of nourishing his essence,
The Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle with his carapace of white.
“Great Sage,” called the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle, “don't have a boat built. I'll take you four across.”
“I'll get you, you evil beast,” said Monkey, swinging his iron cudgel. “Come to the bank and I'll kill you with this.”
“I am grateful to you, Great Sage, and have offered in good faith to carry you master and you disciples across the river, so why do you want to kill me?” the monster asked.
“What good turn have I ever done you?” Brother Monkey asked.
“Great Sage,” said the Soft-shelled Turtle, “you may not realize that the River Turtle's Residence at the bottom of the river is my home, which was handed down to me by many generations of ancestors. Because I acquired awareness of the fundamental and developed a divine spirit by cultivating my conduct I had my ancestral home rebuilt as the River Turtle's Residence. Nine years ago, on a day when the sea was roaring and the waves were crashing, that evil monster came here on the tide and used his power to make a vicious attack on me. He killed many of my children and captured many of my clan. As I was no match for him I had to let him take my home for nothing. Now that you have come to rescue the Tang Priest, Great Sage, and have asked the Bodhisattva Guanyin here to sweep away evil and capture the monster my house has been returned to me and my family reunited. We can now live in our old home instead of having to make mud shelters. That is why my gratitude to you is as great as a mountain and as deep as the sea. And it is not only my family that is grateful. The whole village will now be spared from the annual sacrifice, and the sons and daughters of many a family will be spared. You have indeed brought double benefits with a single action, and that kindness is one that I have to repay.”
Monkey's heart was warmed to hear this, so he put his cudgel away and asked, “Is all that really true?”
“How could I possibly lie to the Great Sage who has done me so very great a kindness?” the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle asked.
“If it's the truth you must swear an oath to Heaven,” Monkey said, whereupon the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle opened his red mouth and swore to Heaven, “If I do not faithfully carry the Tang Priest across the River of Heaven may my whole body be turned to blood.”
“Come ashore, come ashore,” said Monkey with a smile. Only then did the Ancient soft-shelled Turtle approach the shore, give a jump, and climb up the bank. When they all went close they saw that he had a huge white shell about forty feet around.
“Master,” said Monkey, “let's climb on his back and cross over.”
“But, disciple,” said Sanzang, “we could not get across that ice even though it was frozen so thick. I'm afraid that we would be even less safe on a turtle's back.”
“Do not be afraid, Master,” said the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle. “I'm much safer than those thick layers of ice. I'll only fail in my spiritual endeavors if I roll to the side.”
“Master,” said Monkey, “no creature that can speak human language will tell a lie.” He then told Pig and Friar Sand to lead the horse forward.
When they reached the banks everyone in the village came to see them off with deep bows. Monkey led the animal on to the turtle's white shell and asked the Tang Priest to stand to the horse's right, Pig to its left, and Friar Sand behind it while he stood in front. Just in case the Soft-shelled Turtle tried to misbehave, Monkey undid his belt of tiger sinew, threaded it through the turtle's nose, and held it like a halter. Then with one foot on the turtle's shell and one on its head, and with his iron cudgel in one hand and the halter in the other, he shouted, “Take it easy, Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle. One roll from you and I'll hit you on the head.”
“I'd never dare, I'd never dare,” the turtle said, and he started to walk across the water on his four feet as if going across dry land. All the people on the bank burnt incense, kowtowed, and recited, “Namo Amitabha Buddha.” This had indeed been a case of a true arhat coming down to the mortal world, and the appearance of a living Bodhisattva. Everyone bowed, watched them until they could be seen no more, and then went home.
In less than a day the master rode the White Soft-shelled Turtle across the 250 miles of the River of Heaven and landed on the other side with hands and feet still dry. When he had climbed ashore Sanzang put his hands together in thanks, and said, “Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle, I have put you to a great effort but I have nothing I can give you. I shall have to express my gratitude when I come back with the scriptures.”
“There is on need for any presents, venerable sir,” said the turtle. “I hear that the Lord Buddha in the Western Heaven has gone beyond death and life and knows everything in the past and the future. I have been cultivating my conduct here for over 1,300 years, and although I have prolonged my life and learned human speech I cannot escape from my shell. I beg you, venerable sir, to ask the Lord Buddha on my behalf when I will be rid of this shell and able to take human form.
“I shall ask, I shall ask,” Sanzang promised, at which the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle plunged back into the water and Monkey helped Sanzang to mount the horse. With Pig shouldering the luggage and Friar Sand walking alongside, master and disciples took the main trail West. Indeed:
The emperor sent the priest on his journey to visit the Buddha;
Great were the hardships and long was the road over river and hill.
Firm was his will and sincere was his heart: for him death held no terror.
The River of Heaven he crossed standing high on the old turtle's shell,
If you don't know how much further they had to go, or what other terrible trials faced them, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 50
Feelings Run Wild and Nature Gets Loose Because of Desire
In Confusion of Spirit the Heart Is Disturbed and the Demon Encountered
The poem goes:
The heart must be frequently swept,
The dust of emotions removed,
Lest the Buddha be trapped in the pit.
Only when the essence is pure
Can the origin then be discussed.
Trim the candle of nature,
Breathe in the way that Master Caoxi taught,
Control the ape and horse of the mind.
Only when breath is calm by day and night
Can one achieve the true adept's skill.
This poem is set to the tune Nan Ke Zi and it tells how the Tang Priest escaped disaster under the ice of the River of Heaven and crossed to the other bank on the shell of the white turtle. As the four pilgrims headed West it was now the depths of winter, but the mists in the forests were still light, and the bony shapes of the mountains could be seen rising in their purity above the waters. As master and disciples carried on along their way, they were obstructed by a big mountain. The road was rocky, and they and the horse found the going rough. Sanzang reined the horse in and called for his disciples.