When they had been travelling for some time they saw a mountain in front of them, a high and precipitous one that towered right up to the azure sky. Before long they had reached its base. The high warden climbed it as if he were walking on level ground, and when they were half-way over it he turned round, stood beside the path and said, “Venerable monk, I must ask you to take yourself on from here. I have to go back.” On hearing this Sanzang tumbled out of his saddle to say, “Please, please, take me another stage, High Warden.”
“You don't seem to know that this is called Double Boundary Mountain,” said the high warden. The Eastern part belongs to our Great Tang, but the Western parts is Tatar territory. The tigers and wolves on that side are not subject to my control, which is why I can't cross the boundary. You mast go on by yourself. The monk was so alarmed to hear this that he waved his arms around and grabbed hold of the hunter's clothes and sleeves, weeping and refusing to let him go. When at last Sanzang was bowing repeatedly to the hunter to take his leave, a shout like thunder came from under the mountain: “My master's come, my master's come.” Sanzang stood frozen with fear at the sound of it, and Boqin had to hold him up. If you don't know who it was who shouted, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 14
The Mind-Ape Returns to Truth
The Six Bandits Disappear Without Trace
Buddha is the mind, the mind is Buddha,
Mind and Buddha have always needed things.
When you know that there are no things and no mind
Then you are a Buddha with a true mind and a Dharma body.
A Dharma-bodied Buddha has no form;
A single divine light contains the ten thousand images.
The bodiless body is the true body.
The imageless image is the real image.
It is not material, not empty, and not non-empty;
It does not come or go, nor does it return.
It is not different nor the same, it neither is nor isn't.
It can't be thrown away or caught, nor seen or heard.
The inner and outer divine light are everywhere the same;
A Buddha-kingdom can be found in a grain of sand.
A grain of sand can hold a thousand worlds;
In a single body and mind, all dharmas are the same.
For wisdom, the secret of no-mind is essential,
To be unsullied and unobstructed is to be pure of karma.
When you do no good and do no evil,
You become a Kasyapa Buddha.
The terror-stricken Liu Boqin and Sanzang then heard another shout of “My master's come.”
“That must be the old monkey who lives in a stone cell under this mountain shouting,” said the servants.
“Yes, yes,” said the high warden.
“What old monkey?” asked Sanzang, and the high warden replied, “This mountain used to be called Five Elements Mountain, and its name was only changed to Double Boundary Mountain when our Great Tang Emperor fought his Western campaign to pacify the country. I once heard an old man say that in the days when Wang Mang usurped the Han throne, Heaven sent down this mountain and crushed a monkey under it. This monkey doesn't mind heat or cold and neither eats nor drinks. He's guarded by a local tutelary god who gives him iron pellets when he's hungry and molten copper when he's thirsty. Although he's been there since ancient times, he hasn't died of cold or hunger. It must have been him shouting; there's nothing for you to be afraid of, venerable sir. Let's go down and have a look.” Sanzang had to follow him, leading his horse down the mountain.
A mile or two later they saw that there really was a monkey poking out his head out of a stone cell, and making desperate gestures with his outstretched hands as he shouted, “Master, why didn't you come before? Thank goodness you're here, thank goodness. If you get me out of here I guarantee that you'll reach the Western Heaven.”
Do you know what the venerable monk saw when he went forward for a closer look?
A pointed mouth and sunken cheeks,
Fiery eyes with golden pupils.
His head was thick with moss,
And climbing figs grew from his ears.
By his temples grew little hair but a lot of grass,
Under his chin there was sedge instead of a beard.
Dirt between his eyebrows,
And mud on his nose
Made him an utter mess;
On his coarse fingers
And thick palms
Was filth in plenty.
He was so happy that he rolled his eyes
And made pleasant noises.
Although his tongue was nimble,
He couldn't move his body.
He was the Great Sage of five hundred years ago,
Who today could not escape the net of Heaven.
High warden Liu showed great courage in going up to him, pulling away the grass that was growing beside his temples and the sedge under his chin, and asking, “What have you got to say?”
“I've got nothing to say,” the monkey replied. “You just tell that monk to come over here while I ask him a question.”
“What question do you want to ask me?” said Sanzang.
“Are you the fellow sent to the Western Heaven by the Emperor of the East to fetch the scriptures?” asked the monkey.
“Yes, I am,” Sanzang replied. “Why do you ask?”
“I am the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. The Lord Buddha put me under this mountain for my criminal insubordination. Some time ago the Bodhisattva Guanyin went to the East on the Buddha's orders to find someone who could fetch the scriptures. When I asked her to save me she told me that I was to give up evil-doing, return to the Buddha's Law, and do all I could to protect the traveler when he went to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and fetch the scriptures; she said that there'll something in it for me when that's done. Ever since then I've been waiting day and night with eager anticipation for you to come and save me, Master. I swear to protect you on your way to fetch the scriptures and to be your disciple.”
Sanzang, delighted to hear this, said, “Although you now have these splendid intentions and wish to become a monk thanks to the teaching of the Bodhisattva, I've no axe or chisel, so how am I to get you out?”
“There's no need for axes or chisels. As long as you're willing to save me, I can get myself out,” the monkey replied.
“I'm willing to save you,” Sanzang said, “but how are you going to get out?”
“On the top of this mountain there is a detention order by the Tathagata Buddha written in letters of gold. If you climb the mountain and tear it off, I'll be straight out.” Accepting his suggestion, Sanzang turned round to ask Liu Boqin if he would go up the mountain with him.
“I don't know whether he's telling the truth or not,” said Boqin, at which the monkey shouted at the top of his voice, “It's true. I wouldn't dare lie about that.”
So Liu Boqin told his servants to lead the horse while he helped Sanzang up the mountain. By hanging on to creepers they managed to reach the summit, where they saw a myriad beams of golden light and a thousand wisps of propitious vapour coming from a large, square rock on which was pasted a paper seal bearing the golden words Om mani padme hum. Sanzang went up and knelt down before the rock, then read the golden words and bowed his head to the ground a number of times.
He looked to the West and prayed, “I am the believer Chen Xuanzang sent on imperial orders to fetch the scriptures. If I am fated to have a disciple, may I be able to tear off the golden words and release the divine monkey to come with me to the Vulture Peak. If I am not fated to have a disciple, and this monkey is an evil monster who has deceived me and will do me no good, then may I be unable to remove it.” When he had prayed he bowed again, after which he went up and gently tore the paper seal off.