The Rise of Buddhism

On Mount Huaguo in the country of Aolai in the eastern continent, an immortal stone split and produced a stone egg, which the wind turned into a stone monkey: this was Sun Wukong. He played with the other monkeys in the hills, and because he led them into the Water Curtain Cave they made him the Handsome Monkey King.

Seeking the art of long life, Wukong built a raft and crossed the sea, came at length to the western continent, entered the gate of Puti Zushi, learned the seventy-two transformations and the somersault cloud and how to avoid the three calamities, and then returned to Mount Huaguo.

Wukong broke into the dragon palace of the Eastern Sea, took the sea-stilling divine iron — the Ruyi Jingu Bang — from its treasury, and then broke into the underworld and struck the monkey kind from the register of life and death. The dragon king and the underworld both petitioned heaven, and the Jade Emperor called him up as Bimawen; finding the post too low, he broke back down and styled himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Heaven offered a second amnesty and set Wukong to keep the peach garden. When the seven fairy maidens came to pick, he learned that he had not been named for the peach banquet, froze the maidens, went to the Jade Pool to drink the imperial wine, blundered into the Tushita Palace and ate Laojun’s golden elixir, and then fled back to Mount Huaguo.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing besieged Mount Huaguo with the heavenly host, and Erlang Shen Yang Jian was ordered to contend with Wukong. The two chased each other through their transformations from outside the Water Curtain Cave, until Taishang Laojun threw down the Diamond Bracelet from the gate of heaven and Erlang’s hound seized him, and the soldiers bound him at last.

Wukong was taken to the demon-executing platform, and blade, axe, thunder and fire could not hurt him. Taishang Laojun threw him into the eight-trigram furnace for forty-nine days, and Wukong came out of it with fiery golden eyes, broke the furnace, and made havoc in heaven again.

Wukong reached the doors of the Hall of Universal Brightness, where Wang Lingguan and thirty-six thunder generals surrounded him. The Jade Emperor sent the Roving Spirit Officer and the True Lord Yisheng to the west, and Rulai then came to heaven and wagered whether Wukong could somersault out of his palm. Wukong could not leave the Buddha’s hand, and was pinned beneath Five Elements Mountain.

Five hundred years later Guanyin travelled east at Rulai’s command, passed Five Elements Mountain, and made an agreement with Wukong: when the pilgrim came and peeled away the seal, he might go west with him and redeem himself.

In the Zhenguan years of the great Tang, Emperor Taizong went through the underworld and returned over the case of the Jing River dragon king, and held a great land-and-water assembly to release the dead. Guanyin awakened the assembly, and Xuanzang, who presided over it, took the imperial charge to travel west to India for the true scriptures.

Xuanzang passed Five Elements Mountain and peeled away the seal, taking Sun Wukong as a disciple; he took the white dragon horse at Eagle Grief Stream, Zhu Bajie at Gao Village and Sha Seng at the Flowing Sand River, and master, disciples and horse went west together.

On the road Wukong struck the White Bone Demon three times and was driven back to Mount Huaguo when Tang Sanzang believed her disguises, and was fetched back only later by Bajie. Red Boy took Tang Sanzang at the Fire Cloud Cave, and Wukong brought Guanyin, who took Red Boy as the Boy of Wealth.

Master and disciples were blocked at the Heaven-Reaching River by the Great King of Numinous Response, drank the water of the Mother-and-Child River in the Women’s Country, and met two Wukongs in the ordeal of the Six-Eared Macaque. At the Flaming Mountains, Wukong had to obtain the plantain fan three times before the fire on the mountains was put out.

At Lion Camel Ridge the green lion, the white elephant and the great peng set up the Lion Camel Kingdom and took the pilgrims for a time, until Wukong went to Vulture Peak and asked Rulai to subdue the three demons. In the kingdom of Bhiksu, a white deer spirit took the office of state father and wanted children’s hearts and Tang Sanzang’s heart for medicine, and was taken back by the Star of Longevity.

In the kingdom of India, a jade hare spirit took the princess’s body and threw the embroidered ball to choose Tang Sanzang for a husband. Wukong exposed the transformation, and Chang’e came from the moon palace and carried the jade hare back to the Guanghan Palace.

Having passed eighty-one ordeals, the pilgrims reached Vulture Peak and saw Rulai. He ordered Ananda and Kasyapa to hand over the scriptures; getting no gift the first time, the two gave wordless scrolls, and when the pilgrims discovered it and went back, they exchanged them for the true scriptures with words.

The pilgrims carried the scriptures east, and at the Heaven-Reaching River the old turtle threw them and the scrolls into the water; only after drying the scriptures did they return to Chang’an and give them out. The eight vajra guardians then brought them back to Vulture Peak, where Rulai invested Tang Sanzang as the Buddha of Sandalwood Merit and Wukong as the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and Bajie, Sha Seng and the white dragon horse each received their attainment.