CHAPTER 3
The Journey Begins
I can tell you that I have killed quite a lot of people
tower he wrote: The great Monkey King
Story Monkey
At a time when the great and very old city of Ch'ang-an was the capital of China
there was an examination to find the cleverest men in the country
These men would do the work of the government
A man by the name of Ch'en
decided to try his luck at the examination as it was his mother's wish
Arriving late
found that the examination had begun
But to his surprise
he won first place and he received a letter signed by the Emperor
In those days
the winner of first place in the examination was led through the streets on horseback
And by chance on that day the only daughter of a minister sat in her high
tower with a ball in her hand
Seeing the handsome Ch'en riding by and knowing of his success in the
she threw the ball cleverly on to his
This was how a lady chose her husband
No time was wasted Ch'en and the minister's daughter were married and hand in hand
they went into the bedroom as man and wife
Early next morning
Ch'en was made Governor of Chiang-chou
and as he was told to begin work at once
he started on the journey with his wife
It was late spring
There was a gentle wind in the trees
a light rain fell
The road to Chiang-chou took Ch'en and his wife close to his home
so they stopped at his mother's house
Ch'en said to his mother
'You wanted me to take the examination and look at all the good luck that has come from it
I would like to thank you and to ask you to come with us'
His mother happily agreed
But I am very sorry for the things
the three arrived at the Hotel of Ten Thousand Flowers
But here
the mother suddenly became ill
enough to live
Next day a man arrived with a gold-coloured fish for sale and
Ch'en bought it for his mother
Suddenly he noticed that the fish's eyes were strange
'This is not an ordinary creature'
he said
He asked where it was caught
and then returned it to the river in the same place
'You were right to put the fish back in the river'
his mother when he told her about the fish's eyes
Then she said
'Leave me here with some of the luggage and I shall follow when the days are cooler'
When Ch'en his wife and servants arrived at the same river they were met by two boatmen
who Ch'en had harmed in an earlier
stared at his young wife
who was very beautiful
they took the boat to a lonely place and
Unkilled
first the servants
and then Ch'en himself
The young woman tried to throw herself into the river
but they stopped her
one of them spoke
whose name was Liu
put on the Governor's clothes
took the official papers
and left for Chiang-chou with Mrs Ch'en Liu
Liu left the boat with the other boatman Li
who threw the bodies into the river
The bodies of the servants could be seen on the river
but Ch'en's body went straight to the bottom
A servant of the Dragon King saw it there
and went to the palace to tell the Dragon King himself
The Dragon King asked to see it
When Ch'en's body was brought to him
he recognised this man
In the body of a gold-coloured fish
the Dragon King had been saved by him only a few days before
In return for Ch'en's kindness
the Dragon King sent his servant to the place where the souls of the newly dead go
servant returned with Ch'en's
Anchin
broke
from the dead
When he had heard Ch'en's story the Dragon King said
'You certainly helped me
So I shall now give you back your life
I want you to work in my Water Office'
While this was happening
Mrs Ch'en was so unhappy with Liu that she could not eat or sleep
But because she was going to have her husband's child
she thought it was best to follow this terrible man quietly
After a long journey
they became several hundred
taught you the transformations
became the new governor
Time passed
Mrs Ch'en gave birth to a son
At the same time
a mysterious voice whispered in her ear
'Listen to what I am telling
This child
will be famous around the world
hairs from his
will certainly try to harm him
Your husband is safe with the Dragon King
and one day you will all be together again
your enemies will be punished'
Then there was silence
Mrs Ch'en held her son in her arms
but she could think of no other way to protect him
And as the voice had said
I will now return
he ordered the death of the child
But the unhappy mother wanted more time with her son
'I will put him in the river tomorrow'
she promised Liu
Great Sea Who
kind god will save him'
She bit her finger
and with her blood wrote a letter giving the names of the child's parents
Then so that she would know her child again
she bit off the top of the little toe of his left foot
When morning came she tied the baby into one of her shirts
and went quietly down to the river with him
As she stood at the water's edge
a large piece of wood came down the river
Quickly she tied the shirt with the baby in it to the wood
and put the letter she had written in the shirt
Then she pushed the wood to the centre of the river
and walked back
crying every step of the way
The piece of wood with the baby on it was carried at last to the Temple of the Golden Mountain
The Holy Master
hearing the sound of a baby crying went to the river and found the strange boat
He read the letter about the child's father
and immediately gave the child the name of River
Then he asked some farmers to look after him
Seventeen years later the young man had been given the new name of Hsuan Tsang
and had been made a priest in the Holy Master's temple
One day an old and stupid priest cried out
'Who do you think you are No one even knows your real name!'
He was jealous of the young man's wisdom
The unhappy boy ran to the Holy Master
can I go' he asked
'a man without a father or mother'
from a back room in the palace
the Holy Master took down a small box containing the blood-letter and the shirt Soon
7 swansong
knew the whole story
and the terrible wrong done to his parents
He wanted to kill his father's murderer
'If you must go' said the Holy Master
'take these things with you
Travel as a poor priest
priest go to Chiang-chou and demand to see your mother'
That same night his mother dreamed of a moon behind the clouds
When the clouds moved
she saw a full moon
and then she thought of her son
'He must be seventeen by now
Perhaps Heaven will bring us together again'
Suddenly she heard a priest asking for money at the gate
and went out to him
When she heard his place of birth
the Golden Mountain
she looked at him closely and said
little priest
are very like my husband
Who were your parents'
'A wrong was done to my parents' was the answer
'My Holy Master told me to come here and find my mother
My father's name is Ch'en
but my holy name is Hsuan
Then he took from the box the blood-letter and the shirt She
She recognised them at once
and she put her arms around him
with me
leave me!' she cried 'If Liu finds you he will kill you
Go now as fast as lightning!
But tomorrow I will say that I have promised a hundred pairs of shoes to the poor and I must
journey to the temple to offer this present to the Gods
There we can talk'
True to her promise
within five days a hundred pairs of shoes were put on a boat
and with some servants she made the journey to the Golden Mountain
All the priests came out to welcome the visitor
but when she had prayed she asked them to leave
then
on her knees in front of Hsuan Tsang
she took off the shoe and sock from his left foot
as big
the top of his left toe was missing
Again the mother and son put their arms around each other
and she thanked the Holy Master for his great kindness
she gave Hsuan Tsang a ring to take to the Hotel of Ten Thousand Flowers
where his grandmother had been left behind
'Here also is a letter to my father in the capital' she said
'Tell him to ask the Emperor to send horses and men to kill Liu and save me
I dare not stay any longer
But I shall return your
Tsang went to the Hotel of Ten Thousand Flowers
asked about his grandmother
The owner of the hotel told him
'The lady was here for several years
But she went blind and now asking people in the streets for money
she lives in a box'
Tsang finally found his poor grandmother who cried 'Oh! I thought my
my son had forgotten me! And now Heaven has sent a grandson to find me'
play
find me' After paying her bills and leaving her in a comfortable room at the hotel
He flew back to the Eastern
to the house of Minister Yin
But they refused to let him in
'No one in our family is a priest' he was told
Last night
I dreamed about my daughter' said the wife
'Perhaps he has a message from her'
Tsang bowed to them and took out the letter that his mother had written
The minister cried
wife
This is our grandchild
has been killed and our daughter has been forced to live with the murderer
I will ask the Emperor for soldiers to kill that man' The
The Emperor was wild with anger
and sent an army of sixty thousand men to
They easily found Liu
and took him away to cut his head off
off Now Yin sent for his daughter
She did not wish to see her father because she was ashamed
Had she not lived as the wife of her husband's murderer
murderer But Yin told her that it was not her fault
He put his arms around her
and around his grandson
and kept them in his arms for a long long time
By now the soldiers had found the other boatman Li
away to cut his head off Now
And where he had killed Ch'en
Li's body was cut open
His heart was offered to the soul of the man he had killed
The Dragon King heard of this
and he sent a message to Ch'en
Congratulations
Your wife and her father and your child are all by the river
offering the heart of the man who killed you
I will now return your soul to you
'Why did you go
Mrs Ch'en wanted to throw herself into the river where her husband had died
but suddenly
body came up from the bottom of the river
Mrs Ch'en recognised it as her husband's body and cried and screamed
hands moved
and then the legs
and then the whole body
until Ch'en himself climbed out of the water
looked at them in great surprise and said
'What are you all doing here'
A great banquet was ordered
the next day
they all left for home
On the way
they called at the Hotel of Ten Thousand Flowers for the
and took her back to the capital
At last Chen became a government advisor
His son Hsuan Tsang went back to his work as a priest at the Temple of the Golden Mountain
But when the Emperor died
all over China were asked to choose the holiest priest
and they chose Hsuan
At this time the search was still continuing for a priest holy enough to fetch the Scriptures from
India
The Goddess Kuan-yin realising that the holiest priest was River
said to herself
'No one could be a better man than him'
In the great city of Ch'ang-an
new Emperor asked Hsuan Tsang to go to India and fetch the Scriptures
Hsuan Tsang agreed to go the Emperor said
'If you dare to go on a journey as long as this with all its dangers
I have seen you before in the gardens of the Goddess
Then he bowed four times
'If I do not reach India
and do not bring the Scriptures back to China
I must be sent to Hell'
the young priest replied
The Emperor called for wine
and said
'I suggest that you take the name of the Scriptures in India
Tripitaka
What do you think
Cd2
Tsang accepted the name and from that day he was called Tripitaka
It was three days before the full moon when Tripitaka left the gates of Ch'ang-an After a
After a day or two of hard riding
he reached the Temple of the Low Cloud
There the Holy Master and almost five hundred
discussed his journey and its terrible dangers and difficulties
difficulties Tripitaka pointed in silence to his heart
'It is only the heart that can win against difficulties
I have made my promise
and I cannot go back
until I have reached India
seeing Buddha
study the Scriptures
Next morning Tripitaka got up early
A bright moon was shining on the snow on the ground as he left
Almost immediately he lost his way
and suddenly
the ground moved under his horse
The horse and rider
fell into a deep hole
Could you take him
Looking up
Tripitaka saw a crowd of ugly creatures looking down at him
They pulled him out of the hole
Their leader was an ugly Demon King
who gave orders to eat him
two dark ugly creatures arrived as guests
and two other men were brought out as a meal for them
The ugly creatures ate like wild
the air
pulling at the men until they had completely eaten them
Watching this
Tripitaka was almost dead with fear
But then all the ugly creatures went to sleep
Tripitaka was losing all hope of escape
when suddenly an old man appeared
a blue jacket came out
face and asked him if the horse belonged to him
Tripitaka saw to his surprise that his horse was not harmed
He asked what this place was
who the ugly creatures were
He was told it was a mountain full of demons and animal-spirits 'They
'They did not eat you because your soul was too good' said the old man
'It was your soul that saved you
Follow me and I will show you the way out of here'
The old man led him out of that place;
then
then as Tripitaka turned to thank him
the old man flew up into the sky on a great white bird
A piece of paper blew down
and on it was written
'I was sent by the Gods to protect you on your journey
Remember
the Gods will be watching you'
Tripitaka said some prayers and then
before he began his journey again
After half a day
he found himself
in difficult mountain country moving forward slowly over sharp rocks
In front of him two tigers waited
Realising the danger he looked behind him and there he saw an insect that could kill
kill him
On his right
a wild animal that he had never seen before
His frightened horse went down on its knees
As the terrible creatures all started attacking him at once
a man appeared with a sword
He took a single hair from his own
am a hunter who these animals know and fear
You and I are from the same country and you and your horse can rest at my house until
But tomorrow
On the way to his house
the hunter killed a tiger
saying
This is our
Enough meat to last you for days!'
Arriving at a mountain farm
Tripitaka was presented to the hunter's mother
who invited him to stay overnight
But when the cooked tiger was put in front of him
he had to say that as a priest he did not eat meat
He was given rice and salad instead
then
putting his hands together
he said a prayer
The hunter was surprised
'You priests are certainly strange' he said
'You cannot even eat without a prayer'
After dinner the hunter led his guest to a little house full of animal skins
Tripitaka did not like that very much
so his host took him instead to a field of red and gold flowers
the
animals ran to him when he called
Tripitaka had been asked by the hunter's mother to say prayers for her dead husband
scriptures were read and prayers were said all through the next day
until evening
That night everyone in the family dreamed the same dream:
the hunter's father had been allowed to leave the Lower World
and was born again as the child of a rich landowner
This they were sure was a result of Tripitaka's prayers and they
and they all cried 'Great
They wanted to give him presents of silver but he refused the presents and left on his
with the hunter as his guide
the Mountain Between Two Countries
which was steep and rocky
the hunter climbed quickly
but Tripitaka was very tired
'This country to the East' said the hunter
'is our land of Tang
to the West is the country of the Tartars
I cannot go into their country
so you must continue alone'
Feeling a great fear and hopelessness
Tripitaka held the hunter's arm Suddenly
Suddenly from under the mountain
a voice
cried again and again 'The Master has come'
who is invited'
Tripitaka asked fearfully
'It is the voice of the old monkey
calling from his stone box under the mountain
The story is that long ago when the mountain was called the Mountain of Metal Wood
Water Fire and Earth
magic monkey was put in a stone box by angry gods
is certainly still alive
You need not be afraid
We will go down and have a look'
As the hunter had said
there was a stone box with a hole in it
and through the opening they could see the head of a monkey
Mazda
Master
Free me from here
and I will protect you on your journey to the West!'
The hunter said
'First we want to know more about you'
'I will not tell you anything' said Monkey
'I wish to speak to the priest'
'What do you want to say to me' asked Tripitaka
'Were you sent by the Emperor of T'ang to fetch the Scriptures from India'
I was
'I am the Monkey King
five hundred years ago I made trouble
so Buddha put me in this stone box
box The Goddess Kuan-yin has visited me
She said that if I protect the pilgrim on his way to India I will be forgiven and
freed
So let me be your follower'
'But how can I get you out of this stone box'
'If you make a wish Master I will be out'
Story Monkey
'Go to the top of the mountain and there you will see a rock with letters of gold
written by Buddha himself
Lift the rock
and I will be free'
'How can we believe him'
the hunter whispered to Tripitaka
'It is true! It is true!' screamed Monkey
from inside his box
Tripitaka and the hunter climbed up again to the top of the mountain
and that
there they saw golden light pouring from a rock which had gold writing on it
Tripitaka went down on his knees and said
'If this is the wish of the Gods
I will take this Monkey with me to India
Take away this rock
and hitting him
him' A warm and sweet-smelling wind blew across the mountain
mountain and lifted the rock and Buddha's writing up into the air
Tripitaka and the hunter returned to Monkey
you can make other
Bayside
With a great noise of breaking stone Monkey came out of the stone box
bowed in front of Tripitaka
cried
But I am worried
and then he began to prepare Tripitaka's horse for the journey Tripitaka
Tripitaka thanked the hunter for his kindness
and he and Monkey
of that country
their journey When Tripitaka and Monkey left the mountain
a tiger appeared in front of them showing its teeth
Monkey was very happy
'He has come to give me his coat'
he said
He took a needle from behind his ear
and the needle was immediately transformed into a cudgel
is five hundred years since I last used this weapon'
he cried
Look at him!
He walks forward bravely
down comes the cudgel
on the Mountain
Foals dad
sit down
said Monkey to Tripitaka 'while I take his coat'
Story Monkey
He took a single hair from his own tail
baby on it
said some magic words
The hair became a sharp little knife
and with this knife he cut off the tiger's skin
'Now we can leave this place' he said
'When we reach the next house I will make a fine coat from the skin'
Monkey then explained the magic of his cudgel which was not only for killing tigers and dragons
dragons but also for making rivers go backwards or starting storms on the sea
But then he saw a house in some trees where they could spend the night
He got down from his horse
and cried
open the door
A very old man angry at the rude command
began to push open the door
But seeing Monkey carrying a tiger skin and looking like a demon
he became very frightened
Then he saw that Monkey was with a priest
and he was told that Monkey was the priest's follower
suddenly
he asked Monkey
'You are the Stone Monkey in the stone box'
said the old man in great surprise
How did you get here'
Monkey told his story and then was asked his age
Trust
how old are you'
Story Monkey
130
'You are young enough to be my great-great-grandson' said Monkey
Story Monkey
'I was under that mountain for five hundred
'True' said the old man 'And when I was a boy there was grass
grass on your head and dirt on your face'
yes
Story Monkey
'I do not wish to make trouble
it is five hundred years since I last washed
Could you let us have a little hot water'
When they had both washed
Monkey went down on his knees on
Monkey carrying a tiger skin and
and I have
'How do I look in these clothes'
'Fine!' said Tripitaka
'You really look like a pilgrim!'
he let Monkey keep the shirt
Many days later the two travellers were attacked by six men with swords
The men demanded their horses and everything they had with them
'You are just thieves!' cried Monkey
'If you give me one seventh of everything you have ever stolen I will let you live'
angrily
they all hit Monkey on the head again and again
Monkey said
'Let me know when you are tired
and I will take out my needle'
Of course
the needle from behind Monkey's ear transformed itself into a cudgel
and soon he had killed all six of them
He returned crying 'Master we can start now I have killed them all'
you can Never tell
never kill' said Tripitaka sadly 'But I had to! They were going to kill you!'
'It is better for a priest to die
wanted to kill his
Wow
I can tell you that I have killed quite a lot of people
And I am still the great Monkey King!'
Story Monkey
'Your bad behaviour in Heaven
Heaven caused you to live in a stone box for five hundred
said Tripitaka
'If you hope to come with me to India
you will need to change your ways'
Monkey was very angry that Tripitaka had spoken to him like that
'Master' he shouted 'I am leaving'
Tripitaka said nothing
Story Monkey pulled
Runaway
and was soon out of Tripitaka's sight
Tripitaka What
is no use trying to teach people who are like that'
So putting all the luggage on the horse's back
he left alone and on foot
The young priest had not gone far
when he met an old woman carrying a cap
She asked him why he was travelling alone without a follower to help him
'I had a follower
but he behaved badly
When I told him that
He ran away
will save you' she said
'This cap belonged to my son who died
I can gladly give it to your follower if he would like it'
'He ran away to the East' said Tripitaka
'Then he will certainly go to my house
and I shall send him back
If you want him to return
you were a student
She told him the words
'You must make him wear this cap
when he told
say the words of the spell
and he will give you no more trouble'
The old woman transformed herself into a golden light
and disappeared towards the East
Tripitaka knew then that she was really the Goddess Kuan-yin Monkey
Monkey had jumped on to a
and was returning to his cave in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit
On the way he decided to drink tea with the Dragon King
When Monkey had told his story
the Dragon King told him about the value of patience
Monkey King
it is necessary to control yourself
if you do not want to spoil all your chances'
Monkey thought about that
and then jumped up
not say another word
he said
'I will return to my Master at
'Master' said Monkey when he found Tripitaka sitting sadly by the side of the road
'what are you doing still sitting here'
'Waiting for you' he answered
'I could not continue alone'
he decided to drink tea with the Dragon King
Story Monkey
'If that is true
you should think about my thirst and my hunger too'
Monkey went to their luggage to look for food
and found the gift of the cap
'If a person wears that cap' said Tripitaka
'they can recite the Scriptures
without learning them first' 'Let me put it on!' cried Monkey 'Yes
put it on
As Monkey put it on
Tripitaka pretended to eat some dried fruit
but he was really reciting the magic spell
screamed Monkey
Monkey fell on the ground trying to take the cap off
but a metal ring inside the cap was getting tighter
Titer
Tripitaka stopped reciting the spell
because he was afraid that Monkey would break the metal ring
The pain in Monkey's head disappeared
but the cap was still tightly there
have put a spell on me'
Story Monkey
yes
Set tribute AQHA
'It is called the Scripture of the Tight Cap
What do you think' Hsuan Tsang
never
I have
Story Monkey
but it is five
he was very angry
He ran at Tripitaka with his cudgel Quickly
Quickly the priest again recited the words of the spell and Monkey fell to the ground screaming
screaming The cudgel dropped from his hand
'Were you going to hit me'
must ask
did you
to do this' cried Monkey
Tripitaka stopped reciting
because he did not like to see Monkey suffering such terrible pain
am telling you This child
Monkey asked when the pain stopped
'An old woman who I met recently'
'Then it was the Goddess Kuan-yin I
I will go to the Southern Ocean and hit her with my
'As she taught me this spell she can surely use it herself' said Tripitaka
Monkey pulled
holding his head which still hurt him
am very sorry
he said
'I will travel to India
and never leave you
I will protect you until the end'
Unable to defend himself
Monkey put the luggage together
and they started off again towards the West
