Journey to the West

29

Sanzang, Delivered, Crosses a Border

A Grateful Pig Tours Mountains and Forests

A poem says

If wild thoughts are not firmly suppressed There is no point in seeking for the Truth; If you wish to cultivate your nature before the Buddha, Why stay halfway between awakening and confusion?

Once awakened you can achieve the Right in an instant; The confused will drift for ten thousand aeons. If you can invoke the Buddha and cultivate the Truth, Sins countless as the Ganges sands can be wiped out.

Pig and Friar Sand had fought thirty inconclusive rounds with the monster. Do you know why they were inconclusive? As far as skill went not even twenty monks, let alone two, would have been a match for that evil I spirit. Yet because the Tang Priest was not fated to die he was being secretly protected by Dharma−guarding deities. There were also the Six 9" Dings, the Six Jias, the Revealers of the Truth of the Five Regions, the Four Duty Gods, and the Eighteen Defenders of the Faith helping Pig and Friar Sand in mid−air.

We must leave the three of them locked in struggle and return to Sanzang sobbing his heart out in the cave and speculating about his disciples. "I wonder if you have met a benefactor in a village somewhere, Pig," he thought, tears streaming down his face, "and have been overcome by your greed for the offerings. Wherever are you looking for him, Friar Sand? Will you find him? Little do you know of my sufferings at the hands of this fiend I have run into. When will I see you again and be delivered from my troubles so that we can hurry to the Vulture Peak?" As he fretted and wailed he saw a woman come out from the innermost part of the cave. "Venerable father," she said, leaning on the soul−fixing stake, "where have you come from? Why has he tied you here?" When Sanzang heard this he sneaked a quick look at her through his tears and observed that she was about thirty. "Don't ask me that, Bodhisattva," he said, "I was fated to die: I walked into your home. Eat me if you must, but don't ask me why."

"I don't eat people," she replied. "My home is over a hundred miles West of here in the city called Elephantia. I'm the third daughter of the king, and my childhood name was Prettier−than−a−flower. Thirteen years ago, on the fifteenth night of the eighth month, that evil monster came and snatched me away in a whirlwind while we were out enjoying the full moon. I have been his wife all these thirteen years and borne him sons and daughters, but I've never been able to send any message home. I miss my parents, and I can never see them. Where did you come from to be caught by him?"

"I was sent to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures," replied Sanzang. "I never realized when I set out for a stroll that I would stumble into this. Now he's going to capture my two disciples and steam us all together, then eat us."

"Don't worry, venerable sir," said the princess with a smile. "As you are going to fetch scriptures I can save you. Elephantia lies on the main route to the West, and if you will take this letter to my parents for me, I'll make him spare your life."

"If you save my wretched life, Bodhisattva," said Sanzang with a bow, "I promise to be your messenger."

The princess hurried back inside, wrote a letter to her family, sealed it, released Sanzang from the stake, and handed him the letter. "Bodhisattva," he said, taking the letter now that he was free, "I am very grateful to you for saving my life. When I reach your country I shall give this to the King. My only worry is that after all these years your parents may not believe that the letter is from you, and what would I do then? I couldn't have them thinking that I was trying to deceive them."

"That's no problem. My father has only us three daughters and no sons. If they see this letter they'll feel that they're seeing me." Tucking the letter securely into his sleeve, he took his leave of the princess, and was on the point of going out when she pulled him back and said, "You won't be able to get out through the front gate. All those big and little monsters are outside the gates waving banners, shouting war−cries, and beating drums and gongs to help the monster king in his battle with your two disciples. You'd better go out the back way. If the monster king catches you he'll interrogate you under torture, and if the junior fiends grab you they'll kill you without a qualm. I'll go to see him and talk him over. If he's prepared to let you go, your disciples can ask his permission for all three of you to go together." Sanzang kowtowed and, as she had told him, left her, slipped out through the back door, and hid among the thorns rather than travel alone.