Chapter 15: Gods Secretly Aid on Snake-Coiled Mountain; the Wild Horse Is Reined In at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine

Now then: the Pilgrim served Tripitaka on the road west, and after several days they came into the bitter cold of the twelfth month. The north wind was sharp and cutting, the frost treacherous underfoot. They traveled by cliffs and jagged ridges, over dangerous mountain roads stacked one upon another.

Tripitaka, riding his horse, heard a rush of water roaring in the distance and called back, "Wukong, what is that water sound?"

The Pilgrim said, "I remember this place. It is called Snake-Coiled Mountain and Eagle-Sorrow Ravine. The noise must be the water in the ravine."

He had barely spoken when the horse reached the edge of the ravine. Tripitaka drew the reins and looked down. What did he see?

A cold stream threads the clouds and passes on;
clear waves, bright as glass, mirror the sun in red.
Its voice shakes like night rain heard through a hidden gorge;
its color flares like morning cloud and dazzles the empty sky.
A thousand-fathom surge leaps, spitting shattered jade;
one pool's roar rolls out like wind in a deep gorge.
It flows away into a thousand acres of mist and tide,
where gull and heron forget the hook and line.

Master and disciple were still looking when the ravine gave a great cry and out sprang a dragon, rolling up the waves as it burst from the water and the cliffs, lunging straight for the reverend elder. The Pilgrim was frightened enough to fling away the luggage, snatch Tripitaka down from the horse, and turn to run.

The dragon could not overtake him, but in one gulp it swallowed Tripitaka's white horse, saddle and all, and then sank back beneath the water without a trace.

The Pilgrim carried his master to a high bank, set him down, and then went back for the luggage. When he returned, only one load remained; the horse was gone.

"Master," he said, bringing the luggage before Tripitaka, "that evil dragon has vanished. He must have scared the horse away."

Tripitaka said, "How are we to find another?"

"Do not worry," said the Pilgrim. "Let me go and look."

He gave a whistle and sprang into the air. With his fiery eyes and golden pupils, he shaded his brow and searched in all directions, but no sign of the horse could be found. He settled back to earth and reported, "Master, our horse was certainly eaten by that dragon. I have looked everywhere and can see nothing of it."

Tripitaka said, "How could he have a mouth so big that he swallowed a horse and saddle at one gulp? Maybe the horse was frightened loose and ran off into some hollow among the hills. Look again, carefully."

The Pilgrim said, "You do not know my skill. These eyes of mine can judge good and ill for a thousand li in daylight. Even a dragonfly spreading its wings within that range I can see. How could I miss a horse?"

Tripitaka said, "If it really was eaten, how am I to go on? Alas, with these mountains and rivers, how could we possibly make the journey?"

As he spoke, tears fell like rain. The Pilgrim could not bear to see him weep. He barked, "Master, do not stand there looking like a helpless weakling. Sit still. I'll go find that beast and make him spit back my horse."

Tripitaka clutched him and said, "Disciple, where will you look? What if he springs out from some hidden place and swallows me too? Then man and horse would both be lost. What then?"

At that, the Pilgrim flared with anger. "Enough, enough! Just because I cannot go and you will not let me, must I sit here guarding the luggage until I grow old?"

He was still fuming when a voice came from the air:

"Great Sage Sun, do not be angry. Reverend Tang, do not weep. We are the local spirits sent by Guanyin, come to protect the scripture-seeker in secret."

Tripitaka heard this and hurried to bow.

The Pilgrim said, "Who are you? Name yourselves, and I will mark you down."

The spirits said, "We are the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Five Direction Revealing Spirits, the Four Duty Officers, and the Eighteen Protective Temple Guardians. We take turns standing watch."

The Pilgrim asked, "Who is on duty today?"

The Revealing Spirits answered, "The Ding and Jia, the Duty Officers, and the Temple Guardians keep their order. Among us, only the Golden-Headed Revealing Spirit remains at your side day and night."

"Very well," said the Pilgrim. "Those not on duty may stand aside. Leave the six Ding spirits, the duty officer for this day, and the Revealing Spirits to guard my master. I will go find the evil dragon in the ravine and make him return my horse."

The spirits obeyed. Tripitaka at last put aside his fear and sat on a rock ledge, telling the Pilgrim to be careful.

"Only keep your heart at ease," said the Pilgrim.

The fine Monkey King shook out his cotton robe, hitched up his tiger-skin skirt, gripped the Golden-Hooped Rod, and set off with full spirit toward the ravine. Half in cloud and half in mist, he stood above the water and shouted:

"You filthy eel, give me back my horse! Give me back my horse!"

Down below, the dragon had swallowed Tripitaka's white horse and was lying in the depths of the ravine, nursing its own spirit and waiting out the day. Hearing that someone was cursing and demanding the horse, it could not hold back its rage. It sprang up through the waves and shouted, "Who dares make such a boast here and insult me?"

The Pilgrim saw it and gave a great roar. "Do not run! Give me back my horse!"

He swung the rod and struck at once.

The dragon opened its claws and teeth and rushed to seize him. There on the ravine bank they fought a fierce and heroic battle.

The dragon spread sharp claws; the monkey raised the golden hoop.
That one wore a beard hanging like white jade threads;
this one had eyes that flashed like red-gold lamps.
That one sent pearls and colored mist from beneath his beard;
this one whirled an iron staff in a storm of wind.
That one was a wretch who vexed parents and kin;
this one was a demon who mocked the Heaven-blessed.
Both had passed through calamity and hardship;
now, seeking success, each showed his full skill.

Back and forth they went for a long while. At last the dragon's sinews went slack and its strength failed. It turned, dived into the water, and sank deep into the ravine, refusing to show its head again. No matter how the Pilgrim cursed it, the creature only pretended to be deaf.

The Pilgrim could do nothing. He had no choice but to return and report to Tripitaka.

"Master," he said, "that beast came out only because I cursed it into battle. We fought for a long time, but it was afraid and ran. Now it hides deep in the water and will not come up again."

Tripitaka said, "How do you know for certain that it ate my horse?"

The Pilgrim said, "Why speak like that? If it had not eaten the horse, would it have come out to fight me? Would I have cursed it into showing itself?"

Tripitaka said, "The other day, when you beat the tiger, you said you had the skill to subdue dragons and tame tigers. Why can you not subdue this one today?"

The monkey could not bear to be pressed. When Tripitaka struck at him with those words, he roused his divine might. "Do not speak, do not speak! Let me meet it again."

He strode to the ravine edge and threw his river-turning, sea-stirring power into the water. The clear ravine, which had been as transparent as crystal, was churned up like the Yellow River in flood.

The dragon prince, sitting uneasy at the bottom, thought to himself, "Misfortune never comes singly. I have only just escaped the heavenly sentence that nearly killed me. Not a year has passed, and already I have met this wild demon who comes to torment me."

He grew angrier the more he thought about it. At last he could endure the humiliation no longer. Grinding his teeth, he sprang out and shouted, "What wild monster are you, that you dare bully me like this?"

The Pilgrim said, "Never mind where I come from. Give me back my horse, and I will spare your life."

The dragon said, "Your horse is already swallowed in my belly. How am I to spit it out? If I do not return it, what then?"

"If you will not return the horse," said the Pilgrim, "then taste my rod. I will beat you to death and pay my horse's life for it."

They fought again beneath the cliffs. After only a few rounds, the young dragon could not stand it. It shook itself and turned into a little water-snake, slipping into the grass.

The Monkey King took up his rod and chased after it, parting the grass and searching for the snake. There was no sign at all. He grew so furious that his three corpses spirits clawed at him and smoke seemed to rise from his seven apertures. He muttered a spell beginning with the syllable "Om" and summoned the local earth god and mountain god to kneel before him.

"Mountain god, earth god, come and see me."

The Pilgrim said, "Stretch out your legs. I'll give each of you five strokes and be done with it."

The two spirits kowtowed and pleaded, "We beg the Great Sage to show mercy and let us explain."

The Pilgrim said, "Explain what?"

The spirits said, "The Great Sage has long been imprisoned. We did not know when you would come out, so we never came to welcome you. We beg forgiveness."

"Very well," said the Pilgrim, "I will not beat you yet. Let me ask you: what monster dragon came to Eagle-Sorrow Ravine? How did he snatch my master's white horse and eat it?"

The two spirits said, "The Great Sage has never had a master before. You were once a being that neither Heaven nor Earth could control. How could you have any master's horse?"

The Pilgrim said, "You do not understand. Because of that lie I made in Heaven, I suffered these five hundred years of hardship. Now, by Guanyin's urging, I have been rescued by a real monk from Great Tang. She told me to follow him as his disciple and go west to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures. We passed through here and lost my master's white horse."

The spirits said, "So that is how it is. This ravine has always been pure. It is deep and steep and broad, and the water is clear all the way down. Crows and magpies do not dare fly over it, because the water is so clear that they see their own shadows and mistake them for birds of their own kind, and often plunge right in. That is why it is called Eagle-Sorrow Ravine.

"Only in years past, when Guanyin was searching for the scripture-seeker, she saved a jade dragon and placed him here, telling him to wait for the one who would seek the scriptures and forbidding him to do evil. When hungry, he would come ashore and snatch a bird or two, or catch a deer to eat. We do not know how, today, he offended the Great Sage."

The Pilgrim said, "The first time he fought me, we traded a few rounds. The second time, I cursed him and he would not come out. So I used a river-turning, sea-stirring spell to churn his water and draw him forth again. I did not know my rod was so heavy; he could not block it and turned into a water-snake, slipping into the grass. I chased after him, but there was no trace."

The earth god said, "The Great Sage does not know. This ravine has countless channels joining one another, and that is why its currents run so deep and far. He must have slipped down one of those holes. There is no need for you to rage and search here. If you want to catch him, you need only invite Guanyin, and she will subdue him naturally."

When the Pilgrim heard this, he summoned the mountain god and earth god to go with him and see Tripitaka. He explained everything in detail.

Tripitaka said, "If we must invite the bodhisattva, how long will she take to return? I am a poor monk. How can I bear hunger and cold?"

He had barely finished when, from the hidden sky, the Golden-Headed Revealing Spirit called out, "Great Sage, you need not go yourself. I will invite the bodhisattva at once."

The Pilgrim was delighted. "Much obliged, much obliged. Go quickly, go quickly."

The spirit hurried off on a cloud straight for the South Sea. The Pilgrim ordered the mountain god and earth god to guard his master, and sent the Duty Officer of the day to find provisions. Then he went back and forth beside the ravine without further word.

The Golden-Headed Revealing Spirit soon reached the South Sea. Following the auspicious light, he went straight into the Purple Bamboo Grove on Mount Luojia, where the heavenly guardians and Hui'an stood at the gate, and was admitted to the bodhisattva's presence.

Guanyin asked, "Why have you come?"

The spirit said, "Tripitaka has lost his horse at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine on Snake-Coiled Mountain. The Great Sage Sun is trapped between advance and retreat. We asked the local spirits, and they said the dragon you sent into the ravine swallowed it. The Great Sage has sent me to beg the bodhisattva to subdue the dragon and restore the horse."

Guanyin said, "That fellow is the son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the Western Sea. Because he set fire to the bright pearl on the hall and his father denounced him as unfilial, he was condemned to death in Heaven. I myself went before the Jade Emperor and begged him down here so he could serve Tripitaka as a mount. How did he end up eating Tripitaka's horse? Very well. I will go at once."

She descended from the lotus seat and left the immortal cave. Riding auspicious light with the Revealing Spirit, she crossed the South Sea and came this way. A verse bears witness:

The Buddha spoke the sutras of boundless power;
the bodhisattva spread goodness through a thousand walls.
The wondrous Mahayana words linked heaven and earth;
the prajna mantra rescued ghosts and spirits.
So the Golden Cicada shed his shell again,
and Xuanzang returned to cultivate once more.
Because the road was blocked at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine,
the dragon prince came back to truth and took horse form.

Before long, Guanyin and the Revealing Spirit reached Snake-Coiled Mountain. They held the auspicious cloud high in the air and looked down to see the Pilgrim cursing at the ravine bank. Guanyin told the Revealing Spirit to call him over.

The Revealing Spirit dropped from the cloud and went straight to the Pilgrim, not through Tripitaka. "The bodhisattva has come."

The Pilgrim heard that and leaped into the air, shouting at her, "You teacher of the seven Buddhas, you merciful one, how could you devise such a trick to harm me?"

Guanyin said, "You bold little horse-ape, you crude, rough-backed brat. I took great pains to save a scripture-seeker, told him to rescue your life, and yet you do not thank me for preserving you. Instead you rush here to bellow at me?"

The Pilgrim said, "You have played me for a fool. If you had freed me, you might as well have let me roam where I pleased. The other day, when you met me at the sea, you spoke a few hard words and told me only to serve Tripitaka with all my heart, and that would have been enough. But why did you give him that flowered cap and trick me into putting it on? Why did you fasten this hoop on my head and then have the old monk chant some Tightening Spell over and over until my head hurt again and again? Was that not harming me?"

Guanyin smiled. "You monkey. If you did not obey instruction and did not accept rightful fruition, how could I have restrained you in any other way? If you were to burst out in trouble again as before, who would keep you in hand? Only with this burden will you enter my path of yoga."

The Pilgrim said, "Very well, let that business be my burden. But why did you place that guilty dragon here and let him become a demon, so that he ate my master's horse? That is to let evil men run wild. It is not proper."

Guanyin said, "That dragon, I personally petitioned the Jade Emperor for. He was placed here expressly to serve scripture-seekers as a mount. Think about it: how could an ordinary horse from the Eastern Land cross these ten thousand rivers and thousand mountains? How could it ever reach the Buddha-land of Lingshan? Only this dragon-horse can make the journey."

The Pilgrim said, "But he is afraid of me and stays hidden. What is to be done?"

Guanyin told the Revealing Spirit, "Go to the ravine and call out: 'Ao Run, Dragon King, Third Prince Jade Dragon, come out. The bodhisattva of the South Sea is here.' He will come."

The spirit went and called twice at the ravine edge. The little dragon rolled the waves, leaped out of the water, and transformed into human shape. He stepped onto a cloud and came into the air to bow before Guanyin.

"When your mercy rescued my life before, I have waited here ever since, but heard nothing of the scripture-seeker."

Guanyin pointed to the Pilgrim. "Is this not the scripture-seeker's first disciple?"

The dragon saw him and said, "Bodhisattva, this is my enemy. Yesterday, when I was hungry, I really did eat his horse. He relied on his strength and beat me until I had no power to continue, then cursed me so hard I dared not show my face. He never once spoke the words 'seek the scriptures.'"

The Pilgrim said, "You never asked me my surname. How was I to tell you?"

The dragon said, "I never asked you where you came from, wild creature? You shouted, 'Never mind where I come from. Just give me back my horse.' How could you have said even half the word 'Tang'?"

Guanyin said, "That monkey relies entirely on his own strength and never thinks to praise others. This time, if you ask him, he will be obedient enough. When you speak, begin with the words 'seek the scriptures.' Then he will settle down at once."

The Pilgrim laughed and took the lesson.

Guanyin stepped forward, plucked away the bright pearl from the dragon's throat, dipped a willow twig in sweet dew, and brushed it over the creature's body. Then she blew a breath of immortal force and cried, "Change!"

At once the dragon became the horse it had been before, with the same coat and color. She gave him one more instruction:

"You must work carefully to repay your karmic burden. When your task is done, you will rise above ordinary dragons and be given the true fruition of a golden body."

The little dragon held the bone in his throat and understood the command in his heart. Guanyin told the Pilgrim to lead him away and present him to Tripitaka.

"I am returning to the South Sea."

The Pilgrim clutched at her and would not let go. "I am not going. I am not going. This road to the West is so steep and broken. How long will it take to protect this mortal monk and reach the end? With so many trials and hardships, even my own life is hard to preserve. I am not going. I am not going."

Guanyin said, "In the years before you had the human path, you were still willing to cultivate with all your heart. Now that you have escaped heavenly disaster, why have you grown lazy? In my gate, we make truth through stillness and extinction; what is required is a faith that reaches rightful fruition. If you come to a place where body and spirit are worn by suffering, I allow you to call on Heaven and Heaven will answer; call on Earth and Earth will respond. If you reach the point where you cannot escape, I myself will come to save you. Come here. I will give you one more skill."

She plucked three leaves from the willow and placed them behind the Pilgrim's head. "Change!"

At once they became three rescue hairs.

She told him, "When you come to a moment with no help and no patron, use them as the situation demands. They will save you from sudden suffering."

The Pilgrim heard these many fine words and only then thanked the great compassionate bodhisattva. Guanyin, wrapped in fragrant wind and colored mist, rode away to Putuo.

Only then did the Pilgrim settle his cloud, seize the dragon horse by the top of its mane, and bring it before Tripitaka.

"Master, the horse is here."

Tripitaka looked and was overjoyed. "Disciple, why does this horse look a little fatter than before? Where did you find it?"

The Pilgrim said, "Master, you are still dreaming. Just now the Golden-Headed Revealing Spirit invited the bodhisattva, and she transformed the dragon in the ravine into our white horse. The coat and color are the same; only the saddle and bridle are missing. I dragged it back for you."

Tripitaka was startled. "Where is the bodhisattva? Let me go and bow to her."

The Pilgrim said, "She is already back in the South Sea and has no patience for ceremony now."

Tripitaka scooped up a handful of dust, burned incense, and bowed toward the south. When he had finished, he got up and prepared to continue.

The Pilgrim dismissed the mountain god and earth god, gave orders to the Revealing Spirit and Duty Officer, and then asked his master to mount.

Tripitaka said, "A horse with no saddle or bridle cannot be ridden. Let us find a boat and cross the ravine first, then we can decide what to do."

The Pilgrim said, "Master, how can you be so unpractical? Where in this wild mountain are we to find a boat? This horse has lived here long enough to know the waters. Ride him like a little ferry and we will cross that way."

Tripitaka had no choice but to obey and mount the dragon horse. The Pilgrim took the luggage. They reached the ravine bank.

Just then a fisherman came downstream on a deadwood raft. The Pilgrim waved him over.

"Old fisherman, come here. I am from the Eastern Land, going west to seek the scriptures. My master cannot cross here. Come ferry him across."

The fisherman heard and quickly paddled in. The Pilgrim asked his master to dismount and supported him on either side. Tripitaka stepped onto the raft, pulled the horse aboard, and set the luggage down. The old fisherman pushed off, and like wind and arrow they crossed Eagle-Sorrow Ravine and reached the western bank.

Tripitaka told the Pilgrim to open the bundle and take out a few of the Great Tang's cash pieces for the fisherman. The fisherman shoved the raft away with a pole and said, "No money, no money," then drifted off into the midstream haze.

Tripitaka was much put out and kept joining his palms in thanks.

The Pilgrim said, "Master, do not fuss. Do you not know who that was? He was the water spirit of this ravine. If he had not come to meet me, I would still have beaten him. Since he escaped punishment only now, how could he dare take your money?"

The master half-believed and half-did not. He mounted the horse once more and followed the Pilgrim straight west along the main road.

It was, as the saying goes: the broad truth of thusness reaches the far shore; sincere faith and the taming of the nature ascend to Lingshan.

They traveled together for two months on an easy road, meeting only Lolo people, Hui people, wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards. Time moved quickly, and by early spring the hills and woods were bright with brocaded green while grass and trees sent out fresh buds. The plum blossoms had all fallen away, and the willow eyes had just begun to open.

Master and disciple enjoyed the spring scenery as they traveled, and once more the sun sank westward. Tripitaka drew rein and looked into a mountain hollow. There he saw the shadow of a tower and the dim bulk of halls and pavilions.

"Wukong," he said, "what place is that ahead? We can stay there for the night and go on tomorrow morning."

The Pilgrim raised his head and looked. "Master, that is no private house. It must be a temple or monastery. Let us hurry up and stay there."

Tripitaka gladly agreed, and the dragon horse was urged forward toward the place.

As for what sort of place it was, and what happened next, that must wait for the next chapter.