Chapter 58: Two Minds Stir the Great Cosmos; One Body Finds True Quiescence Hard to Cultivate

Wukong and Sha Wujing took leave of the Bodhisattva, raised two bright clouds, and left the South Sea. Wukong's somersault cloud was swift, while Sha Wujing's immortal cloud was slower. Wukong wanted to go first, but Sha Wujing pulled him back.

"Brother," he said, "there is no need for you to hide your face and rush ahead. Let me go with you."

The Great Sage was only following his heart, yet Sha Wujing had his doubts. So the two of them rode together.

Before long they reached Flower-Fruit Mountain. They lowered the clouds and looked carefully outside the cave. Sure enough, there was another Sun Wukong seated high on the stone platform, drinking and making merry with the monkey troop. His appearance was no different from the Great Sage's: yellow hair with a golden fillet, eyes like fire and gold, a cotton robe, a tiger-skin skirt, a golden-hooped iron rod in his hand, deerskin boots on his feet, the same thunder-god face, turned-up cheeks, broad temples, and tusk-like teeth jutting outward.

At this, the Great Sage flew into a rage. He let go of Sha Wujing, seized his iron rod, and charged forward, cursing, "What kind of demon are you, to take my face, steal my children, occupy my immortal cave, and set up your own authority here?"

The false Wukong did not answer. He too raised his iron rod and came to meet him.

When two Wukongs met, there was truly no way to tell which was false and which was true. What a fight that was:

Two rods, two monkey spirits, in a contest that was no light thing.
Both wanted to protect the Tang emperor's disciple and win a name for themselves.
The true monkey had been taught by the Buddhist gate; the false monster only pretended to the Buddha's spirit.
Their powers were so many and their changes so many that truth and falsehood stood level together.
One was the Great Sage of Pure Chaos and One Breath;
the other had long been refined into a ground-shrinking spirit.
One bore the Ruyi Jingu Bang;
the other wielded a rod that bent to his will.
They parried and blocked with no victory on either side.
At first they fought outside the cave, and soon they were contending high in the clouds.

The two of them leaped skyward, fighting all the way into the upper vault of heaven.

Sha Wujing stood by and dared not strike. Looking at the battle, he truly could not tell true from false. He wanted to draw his blade and help, but feared he might wound the real one.

After enduring for a long while, he sprang down the cliff and used his demon-subduing staff to smash at the front of Water-Curtain Cave. He scattered the monkey troop, overturned the stone stools, and broke every vessel from the drinking and feasting tables. He searched everywhere for the blue felt bundles, but could not find them at all. The reason was that Water-Curtain Cave was really just a waterfall hanging in front of the entrance. From far away it looked like a white curtain of cloth; from close by, it was only a stream of running water. That is why it was called Water-Curtain Cave.

Sha Wujing did not know how to get inside, so he could not find the way. He rose on the clouds and chased the two Wukongs into the upper sky, rod in hand, but still could not bring himself to strike.

The Great Sage cried, "Sha Wujing, since you cannot help me, go back and tell Master this: the matter is as follows. Old Sun will go with this demon to Mount Putuo and before the Bodhisattva there we will distinguish true from false."

The false Wukong also shouted the same thing.

Sha Wujing saw that the two faces, the two voices, and every motion were completely identical. Black and white could not be separated. So he had no choice but to turn back and report to Tripitaka.

The two Wukongs fought and shouted as they went, all the way to the South Sea and straight up Mount Putuo, where their cries did not cease. The guardian gods were alarmed and rushed to report to Tidal Sound Cave, saying, "Bodhisattva, there truly are two Sun Wukongs fighting their way here."

The Bodhisattva, together with Hui'an, Good Fortune Child, and the dragon girl, came down from the lotus throne and shouted at the gate, "You rebellious beasts, where are you going?"

The two of them had already seized one another and cried together, "Bodhisattva, this fellow truly looks exactly like me. We were fighting from Water-Curtain Cave all the way here, and even after all this time we cannot decide the winner. Sha Wujing is dull of eye and muddled of understanding. He could not tell true from false and had no strength to help, so I sent him back west to report to Master. I have brought this fellow here to Mount Putuo so that the Bodhisattva may use her wisdom eye to recognize which of us is true and which is false."

The false Wukong also repeated the same story.

The guardian gods and the Bodhisattva looked for a long time, but could not tell them apart. The Bodhisattva said, "Let go of one another and stand to either side while I look again."

So they let go and stood apart.

One said, "I am the true one."

The other said, "He is the false one."

The Bodhisattva called Hui'an and Good Fortune Child forward and said in a low voice, "Each of you go and hold one of them. Then I will secretly recite the Tightening Spell, and the one who hurts will be the true one, while the one who does not hurt will be the false."

They each restrained one.

The Bodhisattva quietly recited the spell.

At once both of them cried out in pain, clutching their heads and rolling on the ground, shouting, "Do not recite it, do not recite it!"

When the Bodhisattva stopped, the two of them seized one another again and went back to shouting and fighting as before. The Bodhisattva had no other way. She ordered the guardian gods and Hui'an to help, but everyone feared hurting the true Wukong and dared not strike.

The Bodhisattva called out, "Sun Wukong!"

Both of them answered at once.

The Bodhisattva said, "In the old days, when you held office as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses and caused havoc in Heaven, all the divine generals knew you. Go now to the celestial court and make your case there."

The true Great Sage thanked her.

The false Wukong also thanked her.

The two of them tugged and dragged at one another, shouting without pause, and went straight to the South Heavenly Gate. There, the Wide-Eye Heavenly King, along with the four great generals Ma, Zhao, Wen, and Guan, and all the gods guarding the gate, hurried forward with weapons in hand and blocked their path.

"Where do you think you are going?" they cried. "Is this a place for fighting?"

The Great Sage said, "I was escorting Tripitaka west to seek the scriptures. Along the road I killed some bandits. Tripitaka blamed me and sent me back. I went at once to the South Sea to complain to Guanyin. I never expected this demon to change into my appearance, beat Tripitaka down, and steal the luggage.

Sha Wujing went to Flower-Fruit Mountain to demand the bundle back and found this demon occupying my cave. Later he came to Mount Putuo to tell the Bodhisattva, and there I was standing by the platform. He lied and said that I had ridden off on somersault cloud and had already spoken with the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva, being perfectly clear-sighted, did not listen to him, but ordered me to go with him to Flower-Fruit Mountain to see for myself.

It turns out that this demon truly looks exactly like Old Sun. We fought from Water-Curtain Cave all the way to Mount Putuo, and even the Bodhisattva could not tell us apart. So we have come here, begging the divine eyes of the gods to recognize which is false and which is true."

The false Wukong then told the same story in the same way.

The gods watched for a long time, but still could not tell them apart.

The two of them shouted, "Since none of you can recognize us, get out of the way and let us go see the Jade Emperor!"

The gods could not hold them off and opened the Heavenly Gate. They charged straight into the Hall of Brightness.

Marshal Ma and the four Heavenly Masters - Zhang, Ge, Xu, and Qiu - reported, "Down below there are two Sun Wukongs fighting their way into the gate, both claiming they want an audience."

Before they had finished speaking, the two of them had already shouted their way in.

The Jade Emperor was greatly alarmed and descended from the throne to ask, "Why have you two dared to make such a disturbance in Heaven and shout your way before my presence?"

The Great Sage said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your subject submits himself and takes refuge in the Buddhist path. I would never again dare deceive above me or scheme with evil. It is only this demon, who has changed into my appearance."

Then he told the whole story from beginning to end and begged for a clear distinction between true and false.

The false Wukong also told the same story from beginning to end.

The Jade Emperor immediately issued a decree summoning Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and said, "Bring the Demon-Testing Mirror and see which of these two is true and which is false. Let the false vanish and the true remain."

Li Jing brought the mirror at once and held it up while the Jade Emperor and the gods looked on.

In the mirror there were only two shadows of Sun Wukong. The fillet, the robes, and every detail were exactly alike. Even the Jade Emperor could not tell them apart, so he drove them out of the hall.

The true Great Sage gave a cold laugh, and the false Wukong laughed aloud with delight. Tugging and grabbing one another by the head and neck, they burst out of the Heavenly Gate again and fell back onto the road leading west, where they shouted, "I will see Master with you. I will see Master with you."

As for Sha Wujing, after taking leave of the two of them at Flower-Fruit Mountain, he traveled for three more days and nights and then returned to the farmhouse, where he told Tripitaka everything that had happened.

Tripitaka sighed in repentance. "At the time, I only thought it was Sun Wukong who struck me with a rod and stole the luggage. Who would have thought it was the counterfeit Wukong?"

Sha Wujing then reported, "The demon also changed himself into a master, a white horse, and a Bajie carrying the bundle. He also made one of himself in my shape. I could not help my temper, so I struck and killed him. It turned out to be a monkey spirit. That frightened the rest of them away, and then I went to the Bodhisattva to complain. She ordered me and my senior brother to go back together and identify him. The demon truly does look exactly like my senior brother. I could not help the battle, so I came back first to report to you."

Tripitaka heard this and turned pale with alarm.

Bajie laughed loudly. "Good, good, good. That fits what the old lady here said: she said there were several groups of scripture seekers. So this is another group?"

The whole household old and young came and asked Sha Wujing, "Where have you been these past few days to beg travel money?"

Sha Wujing said with a smile, "I went to Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Eastern Continent to look for Senior Brother and demand the luggage, and then I went to the South Sea to pay respects to Guanyin, and then I came back again from Flower-Fruit Mountain."

The old man asked, "How many li have you traveled back and forth?"

Sha Wujing said, "About two hundred thousand li or so."

The old man cried, "Good heavens! In just a few days you have traveled that far? You must have had to ride the clouds to manage it."

Bajie said, "If we had not ridden the clouds, how could we cross the sea?"

Sha Wujing said, "We do not even count that as travel. If it had been my senior brother, he could have gone there and back in one or two days."

When the household heard this, they all said he must be an immortal.

Bajie said, "We may not be immortals, but the immortals are still our juniors."

While they were speaking, they heard a great uproar in the sky. The whole household rushed out to look and saw that two Wukongs were fighting their way toward them.

Bajie could not resist itching to take part.

"Wait here," he said. "I am going to look and see."

The fool sprang into the air and shouted, "Brother, do not shout. Old Pig is here too!"

The two of them answered at once, "Brother, come help us beat the demon!"

The household cried, half afraid and half delighted, "These must be some robed arhats who are staying in our home. Even those who vowed to feed monks could not have fed such fine people!"

They no longer worried about food and drink and instead served them even more carefully.

Someone else said, "Those two Wukongs may fight themselves into disaster. Heaven and earth could turn over. The trouble may come down here."

Tripitaka saw that the old man spoke with joy to their faces and worry behind their backs, so he said, "Good benefactor, do not be uneasy. I have subdued my disciples and turned evil back to good. Naturally I will thank you."

The old man answered over and over, "I would not dare, I would not dare."

Sha Wujing said, "Benefactor, do not talk. Let Master sit here while I and Second Brother go. We will each seize one of them and bring him before you, and then you can recite the spell. The one who hurts will be the true one, and the one who does not hurt will be the false."

Tripitaka said, "That is exactly right."

Sha Wujing rose into the air and called, "You two stop. Come with me to Master and we will determine which is true and which is false."

The Great Sage let go. The false Wukong also let go.

Sha Wujing grabbed one of them and called, "Second Brother, you hold one as well."

Sure enough, he seized one, and the three of them descended from the clouds directly to the grass-house gate.

Tripitaka saw them and began reciting the Tightening Spell.

Both of them cried out together, "We are already fighting so hard. Why are you still cursing me? Do not recite it, do not recite it!"

Tripitaka's heart was kind, so he stopped reciting, but he still could not tell true from false.

The two of them broke free and began fighting again.

The Great Sage said, "Brothers, protect Master. I will go and fight this fellow before King Yama and settle it there."

The false Wukong also said the same.

The two of them grabbed and shoved one another until, in a moment, they vanished again.

Bajie said, "Sha Wujing, when you got to Water-Curtain Cave and saw the fake Bajie carrying the luggage, why did you not snatch it?"

Sha Wujing said, "The demon saw me strike the fake Sha with my treasure staff and called up the whole troop to seize me. I thought only of saving my own life and ran. When I complained to the Bodhisattva and returned with the Great Sage, the two of them were fighting in the air, and I went to overturn his stone stools and scatter his little devils. I only saw a waterfall of running water. I could not tell where the cave door was, so I could not find the luggage. That is why I came back empty-handed."

Bajie said, "Then you did not know. When I went to fetch him a few years ago, I first met him outside the cave. Later I spoke too boldly, and he went down inside to change his clothes. I saw him dive straight into the water. That waterfall is the cave door. The demon must have hidden our bundle in there."

Tripitaka said, "Since you know the gate, then when they are all away, you should go and get the bundle from the cave first, and then we can go west. I do not need him even if he comes back."

Bajie said, "I will go."

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, there are a thousand or so little monkeys outside his cave. I fear one man will not be able to handle them and that it will go badly."

Bajie laughed. "Do not fear. Do not fear."

He hurried out the door, mounted cloud and mist, and went straight to Flower-Fruit Mountain to look for the luggage. We need not dwell on him.

Meanwhile the two Wukongs fought and shouted on, all the way to the back side of Mount Yin. The whole mountain was full of ghosts, trembling and hiding. Some who ran ahead crashed into the gates of the underworld and reported to the Hall of Darkness, "Your Majesties, two Great Sages Equal to Heaven are fighting their way up from the Backside of Yin Mountain!"

The First King, Qin Guang, immediately reported to the Second King, Chujiang, the Third King, Songdi, the Fourth King, Biancheng, the Fifth King, Yama, the Sixth King, Pingdeng, the Seventh King, Taishan, the Eighth King, Du shi, the Ninth King, Magistrate Oathbreaker, and the Tenth King, Wheel-Turning. One by one they relayed the report until all ten kings had gathered in an instant. They also sent men flying to report to Ksitigarbha. Together in the Hall of Darkness, they assembled the underworld troops and waited to capture the false one.

Only the wild wind roared, and only the dark mist spread wide, while the two Wukongs rolled and fought until they reached the foot of the Hall of Darkness.

The underworld lord stepped forward and blocked their path.

"Great Sage," he said, "what matter brings you to disturb the nether world?"

The Great Sage replied, "I was escorting Tang monk west to seek the scriptures. When we passed through the Western Liang realm and came to a mountain, bandits blocked and robbed us. I killed several of them, and Master blamed me and sent me back. I then went to the South Sea Bodhisattva and complained. Unexpectedly, that demon somehow drew breath from somewhere and changed into my appearance, beat Master down on the road, and stole the luggage.

Sha Wujing went to my mountain to demand the bundle back. The demon claimed my name and said he wanted to go west to seek the scriptures. Sha Wujing fled to the South Sea and saw me there. He told the whole story, and the Bodhisattva ordered me to go with him to Flower-Fruit Mountain. It turned out that the demon had truly occupied my cave. I argued with him before the Bodhisattva, and our faces and voices were exactly the same. The Bodhisattva also could not tell true from false. Then we fought our way up to Heaven, where the gods could not tell us apart either. When we saw my master, he recited the Tightening Spell to test us, and both of us hurt in exactly the same way.

So we have come to the nether world, begging the Lord of Darkness to inspect the book of life and death and see what the fake Wukong's origin is. Hurry and chase his soul away so that this two-minded confusion may be put to rest."

The false Wukong also told the same story.

When the underworld lord heard this, he summoned the clerk in charge of the registers to inspect everything from the start. There was no entry at all under the name of the false Wukong. Then they looked at the register of the hairy creatures. The monkey's one hundred and thirty entries had already been erased at the time when Sun the Great Sage attained the Way in childhood and caused havoc in the underworld. From that time on, all monkey-kind had no name in the registers. The inspection was finished, and the report was made at the hall.

The underworld lord, holding his tablet, said to Wukong, "Great Sage, since there is no name in the nether records, you had better return to the world of the living and settle the matter there."

Just then Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said, "Wait, wait. Let me have the creature's name heard by Di Ting."

Di Ting was the beast that lay beneath Ksitigarbha's scripture table.

If it lay flat on the ground, in an instant it could distinguish the mountains, rivers, and altars of the four continents, and between the blessed lands and the caves of heaven it could tell the shell-bearing, scaled, furred, feathered, and crawling creatures, the heavenly immortals, the earthly immortals, the spirit immortals, the human immortals, and the ghost immortals. It could see good and evil and hear wisdom and folly.

By Ksitigarbha's command, the beast lay down in the courtyard of darkness. After a moment it lifted its head and said to Ksitigarbha, "The monster has a name, but it must not be spoken out loud in front of him. Nor can I help capture him."

Ksitigarbha said, "What if I speak it in front of him?"

Di Ting said, "If it is spoken in front of him, I fear the monster will turn vicious and disturb the hall, leaving the underworld unsettled."

Ksitigarbha asked, "Why can you not help capture him?"

Di Ting said, "His powers and Sun the Great Sage's are the same. The gods of the underworld have only so much force. That is why I cannot capture him."

Ksitigarbha asked, "Then how should he be driven off?"

Di Ting said, "The Buddha's law is boundless."

At once Ksitigarbha understood. He said to Wukong, "You two are the same in appearance and the same in power. If you want to tell true from false, you must go to the Tathagata at Thunderclap Monastery. Only there will the matter become clear."

The two of them shouted together, "Exactly, exactly. We will go before the Buddha and settle it there."

The ten underworld kings escorted them out and thanked Ksitigarbha, then returned to the Green Cloud Palace and ordered the ghost officers to shut the gates of the underworld. We need not dwell on that.

Look at those two Wukongs flying through cloud and mist, fighting all the way west to Thunderclap Monastery at the Western Heaven. A verse says:

Two minds within one body breed calamity,
and suspicion stretches from the edge of the world to the edge of the sky.
One longs for the office of the Three Great Horses,
and one remembers the shining throne of rank and title.
North and south, east and west, the struggle never rests;
the dust is in motion, and nothing is yet decided.
The Buddhist gate must learn the spell of no-mind;
only then can the infant be nourished and the holy embryo formed.

The two of them tugged and dragged at one another in the sky, grabbing and shoving, fighting as they went, until they shouted their way to the gate of the Thunderclap Monastery on Vulture Peak in the Great Western Heaven.

There they saw the Four Great Bodhisattvas, the Eight Vajra Guardians, the Five Hundred Arhats, the Three Thousand Protectors, the nuns, the monks, the laymen, and the laywomen all gathered beneath the seven-jeweled lotus throne, listening in pure silence as the Tathagata preached the law. The Tathagata was just then speaking these lines:

"Within being there is no being; within nonbeing there is no nonbeing. Within form there is no form; within emptiness there is no emptiness. What is not conditioned is conditioned; what is not nonbeing is nonbeing. What is not form is form; what is not emptiness is emptiness. Emptiness is emptiness itself, and form is form itself. Form is without fixed form, and form is thus emptiness. Emptiness is without fixed emptiness, and emptiness is thus form. To know emptiness as not emptiness, and form as not form, is what is called true illumination, and only then do you reach the subtle sound."

The whole congregation bowed their heads and took refuge. As the sutra was being recited and circulated, the Tathagata scattered heavenly flowers in a brilliant rain, then rose from the jeweled seat and said to the assembly, "You are all of one mind. Now behold two minds contending and fighting their way here."

The assembly looked up and, sure enough, there were two Wukongs shouting at heaven and earth as they fought into the sacred realm. The Eight Vajra Guardians rushed forward to block them.

"Where do you think you are going?" they cried.

The Great Sage said, "That demon has changed into my form and wants to come beneath the jeweled lotus throne. I beg the Tathagata to distinguish the false from the true."

The guardians could not stop them, and they shouted their way to the foot of the throne, where both of them knelt before the Buddha.

The Great Sage begged, "I escorted Tang monk westward to seek the scriptures, and along the road I refined demons and bound monsters. I do not know how much thought and effort it has cost me. Before midway on the journey we happened upon bandits who robbed us. I truly beat and injured several of them a second time. Master blamed me and drove me away, refusing to let me go with him to worship the Buddha. I had no choice but to go to the South Sea and complain to Guanyin. Unexpectedly, this demon changed into my appearance, beat Master down, and stole the luggage.

My junior brother Wujing searched my mountain for the bundle and came upon this demon claiming to be me and saying he wanted to go west to seek the scriptures. Wujing fled to the South Sea and I was standing by the Bodhisattva's side. He told the matter in detail. Guanyin knew what had happened and sent me to go with Wujing back to my mountain. That was how the two of us fought to tell true from false. We went all the way to the South Sea, and then to Heaven, and then even to see my master. Yet no one could tell us apart. So I have come boldly to beg the Buddha to open the gate of mercy and pity, to distinguish evil from righteousness, so that I may protect Tang monk in person, bow before your golden body, and return to the Eastern Land with the scriptures, forever spreading the great teaching."

The assembly heard the two of them speak with the same mouth and the same voice, each telling the same story, and still they could not tell them apart.

The Tathagata knew everything already and was about to speak the answer when, from the southern sky, a band of colored clouds arrived and Guanyin came to pay her respects to the Buddha.

The Buddha folded his hands and asked, "Venerable Guanyin, look at these two Wukongs. Which one is true and which false?"

The Bodhisattva said, "A few days ago, in my poor little region, I truly could not distinguish them. They went on to Heaven and to the underworld, and they were still impossible to recognize. I have come especially to beg the Tathagata to distinguish them."

The Buddha smiled. "You both have great power, but you can only survey all the things of the universe. You cannot know every thing in the universe, nor can you recognize every kind in the universe."

The Bodhisattva asked to hear the kinds of beings in the universe.

The Buddha said, "Within the universe there are five immortals: heavenly, earthly, spiritual, human, and ghost. There are also five kinds of creatures: shelled, scaled, furred, feathered, and crawling. This fellow is neither among the five immortals nor among the five creatures. There are also four monkeys that mix the world and do not enter the ten kinds."

The Bodhisattva said, "May I ask which four monkeys these are?"

The Buddha said, "First is the Numinous Stone Monkey, who understands transformations, knows heavenly time, knows earthly advantage, and can move the stars and change the constellations. Second is the Red-Backed Horse Monkey, who understands yin and yang, knows human affairs, is clever at coming and going, and can evade death and prolong life. Third is the Long-Armed Gibbon, who can grasp the sun and moon, compress a thousand mountains, distinguish auspice and misfortune, and toy with heaven and earth. Fourth is the Six-Eared Macaque, who is good at listening, able to discern principle, knows the before and the after, and sees all things clearly. This fourth monkey does not belong to the ten kinds and does not fall under the names of heaven and earth. I judge that the false Wukong is the Six-Eared Macaque. If this monkey stands in one place, he can know what is happening a thousand li away. Whatever people say, he can also hear it. That is why he is good at listening, able to discern principle, knows the before and the after, and sees all things clearly. The one who looks and sounds exactly like the true Wukong is the Six-Eared Macaque."

When the macaque heard the Tathagata reveal his true form, he was shaken to the marrow. He sprang up at once and tried to run.

The Buddha saw him go and immediately told the assembly to seize him. At once the Four Bodhisattvas, the Eight Vajra Guardians, the Five Hundred Arhats, the Three Thousand Protectors, the monks, the nuns, the laymen, the laywomen, Guanyin, and Hui'an all surrounded him.

The Great Sage also wanted to step forward.

The Buddha said, "Wukong, do not move. Let me capture him for you."

The macaque's hair stood on end. Knowing that escape would be hard, he quickly changed into a honeybee and flew upward.

The Buddha tossed his golden bowl upward and covered the bee cleanly. It dropped down again. The assembly, not knowing what had happened, thought it had escaped.

The Buddha smiled. "Do not say that it has escaped. The demon is still here beneath my bowl."

At that, the assembly came forward together and lifted the bowl. Sure enough, there he was in his true form, a Six-Eared Macaque.

The Great Sage could not hold himself back. He raised his iron rod and struck the monster on the head, killing him at once. That kind of creature has not appeared since.

The Buddha could not help but sigh, "Excellent, excellent."

The Great Sage said, "The Tathagata should not have shown him mercy. He injured my master and stole my baggage. By law, he should be charged with theft and assault in broad daylight, and he deserved execution."

The Buddha said, "Now hurry and go protect Tang monk and come here to seek the scriptures."

Wukong knocked his head to the ground and thanked him. "Let me report to the Tathagata: my master is surely unwilling to keep me. If I go back now and he still will not accept me, would that not mean another wasted effort? I beg the Buddha, out of kindness, to recite the loosening spell once, take off this golden fillet, and return it to the Tathagata so that I may go back to lay life."

The Buddha said, "Do not think recklessly and do not play the sly one. I will have Guanyin send you back. You need not fear that he will not take you. Protect him well. When the work is finished and you return to bliss, you will also sit upon the lotus throne."

Guanyin, standing nearby, heard this and immediately folded her hands to thank the sacred favor. She led Wukong away and rode her cloud off. Hui'an and the white parrot followed behind.

Before long they reached the farmhouse on the road.

Sha Wujing saw them and hurried out to invite Tripitaka to receive them at the gate.

The Bodhisattva said, "Tripitaka, the one who beat you the other day was the false Wukong, the Six-Eared Macaque. Thanks to the Tathagata's knowledge, he has already been killed by Wukong. From now on you must take Wukong back. The road west is still full of demons and obstacles. Only with his protection can you reach Lingshan and see the Buddha and seek the scriptures. Do not blame him any more."

Tripitaka knocked his head to the ground and said, "I will obey the Bodhisattva's instruction."

As he was bowing his thanks, they suddenly heard a great wind roaring from the east. Bajie came riding it, carrying the two bundles on his back.

When the fool saw the Bodhisattva, he fell flat and bowed.

"Disciple left Master the other day and went to Flower-Fruit Mountain to look for the luggage. Sure enough, I found a counterfeit Tripitaka and a counterfeit Bajie there, and I killed them both. They turned out to be monkey bodies. After going inside I found the luggage, and I checked it item by item. Nothing was missing. Then I rode the wind back here. I still do not know what became of the two Wukongs."

The Bodhisattva then explained how the Buddha had recognized the monster.

The fool was overjoyed and thanked her without end.

The master and disciples bowed her farewell, and the Bodhisattva returned to the sea. The four of them were once again of one mind and one purpose, and they washed away the wrongs and anger.

They thanked the people of the farmhouse as well, gathered the luggage and the horse, and set out west along the great road.

This is what is meant by:

Midway along the road, the five phases fell into disorder;
when the demon was subdued, the scattered powers gathered again.
When spirit returns to the house of the heart, Chan can at last grow still;
when the six senses are driven out, the elixir forms of itself.

But how far the pilgrim must yet travel before he sees the Buddha and seeks the scriptures, that must wait for the next chapter.