Chapter 99: When the Nine-Nines Are Fulfilled, Demons Are Destroyed; When the Three-Threes Are Complete, the Way Returns to Its Root

We need not speak now of how the Eight Vajra Guardians escorted Tripitaka back to China. At the three lower gates stood the Five Direction Patrol Gods, the Four Duty Officers, the Six Ding and Six Jia, and the Protective Temple Guardians. They went before Guanyin and said, "We were once placed under your command to guard the holy monk in secret. Now that his journey is fulfilled and you have returned the Buddha's golden decree, we beg leave to return our commission as well." Guanyin was delighted and said, "Granted. Granted."

She then asked, "How did Tripitaka and the four of them conduct themselves along the road?" The gods replied, "In truth, their hearts were pure and their resolve sincere. Surely that could not escape your bodhisattva eye. Only the sufferings Tripitaka endured were beyond telling. We have carefully recorded the calamities and hardships he passed through. Here is his ledger of trials."

Guanyin read it from beginning to end. It said:

Under the order of the patrol gods, I faithfully record Tripitaka's countless trials: The first was Golden Cicada's demotion. The second, nearly slain before birth. The third, cast into the river at the full moon. The fourth, seeking kin and avenging a wrong. The fifth, meeting a tiger outside the city. The sixth, falling into a pit on the wrong road. The seventh, on Shuangcha Ridge. The eighth, at Two-Realm Mountain. The ninth, changing horses on a steep ravine. The tenth, burned in the night. The eleventh, losing the cassock. The twelfth, subduing Bajie. The thirteenth, blocked by the Yellow Wind Demon. The fourteenth, begging Lingji for aid. The fifteenth, hard passage through the Flowing-Sand River. The sixteenth, gaining Sha Wujing. The seventeenth, the Four Sages took form. The eighteenth, in Wuzhuang Monastery. The nineteenth, the ginseng fruit was hard to save. The twentieth, the Heart Monkey was banished. The twenty-first, lost in Black Pine Forest. The twenty-second, bearing a letter to Baoxiang Kingdom. The twenty-third, the tiger in the Golden Hall. The twenty-fourth, meeting a demon on Flat-Topped Mountain. The twenty-fifth, hanging high in Lotus Cave. The twenty-sixth, rescuing the lord in the Crow-Chicken Kingdom. The twenty-seventh, the demon took another shape. The twenty-eighth, meeting a monster at Howling Mountain. The twenty-ninth, wind seized the holy monk. The thirtieth, the Heart Monkey came to harm. The thirty-first, inviting the sage to subdue the demon. The thirty-second, sinking in the Black River. The thirty-third, carts moved at Chedi. The thirty-fourth, the great wager of win and loss. The thirty-fifth, sweeping away Daoism and raising Buddhism. The thirty-sixth, meeting a great flood on the road. The thirty-seventh, falling into the Heavenly River. The thirty-eighth, the fish-basket apparition. The thirty-ninth, meeting a monster in the mountains. The fortieth, unable to subdue the gods. The forty-first, asking Buddha for the root. The forty-second, poisoned by drinking water. The forty-third, held for marriage in the Western Liang kingdom. The forty-fourth, suffering in Pipa Cave. The forty-fifth, Heart Monkey banished again. The forty-sixth, hard to tell monkey from ape. The forty-seventh, blocked by Flaming Mountain. The forty-eighth, seeking the plantain fan. The forty-ninth, binding the Demon King. The fiftieth, clearing the tower in Saicheng. The fifty-first, fetching treasure to rescue the monk. The fifty-second, singing among the thorny thickets. The fifty-third, trouble at Little Thunderclap Monastery. The fifty-fourth, the gods of heaven were trapped. The fifty-fifth, blocked by foul persimmons and filthy refuse. The fifty-sixth, healing in Zhuzi Kingdom. The fifty-seventh, saving the weak and sick. The fifty-eighth, subduing the demon and winning back the queen. The fifty-ninth, the seven emotions lost in confusion. The sixtieth, the Many-Eyed Monster wounded. The sixty-first, blocked by Lion Camel Ridge. The sixty-second, the monster divided into three colors. The sixty-third, disaster struck the city. The sixty-fourth, inviting Buddha to subdue the demon. The sixty-fifth, rescuing the child in Bhikshu Kingdom. The sixty-sixth, distinguishing true from false. The sixty-seventh, rescuing the monster in the pine forest. The sixty-eighth, falling ill in the monk's room. The sixty-ninth, trapped in the Bottomless Cave. The seventieth, hard travel in the kingdom where the Dharma had been extinguished. The seventy-first, meeting a demon in Hidden Mist Mountain. The seventy-second, praying for rain in Fengxian Prefecture. The seventy-third, losing the weapons. The seventy-fourth, meeting the rake at Huiqing. The seventy-fifth, suffering on Bamboo-Segment Mountain. The seventy-sixth, suffering in Xuanying Cave. The seventy-seventh, catching the rhinos. The seventy-eighth, marriage trouble in India. The seventy-ninth, imprisoned in Tongtai Prefecture. The eightieth, shedding the mortal body at Lingyun Crossing. A road of one hundred and eight thousand li, and Tripitaka's ledger of trials stands plain before the eye.

Guanyin read the ledger and quickly sent word: "In the Buddha's gate, nine nines return to truth. Tripitaka has already passed eighty trials, yet one remains, and the count is not complete." She at once commanded the patrol gods: "Catch up with the Vajra Guardians and send one more trial after them."

Receiving the order, a patrol god rode the wind eastward and, in a single day and night, overtook the Eight Vajra Guardians. He leaned close and whispered, "So and so. Obey Guanyin's command; do not delay." When the eight Vajras heard this, they dropped the wind at once and sent the four travelers, horse and scriptures alike, tumbling to the ground.

Ah! This is the truth:

To return to truth through nine nines is a hard road; steadfast purpose alone can open the dark gate. The evil and the false must be burned away before the demons retreat. Do not treat the scripture scrolls as a simple matter; the holy monk has passed through many kinds of hardship. Since ancient days the subtle agreement has already been sealed; a hair's breadth of error, and no elixir can be made.

Tripitaka found himself standing on mortal ground and was startled. Bajie laughed aloud and said, "Good, good, good. This is just the long way arriving late."

Sha Wujing said, "Good, good, good. We must have gone too fast, so they have stopped us here to rest."

The Great Sage said, "As the old saying goes, 'Sit ten days on the riverbank, and in one day you will make up for nine riverbanks.'"

Tripitaka said, "All three of you stop bickering. Look to the direction. What place is this?"

Sha Wujing turned and looked all around. "It is here, it is here. Master, listen to the sound of water."

Wukong said, "If there is water, then it must be your old home."

Bajie said, "His old home is the Flowing-Sand River."

Sha Wujing said, "No, no. This is Tongtian River."

Tripitaka said, "My disciples, look carefully at which bank we stand on."

Wukong sprang into the air, shaded his eyes, and looked closely. He came down and said, "Master, this is the west bank of Tongtian River."

Tripitaka said, "Now I remember. On the east bank there used to be Chen Family Village. The year we came through, you saved the children there, and they were deeply grateful to us. They wanted to build a boat and send us on our way, and luckily the White Turtle ferried us across. I remember that the west bank had not a soul in sight. What shall we do this time?"

Bajie said, "People say only mortals can cheat, but it turns out even the Vajras before the Buddha can cheat. They took the Buddha's command to send us back east, so why did they drop us halfway? Are we not trapped now, unable to go forward or back? How are we to cross?"

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, do not complain. My master has already attained the Way and shed his mortal husk at Lingyun Crossing. This time he will surely not sink into the water. Let Senior Brother and the rest of us use our powers and carry Master across."

Wukong smiled to himself again and again. "Carry us across? Carry us across? You see why he says carry us across? If I were willing to use my divine powers and lay bare the mystery of rising on high, then even ten thousand rivers could be crossed by the master and his disciples. But because I know plainly that Tripitaka's count of nine-nines is not yet finished and that one more trial still awaits, I keep him here."

The master and disciples talked all around while walking slowly toward the water's edge. Suddenly they heard someone call, "Holy Master Tang! Holy Master Tang! This way, this way!" The four of them were startled.

They looked up. There was no one on either bank, and no boat anywhere. Yet there was an enormous white old turtle stretching out its head and calling, "Teacher, I have waited for you these years. Have you at last come back?"

Wukong laughed. "Old Turtle, I troubled you years ago, and now this year we meet again."

Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Wujing were overjoyed.

Wukong said, "Old Turtle, if your heart is truly hospitable, then come ashore."

At once the turtle heaved itself up onto the bank. Wukong told them to lead the horse onto its back. Bajie crouched behind the horse's tail, Tripitaka stood on the horse's left side, and Sha Wujing stood on the right. Wukong planted one foot on the turtle's neck and the other on its head and shouted, "Old Turtle, walk carefully and keep steady!"

The turtle spread its four legs and stepped over the water as if it were level ground, carrying the four travelers and the horse, five souls in all, back toward the east bank. Truly it may be said:

Within the gate of nonduality the law is profound and hidden; the demons are routed, and one learns the worlds of gods and men. Only now is the original face revealed; only now is the one root made whole. With the Three Vehicles as witness, they come and go at ease; with the nine refinings complete, the elixir may revolve as it will. The baggage may be hoisted and the staff may fly, but let no more be said: it is a joy to meet the old turtle and return to origin.

The old turtle carried them on, skimming waves and treading ripples. They had gone more than half a day and were nearing dusk, almost to the east bank, when it suddenly asked, "Teacher, years ago I begged you to go to the West and ask my Buddha Tathagata about my fate, to learn how many years of life I still had left. Did you ask him or not?"

When Tripitaka first went to the Western Heaven, bathed at the Jade True Monastery, shed his mortal body at Lingyun Crossing, and climbed Mount Sumeru, he gave his whole heart to bowing before the Buddha. When he met the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and holy monks, his mind was fixed only on the scriptures. He paid no heed to any other matter. So he had never asked about the old turtle's span of years, and he had no answer to give. Yet he dared not lie, so he said nothing for a long while.

The old turtle knew at once that he had not asked on its behalf. It shook itself and, with a splash, plunged down into the water, sending the four travelers, the horse, and the scriptures all tumbling in.

How fortunate that Tripitaka had already shed his mortal body and become a Dao-attainer. If it had been as before, he would already have sunk to the bottom. How fortunate, too, that the white horse was a dragon and that Bajie and Sha Wujing knew how to swim. The Great Sage smiled faintly, displayed his great divine power, and lifted Tripitaka out of the water to the eastern bank. Only the scripture bundle, the clothes, the saddle, and the bridles were soaked through.

As they climbed ashore and set things in order, a fierce wind suddenly rose, and the sky went dark. Thunder flashed together with lightning, rocks rolled, and sand flew. See how it raged:

One blast of wind shook heaven and earth; one clap of thunder stirred mountains and rivers. One flash of lightning bored through the clouds and shot out fire; one bank of fog covered all the land. The wind howled, and the thunder roared with savage force. The lightning cracked red through the sky, while the fog hid moon and stars. Wind drove sand and dust straight into the face; thunder startled tigers and leopards into hiding. Lightning flashed and made the flying birds cry out; fog spread so thick that the trees vanished. The wind churned Tongtian River until the waves boiled; the thunder shook fish and dragons to the bone. Lightning made Tongtian River bright to the depths; fog draped its banks in a gloomy pall. Such a wind could topple mountains and wrench stones from their beds. Such thunder had the force to startle all living things. Such lightning ran like golden serpents across the sky. Such fog spread everywhere and blotted out the nine heavens.

Tripitaka clutched the scripture bundle. Sha Wujing pressed down on the scripture pack. Bajie held the white horse. Wukong swung his iron staff with both hands and guarded right and left. For the wind, fog, thunder, and lightning were all signals of hidden demons, intent on stealing the scriptures they had won.

They endured the turmoil all night long. Only at daybreak did it finally cease.

Tripitaka, drenched through, said trembling, "Wukong, what has happened here?"

Wukong said angrily, "Master, you do not know the reason. What we have done in protecting you and winning these scriptures is a work of heaven and earth's transformation. It can endure alongside heaven and earth, shine with sun and moon, enjoy everlasting spring, and make the Dharma body indestructible. For that very reason heaven and earth will not tolerate it, and ghosts and spirits fear it. They came secretly to steal it away.

First, the scriptures were soaked with water. Second, your true Dharma body pressed them down, so thunder could not strike them, lightning could not shine on them, and fog could not cloud them. Third, Old Sun kept swinging his staff, and the pure yang nature held them in place. Then dawn arrived and the yang energy grew stronger, so they could not be taken away."

Only then did Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Wujing understand. They all thanked him again and again. Before long, the sun rose high.

They moved the scriptures up onto a high cliff, opened the wrapping, and spread them out to dry. The scripture-drying stone still stands there today. They also dried their clothes and shoes beside the cliff, standing, sitting, and leaping about.

Truly:

Pure yang rejoices in the sun, and the shadow demons dare not show their strength. Know that water has subdued the true scriptures, and wind, thunder, lightning, and fog cannot harm them. From this day all is calm and right, and from this day peace carries one toward the immortal land.

The scripture-drying stone still bears their marks, and no demon has come there for a thousand ages.

After they had checked the scriptures and spread them one by one in the sun, they soon saw several fishermen coming to the riverbank. Looking up, they recognized them. One of the fishermen cried, "Could this be the holy master who passed this river the year before on his way to the Western Heaven to seek the scriptures?"

Bajie said, "Just so, just so. Where are you from? How do you know us?"

The fishermen said, "We are people of Chen Family Village."

Bajie said, "How far is Chen Family Village from here?"

The fishermen said, "If you cross this ravine and go south, it is twenty li."

Bajie said, "Master, let us carry the scriptures to Chen Family Village to dry. There they will have places to sit and rest, and something to eat. We can even have them wash our clothes. Would that not be best?"

Tripitaka said, "No, let us not go. Once they are dried here, we will pack up and set out again."

The fishermen went across the southern ravine and happened to meet Chen Cheng. They called out, "Elder Chen, the master who once stayed in your house and performed the rites for your son has come back this year."

Chen Cheng said, "Where did you see him?"

The fishermen pointed and said, "He is over there drying the scriptures on the stone."

Chen Cheng then brought several tenant farmers, crossed the ravine, and saw them. He ran forward, fell to his knees, and said, "Sir, you have returned from seeking the scriptures. Your merit is complete and your practice fulfilled. Why do you not come to my humble home, but linger here instead? Please, please come with me."

Wukong said, "Wait until the scriptures are dry, and then we will go with you."

Chen Cheng then asked, "Why are the master's scriptures and clothes wet?"

Tripitaka said, "In former years the White Turtle ferried us across the west side of the river, and this year it again ferried us across to the east. When we had nearly reached the bank, it asked whether I had remembered to ask the Buddha about its remaining years of life. I had never asked, and so it plunged us back into the water. That is why they were soaked." Then he told the whole story from beginning to end.

Chen Cheng pleaded most earnestly, and Tripitaka could not refuse. He gathered up the scripture rolls. Yet one stretch of the stone held a few scrolls from The Buddha's Life Practice Sutra, and when he lifted them away the end of the roll was torn. That is why The Buddha's Life Practice Sutra remains incomplete to this day, and why the scripture-drying stone still bears writing upon it.

Tripitaka said in regret, "We were careless and did not keep watch."

Wukong laughed. "It is not there, and it is not here. Heaven and earth are not complete, and the scriptures were complete in the first place. Now that they have been torn, it is only because they ought not to be complete. How could human effort alter that?"

When the disciples had finished packing, they went with Chen Cheng to his village.

The people of the village heard the news and passed it from one to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand. Old and young alike came out to meet them. When Chen Qing heard, he set out an incense table at the gate and brought drums and music to welcome them. Soon they arrived and were escorted inside.

Chen Qing led out his whole family to bow and give thanks for the old favor of saving the children. Tea was served, and a vegetarian feast was laid out. Tripitaka had already received the immortals' food and dishes from the Buddha, and after shedding his mortal body and becoming a Buddha, he no longer thought of worldly food at all.

The two elders pressed him hard, and there was nothing for it but to show a little favor. The Great Sage had never eaten fire-cooked food, and even he said, "Enough." Sha Wujing did not eat much either.

Bajie, too, was not as before. He set down his bowl at once. Wukong said, "Even the fool will not eat?"

Bajie said, "I do not know why, but my stomach has suddenly gone weak."

So the vegetarian banquet ended, but they were still asked about the scriptures. Tripitaka then described in detail how he had first bathed at Jade True Monastery, then grown light in body at Lingyun Crossing, and then, at the Thunderclap Monastery, met the Tathagata, received a banquet in the Jewel Tower, and received the scriptures in the Treasure Pavilion. He explained how the two honored ones had first demanded a gift and, when none was forthcoming, had given him a scripture without characters. After he had again begged the Buddha, he finally received the full canon. He also told of the White Turtle's plunge into the water and the dark demon's hidden attempt to seize the scriptures. After speaking at length, he prepared to take his leave.

The two elders and their whole household would not let him go. They said, "You once rescued our children; such deep kindness can never be repaid. We have already built a hall here and named it Rescue Life Temple, where the incense offerings shall never cease."

They also brought out the children Chen Guanbao and Yichengjin, who had once been offered in sacrifice, to bow and give thanks. Then they again invited the pilgrims to inspect the temple. Tripitaka placed the scripture bundle in their main hall and recited one roll of the Precious Constant Sutra for them. Later, in the temple itself, the Chen family again set out food. Before they had sat down, someone came again to invite them. Before they had lifted their chopsticks, someone came again to invite them. The invitations came one after another, and they could scarcely keep up. Tripitaka did not dare refuse any of them and showed only a little favor.

Look at that temple. It was indeed built in good order:

The red-pink gateway gleamed, thanks to the labor of the donors. From that day a hall and tower rose there, and the two wings of the cloister came into being. Vermilion lattice doors shone like seven treasures. Fragrance drifted up to the Milky Way, and a clear light filled the empty sky. The young cypresses were watered still, and the tall pines had not yet gathered into groves. Living water ran before the gate, with Tongtian River folding wave on wave. Behind it the high cliff leaned, and the mountain veins joined with the dragon veins of the earth.

Tripitaka looked it over and only then went up to the upper floor. There, indeed, they had set up images of the four of them. Bajie saw them and tugged at Wukong, saying, "Brother, your image is quite like you."

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, yours is also very much the same, only Master's is rather too handsome."

Tripitaka said, "Excellent, excellent."

Then he came back down. In the front hall and the rear corridor there was still a vegetarian feast waiting for them. Wukong asked, "What happened to the old King's Temple that stood here before?"

The old men said, "That temple was torn down years ago. Master, ever since this temple was built, the harvests have been good year after year. It is all thanks to your blessing."

Wukong smiled. "That is Heaven's gift, and what do we have to do with it? Yet from this day forward, when we are gone, we will protect the people of this village so that their descendants flourish, their livestock thrive, and the years bring fair winds and timely rain."

All of them fell to their knees and gave thanks.

All around, and from one house to another, people brought fruit and vegetarian dishes beyond counting. Bajie laughed. "What bad luck I have had! In those days, when I could eat, nobody invited me ten times in a row. Today I cannot eat, and one house is not done before another calls."

Even so, with his temper full, he still put hand to bowl and ate eight or nine dishes of vegetarian fare. Though his stomach had already been hurt, he still ate twenty or thirty steamed buns. After they were all full, more houses came to invite them.

Tripitaka said, "What can I do? I am deeply moved by everyone's affection. Let us pause for tonight and accept your kind invitation tomorrow morning."

It was already deep night. Tripitaka guarded the scriptures closely and did not dare leave them for a moment. He sat in meditation below the tower and watched over them. Near the third watch, he quietly called, "Wukong, these people here know that our work is done and our merit completed. As the old saying goes, 'A true man does not reveal his true form; if he reveals his form, he is no true man.' I fear that if we linger too long, we will miss the great matter."

Wukong said, "Master speaks rightly. Let us take this deep night, when the people are asleep, and slip away quietly."

Bajie understood it too. Sha Wujing saw everything clearly, and even the white horse seemed to know.

So they rose, lifted the burden gently onto the horse, and carried the pack down through the side corridor to the gate. There they found the doors locked. Wukong then used a lock-opening spell and opened the inner gate and the main gate. They found their way and headed east.

Only then did they hear the Eight Vajra Guardians calling from the air, "The ones who are fleeing, follow us." Tripitaka felt a fragrant wind surge around him and rose into the sky.

Truly this is so:

Once the elixir is formed, one knows the original face; the body is hale and still, and one bows to the true lord.

As for how they would meet the Tang king, that will be told in the next chapter.