Of the myriad things, since the beginning, each has a body,

Each body is a universe in itself.

Were I to open the eyes of all the world,

Could they see reality from a new perspective?

—AN OLD POEM¹

In this chapter we see how the Mackerel Spirit (the Qing Fish) throws the Mind-Monkey into confusion and bewilderment.² It demonstrates that ultimately all attachments are drifting clouds, dreams, mirages: all illusory.³ [C. The structure of the book is introduced.] [K. The theme of the entire book is spelled out.]

The story says: Days had passed and months had flown since the Tang Monk and his company—the master and three disciples—departed from the Mountain of Flames. Now they found themselves in another green and verdant springtime.⁴ [K. Gentle reader, do keep this in mind: this takes place in spring, when everything turns green.]

The Tang Monk said, “The four of us have been hastening along, but who knows when we will be able to come into the presence of the Tathāgatha Buddha? Wukong, you have made several trips on the road to the West. [K. It is true that he had taken the road several times, but now he is taking the wrong route.] Tell us how many more miles still remain and how many more demons there are yet ahead.”

Pilgrim replied, “Put your mind at ease, Master. With your disciples hard at work, you should not be afraid of any demons, even one as big as Heaven. [K. This demon can transport one to a place that’s outside Heaven. How could it be only this large? The question and answer⁵ here anticipate the attempt to borrow the Mountain-Ridding Bell.⁶]

Even before Pilgrim had finished speaking, they caught sight of a mountain path covered with a brocade carpet of fallen flowers both old and new. Among the slanting bamboo stalks they glimpsed tree peonies.⁷

Those famous flowers form heaps of brocade:

Their loveliness so great no other blossoms could compare.

Bright, colorful clouds finely tailored, they smile to welcome the sun;

Delicate with fragrant dew, the wind bestirs them there.

Clouds adore these “imperial beauties” and offer their protection,

Enamored of their divine fragrance, butterflies cannot bear to leave.

If you were to inquire about this beauty at the Palace of Spring:

You’d find there Yang Yuhuan, inebriate, coquettish at her ease.

—An old poem⁸

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “these peonies are so red.” [K. Here he is bewitched. The peony is red: What does this have to do with those who have renounced this world?]

“Not red,” the Elder replied.

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “could it be that the spring heat has damaged your eyes? These tree peonies are so red, and yet you insist that they are not red! [K. The many appearances of the word “red” here refer to the Mountain of Flames.⁹] Master, you’d better dismount and sit here while I persuade the Great Healing Bodhisattva¹⁰ to give you a pair of discerning eyes.¹¹ You ought not to force yourself along this path if you are suffering from dimmed eyesight. Otherwise, if you happen to take the wrong route [K. Not knowing he is on the wrong route himself.], you can’t blame anyone else.”

“Unruly Monkey!” the Elder retorted. “Dim-eyed as you are, how can you accuse me of being dim-sighted!” [K. Wonderful, wonderful. Monkey is indeed taking sober as drunken.]

Pilgrim said, “Master, if your eyes were not dim, why would you say that the peonies are not red?”

“I’ve never said that the peony is not red,” said the Elder. “Rather, I only said that it is not the peonies that are red.”

“Master,” Pilgrim said, “if it’s not the peonies that are red, it must be the sunlight shining on the peonies that makes them so red.”

Hearing Pilgrim moving on to sunlight, the Elder realized that his mind was wandering farther, and he scolded him: “Stupid Monkey! What is red is you yourself! And you say it is the peonies, or the sunshine—don’t bring in irrelevant bystanders.”¹²

“You’re so laughable,” said Pilgrim. “My body is covered with mottled brown hair, my kilt of tiger hide is striped, and the color of my robe has faded, neither dark [qing] nor light. [K. Anticipating the Elder’s robe to be mentioned later.] Master, where do you see anything red on me?”

The Elder said, “I am not saying there is anything red on your body. I am saying instead that your mind is red.” He beckoned: “Wukong, hear my gāthā.”¹³ Without dismounting, the master recited,

“The peonies are not red;

The disciple’s mind is red.

When all the peony petals have fallen,

It is as if it has not yet bloomed.”¹⁴

It was after the gāthā was completed and the horse had walked on a hundred paces that they saw, there under the peony trees [K. Tenaciously following the peony.], hundreds of women in the flush of youth, wearing their springtime red finery; en masse, they were picking wildflowers, making grass garlands, holding girls in their arms and leading boys with their hands. They frolicked and flirted coquettishly.

When all of a sudden the Monk from the East came into their view, they giggled among themselves, covering their mouths with their sleeves. The Elder was at a loss. Not knowing what to do, he said, “Wukong, let’s find a more deserted path! In such a green and verdant wilderness in springtime [K. The green wilderness in springtime parallels the World of the Green in the subsequent text.], I am afraid that these young boys and girls are going to get us entangled here.”

Pilgrim said, “I’ve always meant to tell you something, but I’ve held off for fear that it might offend you. Master, for your whole life you have been plagued by two weaknesses. One is your overreliance on the mind; the other, the Chan of words.¹⁵ [K. Herein lies the root of his bewitchment. This is also the key to the whole book.] An example of overrelying on the mind is your fear of everything. Your ‘Chan of words’ includes your versifications on principles, your lectures about the present with examples from the past, and your discourses on sutras and recitations of gāthās. The Chan of words has nothing to do with the true fruit, and overreliance on the mind will only attract demons. You have to rid yourself of these two weaknesses in order to reach the West.”

This made the Elder quite unhappy.

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “you are wrong. They are homebound laity, while we are mendicants. We may share one road, but we have different minds.”

Hearing this, the Tang Monk whipped his horse forward.

Who could have thought that eight or nine children would rush out from among the young women to form a “wall of boys and girls” surrounding the Tang Monk. They gazed at him, jumping up and down; as they jumped, they shouted at him, “This grown-up man is still wearing a robe made with the rags from a hundred families!”¹⁶

The Elder was a reserved and quiet person by nature; how could he put up with this sort of entanglement with boys and girls? He tried to send them away with kind words, but they refused to leave. He scolded them, but they still would not leave, and continued shouting, “This grown-up man is still wearing baby clothes!”

The Elder was at a loss; he could only take off his monk’s robe, tuck it into the luggage, and sit down on the grass. Those children, ignoring this, began another round of shouting: “This robe of rags from a hundred families of all one color—give it to us. If you don’t, we’ll go back home and ask our mothers to make us a robe with rags from a hundred families, but with many colors:

the color of green duckweed, the color of heartbreak plant,¹⁷ the color of green poplar, the color of birds that fly wing-to-wing,¹⁸ the color of twilight clouds, the color of black [qing] swallows, the color of soy sauce, the color of the dark sky, the color of peach blossoms, the color of jade,¹⁹ the color of lotus seed,²⁰ the color of green [qing] lotus leaves, the color of light green,²¹ the color of white fish belly, the color of ink, the color of lilac daphne, the color of reeds, the color of green, the colors of five-pigment brocade, the color of lychees, the color of coral, the color of the green duck’s head, the color of the brocade with interlocking squares, and the color of the brocade that betokens longing. [K. The realm of qing (desire) is always entered from the realm of se (color, form, or beautiful form). No color is more gorgeous than red, so the book opens with the color red. By this point, it becomes dazzling, and the eyes are assailed by the five colors. But all this is empty words. This is why it is said that se (color/form) is kong (emptiness).]²²

“Then we won’t want your robe patched with the rags from a hundred families anymore.”

With his eyes closed, the Elder sat quietly, making no reply. Eight Vows, having no idea what was on the Elder’s mind, fooled around with the boys and girls, calling them his stepsons or adopted daughters, wanting to take advantage of them.²³ [K. The insertion of Eight Vows would seem to be an example of a “narrative diversion” (xianbi), but without this, the text would be dry; writers cannot afford to be unaware of this.]

When Pilgrim saw this, his mind became agitated. He took out the gold-hooped staff from his ear and chased after them. The children were so frightened that they fled for their lives, stumbling as they ran. Pilgrim’s anger would not abate; he quickly caught up with them and smashed them with his staff. Woe to them! These children, with their snail-like tufts of hair and peach-like faces, turned into spring butterflies²⁴ and will-o’-the-wisps. Lo, there under the peonies that group of beautiful young women [K. Tenaciously following the peony.], seeing Pilgrim killing the boys and girls, cast aside their flower baskets and ran to the bank of a ravine to pick up pieces of rock in order to fight Pilgrim. Unfazed, Pilgrim lightly swung his staff, and they all fell to the ground dead.

Actually our Great Sage Sun, although belligerent, was benevolent and compassionate by nature. [K. If one lacks true wisdom and true understanding, benevolence is the entrance to the demonic world.] As he put the staff back into his ear, tears unconsciously flowed from his eyes. [C. Tears overflowing his eyes: this is the root of desire (emotion).] [K. When the root of desire is stirred, both ding (concentration) and hui (wisdom) are lost, just as a single spark can burn a wilderness of ten thousand square miles, and drips of water can drill through the rock of Mount Tai.)

“Heavens, Heavens!” he said in self-reproach. “Since I, Wukong, converted to Buddhism, I have always controlled my desire and reined in my temper, and have not killed anyone wantonly. Today, in a burst of anger, I killed over fifty people, men and women, boys and girls, who are neither demons nor bandits. I forgot, and I’ve created terrible karma!”

He took two steps, but then was gripped by fear, saying, “I, Old Monkey, was only concerned about the Hell of the future, forgetting all about the Hell of this moment. [K. From this moment on, he is plagued by the seven emotions, like the silkworms weaving cocoons, unable to extricate themselves. How sad.] Whenever I killed a demon or two in the past, Master would chant that spell of his. When I killed several robbers, he immediately sent me away.²⁵ [K. Following the parent novel. This means overreliance on the mind.] Today, if the Master sees this bunch of corpses and throws a tantrum, he will chant that damned spell a hundred times: then there will be nothing left of this proud Great Sage Sun but a skinned monkey! What face would I have left?”

But in the end our Mind-Monkey was wise, our Pilgrim was resourceful: now he came up with an idea. [K. The more he thinks, the more in the wrong he becomes.] “That old monk of ours is well versed in literary composition and arts [K. A result of the Chan of words], but he is overly compassionate and is easily persuaded. Now I will compose a dirge to the victims and put on an air of lamentation: I will read it while walking along. When the Master sees me wailing like this, in his mind he’ll be thirty percent suspicious, and say, ‘Wukong, where is your usual determination and strength?’ I will only reply, ‘There were monsters on the road to the West.’ The Master’s suspicion will increase to seventy percent, and he will ask me: ‘Where are they? What are their names?’ I will only say, ‘The monsters are called the demons who beat people. [K. A fearful mind turns into a deceiving mind: thus he does not hesitate to appropriate the name of monsters. When his mind is set on the Dao, he is the Great Sage. When his mind is set on demons, he is then a demon. There are no Buddhas in the West, only the Great Sage. There are no demons on the way to the West either, only one Monkey.] If you, Master, don’t believe me, take a look at these men and women, each a bloody corpse.’ The Master, hearing how horrendous the demons are, will become intimidated, his mind filled with fear. Eight Vows will say, ‘Let’s disband and disperse.’ The Sand Monk will say, ‘Let’s just keep muddling along.’ When I see that they are at sixes and sevens, I need only say something to give them some consolation: ‘Thanks to the Bodhisattva Guanyin of Spirit Mountain, there is nothing left of the caves of these demons, not even a tile.’ ”

At that point Pilgrim picked up a piece of rock to use as the inkstone, broke off a twig from the plum tree for a writing brush, made an inkstick out of clay, and cut bamboo into strips to write on. He finished the elegy, and just like a student with his first degree, pretended to shake out his wide sleeves. [K. Monkey even pretends to be a scholar: he is truly a monster. These days, when scholars all behave like monkeys, are they the same or different?] All puffed up, raising his feet high and taking long strides, in a clear loud voice he read:

Whereas, I, the First Disciple of the Great Dharma Master, the Tang Monk Xuanzang—upon whom His Imperial Highness, the Emperor of the Great Tang, has endowed the gifts of a cassock adorned with a hundred treasures and the priestly staff bejeweled with five diamonds²⁶ and who was addressed as Imperial Brother by the Emperor—I, the Master of the Water-Curtain Cave, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Rebel in Heaven, and the Distinguished Guest in the Underworld [K. The last two titles are quite attractive.], also known as Sun Wukong the Pilgrim, in a ceremony with an offering of clear wine and carefully prepared food of many varieties, respectfully convey this message to the Spirits of Boys and Girls now in the Dark Realm, Who perished in the spring wind, and against Whom I bear no personal grudge nor enmity:

Alas!

The willows by the doorway have turned golden;

The orchids in the courtyard have conceived their jade.²⁷

Yet Heaven and Earth are not benevolent,²⁸

And You, in Your green years, will never mature.

How can it be—

That in the Third Month,²⁹ when Peach Flower Water³⁰ rises and jade pendants float on the Xiang River,³¹

How can it be—

In the Nine Heavens, that White Crane Clouds³² are shrouded by hazy mists?

Alas, Ye Departing Spirits, as I am seeing You off,

I have secret regrets for Your sake!

Even so—

While dragons and snakes run around the bronze rafters, and silkworms are raised in special rooms,³³

Winds and rains wail mournfully from the elegant zither, and tigers roar in storied buildings—³⁴

These are the usual acts of the White Ladies.³⁵

How can it be—

When the spring sleeves are red and the spring grass turns green,

And the spring days are long, that Your springtime lives were so short?

Alas, Ye Spirits, as I am seeing You off,

I have secret regrets for Your sake.

Alack, alas!

Toy horses of bamboo have carried their riders only one mile;

The light from the fireflies has brightened but half a curtained bed.

The fickle Boy of Fate³⁶ should have harbored no resentment against You.

How could it be—

When the coins are not yet given for the baby’s first bath³⁷ [C. It is the custom of the Qin dynasty to give money on the occasion of the baby’s bath.],

That the mallard shoes should fly away and You bathe in the Western Valley?

When Your distinguished facial features have only just appeared, that You, in Your goose clothes, should swim in the Dark Vale?

Alas! Ye Spirits, as I am seeing You off,

I have secret regrets on Your behalf.

Even so—

When Confucius was seven, crickets chirped in his canopied bed;

When Zeng Shen was only two feet tall, he bowed on the steps to present lychees.

How could it be—

That these right models were not followed?

That jade-like flowers in the southern field have been cut off,

And the lotuses on the river’s eastern bank are destroyed.

No more will Ye gather the floating red dates into Your sleeves,³⁸

The paulownia tree, with hanging nipples, will give You no suck.³⁹

Alas, Ye Departed Spirits: as I am seeing You off,

I harbor secret regrets on Your behalf.

Alas, alack!

To south, north, west, east, none recite verses to summon Your souls.

Zhang, Qian, Xu, Zhao—names on the old tombstones are difficult to decipher.

Alas, Ye Departing Spirits: as I am seeing You off,

I harbor secret regrets on Your behalf. [K. He falls a victim of the Chan of words, having just accused his master of this only a moment ago.]

While reading it, Pilgrim had already arrived at the peony trees. [K. Following the peony trees.] He found his master fast asleep under one tree, with his head drooping [C. The monk’s head droops while the Mind-Monkey picks up his stride.], and the Sand Monk and Eight Vows slumbering soundly, with rocks for pillows.

Pilgrim smiled to himself. “The Old Monk is accomplished in self-cultivation; he has never been like this, so abandoned to sleep. That means I’m under a lucky star today, and I won’t have to suffer from his spell.” He picked up a flower, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it into Eight Vows’ ear, while speaking what came to his mind: “Wuneng, don’t be deceived by dreams and delusions.”⁴⁰ [K. Let me make the reply on Eight Vows’ behalf: “Wukong, don’t be deceived by dreams and delusions!”]

Eight Vows grunted in his sleep, “Master, what do you want from Wuneng?”

Pilgrim realized that Eight Vows, still dreaming, mistook him for the Master, so he immediately spoke to him in the Master’s voice: “Disciple, the Bodhisattva Guanyin has just been here and asked me to greet you on her behalf.”

His eyes shut, Eight Vows rolled over on the grass, grunting, “Did the Bodhisattva say anything about me?”

“How could Bodhisattva not say something?” said Pilgrim. “The Bodhisattva assessed me, and then went on to assess you three. She first said that I would not become a Buddha and told me not to make my way to the Western Paradise. She said that Wukong would certainly become a Buddha and told him to take the journey to the West on his own. Wujing could be a monk and should cultivate himself in a holy temple on the road to the West.⁴¹ [K. Anticipating his writing of the document to reject them.] Having commented on the three of us, she took a look at you, and said, ‘Since Wuneng is so given to sleep, he is not qualified to take the journey to the Western Paradise either. Give him my regards, and tell him to marry Zhenzhen, Ai’ai, and Lianlian.’ ”⁴² [C. This matches the previous Journey to the West so skillfully.] [K. Matching with the parent novel. A few words in jest have already stirred up the demon of desire; truly, words are the voice of the heart.]

“I don’t want any Western Paradise, nor do I want any Lianlian,” Eight Vows said. “Just let me have half a day of this Dark Contentment.” With this, he grunted again, like the bellowing of a cow.

Pilgrim, seeing that he had not awakened, laughed and said, “Disciples, I’m away!” and off he went westward to beg for alms.

[C. When Pilgrim smashed the wall of boys and girls, it was meant as a means to cut off the root of desire. What a pity that his sense of compassion gives rise to so many illusory thoughts.]