Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 1)

“As I am not of the world, I do not have one,” replied Xuanzang. “The Bodhisattva said yesterday that there are Three Stores (son zang) of scriptures in the Western Heaven. You, brother, should take a courtesy name from this. What about Sanzang?”

Thanking the Emperor for his kindness, he accepted the cup of wine with the words, “Your Majesty, liquor is the first of the things from which a monk must abstain, and so I have never drunk it.”

“Today's journey is exceptional,” Taizong replied, “and besides, this is a nonalcoholic wine, so you should drink this cup and let us feel that we have seen you off properly.” Unable to refuse any longer, Sanzang took the wine, and was on the point of drinking it when he saw Taizong bend down, take a pinch of dust in his fingers, and flick it into his cup. Seeing Sanzang's incomprehension, Taizong laughed and said,

“Dear brother, when will you return from this journey to the Western Heaven?”

“I shall be back in this country within three years,” Sanzang replied. “The days and years will be long, the mountains will be high, and the road will lead you far away,” said Taizong, “so you should drink this wine to show that you have more love for a pinch of dust from home than fir thousands of ounces of foreign gold.” Only then did Sanzang understand the significance of the pinch of dust, and thanking the Emperor once more he drained the cup, took his leave of him, and went out through the checkpoint. The Emperor went back to the palace.

If you don't know what happened on the journey, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

He Falls into the Tiger's Den and Is Saved by the Planet Venus

On Double-Forked Peak Boqin Entertains the Priest

The Great Tang Emperor issued an edict

Sending Sanzang to learn the Dhyana teachings.

With firmness and patience he seeks the dragon's lair,

Determined to carry on till he climbs the Vulture Peak.

On his long journey he will visit many a country;

Thousands of cloud-capped mountains lie before him.

Now he leaves the Emperor and sets out for the West

Cleaving to the faith, and aware of the Great Void.

It has been told already how Sanzang was seen off at the checkpoint outside Chang'an by the Tang Emperor and a host of officials on the twelfth day of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of Zhen Guan. For two days his horse's hoofs were never still, and he soon reached the Fa Men Monastery, where the abbot came out to meet him at the head of five hundred and more monks drawn up in two lines. Taking Sanzang inside, he greeted him, offered him tea, and then gave him a monastic meal. By the time the meal was over night had fallen.

As it approached the Milky Way,

The moon was free from any dust.

The wild goose called to the distant traveler,

While washing-boards could be heard by neighbors.

Roosting birds perch in the withered trees;

The dhyana monks chant Sanskrit music.

On their seats with hassocks of rushes

They sit until the middle of the night.

In the lamplight the monks were discussing the true teachings of the Buddhist faith and the reasons for going to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures. Some said that there would be wide rivers and high mountains to cross, some that there would be many a tiger and leopard along the way, some that the lofty ranges and cliffs would be hard to cross, and some that there would be evil demons and foul fiends difficult to subdue. Sanzang kept his lips sealed; he said nothing, only pointing to his heart and nodding occasionally.

The monks, unable to understand what he meant, put their hands together and asked, “Why do you point to your heart and nod your head, Master?”

“When the heart and mind live,” Sanzang replied, “every kind of evil lives; but when they are extinguished, evil is extinguished too. I made a great vow to the Buddha in the Huasheng Monastery that if I failed to achieve this mission it would not be for lack of trying. I am determined to reach the Western Heaven, where I may see the Buddha and ask for the scriptures, so that the Wheel of the Law may revolve, and our sage Emperor enjoy eternal security.”

On hearing his words the monks all expressed their admiration, saying as if with one voice, “What a loyal and brave Hierarch.” With praises still on their lips they invited the Master to go to bed and wished him a peaceful night's sleep.

Before long the bamboo clappers were sounding for the setting moon, while the cocks greeted the dawn with their crowing. The monks all got up and prepared tea and breakfast. Sanzang put on his cassock and went to worship the Buddha in the main hall.

“Your disciple Chen Sanzang,” he said, “is going to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures, but my fleshly eye is too dim to see the true image of the living Buddha. I now vow that whenever I come across a temple on my journey I shall burn incense; whenever I see a Buddha's image I shall worship it; and whenever I pass a stupa I shall sweep it. My only wish is that Buddha in his mercy will soon appear to me in his golden body and give me the true scriptures to take back and propagate in the land of the East.” When he had prayed he went back to the abbot's room for breakfast. After breakfast his two attendants saddled the horse and set off at a good pace. At the gate of the monastery Sanzang took his leave of the monks, who were so unwilling to be parted from him that they accompanied him for some three miles before turning back with tears in their eyes, while Sanzang carried on Westwards. It was autumn weather:

Leafless the village trees, and fallen the reed flowers;

The red leaves had dropped from maple and willow.

The way was foggy and damp, and few were the friends that he met.

Beautiful the yellow chrysanthemums,

Delicate the mountain spurs;

Sad to see the lotus withered now the water was cold.

White duckweed and red smartweed were turned to snow by the frost.

Solitary ducks coming down from the clouds, dropping from the sky,

Where pale and wispy clouds were scudding.

The swallows had departed,

The migrant geese were here,

And their honking shattered the night.

When the master and his attendants had been travelling for several days they reached the city of Gongzhou, where all the local officials were waiting to greet them and take them into the city. After a night's rest they set out again the next morning. They ate when they were hungry and drank when they were thirsty, travelling by day and stopping at night. Two or three days later they reached the garrison city of Hezhou, which was on the frontier of the Great Tang Empire. The garrison commander and the local Buddhist monks and priests had all heard that the Master of the Law, the Imperial Younger Brother, was going to the West on His Majesty's orders to see the Buddha, so they were all very respectful. The Director of Monks took him into the city, provided him with all he needed, and invited him spend the night in the Fuyuan Monastery. All the monks of the monastery came to pay their respects to him, and when he had finished the meal they prepared for him he told his attendants to give the horse a good feed as they would be setting out before dawn. As soon as the cocks started to crow he called for his attendants, thus disturbing the monks, who brought him tea and food. When he had eaten he crossed the frontier.

In his impatience Sanzang had got up too soon. As it was late autumn the cocks had crowed very early, and it was still only about two in the morning. The three of them-four, including the horse-covered about a dozen miles through the frost, finding their way by the light of the moon, until they saw a large mountain in front of them. They had to push the undergrowth aside as they looked for their way, and the going was indescribably rough and difficult. Just when they were wondering whether they were lost, all three of them and the horse stumbled and fell into a pit.