Journey 019: Gone Party
Everybody is delighted at San Zang gaining a new traveling companion, especially his host.
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Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 19 of Journey to the West.
Last time, while spending the night at Old Gao Village, Sun Wukong offered to help rid his host, Old Mr. Gao, of a son-in-law that turned out to be a pig demon. Wukong reunited Mr. Gao with his daughter and then took her form to have a little fun with said demon. Turns out, the demon was a former general in the Jade Emperor’s service, the Marshal of the Celestial Stream. He had been cast out of heaven after a MeToo scandal and ended up in the womb of a pig, which left him a half man, half pig creature. He was no match for Sun Wukong in a fight, and so he took refuge in his mountain cave and shut the doors.
As we rejoin the action, Wukong had just returned to the cave to finish the job. He pulled out his golden rod, and with a few swings, reduced the doors to dust while cursing, “Hey you husk-munching tool! C’mon out and fight me!”
The pig demon was snoring in his cave when he suddenly heard his doors come crashing down, followed by all the name-calling. Irate, he grabbed his rake and ran out, cursing, “Damn stable monkey! You’re such a pest! What business is this of yours? Why did you smash in my front door? Go look up the laws. If you break down someone’s front door and enter their house, that’s a capital crime!”
Wukong chuckled, “You idiot! If me smashing your door is a crime, then what about you holding someone’s daughter hostage without having had a wedding ceremony? Now THAT is a capital offense!”
“Enough talk! Taste my rake!” the demon shouted as he attacked. Wukong parried his blow and said, “Is this rake a farming tool from Old Mr. Gao’s house? What’s so scary about it?”
“You’re wrong! This is no ordinary rake,” the demon explained. He then went into a whole long monologue in verse form about the backstory of his rake. In short, the rake was made from divine steel, forged by the gods, and given to him by the Jade Emperor. And the story finished with the pig demon boasting,
“This rake can overturn sea dragons’ and turtles’ lairs
And rake up mountain dens of tigers and wolves.
All other weapons there’s no need to name,
Only my rake is of most fitting fame.
To win in battle? Why it’s no hard thing!
And to earn merit? It need not be said!
Even if you have a bronze head, iron brain, and steel frame,
I’ll rake you until your soul melts and your spirit leaks!”
When he heard that, Wukong put away his rod and said, “You dote, quit boasting! Here’s my head. Go ahead, take a whack and see if there’s any soul-melting or spirit-leaking.”
The demon took him up on his offer, raising the rake and bringing it down on Wukong’s head with all his might. There were a ton of sparks, but not even so much as a scratch on Wukong’s head.
“What a head!” the demon exclaimed in fright.
“See, you don’t understand,” Wukong explained, “When I caused ruckus in heaven, I stole magic pill, immortal peaches, and celestial wine. Then, after I was captured by Erlang, all the gods tried to kill me with axes, mallets, knives, swords, fire, and thunder, and they couldn’t harm a hair on my head. Then, Laozi put me in his Eight Trigram Oven and roasted me with sacred fire. That left me with fiery-golden eyes and an indestructible body. If you don’t believe me, take a few more whacks. See if I feel anything.”
“You damn monkey! I remember that when you caused trouble in heaven, you lived in the Water Curtain Cave on Flower and Fruit Mountain. I hadn’t heard your name in a long time. How did you end up here, bullying me in my own home? Did my father-in-law invite you here?”
“No! I’ve changed my ways. I’ve abandoned the stray path for the proper one. I’ve left Daoism for Buddhism. I’m protecting the Hierarch San Zang, an imperial brother of the the Tang Emperor in the East. We’re going to the West to see the Buddha and fetch scripture. We were passing through and sought lodging at Mr. Gao’s estate. That old man told us about you and asked me to save his daughter and capture you, you husk-munching tool!”
As soon as the demon heard that, he tossed his rake aside and bowed deeply, asking, “Where is the scripture pilgrim? I must trouble you to take me to him. Please!”
“Why do you want to see him?”
“The Bodhisattva Guanyin converted me to Buddhism and commanded that I keep a vegetarian diet and wait here for the scripture pilgrim. I’m to accompany him to the West to see the Buddha, fetch scriptures, atone for my offenses, and attain the proper path. I’ve waited several years without any news of him. Since you’re his disciple, why didn’t you tell me earlier, and instead just charged in here to beat me?”
So this was another little gift that Guanyin had set up for San Zang while on her way to the Tang capital to recruit a scripture pilgrim. She and her disciple Muzha were passing by this mountain when suddenly, this demon leaped out and attacked. Muzha quickly blocked his attack and shouted, “Damn demon! Behave yourself! Taste my staff!”
“Monk, you don’t know any better! Taste my rake!” the demon shot back. The two of them then traded blows at the foot of the mountain, kicking up dust and pebbles that blocked out the sky. In the heat of the fighting, Guanyin cast her lotus flower down from heaven, deflecting the demon’s rake.
“Monk, who are you? How dare you trick me with some flower?” he asked Muzha.
“You blind mortal animal!” Muzha scolded him. “I am a disciple of the Bodhisattva of the South Sea. That lotus flower was thrown by my master, and you don’t even know it!”
“Bodhisattva of the South Sea? Is that Guanyin, the Goddess of Compassion?”
“Who else could it be?”
The demon now tossed his rake aside, kowtowed, and said to Muzha, “Oh brother, where is the Bodhisattva? Please take me to see her.”
“Right there,” Muzha said as he pointed up.
The demon now kowtowed toward the sky and pleaded for forgiveness. Guanyin descended to the ground and asked the demon about his origins. He explained, “I am no pig. I used to be the Marshal of the Celestial Stream. But I got drunk and harassed Chang’e, so the Jade Emperor gave me a caning of 2,000 strokes with a mallet and cast me into the mortal realm. I was going to be reincarnated through a mortal womb, but I got lost along the way and ended up inside a sow. That’s why I ended up like this. I bit and killed the sow and a whole herd of pigs, and then took over this mountain. I survive by eating people. But who knew I would run into you! Please save me!”
“What mountain is this?” Guanyin asked.
“This is called Fortune Ridge Mountain. There’s a cave here called the Cloud Stack Cave. There was a Second Sister Egg who originally lived here. She saw that I could fight a bit, so she took me as her husband. But within a year, she died and left all her possessions to me. It’s been many years, and I still haven’t found a suitable calling, so I can only get by on human flesh. Please forgive me!”
Now this guy doesn’t exactly sound like a redeemable type, what with the sexual harassment compounded by murder and cannibalism. Or is it actually cannibalism if a pig-man eats a man?
Anyway, Guanyin thought as much. She said, “As the ancients said, ‘If you want a future, you must stop destroying your own future.’ You were already punished in heaven, and yet you haven’t changed your vicious heart, and instead are taking lives and committing sins. Aren’t you compounding one crime with another?”
To this, the demon grumbled, “The future, the future! If I listen to you, I might as well feed on the wind. As the proverb says, ‘If you obey the law of the court, you’ll get beaten to death. If you obey the law of the Buddha, you’ll starve to death.’ Be on your way. I’ll just go grab a random passer-by and fatten myself up on him. Who cares about sins, be it two, three, a thousand, or ten thousand?!”
But Guanyin told him, “If one has a kind wish, then heaven will grant it.’ If you’re willing to abandon your wicked ways and follow the proper path, you will find a place that will sustain you and ensure that you will always have plentiful grain and never starve. What need have you to eat people?”
Those words brought the demon to his senses. He kneeled and said, “I’m willing to follow the proper path. But I have committed immense offenses that cannot be atoned for.”
But Guanyin told him, “I am heading East on the Buddha’s command to find a scripture pilgrim. You can become his disciple and follow him to the West to atone for your crimes. That will lift you out of calamity.”
“I’m willing to go!” the demon said time and again.
So Guanyin touched his head and read him the precepts of Buddhism, telling him all the things that he’s not allowed to do. Then, she gave him the last name Zhu, which meant Pig, and also gave him a Buddhist name, Wuneng (4,2), which meant Awakened to Power. From that day forth, he became a vegetarian and waited for the scripture pilgrim.
Fast forward to the present. After hearing the demon’s story, Wukong was still a bit skeptical.
“Don’t you lie to me to try to escape,” he warned the demon. “If you’re really intent on protecting the Tang monk, then you must swear an oath to heaven. THEN I’ll take you to see my master.”
The demon immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowed toward heaven, and declared, “Oh Buddha! If I am not sincere, then I would have offended heaven’s law, and may I be cut into ten thousand pieces!”
Hearing the severity of that oath, Wukong said, “In that case, burn your cave to the ground, and then I’ll take you.”
The demon promptly did as instructed, setting his entire cave on fire until it looked like a busted kiln.
“Ok, I have nothing left to hold me here now. Take me to your master.”
“Give me your rake first,” Wukong said.
The demon again complied. Wukong then pulled a hair off himself, blew on it, and said, “Change.” The hair turned into a rope, with which he bound the demon. This done, Wukong grabbed the demon by his pig ear and pulled him along, telling him to hurry up.
“Hey, lighter, lighter!” the demon complained. “You’re pulling too hard. My ear hurts.”
“I can’t pull any lighter,” Wukong teased him. “As the saying goes, Even a gentle pig is hard to grasp.’ Once we’ve met my master and ascertained your sincerity, only then can I release you.”
As they spoke, they flew through the air and soon landed back on the Gao estate. Wukong, holding the rake in one hand and dragging the pig demon by the ear with the other, told him, “See that guy sitting in the parlor? That’s my master.”
Inside the parlor, Old Mr. Gao and his friends were keeping San Zang company when they suddenly saw Wukong approaching with the demon bound. They all rushed out to greet Wukong, and Mr. Gao exclaimed, “Elder! That’s my son-in-law indeed!”
The demon, still bound, now kneeled and kowtowed toward San Zang, saying, “Master, forgive me for not welcoming you sooner. If I had known you were at my father-in-law’s place, I would’ve come to greet you, and spared myself all this suffering.”
“Wukong, how did you tame him, and why is he kowtowing to me?” a befuddled San Zang asked.
Wukong finally let go of the demon, gave him a whack with the handle of his own rake and said, “Hey dummy, tell him already!”
So the demon recounted his whole backstory. San Zang was elated and asked Mr. Gao for an incense table, which his host promptly provided. San Zang washed his hands, burned incense, and bowed toward the South to thank Guanyin for this latest gift. Mr. Gao also offered incense and bowed. After that, San Zang sat down in the parlor and instructed Wukong to untie his new disciple. So Wukong gave his body a shake, and the rope turned back into a hair and returned to him.
The demon now bowed to San Zang again and expressed his desire to follow him West. He also bowed to Wukong, recognizing him as the senior disciple, calling him “elder brother.”
San Zang now said, “Since you’re my disciple, I would like to give you a Buddhist name.”
“Master, Guanyin has already read me the precepts and given me the Buddhist name Zhu Wuneng,” the demon said.
San Zang chuckled, “That’s good. Your elder brother’s name is Wukong, and your name is Wuneng. You’re now a member of our sect.”
“Master, ever since I received the precepts from Guanyin, I had been a vegetarian. I didn’t even eat meat at my in-laws’ house. Now that I’ve met you, I can finally eat meat, right?”
“Oh no!” San Zang said. “You must not. And since you’ve already given up the eight forbidden foods, let me give you another name, Bajie.”
So Bajie means the Eight Prohibitions. Now, there are two possible sets of Eight Prohibitions. For Daoists, they refer to five types of vegetables and three types of meats that they aren’t supposed to eat. The five vegetables are large and small garlic, leek, mustard, and coriander, while the three meats are geese, dog, and turtle. But in Buddhism, the Eight Prohibitions refer to eight actions that are forbidden. These include pretty common-sense stuff like Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lust, thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not drink. But they also include some strange ones, like thou shalt not sleep on a fancy bed, thou shalt not dress up and watch singing and dancing, and thou shalt not eat after noon. And in actuality, there are a lot more thou shalt nots in Buddhism, but they are all commonly referred to as the Eight Prohibitions.
Anyway, the demon, whom we will now call Zhu Bajie for the rest of the story, gladly obeyed his master. Mr. Gao was also elated to see his … umm, son-in-law follow the proper path. He now ordered his attendants to set up a feast to thank San Zang. Meanwhile, Zhu Bajie tucked at Mr. Gao’s sleeve and said, “Father, how about you bring my wife out so she can meet her father-in-law and brother-in-law?” And by in-laws, he was referring to San Zang and Wukong.
But Wukong laughed and teased him, “Brother, you’ve already become a monk. From now on, stop it with the wife thing. Only Daoist priests can marry, not Buddhist monks! Let’s sit down, have a meal, and then tomorrow we’ll resume our journey West.”
When the meal was set up, Mr. Gao asked San Zang to sit in the seat of honor, while Wukong and Bajie sat to both sides of him. Then Mr. Gao filled a cup with weak wine and offered it to heaven and earth. And then he offered it to San Zang. But San Zang declined, telling his host that he had never drunken wine in his life.
“Elder, I know you’re pure,” Mr. Gao said, “So I dared not prepare any meat. And even this wine is weak. You may have a cup without concerns.”
“I still would not dare,” San Zang insisted. “Wine is the first prohibition for us Buddhists.”
But Bajie now chimed in and said, “Master, I have given up meat, but I haven’t given up wine.”
And Wukong also piped up, “I may not have great tolerance, but I haven’t given up wine either.”
“Well in that case, you two can have some weak wine,” San Zang said. “But you must not get drunk and delay our mission.”
So the two disciples each drank a cup and then sat back down to eat. After the feast, Mr. Gao brought out a red platter, on which sat 200 taels of loose gold and silver. He offered this to the pilgrims as travel money. He also presented them with three bolts of fine fabric.
San Zang flatly refused these gifts, saying, “We’re traveling monks. We get by by begging as we go. How would we dare to accept money or fabric?”
But Wukong stepped forth, grabbed a handful of gold and silver, and called over Mr. Gao’s servant, Gao Cai, who had first told them about Mr. Gao’s demon problems.
“Hey Gao Cai,” Wukong said, “We troubled you to bring us here yesterday, and it ended up with my master gaining a disciple. We don’t have anything to thank you with, so take this handful of gold and silver as a reward. Go buy yourself a pair of hemp sandals. If you encounter any more demons, send them my way, and I’ll reward you again.”
Gao Cai bowed and thanked him. Mr. Gao then said, “Elders, since you won’t accept the gold and silver, then please take these bolts of rough cloth as a minor token of my thanks.”
But San Zang again refused, saying, “If we monks accept even a single strand of silk, we would fall so far in our cultivation that we would never recover. We can only take leftover food as rations on our journey.”
But Bajie cut in and said, “Master, elder brother, if you all don’t want it, that’s fine. But I’ve been his son-in-law for these past few years, so I should be entitled to at least some food. Hey, father-in-law, my clothes were torn by my elder brother last night. Give me a blue robe. Also, my shoes are ripped. Give me a new pair.”
Well, Old Mr. Gao wasn’t about to quibble too much with his soon-to-be-gone son-in-law, so he bought a new pair of shoes and a new shirt for Bajie. Swaggering around in his new getup, Bajie now bowed to Mr. Gao and said, “Please tell my mother-in-law, my two sisters-in-law, and their husbands and all the other relatives that I’m going off to be a monk and cannot say goodbye to them in person. I hope they understand. Take good care of my wife. If we fail to fetch the scriptures, I’ll come back and be your son-in-law again, just like before.”
Uhh, come back? This was the last thing Mr. Gao wanted to hear. Fortunately, Wukong scolded Bajie, “You tool! Stop it with your nonsense!”
“Brother, it’s not nonsense! If a few bad breaks happen, then I would end up not being a monk and having no wife. I would’ve lost out on both ends.”
Even San Zang now chided him, “Enough small talk. Let’s get back on the road.”
So they packed up, and it was now Bajie’s responsibility to carry the luggage. San Zang got on his white horse, and Wukong led the way while resting his rod on his shoulder. The three took their leave of Mr. Gao and his friends, and resumed their journey West.
After traveling for about a month, they left the domain of the Wu (1) Si (1) Cang (2) Kingdom. In front of them rose a tall mountain. San Zang reined in his horse and said to his disciples, “There’s a tall mountain ahead. We must be careful.”
“It’s fine,” Bajie said. “This is called Pagoda Mountain. There’s a Daoist named Master Crow’s Nest here. I’ve met him.”
“What kind of business is he in?” San Zang asked.
“He is actually pretty in touch with the Dao. He once asked me to pursue cultivation with him, but I didn’t go.”
As they spoke, they climbed the mountain, and soon, they were on the peak. It was a gorgeous mountain, with pine and cypress trees on its southern slopes and willows and peach trees on its northern side. Birds sang to each other, and cranes flew in flocks. The mountain was covered with exotic flowers and grasses, while clear streams flowed and colorful clouds surrounded cliffs.
From atop his horse, San Zang spotted a wood and grass nest in a fragrant juniper tree. To the left were musk deer with flowers in their mouths. On the right were monkeys bearing fruits. On the branches of the tree, green phoenixes sang while cranes and pheasants gathered.
“That’s Master Crow’s Nest,” Bajie said as he pointed at a figure seated in the nest. San Zang now whipped his horse, aka Little White Dragon, and sprinted to the tree.
Seeing this party approach, Master Crow’s Nest stepped out of his nest and jumped out of the tree. San Zang dismounted and bowed to him. Master Crow’s Nest helped him up and said, “Sage, please get up. And pardon me for not welcoming you sooner.”
Bajie now greeted Master Crow’s Nest who said with surprise, “You’re Zhu Ganglie (1,4) from Fortune Ridge Mountain. How did you get so lucky and end up traveling with this sage monk?”
“Some years back Guanyin pointed me in the right path, and I was willing to follow my master.”
“That’s great,” Master Crow’s Nest said. He then pointed at Sun Wukong and asked, “And who’s this?”
Wukong laughed, “Hey, old priest. How come you recognize the pig but not me?”
“Because I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you.”
San Zang introduced Wukong to the priest, who smiled and welcomed him as well.
San Zang now bowed again and asked how far they were from the Great Thunderclap Temple in the West, the home of the Buddha and the destination of their pilgrimage.
“It’s very very far,” the priest said. “And there are many wild beasts along the way, so it’s a treacherous journey.”
San Zang tried to press him about the exact distance, but the priest told him, “Even though it’s very far, you can reach it in time. But it’s the demons along the way that are the challenge. I have a Heart Sutra. It consists of 54 sentences, totaling 270 characters. When you encounter demons, just recite this sutra, and you will come to no harm.”
So, back up a sec. Some chapters back, early in San Zang’s journey, it was established that he had some gaggle of gods watching his back in the background. And now he’s got this sutra that’s going to protect him in times of trouble? Makes you wonder why he even needs superpowered disciples. In any case, San Zang now kneeled and asked to receive the sutra. The priest recited the scripture to him. San Zang was a natural at learning scriptures, and he needed only to hear this sutra once before he committed it to memory. And actually, this Heart Sutra was a real thing. It’s a popular sutra, and has passed down through the ages. And apparently it all came from a guy hanging out in a nest surrounded by fictional avians.
After bestowing the sutra on San Zang, Master Crow’s Nest turned to ascend back up to his nest. But San Zang grabbed his sleeve and asked again about how far they were from the Thunderclap Temple. The priest smiled and replied in verse:
The way ahead is not too hard—
Just listen closely to my words.
A thousand hills, a thousand streams,
With demons lurking in between.
When sky-high cliffs block your path,
Fear not—be calm, and trust your heart.
At Rub-Ear Precipice, take care:
Step sideways when the ledge is narrow.
In the Black Pine Forest’s shade,
Fox spirits wait to bar your way.
Griffins will fill the capital’s roads;
Mountains will teem with monstrous hosts.
Tigers sit as magistrates,
Gray wolves serve as registrars.
Lions and elephants call themselves kings,
While leopards and tigers drive their carts.
A wild boar hauls a porter’s load;
A river demon lies just ahead.
An ancient stone ape, full of spite,
Broods alone through endless nights.
If you’re unsure which path is best,
Ask your friend—he knows the West.
When Wukong heard this, he scoffed, “Let’s go. No need to ask him; just ask me.”
San Zang did not catch his meaning. Meanwhile, Master Crow’s Nest turned into a beam of golden light and flew up toward his nest. While San Zang bowed to thank the priest, Wukong became irate and started poking at the nest with his rod. But ten thousand lotus flowers sprouted from the nest, protecting it so that even if Wukong had the strength to roil the seas and churn the rivers — which he probably did? — he couldn’t have damaged a single twig in the nest.
“Wukong, why are you poking at the nest of such a saint?” San Zang asked as he stopped his disciple’s antics.
“He was insulting me and Bajie.”
“He was talking about the journey to the West. When did he insult you?”
“You don’t get it. He was talking about a wild boar hauling a porter’s load. That’s insulting Bajie. And the line “an ancient stone ape” was aimed at me. How could you understand?”
Bajie now intervened and said, “Brother, calm down. That master can see the future. Let’s see whether his prediction about a water demon waiting ahead comes true. Just let him go.”
Well, Wukong couldn’t really damage the nest anyway, what with its lotus flower shield at maximum. So he asked San Zang to mount his horse, and the three continued West and descended the mountain. To see what awaits them up ahead, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Luỹ Tre Xanh Ngát Đầu Làng (Guzheng) – Vietnam BGM” by VPRODMUSIC_Asia_BGM
- “Think About Yesterday” by Harumachi Music
- “All For You – Traditional Chinese Style Instrumental” by kaazoom