Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 100: The Great Sage Equaling Heaven is in chaos, Master Jiang is waiting for the Bull King (4k)

Master Jiang bid farewell to Erlang Temple and headed for Cuiyun Mountain. This trip was to ask the guardian deity to return to his position. Master Jiang was neither anxious nor impatient. He let the white deer walk slowly, practicing and cultivating his mind. He would not mention this matter for the time being.

The story goes to the Heavenly Palace. The Monkey King was disturbed and went to the mortal world, which alarmed the Jade Emperor. He then appointed Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, as the Great Marshal to Subdue Demons and Nezha, the Third Prince, as the Great God of the Three Altars and Sea Assembly, and sent troops to the mortal world to subdue the evil monkey.

After a while, the King of Heaven returned in defeat and went back to the Lingxiao Palace. He lamented that the monkey monster was too powerful and could not defeat it, so he petitioned the Jade Emperor to send more troops to eliminate it.

The Jade Emperor was surprised when he heard this and said, "How capable is a restless monkey? Why do we need more soldiers?"

The Third Prince Nezha said, "I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. That demon monkey is indeed very powerful. He defeated the giant spirit and me with an iron rod. There is a flag outside the cave gate with the words 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven' on it. It means that if you don't give him this title, he will attack the Lingxiao Palace."

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor said, "It is indeed a demon monkey with a wild mind. We will find out where he came from, where he became a Taoist, and why he is so scary. Then we will find out the divine essence of the road, return it to its original position and kill it."

A general suddenly stepped out from the squad and left after receiving the order.

Not long after, a general returned, found out where they came from, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, now it is clear that this demon monkey is a stone monkey born from heaven who achieved enlightenment in the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon on the Fangcun Mountain of Lingtai in Xiniu Hezhou. I don't know why I am afraid of it."

The Jade Emperor said, "I remember there is a real person named 'Guangxin' in the lower world, who also became enlightened here. Is he from the same school as this demon monkey?"

The general said: "That's right, that's right!"

The Jade Emperor said, "Master Guangxin lives in seclusion, has perfected his merits and practices, and has devoted himself to cultivation. I have conferred him the title of 'True Lord' and am waiting for him to return to his position. This demon monkey is from the same school as the True Lord, but his mind is restless and his will is unbridled. Now he thinks his position is too low and he has returned to the lower world. He does not know the true meaning. Which god will go down to the lower world to kill the demon?"

After he finished speaking, Taibai Changgeng, a star in the group, flashed out and said, "Your Majesty, that demon monkey does not know the true numbers and has taught us to deceive our minds and eyes. Since we cannot subdue it right now, it would be a waste of manpower. This demon monkey and Master Guangxin are from the same school. Your Majesty, please be merciful and issue an order to recruit him, so that the demon monkey can be made a 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven' and have an official position but no salary."

The Jade Emperor asked: "How can one have an official position but no salary?"

Taibai Jinxing said: "He will be called the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, but he will not be given any responsibility or salary."

The Jade Emperor said: "Raise him between heaven and earth, teach him to control his evil heart, raise him to be a righteous master, and make him no longer arrogant, and use him once. I will do as you say."

Taibai Jinxing took the order and withdrew, returning to Huaguo Mountain, where he conferred the title of "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" on Sun Wukong.

Upon hearing this, the Monkey King of the Lower Realm became very arrogant, thinking that he had great powers and that the heavens could not bring him down. He gladly accepted the title of "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven", a high official rank, and was given a government and a department. He was overjoyed and felt that he was much better than his elder brother.

……

Time flies so fast that three years have gone by without me noticing.

Jiang Yuan rode a white deer into Hezhou, Xiniu, and headed for Cuiyun Mountain. He traveled for three years, passing through many countries, but no one heard of his Taoism. They thought he was a wandering Taoist priest. If they were good, they would not see him and drive him away. If they were bad, they would laugh at him for having no money, no silver, no children, and no blessings. The Taoist priest ignored him.

There is a saying that goes, "There are so many people in this world fighting for fame and fortune, how can one with ignorant eyes recognize an immortal?"

Three years later, the Immortal finally arrived at the foot of Cuiyun Mountain. He rode on the back of a deer and saw that this mountain was "so majestic that it overshadows Penglai Island, and so quiet that the fragrance of flowers is like the sea. A few tall pines are inhabited by wild cranes, and a few withered willows are chirping with mountain orioles." It was really a good place to go.

Jiang Zhenren looked at it and thought to himself, "There are many barbarians in Xiniu Hezhou, and there are very few good places for immortals. Most of them are inhabited by immortals and bodhisattvas, and then there are demons with great powers. The ancestor said that there is a banana cave in this mountain, and there is a monster living in the cave. It is my guardian goddess wife."

The real person thought about it carefully and knew what was going on. It was the "Journey to the West" in his dream. There was a record that there was a female Rakshasa living in the Banana Cave of Cuiyun Mountain. She was the wife of the powerful Bull Demon King. The ancestor said that the guardian deity was a bull, so it was probably in the Bull Demon King's body.

He patted the white deer and made it go up the mountain.

Not long after Jiang Yuan went up the mountain, he suddenly heard a dinging sound. He concentrated his eyes and took a closer look. It was a woodcutter cutting wood in the mountains. He ordered the white deer to come closer.

When the woodcutter saw the immortal riding a white deer, he felt that the immortal had come. He dropped his axe and bowed, saying, "I am a country boy, meeting the immortal!"

Jiang Yuan got off the deer, helped it up, and said with a smile: "No need to be polite, old man. This is my first time climbing a mountain. I don't know the terrain, so I came to ask a question."

The woodcutter said, "Please ask me, Immortal, and I will answer you."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Brother, I heard there is a Banana Cave in the mountains. I wonder where it is?"

The woodcutter pointed to the location in the mountain and said, "Goddess, there is indeed a banana cave in the mountain. There lives the Iron Fan Princess, also known as the Rakshasa. She wields a banana fan and is very capable. If you go inside or outside the mountain and pray for peace of wind and rain with three animals, incense, flowers, tea, and fruits, the Rakshasa will take the banana fan to bring good luck when she is pleased. This road goes east for five or six miles."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Thank you for explaining my doubts, old man."

Having said this, he was about to go to the Banana Cave.

The woodcutter stopped him and said, "If the Immortal goes to the Banana Cave, he must be careful of one person."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Who is it?"

The woodcutter said, "There is not only one Rakshasa woman in the banana cave, but also another man, a bull king, who is the Rakshasa woman's husband. He has great strength and is not easy to deal with. If the immortal goes there, he may get angry and get hurt."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother. I came here to teach the Bull King how to subdue him. I'm leaving now."

The immortal rode on the white deer and headed east along the mountain path.

The woodcutter bowed and saw the immortal off.

……

Before long, Jiang Yuan rode the white deer to the Banana Cave, and saw that the cave was tightly closed.

He then dismounted the white deer, whisk in hand, and went forward to knock on the door.

After a while, a little girl came out and asked, "Where are you from?"

Jiang Yuan said: "I came from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain to see the Bull King."

The girl replied, "The Bull King is not here. Tell me your name and I will talk to Grandma. If Grandma sees you, she will open the door and welcome you in."

Jiang Yuan said: "My Dharma name is Guangxin."

The girl responded and went back into the mansion, closed the door, and went inside to report. When she got to the mansion, she explained to the Rakshasa woman, "Grandma, there is a man named Guangxin outside the mansion who wants to see the Bull King. The King is not here now, I don't know what to do."

When the Rakshasa woman heard the word "Guangxin", she was shocked and asked, "Is it really Guangxin?"

The girl replied, “That’s right.”

The Rakshasa woman heard it again and asked, "Does that Guangxin seem to be a Taoist immortal?"

The girl said, "The man outside the mansion is wearing a purple robe, holding a whisk in his hand, and has a handsome appearance. There is a white deer following him, just like the 'Taoist Immortal'."

Upon hearing this, the Rakshasa woman was horrified and said, "Maid, quickly gather the people and horses to welcome the Immortal. This Immortal attained enlightenment in the past in Hezhou, Xiniu. At that time, auspicious clouds covered 90,000 miles. I went out of the house to pay homage and congratulate him on his enlightenment. Now that the Immortal has come to visit me, I dare not refuse to pay homage. Quickly help me dress and welcome the Immortal."

The girl and the Rakshasa girl dressed up, gathered the people in the mansion, opened the cave, and welcomed them out of the mansion. Jiang Yuan stood beside the deer and saw this scene. He saw the Rakshasa girl again. She was wearing a brocade cloud robe, a double-bladed green sword on her waist, three-inch phoenix-beak bow shoes, and dragon-whisker knee-length pants with gold stitching. She looked more ferocious than Yue Po, and was truly a fierce god on earth.

The Rakshasa woman came out and bowed deeply, saying, "The owner of the Banana Cave pays homage to the real person. I am sorry for not welcoming you. Please forgive me."

Jiang Yuan helped him up and asked, "Do you recognize me?"

The Rakshasa woman said, "In the past, when the Immortal attained enlightenment, auspicious clouds flew over 90,000 miles. I went out of the palace to pay homage and got to know the Immortal myself. Now that the Immortal has descended, I was unable to greet him from afar, which was impolite."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "It's actually like this."

The Rakshasa woman said, "Please come in, Master."

Jiang Yuan readily agreed, and the Rakshasa woman then invited the immortal into her mansion. After he entered, she presented him with various seasonal fruits, fragrant tea, and three kinds of sacrificial animals with full courtesy. After the ceremony, the Rakshasa woman asked the immortal why he came here.

Jiang Yuan said, "It's for the Bull King."

The Rakshasa woman bowed and said, "I don't know, Immortal, that our great king has gone to the Flower-Fruit Mountain and made sworn brothers with a group of people. He is not at home, and I am also annoyed. As the saying goes, 'A man without a wife has no master of wealth, and a woman without a husband has no master of her body.' Our great king is often away from home, and I am afraid that he will be harmed."

Jiang Yuan said, "I am here for the Ox King. Since the Ox King is not here, how about I wait for him in the temple?"

The Rakshasa woman replied, "How can I not obey the Immortal Master when he comes to my palace? I don't know why the Immortal Master wants to find my king, but how has my king offended the Immortal Master? If this is the case, I will definitely make amends."

Jiang Yuan said: "It's not that he hates me, but I have some affinity with the Bull King, so I came here to ask the Bull King to be my guardian deity and practice with me."

When the Rakshasa heard this, she knew that if she followed the Immortal to practice, she would definitely not be free, so she asked in surprise: "Immortal, what virtue and ability does my king have?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Let's just follow the law of fate."

The Rakshasa woman was speechless, but she did not want the Bull King to return.

Jiang Yuan requested a quiet room, where he practiced in peace and waited for the return of the Bull Demon King.

……

But in the Heavenly Palace, ever since Sun Wukong was worshipped as the 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven', he had nothing to do during the day and was free and at ease. He made friends and sworn brothers with the Three Pure Ones, calling them 'Old Man', the Four Emperors 'Your Majesty', and the Nine Stars, Five Generals, Twenty-Eight Mansions, Four Heavenly Kings, Twelve Yuanchen and others. He called them 'brothers' and made friends with all the gods and immortals in the sky.

When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he said that the monkey had not cultivated his mind, and put him back in charge of the Peach Garden.

The Monkey King got the job and went to the Peach Garden. He saw that the peach garden was full of bright flowers and the branches were weighed down with fruits. The first ripe ones had red faces and the raw ones had green skins with stems. The Monkey King was distracted and could not control his nature.

The Monkey King sent the land god to ask, "How many peach trees are there here?"

The land god bowed and said, "Great Sage, there are 3,600 trees here, the number of which is different in the front, middle and back."

The Monkey King was overjoyed and asked, "Could you let me have a taste of this peach?"

The land god panicked and said, "No, no! Great Sage, according to the laws of heaven, you cannot do this!"

The Monkey King stopped listening to this and thought to himself, "These Heavenly Rules are so restrictive. What can Heaven do to me? They have made me the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. I must find a reason to take advantage of them."

The monkey left the garden.

One day later, the Monkey King came again and only told the people guarding the Peach Garden that he wanted to take a rest in the garden. They did not think it was strange and agreed.

The Monkey King used a magic trick to sneak into the Peach Garden, where he picked and ate peaches in the back woods. When he was full, he would take a nap and fall asleep. He felt very comfortable. He repeated this for two or three days. Then, seven fairies came to pick peaches for the Peach Festival and startled the Monkey King.

The Monkey King knew that something was wrong, but he was a brave man. He showed up and asked the seven fairies, "Why are you here?"

The Seventh Fairy said, "Great Sage, we are here to pick peaches and hold the Peach Festival in compliance with the order of the Queen Mother."

The Monkey King heard this and asked, "Would you like to invite me to the Peach Festival?"

The Seventh Fairy said, "I have never heard of it."

The Monkey King was annoyed and said, "I am the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, my Dharma is as high as the sky, you should invite me to sit at the table and respect me, why don't you invite me?"

The Seventh Fairy replied: "This is the old rule, but it is like this, we don't know the rest."

The Monkey King said, "I will go and see what is going on, and then we can pick the peaches. You just stand there."

Say it.

The Monkey King chanted a spell, pointed at the seven fairies, and said "fix", using his ability to freeze the seven fairies.

Great Sage, you have great abilities. He flew on a cloud and headed for Yaochi. This trip was exactly like "the Wood Mother and the Desire God came together to teach the Monkey King to do evil. No one heard the cries of the righteous master, so they just act like demons."

The Monkey King returned to the Yaochi Pool in the Heavenly Palace, but found out that he was not invited, so he falsely conveyed the Jade Order to trick the Barefoot Immortal, and then stole the nectar and other delicacies. He then went to the Tushita Palace drunk, and while the Jade Emperor and the Ancient Buddha Dipankara were preaching and everyone was serving them, when there was no one in the Tushita Palace, he broke into the palace and stole the elixir. He didn't know how many of them he had, but he ate them all in one gulp, just like eating fried beans.

The golden elixir was both raw and cooked, and he swallowed it all. He drank countless royal wines and delicacies, and had peaches in his stomach. He taught the Monkey King how to control the fire and roast them all, thus completing his own destiny, making his roots solid and his magical powers truly profound.

Not knowing whether it was fate or the sobering Wukong thought to himself, "This is terrible! How could I do such a thing? I have ruined the Peach Festival and eaten the golden elixir. If it is just as Master said, I will have a bad life. This disaster is bigger than the sky. What should I do?"

Wukong was terrified, so he went to the lower world, not daring to stay any longer, knowing that if he alerted the Jade Emperor, he would have no chance of survival and his life would be in danger.

……

After a while, the Great Sage used a magic to become invisible, went out of the West Heaven Gate, and returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain. When he got back to the Flower-Fruit Mountain, the seventy-two cave demon kings, the monkeys, and the six brothers all came to ask him how he had come to the lower world.

The Great Sage said, "You don't know that I was worshiped as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven by the Jade Emperor and I established a palace and a department. The Jade Emperor admired my great magical powers and entrusted the Peach Garden to me for care. The Peach Banquet was approaching and the Queen Mother did not invite me, so I ate the peaches and stole the immortal products and immortal wine. I stumbled into the palace of Laojun by mistake and ate five gourds of elixirs from Laojun. I was afraid that the Jade Emperor would punish me, so I left the Heavenly Gate."

The monsters were overjoyed to hear this and praised the Great Sage's divine power. So they arranged wine and fruit to welcome him. The Great Sage ate the food and said it was not tasty. He then used his invisibility technique to go up to heaven and then entered the Yao Chi Lake to steal some wine, wanting to share it with everyone else to taste the flavor of the immortal wine.

Everyone was drinking and happy, without any worries, not knowing what kind of disaster this had caused.

Only the six brothers were worried.

Seeing everyone was surprised, the Bull Demon King thought to himself, "I should go! I should go! I can't get involved in such trouble. My wife is in Cuiyun Mountain, so I'll go to Cuiyun Mountain for a while. It's quiet and free there. I'll go out again after this monkey-head incident is over. I'll still be free then. If I go with the monkey-head, I'll be in trouble."

King Niu wanted to retire and return to Xiniu Hezhou to find a good place to go.

(End of this chapter)