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

Chapter 196 Tang Monk's Choice
Inside the treasure pavilion, Tang Seng was silent and pondering, for he did not know which true scripture to choose.

The true scripture of Tathagata Buddha is the true scripture of Tripitaka, which needs human intervention before it can be given to him and he can wait to return to the East.

There is still a true scripture in the treasure pavilion, which can be given to him for free.

If there was only one copy of the scripture in the treasure pavilion, he would have taken it and left. However, there were two copies of the scripture in the treasure pavilion, which made it difficult for him to choose.

Tang Seng asked his three disciples, but none of them could give a reason, and this went on for a long time.

Zhu Bajie couldn't help but ask, "Master, why are you still thinking?"

Tang Monk said, "Bajie, don't rush me. This is the selection of the true scriptures. You must be careful and don't mess around."

Zhu Bajie said, "Master, please listen to me. Do you remember the order of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"

Tang Seng clasped his hands and said, "How dare I forget the order of the Great Tang Emperor? Bajie, what do you think?"

Zhu Bajie shouted, "Master, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty asked you to fetch the scriptures, but did he ever tell you what scriptures you were fetching?"

Tang Monk shook his head and said, "Just say that this is the true scripture, which can save all living beings."

Zhu Bajie said, "Master, what is this treasure pavilion? It is a sacred mountain. The true scriptures in it have the ability to save sentient beings. There are two true scriptures. We should take the more wonderful one to save sentient beings. Only when the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty knows this will he be satisfied."

Tang Seng asked: "Bajie, how do you know which of the two scriptures is superior?"

Zhu Bajie said: "Master, the one who needs human resources must be better, so there is no need to worry too much."

The Monkey King stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Bajie's palm-leaf fan by his ear, saying, "You idiot, why are you talking nonsense? This is a serious matter, please don't distract the master."

When Zhu Bajie saw Monkey coming up, he dared not say anything and just muttered something in a low voice.

The traveler said, "Master, the decision is up to you. Don't listen to what others say."

Upon hearing this, Tang Seng nodded and said, "Forget it, forget it, forget it. Let's go with him and ask for the Buddha's true scriptures. This is absolutely correct. Otherwise, I will not be able to see the Tang King."

When the Monkey King heard this, he said nothing, but took the purple gold bowl and gave it to Tang Monk.

Tang Monk took the purple gold bowl and handed it to the two venerables, saying, "My disciple Xuanzang is poor and has no gold or silver. He only has this bowl, which was given to him by the Tang King himself. I have been begging for food with this bowl all the way here. I now offer it to you, venerables. Please pass down the Tripitaka Sutra and teach me to report it to the Tang King for the benefit of all living beings in the East."

The second venerable took the bowl and smiled slightly, saying, "Do you really want to take the Three Treasures?"

Tang Seng nodded and said, "That's right."

The second venerable said: "In that case, you wait here."

Say it.

The second venerable took the purple gold bowl and walked inside.

Sha Wujing said, "Master, I have lost my bowl and alms bowl, so I have no way to beg for food. How can I get back home?"

Tang Monk said: "Let's get the scriptures first, and then talk about the way back."

Zhu Bajie said with a smile: "As the saying goes, 'there is always a way out when you reach the mountain', don't worry, just take this excellent scripture and go back."

Tang Seng remained silent and stayed in the treasure pavilion for a while.

Soon, Kasyapa and Ananda came again, holding scrolls of scriptures, and said, "Come here quickly to receive the scriptures. Great Sage, you have enough strength, so come closer and join us in obtaining the scriptures. The rest will take them."

Upon hearing this, the three Monkey Kings stepped forward to help. Monkey King and the two venerable monks took out the scriptures, while Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing tied up the scriptures and put them away.

While everyone was busy, they tied up the scriptures and led the white horse over. They tied the scriptures into a load and placed them on both sides of the white horse for it to carry.

Venerable Kasyapa stood in front of the treasure pavilion, pointed at the bundle of scriptures on the ground, and said, "Holy monk, great saint, this white horse can no longer carry it, so I will teach you to carry the rest of the scriptures."

Upon hearing this, Monkey King said, "Bajie, hurry up and pick up the scriptures. Don't leave any behind."

Zhu Bajie stepped forward and picked up the scriptures, while he asked Sha Seng to carry their own luggage.

Tang Seng stepped forward, clasped his hands, and asked, "My two venerables, I don't know how many volumes of this sutra there are. Please tell me, and when I return to the East, I can report it to the Tang King and let him know."

Venerable Ananda replied: "Saint monk, this sutra has a total of 5,048 volumes, no more, no less."

Tang Seng wrote down the volume number and thanked the two venerables again and again.

The group of pilgrims then left and went to the Main Hall to worship Buddha.

He and others entered the Main Hall, where Tathagata Buddha was sitting on a lotus platform, waiting for them to arrive.

Tang Seng stepped forward to thank Tathagata Buddha for his profound kindness, and expressed gratitude for the Buddha's compassion on behalf of all sentient beings in the East.

The Tathagata said, "I know that there are two copies of the Scripture in the Treasure Pavilion, but I don't know which Scripture you took back to the East?"

Tang Seng clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Buddha, be merciful. What I have taken is the true scripture of the Three Treasures as taught by Buddha. However, there is one thing that I do not understand."

Tathagata said, "Tell me now." Tang Seng asked, "When I was seeking the scriptures, the two venerables told me that there are two kinds of scriptures in the treasure pavilion. One kind is the one that requires human intervention before it can be given to me, and the other kind is the one that is given to me for free. I dare to ask the Buddha, is there a difference between the two kinds of scriptures?"

Tathagata said: "There is no distinction between noble and inferior sutras. The second-class sutras are all equal, and there is no difference between them."

Tang Monk was puzzled and asked, "Why does the Tripitaka require human effort to obtain the true scriptures?"

Tathagata replied: "Because my true scriptures are different from his, they cannot be given to you easily. Therefore, you need human effort to obtain the true scriptures. Even if you can obtain my true scriptures with a little human effort, I still feel it is despised."

Tang Monk said: "Disciple does not understand."

The Tathagata said, "If the true sutra is easy to obtain, how can anyone value it? In the past, I once preached to a family in Savatthi. The head of the family asked me to recite the sutra to keep the family peaceful and help the deceased transcend. I followed their wishes and recited the sutra in their home. When I was about to leave after my work was completed, the head of the family did not allow me to leave. He said that the Dharma I taught was very easy to obtain and a little cheap. It was not the best Dharma. It was not until I was offered gold to recite the sutra that I would be recognized as the best Dharma. Therefore, I asked for people's help to let them know that my true sutra is not easy to obtain."

Tang Seng clasped his hands together and bowed, saying that he understood. He then said, "Buddha has mercy on me. Now that I have obtained the true scriptures, I hope that Buddha will grant me the power to return to the East and teach the sentient beings there so that they can listen to the Buddha's voice and see the true scriptures."

The Tathagata immediately issued a golden decree and sent the four Vajra to accompany Tang Monk on the wind to return to the East. The Buddha said: "Disciple Xuanzang, you must remember that you have obtained the true scriptures, but you must not be disrespectful. You must also explain this principle to the people in the East. If you need to open the book to read the true scriptures, you must bathe and fast with a sincere heart before opening the book."

Tang Seng bowed and said, "I will remember this carefully and will never forget it."

The Tathagata said, "Since this is the case, you should go now and deliver the true scriptures to the East. Then come back here and receive the true fruit."

After receiving the Buddha's golden order, Tang Seng left the Main Hall, but saw the Buddhists outside the hall. Tang Seng led the four travelers to thank them one by one.

The traveler thanked the Buddha and saw the Buddha of meditation and wisdom, Zhenjian. He was a little surprised, but when he saw Zhenjian smiling and nodding, he understood and bowed deeply to Zhenjian.

Zhenjian helped the traveler up and whispered, "Brother, the work is not yet done, so you should go on. We will talk again when it is done."

The traveler said, "Yes, brother."

After the pilgrims paid homage to the Buddha, they left Mount Lingshan. The Four Vajra Kings were already there, riding on auspicious clouds, carrying Tang Monk, who had been reborn and washed away from his mortal nature, along with the three travelers, and the white dragon horse, to the East.

The pilgrims left the mountain, and the Buddhists came in to praise the Buddha, saying that the Buddha had won the bet and the pilgrims had obtained the Nirvana Sutra.

The Five Directions Jie Di, the Four Valued Officials, the Six Dings and Six Jias, and the Guardians of the Dharma, etc., had already walked to the seat of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva outside the hall and bowed, saying, "Disciples and I have long been ordered by the Bodhisattva to secretly protect Tang Monk on his journey to the west and to assist the Great Sage, Tian Peng, and Juan Lian. Now that Tang Monk has accomplished his mission, we have specially presented the order and hope that the Bodhisattva will respond."

The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes."

The group took out a thin paper and handed it to the Bodhisattva, which recorded the disasters that Tang Monk had experienced along the way.

The Bodhisattva took it and read it carefully.

It records dozens of difficulties, including Falin being demoted to the White Deer, the Bull Demon blocking the way at the Flame Mountain, etc.
The Bodhisattva saw this and said, “This record contains only eighty difficulties.”

The crowd replied, "It is eighty difficulties, it is eighty difficulties."

The Bodhisattva said: "A group of people who seek the scriptures must go through ninety-nine kalpas before their merits and deeds are complete. However, if there are a few kalpas, they will not be complete and there is still one difficulty to go through."

Everyone asked, "What is this difficulty? Do we need to go and create it?"

The Bodhisattva looked towards the palace and sighed, "No need, the calamity will manifest itself, the nine nine difficulties are inevitable."

Everyone was puzzled as to where the difficulty came from. Today, the group of people who were seeking the scriptures have already obtained the true scriptures, and they are escorted by the Four Vajra Kings and the Monkey King to the East. They will return soon to be conferred the title, so how could there still be difficulties?

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled but said nothing.

……

It is said that when Tang Monk first rode a cloud, he stumbled back to the East, with the Four Vajra protecting him on the four sides. Monkey supported Tang Monk and prevented him from falling off the cloud.

When Tang Monk saw that there was a monk approaching, he felt relieved and looked at the scriptures carried by the white horse, pondering in silence.

Seeing this, the Monkey King asked, "Master, what are you thinking about? Now that we have obtained the true scriptures, we will return them to the Tang Dynasty. Then the Vajra will take us back to Lingshan and be awarded the title of Righteousness."

Tang Monk said: "Disciple, I have always been worried. Is it right or wrong for us to take this true scripture?"

The traveler smiled slightly and said, "Master, is this scripture not wonderful?"

Tang Monk shook his head and said, "The true scripture is of course extremely wonderful."

The Monkey King said, "Since this Sutra is so wonderful, why do you have any worries, Master?"

Tang Monk said, "My disciple, you don't know. Although the true sutra is wonderful, I am afraid that the people in the East cannot understand it. Therefore, they cannot get a glimpse of the wonders of the true sutra, so how can they talk about saving sentient beings? In the past, my disciple told me that if there is a true sutra of Nirvana and a true sutra of Zen in Lingshan, which true sutra should I take? I said that it is the true sutra of Zen, which can enter Lingshan, but I cannot tell which is Zen and which is Nirvana. I am afraid that I will mislead the Tang King, so I took the true sutra of Tripitaka, not for merit, but for no mistakes."

The traveler asked, "Master, is it the Sutra of Nirvana or the Sutra of Zen that you have obtained?"

Tang Monk said: "It should be nirvana."

The traveler said, "Since Master has obtained the true scripture, it means Nirvana. In the treasure pavilion, there is another true scripture given away by Bai, which must be the Zen Scripture."

Tang Monk sighed, "If we want to save sentient beings, the Zen Sutra is the best. Just like the secret of the treasure pavilion, it requires human intervention to obtain the three treasures. If we go to the East, the sentient beings will need human intervention to read the true scriptures. This human intervention may be the opportunity of literacy or the opportunity of power and nobility. The three treasures of the true scriptures cannot save the people of the East."

(End of this chapter)