The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 248 - 231: When Will the Day Come to Stretch Out and Show Our Achievements Again

Chapter 248: Chapter 231: When Will the Day Come to Stretch Out and Show Our Achievements Again

Thus spoke Guanyin, following the command of the Tathagata, journeyed eastward toward Chang’an in the Southern Toad Continent, in search of the destined scripture seeker.

During this journey, she successively encountered Monk Sha, Zhu Bajie, and Little White Dragon. A thought stirred in her heart, the last one must be Sun Wukong. Consequently, she took her disciple Mu Zha upon the clouds and descended to the base of Five Elements Mountain in the Southern Toad Continent.

Guanyin couldn’t help but compose a lament in verse:

A sigh for the demon monkey, who did not serve well,

In past times bold and brash, playing the hero’s swell.

Deceitfully stirred trouble at the Flat Peach Festival,

Daring private ventures into Doulu Palace’s spell.

In an army of ten thousand, no match was ever found

Above the Nine Heavens, his reputation did resound.

Now trapped by our Buddha Tathagata around,

When will he stretch forth and demonstrate his renowned!

Upon hearing this, Wukong secretly calculated and feared that it had been five hundred years already; now it’s Guanyin heading to Chang’an in search of the scripture seeker! Wukong thought to himself, "Heh, Tathagata plans on me wanting to leave, but this time I just won’t go! Let’s see what he can do about it."

In his past life, upon hearing this poem, he couldn’t help but shout, demanding who was exposing his shortcomings. Then, Guanyin threw the bait of inviting him out from beneath the mountain, and he began to accompany Tang Sanzang on the pilgrimage to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures. This time, although he heard the poem, he remained silent, saying nothing.

Guanyin and Mu Zha waited half a day, hearing no reply, and she grew very curious, silently musing, "How could it be that Macaca, after hearing me burlesque him with a poem, says not a word? How strange!"

The local deity and mountain god, along with Jiedi, led Guanyin to the base of Five Elements Mountain, where they saw Wukong suppressed beneath, with only half his torso and one hand showing.

Guanyin shouted, "Sun by surname, do you recognize me or not?"

Wukong opened his eyes and couldn’t help but laugh, "Remember, remember! Aren’t you the Bodhisattva Guanyin from the South Sea? What brings you to visit old Sun?"

Guanyin asked, "Do you wish to come out?"

Wukong replied, "No want, no want! Not in the slightest! I’ve committed such grievous sins, with karma too heavy, I rightly suffer this retribution! Whether walking, sitting, in motion, or still, all is Chan. Even pressed beneath Five Elements Mountain, it’s but another form of Chan. Beneath the mountain, life is easy; each day with sleep and contemplation, days just pass by. Look at these five hundred years—weren’t they but a snap of the fingers?"

Upon hearing this, Guanyin grew secretly alarmed, thinking to herself, "Oh no! Could it be that this rowdy monkey isn’t willing to go on the pilgrimage to the Western Heaven? That would be dire."

Wukong noticed the change in Guanyin’s expression and couldn’t help but snicker quietly. So, Tathagata wants to entice him on the pilgrimage to the Western Heaven? He’d pretend to refuse and see what tricks Tathagata could play. Guanyin felt as if on fire within, wondering if after five hundred years, Macaca really turned from his wicked ways?

Guanyin asked, "When have you realized such a Chan method?"

Wukong chuckled, "After severe pain, comes deep contemplation. My sins are profound and require sincere quietude and reflection. It’s best I don’t go out, lest I cause more havoc and trouble Rulai Buddha to clean up after me."

Guanyin, now truly exasperated, said, "If you come out, I can teach you to obtain true fruition and become a Buddha and an Ancestor in the Western Heaven."

Wukong retorted, "Tathagata’s true fruition—I shall not learn. I want to study Amitabha Buddha’s true fruition. Nowadays, the true Dharma of the Buddhist sect is corrupted. With Tathagata’s devious heart, how can he be the Respectful Ruler of the World? If you wish to teach me true fruition, you’d need The Two Saints of the West to personally persuade me. I wish to study Amitabha’s Buddhist Law, not Tathagata’s."

"Tathagata’s Buddhist Law is actually passed down from Amitabha, you macaque—do not speak nonsense!" Guanyin scolded.

"Ha! The genuine Buddhist scriptures have long been hidden away by Tathagata, what’s left is merely indoctrination, far removed from the truth. He seeks to spread doctrine, merely to amass foolish followers—I’m well aware of that. Bodhisattva, with your profound understanding of Buddhist law, you cannot fail to see that the doctrine is now twisted and rife with contradictions, right?" Wukong asked.

Guanyin was taken aback by these words. Indeed, since Tathagata took control, Buddhist law seemed to have altered. The doctrines preached by Tathagata compared to the past seemed to lack something, largely indoctrination devoid of truth. Nonetheless, Guanyin didn’t ponder further, just assumed that the Rulai Buddha modified the scriptures for faster and broader dissemination of Buddhism. The effects were evident; in recent years, the spread of Buddhism was rapid and widespread, unprecedented.

Buddhist Law was said to save all beings, but the Buddhist Law spread by Tathagata also brought ruin to many.

At this query, Guanyin momentarily found herself at a loss for words. Wukong smirked, "Bodhisattva, why the silence? Could it be that my words miss the mark?"

Coming back to her senses, Guanyin said, "This is but a temporary measure by the Buddha Ancestor to spread the teachings faster. You, macaque, should not harp on about it. I ask you, do you wish to cleanse your sins?"

Wukong inquired, "How to cleanse them?"

Guanyin said, "I will go to the Great Tang of the Eastern Land to find someone to travel to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures. When the time comes, you shall assist him and obtain the scriptures with him. Naturally, there will be great virtue to wash away your sins."

Wukong retorted, "How would I know if these scriptures are good or bad? What if they are just another one of Tathagata’s brainwashing scriptures that bring disaster to the people of the Eastern Land? Forget it, forget it. It’s best for me to remain peaceful and do nothing. Laojun had it right: ’Tao naturally drifts in one breath of harmony, tranquil emptiness is the hardest to seek.’ The greatest goodness is like water, water benefits all things and does not compete, and so it is almost like the Tao."

Guanyin, listening to his reluctance to travel to the Western Heaven, couldn’t help but feel a spark of annoyance, and said, "Do you really want to be trapped under Five Elements Mountain for the rest of your life?"

Wukong chuckled, "Boundless Heavenly Immortal! Even if I am trapped for a lifetime, it won’t matter much. Every drink and morsel is set by cause and effect, fate numbers. When it’s time for me to leave, I suppose Heaven will let me out."

Guanyin retorted with frustration, "There are many demons along the journey to the West. With your vast divine powers, the scripture seeker surely needs your help! Otherwise, wouldn’t that pilgrim risk losing his life halfway through the journey? That would be a sin! There are things one should do and things one should not. This task of obtaining the scriptures cannot be accomplished without you."

Wukong said, "All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, and a shadow, like dew and like lightning, and should be viewed as such. This I have heard, the past is eternal and unmovable like a mountain! Time will pass, and all shall be seen as a past dream, an illusion. The success or failure of obtaining scriptures is but the will of Heaven; why must you, Bodhisattva, be so fixated? Amitabha Buddha!"

Guanyin’s expression changed unpredictably, not expecting such a difficult time in persuading Macaca, who refused to leave Five Elements Mountain even after much talking.

"If you do not leave, have you thought about your monkeys at Flower-Fruit Mountain being bullied, or everything you own going up in flames?" Guanyin tempted once more.

"Amitabha Buddha, all is empty, all is empty! Everything is predetermined by Heaven, and everyone follows their Heaven-given fate. I have accepted my lot," Wukong laughed.

It was as if water could not soak him and fire could not burn him, as if no worldly cares like firewood, rice, oil, and salt could affect him— truly a tough character to influence! Guanyin was unsure whether he had genuinely enlightened to the Buddhist Law or if he was just being pretentious. For a moment, she felt quite a headache, pondering how to get Macaca to come down from the mountain.

Wukong then asked, "Why do Buddhists these days not merely chant ’Amitabha Buddha’, but instead always chant ’Namo Amitabha Buddha’? Bodhisattva, do you know the reason behind this?"

This question caught Guanyin off guard. She replied, "Nowadays Tathagata is regarded as the Respectful Ruler of the World, naturally people should chant his name."

Wukong, however, chuckled and said, "Then why don’t Taoists chant the name of the Great Heavenly Master, the Jade Emperor, but instead chant the names of the Ancestor Masters of the Three Pure Ones?"

Guanyin was speechless, becoming increasingly annoyed and flustered, and scolded, "You Macaca, will you come out or not? I will not argue with you any longer!"

The Mountain God, Local Deity, and the others saw Guanyin’s irritation and hastily retreated aside, fearing collateral damage. Guanyin was formidable; her Pure Luster Crystal Vase could turn a person into bloody water with a single drop inside. No matter how powerful you were, once inside the vase, death was certain.

Wukong said, "If the Buddhist Law can deliver salvation, then the Taoist Teachings can do the same! Why don’t you, Bodhisattva, convert and follow the Great Emperor of the Spiritual Treasure and learn his ’Sutra for Crossing Sentient Beings’ to deliver salvation?"

His words covertly mocked Guanyin as a traitor to Taoism, igniting her inner fury. The Pure Luster Crystal Vase swiftly came down upon Wukong’s head, causing his flesh to split open and blood to flow.

"Haha, haha! Bodhisattva, you cannot argue with Old Sun, and now you resort to violence? How boring, how boring. It’s been hard enough to find someone to talk to for the past five hundred years. Bodhisattva, I’m telling you this because I see you are a good person, so you don’t end up losing your life without even knowing it!" Wukong said coldly, sneering.

Hearing his indifferent tone, Guanyin was taken aback and furrowed her brows, "You Macaca, what nonsense are you spouting now?"

Unable to contain his laughter, Wukong said, "Nothing, nothing! I will not go on the journey to obtain the scriptures. You better hurry to Chang’an to find the scripture seeker. With Heavenly Cover and Jiedi to help, they should be able to protect the scripture seeker on the way to the Western Heaven. Just be careful on the road; the disciples of the Three Pure Ones are not so easy to handle."

Guanyin gasped, thinking to herself, "How does Macaca, who has been trapped for five hundred years and unable to invoke his divine powers, know all this? Who told him?"

Observing Guanyin’s changing expressions, Wukong smiled and said, "Bodhisattva, you should hurry to Chang’an, as there might be some unforeseen changes!"

Guanyin, deeply unsettled, said, "I will come back for you later."

She called upon Mu Zha and swiftly rode the clouds towards Chang’an City.

In a previous life, Guanyin had helped him during his battle with the Six-Eared Macaque, so he knew that she might be aware of some of the reasons behind the current events. If he could sway Guanyin to his side, the journey to the West would be much easier! Yet, turning Guanyin was easier said than done. After all, Rulai Buddha’s influence was profound, and claiming that someone had performed the Swap Heaven and Earth trick would hardly be believed by anyone.

Seeing Guanyin leave, Wukong burst into a loud laugh, shaking Five Elements Mountain with its echo, startling everyone around, who feared he might flip the mountain over.

This attempt by Guanyin to recruit assistance proved unfruitful. Now, she was headed to Chang’an, which was not far away; in a moment, she had arrived.

To find out what happens next, please follow the next Chapter. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to show your support by voting with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Starting Point (qidian.com). Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)