Journey to the West – Chapter 7.3

The thunder gods, A’nuo, and Jiaye all pressed their hands together and praised him, saying “Excellent, excellent!

The year the egg became a being
Determined to find the true Way
Residing in paradise for ten thousand eras
Changed one morning to expend his life¹  

Deceiving heaven and coveting honor
Blaspheming, stealing Pearls, disrupting order
The evil-filled sees justice today
Who knows when he will be free again.”

Having vanquished the monkey yao, the Buddha summoned A’nuo and Jiaye to return together to the Western Heaven, but Marshals Tianpeng² and Tianyou hurried out of Lingxiao Palace and stopped him: “Awakened One³, please wait. The imperial chariot comes bearing his Majesty.” 

The Buddha turned to pay his respects. Almost immediately, an eight-luan⁴ chariot whose cover was decorated with nine shining jewels arrived. Its arrival was accompanied by an immortal choir singing of the universe’s mysteries, a scattering of rare flowers, and a spray of perfume. It stopped before the Buddha: “We are grateful for your power in exterminating this monster. We hope the Awakened One will remain with us for a day, so the immortals may hold a banquet in your honor as thanks.” 

The Buddha did not want to refuse, so pressed his hands together in thanks: “This old monk is here at your Majesty’s command. My powers are nothing.⁵ It is thanks to your Majesty and our fellow immortals’ hard work. I did nothing to be thanked for.”

The Jade Emperor commanded the immortals in the Department of Clouds to split up and invite the three Pure Ones, the four Governors, the five Elders, the six Ministers, the seven Star Generals, the eight Polestars, the nine Heavenly Bodies, the ten Capitals – a thousand of immortals and ten thousand sages, all to attend a banquet to thank the Buddha. He then ordered the Four Heavenly Masters and the Nine Immortal Maidens to open the Gold Jade Tower, the Palace of Supreme Mystery, and the Sunshine Jade Banquet Hall, and placed the Buddha in the place of honor in the Seven Treasures Pedestal. The seating was arranged, all manner of delicacies brought, dragon liver and phoenix marrow, jade liquor and immortal peaches.

Before long, all of the immortals began to arrive. Daoist sages, famous generals, the gods of stars and constellations, Lord Li, Nezha, and many more arrived holding flags and banners, bearing precious jewels, wondrous treasures, longevity fruits and strange flowers as offerings to the Buddha, saying “Thanks to the Awakened One’s limitless power, the yao monkey has been subdued. Please receive this banquet as thanks for all of us. We invite the Awakened One to name this banquet, what do you say?” 

At the pleading of the crowd, the Buddha said, “Today shall be named the Banquet of Peace in Heaven.”

The immortals all said in unison, “Perfect! The Banquet of Peace in Heaven!”

After this exchange, each took his seat and the banquet commenced. Gods were conversing, passing dishes of delicacies, exchanging flowers, playing harps. What a banquet! As the poem says:

Monkey ruined the Fest of Immortal Peach,
More splendid the Fest of Heavenly Peace
Luan-drawn chariots shone with glorious light
Banners on jeweled poles cut through auspicious mist
Heavenly choirs sang mysterious songs
Flutes and pipes celebrated with ringing sound
The hall perfused with sweet perfume
The gods celebrated peace in heaven this day.

As the whole assembly was happily enjoying the feast, the Queen Mother appeared leading a group of immortal maidens and divine beauties. They floated daintily toward the Buddha. After greeting him, they said, “Previously, our Immortal Peach Festival was ruined by that monkey yao. Today the Awakened One has locked up that naughty monkey and we can celebrate with the Banquet of Peace in Heaven. Nothing can adequately express our thanks. We have personally picked a large bough of peaches as an offering.” Just look at them: 

Pale pink, pale green, lightly sweet,
Grown from roots 10,000 years old.
How can those of Wuling Spring,⁶
Compare to marvels grown in heaven?
So rare the purple-veined and delicate flesh,
With yellow stones its sweet clarity has no match.
Extending life and years and easing the body,
Those destined to eat them are extraordinary indeed.

After the Buddha had thanked the Queen Mother, the Empress again directed the maidens to sing and dance. The entire assembly of immortals cheered and applauded. It really is:

Divine incense filling the hall
So too every kind of mystical bloom
The jade city and gold tower in their full glory
Everywhere priceless treasures and artifacts

Each pair long-lived as Heaven
Each couple risen through ten thousand eras
Even fields and seas change through the years
He who feasts here neither startles nor fears. 

As they Queen Mother’s maidens were singing and dancing, and as the wine was flowing freely, there came news: 

A wave of a different fragrance met the nose
Startling the hall full of heavenly host
Immortals and Buddha halt their cups
Each raised his head to greet the new guest

An ancient appeared in the heavenly court
Bearing lingzhi⁷ in his hands
A gourd of Pearls aged ten thousand years
His book records lifespans millennia long

In his cave, the universe knows no constraint;
In his vase, day and night complete the race;
He travels the four seas at his whim,
And returns to the ten islets to take his rest.

At the Immortal Peach Fest, oft found drunk,
Waking when the moon still brightly shines.
Long-faced, long-eared, short of stature,
The Longevity Star of the South is his name.

The Longevity Star arrived. He paid his respects to the Jade Emperor, then greeted the Awakened One, saying, “I heard that yao monkey was brought to Doushuai Palace to be distilled, because there must be peace. I did not expect him to then escape. Thankfully, the Awakened One, in your benevolence, subdued the monster, and we thank you with this banquet. Thus I have come on the wind. I had nothing to offer you, so I have gathered purple lingzhi, precious grasses, green lotus root, and Golden Pearls especially, to offer to you.” Another poem:

Jade lotus and gold Pearls for Siddhartha,
Old as sands of Ganges is the life of Buddha.
Calm is the brocade of three chariots,
The ultimate crown is a long healthy life.

The true master of the School of Void,
The Heaven of Form and Void is his home,
Heaven and earth both call him lord,
Blessed s his sixteen-foot impervious form.

The Buddha accepted gladly. The Longevity Star took his seat and food was passed. The Barefoot Immortal then arrived and knelt to the Emperor, then thanked the Buddha: “For your triumph over the yao monkey, nothing can adequately express my gratitude. I have brought here two pears and fire dates to present to you.” Another poem: 

The Barefoot Immortal with fragrant dates and pears,
Offered to the Buddha of infinite years.
The Seven Treasure Lotus Seat is firm as a mountain,
The Thousand Gold Flower Throne is like brocade adorned.

It’s true that his life is as long as the Earth’s,
It’s no exaggeration that his fortune is like a great flood,
Fortune and Life really do find him,
Living in leisure and bliss in the Western Heaven

The Buddha again thanked him. He summoned A’nuo and Jiaye to take the offerings and put them away. He thanked the Jade Emperor for the banquet. The guests were drunk, each and every one. But look, a guard on patrol comes to report: “The Great Sage has stuck his head out.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” the Buddha said. He pulled a card from his sleeve upon which were written six characters in gold “An Ma Ne Ba Mi Hong.” He handed it to A’nuo and ordered him to stick it to the mountaintop. The monk went out the Heavenly Gate to the top of Five Elements Mountain, and stuck the card firmly to a rectangular stone. The mountain seemed to take root and seal itself to the ground. There was room for the prisoner to breathe or for a hand to stick out. A’nuo returned to report: “The card has been stuck there.” 

The Buddha took leave of the Jade Emperor and the immortals of heaven, and left through the Heavenly Gate with the two monks. A thought of compassion suddenly struck him. He spoke an incantation and summoned the Tudi Spirit of Five Elementals Mountain. Together with the five directional guardians, they were to keep watch over the imprisoned monkey. When the prisoner was hungry, they were to feed him iron pellets. When he was thirsty, they were to give him molten copper to drink. Once he had paid for his transgression in full, someone would come to save him. It truly is: 

A yao monkey dares to upturn Heaven
But is subdued by the Buddha with one hand.
Imbibing molten copper to endure the years
Eating iron pellets to pass the time.

Met with this torment sent by Heaven,
His lot is miserable but his life still long,
If this hero rises to struggle again,
He’ll then revere the Buddha and go to the West.

⁸ Trapped is the body filled with evil
The good root will not die but grow
To really escape the Buddha’s hand
He awaits the monk to arise from Tang

Which year and month will he complete his punishment? We’ll find out in the next chapter.

Next time, on to Chapter 8!

^{1 Not literally life, but spirit. In the daoist imagination, when you use your energy and get excited, you are leaking out life energy. See translation note here. ↩}

^{2 Hi Pigsy! ↩}

^{3 Buddha means awakened one, so I’m using this as a title when they awkwardly speak in the third person ↩}

^{4 a phoenix-like bird ↩}

^{5 lit. What powers do I have? ↩}

^{6 an area in Hunan province known for famous poems about peaches ↩}

^{7 a shelf fungus that grows on trees, used in Chinese medicine ↩}

^{8 This is two poems I am mashing into one because I can’t be bothered, there are too many poems!! ↩}