Journey to the West

⋇⊰ Chapter 8 ⊱⋇

Buddha left the Jade Emperor and went back to the Thunder Monastery, where he saw the 3,000 Buddhas, 500 Arhats, eight great Vajrapanis, and countless Bodhisattvas standing under the pairs of sala trees at the foot of the Vulture Peak, all holding banners, canopies, jewels, and magical flowers. The Tathagata brought his propitious cloud to a halt and addressed them thus:

"With my deep insight, I surveyed the Three Worlds. The origin of nature is ultimately emptiness, like the great void, containing nothing at all. The subjection of this evil monkey was a mystery beyond understanding. It is called the beginning of life and death: Such is the appearance of things."

When he had spoken, a sacred light filled the sky with 42 rainbows that linked North and South together. All who saw them bowed, and a moment later the Buddha gathered together some felicitous cloud and climbed to the supreme Lotus Throne, where he seated himself in majesty.

It was then, that the 3,000 Buddhas, the 500 Arhats, the eight Vajrapanis, and the four Bodhisattvas came forward to bow to him with their hands together and ask, "Who was it who wrecked the Heavenly Palace and ruined the Peach Banquet?"

"The wretch was a monkey fiend born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit," the Buddha replied, "whose towering crimes would beggar description. None of the heavenly generals were able to subdue him, and when Lord Lao Zi refined him with fire after Erlang had captured him, he was unharmed. When I went there he was in the middle of the thunder generals, giving a great display of his martial prowess and his spirit. I stopped the fighting and asked him what it was all about. He said that he had divine powers, was able to do transformations, and could ride a somersault cloud for 36,000 miles at a single jump. I made a wager with him that he could not jump out of my hand, then grabbed him, turned my fingers into the Five Elements Mountain, and sealed him under it. The Jade Emperor opened wide the golden gates of the Jade Palace and invited me to be the guest of honor at a Banquet to Celebrate Peace in Heaven he gave to thank me. After that, I took my leave of him and came back here."

They were all delighted by the news and they congratulated him effusively, after which they withdrew group by group, each to go about his duties as all rejoiced in the divine truth.

One day, as the Buddha dwelt in the Thunder Monastery on the Vulture Peak, he called together all the other Buddhas, Arhats, guardian deities, Bodhisattvas, Vajrapanis, monks, and nuns and said, "As we are beyond time, I don't know how long it has been since the crafty ape was subdued and Heaven pacified, but by earthly reckoning, it must be about five hundred years. As today is a fine early autumn day and I have a precious bowl filled with 100 kinds of rare flowers and 1,000 varieties of exotic fruit, what would you say to our having an Ullambana Feast?"

They all put their hands together and performed the reverence of going around him three times in acceptance. The Buddha then ordered Ananda to hold the bowl of flowers and fruit while Kasyapa laid them out. The hosts were moved to gratitude, which they expressed in verse. Then, the Tathagata opened his excellent mouth and expounded the great Law and retribution. He spoke about the wonderful scriptures of the Three Vehicles and the theory of the Five Aggregates as contained in the Surangama−sutra; the deities and nagas gathered round, and flowers came raining down in profusion.

The meditating heart shines like the moon in 1,000 rivers;
The true nature embraces 10,000 miles of sky.

When the Buddha had finished his sermon he said to the host, "I have observed that the morality of the living creatures of the four continents varies. In the Eastern Continent of Superior Body they worship Heaven and Earth, their minds are livery and they are even−tempered. In the Northern Kuru Continent, they are given to killing living things, but they only do it to feed themselves; they are stupid and lazy by nature, but they do not trample much on others. Our Western Continent of Cattle−gift has people who neither covet nor kill. They nourish the vital essence and submerge the spirit; and although they produce no saints of the highest order, they all live to a ripe old age. But in the Southern Jambu Continent, they are greedy and lecherous and delight in the sufferings of others; they go in for a great deal of killing and quarreling. That continent can with truth be called a vicious field of tongues and mouths, an evil sea of disputation. I now have Three Stores of True Scriptures with which they can be persuaded to be good."