Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Riches and rank, fame and fortune are fixed by destiny's decree; let no one deceive his own heart. Upright and honorable, the loyal and good reap ever deeper fruits. The least presumption brings Heaven's punishment—if not now, then in due time. I ask the Lord of the East: why do calamities assail us now? It is only because our hearts aspire beyond measure, confounding high and low and trampling all rules of conduct.

Now it must be told that the Great Sage Equal of Heaven was led away by the celestial soldiers to the Demon-Beheading Platform, where he was bound to the demon-subduing pillar. They hacked at him with swords and axes, stabbed him with spears and cut him with swords, yet not a scratch could be inflicted upon him. The Southern Dipper Star urgently ordered the Fire Department deities to burn him with fire, but they could not singe him. Then the Thunder Department deities were ordered to strike him with thunderbolts, yet not a hair on his body was harmed. The Great Ghostly King and the others reported to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, we do not know where this Great Sage learned this art of body protection. We have hacked him with swords and axes, burned him with fire and struck him with thunder—not a single hair of his body is harmed. What are we to do?" When the Jade Emperor heard this, he said: "This creature, this creature—how shall he be dealt with?" The Supreme Lord Lao Zi at once came forward and said: "That monkey ate the immortal peaches, drank the celestial wine, and stole the elixir of immortality. My five gourds of elixir, some raw and some cooked, he swallowed them all into his belly. Using the Samadhi fire, he forged them into a single mass, so that his whole body has become an adamantine frame that cannot be quickly harmed. Let Your Majesty give him into my charge. I will place him in my Eight-Trigrams Furnace and refine him with civil and martial fire. When I have refined out my elixir, his body will turn to ashes." The Jade Emperor, upon hearing this, ordered the Six Ding and Six Jia deities to unbind him and hand him over to Lord Lao Zi. Lord Lao Zi received the edict and departed. Meanwhile the Jade Emperor summoned the Manifest Sage Erlang and bestowed upon him a hundred gold flowers, a hundred bottles of celestial wine, a hundred grains of restorative elixir, rare jewels, pearls, brocades, and other gifts, to be shared with his sworn brothers. The True Lord thanked the Emperor for his grace and returned to Guankou River—of which no more shall be said.

Lord Lao Zi arrived at the Palace of the Highest Clarity, where he removed the Great Sage's ropes and took off the instrument that had pierced his collarbone. He pushed him into the Eight-Trigrams Furnace and commanded the attending Taoist and the fire-tending boy to fan up the flames and begin the refinement. Now the furnace was arranged according to the eight trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui. The Great Sage squeezed himself into the position beneath the Xun palace. Xun signifies wind; where there is wind there is no fire. But the wind stirred up the smoke, which reddened his pair of eyes and afflicted them with a chronic ailment. Hence they were called "fire-eyes with golden pupils."

Time flew swiftly, and before he knew it forty-nine days had passed—Lord Lao Zi's fire was complete. Then one day the furnace was opened to retrieve the elixir. The Great Sage, covering his eyes with both hands, was rubbing them and wiping away tears when he heard a sound at the top of the furnace. He opened his eyes wide and saw the light. Unable to contain himself, he sprang up, leaped out of the alchemy furnace, and with a great crash kicked over the Eight-Trigrams Furnace, making straight for the exit. The fire-tenders, the furnace-watchers, and the Ding and Jia deities rushed to restrain him, but he knocked them all down one by one—like a mad white-browed tiger or a frenzied single-horned dragon. Lord Lao Zi caught up and grabbed at him, but the Great Sage gave him a push and sent him sprawling head over heels. He then escaped. He drew out his wish-fulfilling staff from his ear, waved it in the wind, and it grew to the size of a bowl in diameter. He seized it again in his hand and, without distinction of friend or foe, once more threw the Celestial Palace into chaos, striking so fiercely that the Nine Luminaries shut their doors and bolted their gates, and the Four Heavenly Kings vanished without a trace. Ah, what a cunning monkey! There is a poem that testifies to this. The poem says:

His primordial frame, unified and true, accords with the origin before heaven; through myriad kalpas and thousands of changes, he follows nature's way.

Serene and non-active, he merges with the Great Unity; unmoving and unshakable, he is called the Primal Mystery.

Long refined in the furnace, he is not mere lead or mercury; beyond all things, his immortality is that of the true immortal.

Endless transformations upon endless transformations—the three refuges and five precepts are not worth speaking of.

Another poem says:

A single flash of spiritual light pierces the Great Void; that staff he carries is the same.

Long or short, it follows the user's need; horizontal or vertical, it rolls up or stretches out at will.

Another poem says:

The monkey's form is matched to the human heart; the heart is the monkey, and its meaning runs deep.

The Great Sage's title Equal of Heaven is no empty claim; to be appointed Keeper of the Horses is no true understanding of him.

Horse and ape together form the heart and mind—bind them fast and tight, seek nothing outside.

The myriad forms return to truth through one principle; the Tathagata dwells in harmony within the Twin Groves.

In this assault, the Monkey King made no distinction between high and low. Wielding his iron cudgel, he struck east and attacked west, and not a single deity could withstand him. He fought his way into the Hall of Blazing Light and right up to the Palace of the Firmament. Fortunately, the Guardian Marshal Wang Lingguan, an aide of the Guardian Sage of the True Lord, was on duty there. Seeing the Great Sage rampaging unchecked, he drew his golden whip and stepped forward to block his way, crying, "Where do you think you're going, you scoundrel monkey? I am here—do not be so wild!" Without a word, the Great Sage raised his cudgel and struck. The Guardian Marshal met him with his whip. The two clashed before the Palace of the Firmament in a fierce battle:

One, loyal and upright, bore a great and noble name; the other, deceiving Heaven, bore a name of infamy. The one and the other, locked in combat, heroes and champions vied together. The iron cudgel was ferocious, the golden whip was swift—how could the upright and selfless endure this? One was the Venerable Being Transformed by Thunder of the Great Unity; the other was the Monkey Monster, the Great Sage Equal of Heaven. Golden whip and iron cudgel—both possessed of power, both divine weapons of the celestial armory. Today in the Precious Palace of the Firmament they displayed their might, each showing his true mettle. One, in his presumption, sought to seize the Palace of the Dipper and Ox; the other strove with all his might to uphold the realm of the August Sage. They fought fiercely, neither yielding, displaying their divine powers—whip and cudgel crossed and recrossed with neither victor nor vanquished.

As they fought, their outcome still undecided, the Guardian Sage of the True Lord had already dispatched officers to send a dispatch to the Thunder Prefecture, summoning the thirty-six Thunder Generals to surround the Great Sage in their midst, each pressing the attack with savage fury. The Great Sage showed not the slightest trace of fear. Wielding his single wish-fulfilling staff, he blocked to the left and parried to the right, fended off attacks from behind and met those from before. Seeing that the Thunder Generals pressed him hard with their swords, spears, and halberds, whips, clubs, maces, axes, golden billhooks, and crescent-shaped shovels, he shook his body and transformed himself into a being with three heads and six arms. He waved his wish-fulfilling staff, and it became three cudgels. With his six hands he wielded the three cudgels, spinning them like a spinning wheel, whirling and whizzing in the midst of the encirclement. Not a single Thunder God could come near him. Truly it was:

Round and full, gleaming and bright,

Through all ages enduring—how could a mortal learn to be so?

Fire cannot burn it, water cannot drown it.

A single luminous Mani pearl—swords, halberds, spears and lances cannot harm it.

It can do good, it can do evil; good and evil before the eyes depend on its doing.

In goodness, it becomes Buddha or immortal; in evil, it wears fur and bears horns.

With boundless transformations it caused uproar in the Heavenly Palace; thunder generals and divine soldiers could not seize it.

At that time the host of gods had surrounded the Great Sage in one place, yet none could draw near him; there was a clamor and a great commotion. Soon the Jade Emperor was alarmed, and he issued an edict commanding the Patrol Lingguan and the Yisheng Zhenjun to go westward to invite the Old Buddha to come and subdue him.

The two sages received their orders and proceeded directly to the sacred precincts of Vulture Peak, before the jeweled temple of Thunder Sound. They paid their respects to the Four Diamond Kings and the Eight Bodhisattvas, and then asked them to convey their message. The various deities followed them to the foot of the precious lotus throne and reported the matter. The Tathāgata summoned them forward. The two sages performed three circuits of obeisance before the Buddha and stood in attendance below the throne. The Tathāgata asked, "For what matter does the Jade Emperor trouble the two sages to descend?" The two sages then reported: "Some time ago, a monkey was born on Flower-Fruit Mountain. He there displayed his supernatural powers and gathered a host of monkeys to throw the world into disorder. The Jade Emperor issued an edict of amnesty and appointed him Keeper of the Heavenly Horses, but he returned in anger because the office was too small. Then the Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha were sent to capture him but failed. He was granted amnesty again and appointed Great Sage Equal to Heaven, an office with title but no stipend. He was put in charge of the Peach Garden, whereupon he stole the peaches. He then went to the Jade Pool, where he stole delicacies and wine and disrupted the Grand Festival. Drunk, he secretly entered the Tushitvā Heaven palace and stole Lord Laozi's immortality pills, then fled the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor dispatched a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, but they could not subdue him either. Afterwards, Guanyin recommended the True Lord Erlang to join his sworn brother in pursuit. The monkey's transformations were manifold, but Lord Laozi threw his diamond snare and struck him, whereupon Erlang was able to capture him. He was brought before the Emperor's carriage and sentenced to execution, but swords and axes could not cut him, fire could not burn him, and thunder could not harm him. Lord Laozi petitioned and was permitted to take him away to refine him in his furnace. When the cauldron was opened after forty-nine days, the monkey leaped out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, drove back the heavenly guards, and made straight for the Hall of Miraculous Pillar and the precincts outside the Palace of Lingxiao. The assistant of the Protector Sage, Wang Lingguan, blocked him and fought bitterly. Then thirty-six thunder generals were called in to surround him at the core of the battle, yet still no one could draw near. The situation is urgent; therefore the Jade Emperor has especially invited the Tathāgata to rescue him."

On hearing this, the Tathāgata said to the assembled Bodhisattvas, "You shall sit firmly in this Dharma hall and not disturb your meditation seats. I shall go to subdue this demon and rescue the Emperor."

The Tathāgata then called for the two venerable Ānanda and Kāśyapa to accompany him. They left the Thunder Sound and proceeded directly to the gate of the Heavenly Palace. Suddenly they heard a deafening clamor—it was the thirty-six thunder generals surrounding the Great Sage. The Buddha transmitted a decree: "Tell the thunder generals to cease hostilities, withdraw their camps, and let the Great Sage come out. I wish to question him about his powers." The generals indeed withdrew. The Great Sage also withdrew his transformed appearance and approached in his original form, his anger blazing, crying out in a loud voice: "Who are you, good sir, that you dare stop the fighting to question me?" The Tathāgata smiled and said, "I am Śākyamuni, the Venerable One from the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Namo Amitābha! I have heard that you, a savage and rustic creature, have repeatedly rebelled against the Heavenly Palace. I do not know where you were born, in what year you attained the Way, or why you are so violent and overbearing."

The Great Sage said, "I was born a spiritual immortal of heaven and earth, an old ape on Flower-Fruit Mountain. In the Curtain Water Cave I made my home; I sought friends and teachers and comprehended the Supreme Mystery. I refined myself in countless methods of long life; I learned transformations beyond measure. Because I found the mortal world too narrow, I resolved to dwell in the Jade Heaven. The Palace of Lingxiao is not his to hold forever; through the ages the throne of kings has passed from one to another. The strong should be supreme—let me have it! A hero dares to be first!"

The Buddha heard these words and said with a cold laugh: "You are nothing but a monkey who has become a spirit. How dare you deceive yourself and seek to seize the Jade Emperor's exalted position? He has cultivated himself since his youth and endured one thousand seven hundred and fifty kalpas. Each kalpa comprises one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years. Can you calculate how many years that amounts to, that he might enjoy this Way of the Infinite? You, a creature just born into the world, how can you utter such great words? You are no son of man! You are no son of man! You shorten your own lifespan. Submit yourself at once and do not speak recklessly. I fear you will meet a violent end, your life snuffed out in an instant—and what a pity for your original face."

The Great Sage said: "Though he has cultivated himself from youth, he should not hold this position forever. As the saying goes: 'The emperor's throne rotates; next year it comes to my house.' Simply tell him to move out and hand the Heavenly Palace over to me, and I will be satisfied. If he refuses, I will cause such turmoil that there will be no peace forever."

The Buddha said: "Apart from your methods of long life and transformation, what other powers do you have that you dare to seize the Heavenly Palace's sacred precincts?"

The Great Sage said: "My abilities are many! I have seventy-two transformations and an ageless life that endures ten thousand kalpas. I can ride the somersault cloud—one leap covers a hundred and eight thousand li. Why should I not be fit to sit on the heavenly throne?"

The Buddha said: "Let me make a wager with you: If you have the ability, with one somersault leap out of my right palm, and I will count it as your victory. There will be no need for further fighting and struggling; I will ask the Jade Emperor to move to the West and give you the Heavenly Palace. If you cannot leap out of my palm, you will return to the mortal world as a demon and cultivate for several more kalpas before coming to quarrel again."

On hearing this, the Great Sage laughed inwardly: "This Tathāgata is truly foolish. Old Sun's somersault covers a hundred and eight thousand li, and his palm is not even a foot across—how could I fail to leap out of it?" He spoke up at once: "Since you say so, can you make good on your word?" The Buddha said: "I can, I can." He stretched out his right hand—it was about the size of a lotus leaf.

The Great Sage gathered his staff, summoned his divine might, and with a leap stood upon the Buddha's palm. "I'm off," he said. A trail of cloud-light, formless and shadowless, he vanished. The Buddha watched with his wisdom-eye and saw the Monkey King spinning like a windmill, advancing without cease. As the Great Sage flew, he suddenly came upon five fleshy red pillars supporting a column of azure vapour. "This must be the end of the road," he said. "When I go back, the Tathāgata can bear witness—the Palace of Divine Mists is mine to sit upon." Then he thought, "Wait, I'd better leave a mark, so I have proof to show the Tathāgata." He plucked a hair, breathed on it, and cried, "Change!" It turned into a double-nibbed brush thick with ink. On the middle pillar he wrote in large characters: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here." Having finished, he put the hair away. Lacking all reverence, he then squatted at the base of the first pillar and urinated. He flipped his somersault cloud and returned directly, standing again in the Buddha's palm. "I've gone and now I'm back. Tell the Jade Emperor to give me the Heavenly Palace."

The Buddha scolded him, "You piss-essence monkey! You never left my palm at all." The Great Sage said, "You don't know. I flew to the end of the sky and saw five fleshy red pillars supporting a column of azure vapour. I left a mark there—dare you go look with me?" The Buddha said, "No need. Just lower your head and look." The Great Sage opened his fiery golden eyes and looked down. There, on the Buddha's right middle finger, were written the words: "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here." In the crevice of the thumb, there was still the stink of monkey urine. The Great Sage was greatly startled. "Is this possible? Is this possible? I wrote those characters on the pillar that holds up the sky—how did they end on his finger? Could there be a spell of foreknowledge? I refuse to believe it. I won't believe it. Let me go again."

The Great Sage leapt up eagerly, trying to jump out once more. The Buddha turned his palm and struck, pushing the Monkey King beyond the Western Heavenly Gate. He transformed his five fingers into five linked mountains of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, named the "Mountain of the Five Elements," and lightly pressed the Monkey King beneath it. All the Thunder Gods, along with Ānanda and Kāśyapa, pressed their palms together in praise: "Excellent, excellent!

From egg to man in former days,

He set his heart and found the Way.

Through myriad kalpas undisturbed in blissful realms,

One morning's change scattered his spirit.

He deceived Heaven and transgressed above, craving high rank;

He sinned against the sages and stole the Great Elixir.

His evil is full—now comes the reckoning;

Who knows the day he'll rise again?"

Having annihilated the demon monkey, the Tathāgata Buddha called Ānanda and Kāśyapa to return with him to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss. At that moment General Peng and General You hastened out of the Palace of Divine Mists and said, "Please wait a moment, Tathāgata—the Great Sovereign is coming." The Buddha turned and looked up. Soon, indeed, appeared the eight-ornamented phoenix carriage and the nine-radiance jewelled canopy, with the strains of mysterious songs and wondrous music, chanting boundless divine verses, scattering precious flowers and emitting true incense, until they reached the Buddha, where they offered thanks: "Greatly indebted to your mighty dharma for subduing this demon and fiend, we pray you stay one day, so we may host a feast of thanksgiving for the immortals." The Buddha did not dare to refuse. He pressed his palms together and replied: "This old monk came here at the command of the Great天尊—what power do I have? It is the great fortune of the天尊 and all the gods. How dare I accept your thanks?" The Jade Emperor issued an edict ordering the hosts of the Thunder Ministry to invite in turn the Three Pure Ones, the Four Sovereigns, the Five Elders, the Six Directors, the Seven Originals, the Eight Poles, the Nine Luminaries, the Ten Presences, the thousand true immortals and the ten thousand sages to attend the assembly and together express gratitude to the Buddha. He also commanded the Four Great Celestial Masters and the Nine Heavenly Maidens to open the Jade Capital and Golden Gate, the Great Mystery Treasure Palace, and the Cavern of Yang Jade, and to invite the Buddha to ascend the seven-jewelled spirit throne, arranging the seats of each rank, and setting out dragon liver, phoenix marrow, jade liquid, and peaches of immortality.

Before long, the Primordial天尊 of Jade Clarity, the Numinous Treasure天尊 of Upper Clarity, and the Moral天尊 of Great Clarity, together with the Five Pneuma Zhenjun, the Five Dipper Star Lords, the Three Officers and Four Sages, the Nine Luminaries Zhenjun, the Left Assistant and Right Assistant, the Heavenly Kings, Nezha, and all the spiritual powers of the mysterious void—pair after pair with banners and canopies—brought precious pearls, rare fruits, and wondrous flowers before the Buddha, bowing and offering them: "We are grateful to the Tathāgata's immeasurable dharma power for subduing the demon monkey. The Great天尊 has prepared a feast and summoned us all to express our thanks. May we ask the Tathāgata to give this assembly a name?" The Tathāgata accepted the charge of the assembled gods: "As we wish to give it a name, let us call it the 'Assembly for Pacifying Heaven.'" All the immortal elders spoke with one voice: "Excellent—'Assembly for Pacifying Heaven'! Excellent—'Assembly for Pacifying Heaven'!" Having spoken, they each took their seats, passing cups and raising golets, wearing flowers and playing lutes—truly a splendid gathering. A poem bears witness:

The Peach Feast was thrown into chaos by the monkey;

The Assembly for Pacifying Heaven surpasses the Peach Feast.

Dragon banners and phoenix chariots, auspicious light glowing;

Jewelled staffs and jewelled canopies, auspicious vapour floating.

Immortal songs and mysterious music, their tones so lovely;

Phoenix flutes and jade pipes, their notes so high.

Wreaths of precious fragrance, the host of immortals assembled—

The universe at peace, celebrating the sacred reign.

All were rejoicing in the splendid gathering, when the Queen Mother of the West led a troupe of fairy maidens, celestial beauties, lovely consorts, and graceful ladies, drifting and dancing before the Buddha, and offered this salutation: "Previously the demon monkey threw the Peach Assembly into chaos. Now all the immortals and Buddhas have completed their merit. Thanks to the Tathāgata's mighty dharma for chaining the stubborn monkey, we celebrate the 'Assembly for Pacifying Heaven.' We have nothing to offer in thanks, so here are several large peaches of immortality that I have plucked with my own purified hands." Truly they were:

Half red, half green, breathing sweet fragrance—

Glorious immortal roots, ten thousand ages old.

Laughable, the peaches of Wuling Grove;

How can they compare to Heaven's palace, more wondrous still?

Purple-veined and tender, rare in all the world;

Pale-pithed and sweet, unmatched under the sun.

They prolong life and renew the body—

Those who are fated to taste them are no ordinary beings.

The Buddha pressed his palms together and thanked the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother then had the fairy maidens and fairy ladies sing and dance. All the assembled immortals praised and admired them. Indeed:

Ethereal heavenly fragrance filled the seats;

Profuse immortal stamens and immortal flowers.

The Jade Capital and Golden Gate in great glory—

Exotic treasures beyond all price.

Paired, they share immortality with heaven; together, they increase through myriad kalpas. Let the mulberry fields and blue seas shift and change as they will—he himself knows no alarm or surprise.

The Queen Mother was just having her immortals and fairy maidens perform songs and dances, wine cups passing back and forth in lively exchange, when before long, once again there came wafting:

A strange fragrance drifting to the nostrils, startling the stars and constellations throughout the hall.

The celestial immortals and Buddhas paused in their drinking, each lifting their heads and straining their eyes to watch.

Amidst the empyrean appeared an old man, holding a sacred mushroom, flying through the mist like embroidered silk.

His gourd stored elixir pills of ten thousand years; his precious registers bore names of a thousand ages' longevity.

Within his cave, heaven and earth were his free domain; within the flask, sun and moon followed his will to completion.

He roamed the four seas in joy and leisure, wandering freely through the isles of the ten continents, gathering wherever he pleased.

He had attended the Peach Banquet drunk more than once; when he woke, the moon was still as before.

A long head, large ears, and a short body—in the south polar region, he is called the Old Man of Longevity.

The Star of Longevity arrived again. He paid his respects to the Jade Emperor, then turned to the Tathagata and said with thanks: "I first heard that that demonic ape had been led by the Lord of the Way to the Palace of the Doushuai to be refined, and thought all would surely be peaceful. I did not expect him to rebel again. Fortunately, the Tathagata was able to subdue this monster, and a feast has been prepared in thanks—that is why I came upon hearing the news. I have nothing else to offer, but I respectfully present purple fungus of immortality, luminous jade herbs, green lotus roots, and golden elixir pills." A poem says:

Green lotus roots and golden elixirs offered to Shakyamuni,

The Tathagata's longevity is like the sands of the Ganges.

Peaceful, clear, eternal joy—the brocade of the three vehicles;

Healthy, safe, long-blooming—the nine-grade flower.

Within the gate of formlessness, the true lord of dharma;

Above the sky of form and emptiness, an immortal of the celestial realm.

Under heaven and earth, all call him ancestor;

His six-foot golden body—blessings and longevity beyond reckoning.

The Tathagata joyfully accepted his thanks. The Star of Longevity took his seat, and the passing of cups and goblets continued as before. Then the Barefoot Immortal Great Sage arrived, bowed before the Jade Emperor, and then turned to thank the Buddha: "I am deeply grateful for your divine power in subduing the demonic ape. I have nothing to express my respect, but I humbly offer two crossing pears and several fire dates." A poem says:

The Great Immortal, barefoot, his dates and pears fragrant,

Presents them to Amitabha to lengthen his span of years.

The seven-jeweled lotus terrace stands firm as a mountain,

The thousand-gold flower throne is adorned like brocade.

Longevity equal to heaven and earth—no exaggeration in the words;

Blessings greater than vast floods—no wildness in the claim.

Blessings and longevity fulfilled as promised, truly so—

That pure, blissful, ultimate joy of the Western Paradise.

The Tathagata thanked him again, and called Ananda and Kashyapa to gather up all the offerings one by one. Then he turned to thank the Jade Emperor for the feast. All were thoroughly drunk. Just then a patrolling spirit official came to report: "That Great Sage has stuck his head out!" The Buddha said: "No matter, no matter." From his sleeve he took out a single slip of paper bearing six golden characters: "Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ." He handed it to Ananda and told him to paste it on the mountaintop. The venerable one took the slip, passed through the Heavenly Gate, and went to the top of the Five Phases Mountain, where he firmly pasted it on a square stone. At once the mountain took root and sealed shut. The ape could still draw breath, and his hand had crawled out, so he could wriggle and struggle a bit. Ananda returned and reported: "The slip has been pasted."

The Tathagata then took leave of the Jade Emperor and the assembled gods, and departed through the Heavenly Gate with his two attendants. Then he aroused a compassionate heart, recited a true dharma incantation, and summoned a local earth spirit for the Five Phases Mountain, together with the Five Directional Guardian Deities, to dwell on the mountain and guard him. When he was hungry, they would give him iron balls to eat; when he was thirsty, they would give him melted copper to drink. When the day of his tribulation was fulfilled, someone would come to save him. And so it was:

The demonic ape in his boldness rebelled against the Heavenly Palace,

But was subdued by the hand of the Tathagata.

Drinking melted copper, he endured the years and months;

Eating iron pellets, he passed the days and hours.

Heavenly calamity and bitter suffering brought him torment and trial,

Yet human affairs, though desolate, rejoiced that his life was long.

If a hero should come to set him free once more,

In years to come he would serve the Buddha and journey to the West.

Another poem says:

He displayed his fierce strength and mighty power,

Subduing dragons and tigers with cunning skill.

He stole peaches and wine, roaming the celestial courts,

Received registers and favor in the Jade Capital.

His evil full and overflowing, his body now in bondage,

Yet his roots of goodness unbroken, his spirit still ascends.

Indeed, he has escaped the hand of the Tathagata—

And now awaits the holy monk of the Tang dynasty.

But as to when, in years or months to come, his tribulation will be fulfilled—that you will hear in the next chapter.