Journey to the West (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Wu Cheng'en
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The Origin of Returning Spiritual Roots, Cultivating the Source, and the Path of Self-Cultivation Leads to Enlightenment. Poem:
In the chaos before heaven and earth were separated,
No one could see the boundless and mysterious realm.
Since Pan Gu broke through the primordial chaos,
He opened up the world, distinguishing clarity from obscurity.
All living beings looked up to the supreme benevolence,
And all things were created with goodness.
To know the great achievement of creation,
One must read Journey to the West.
It is said that the number of heaven and earth is twelve hundred and ninety-six thousand years as one cycle. This cycle is divided into twelve sessions, corresponding to the twelve earthly branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. Each session lasts ten thousand and eight hundred years. Taking a day as an example:
At the Zi hour, the yang qi arises;
At the Chou hour, the rooster crows;
At the Yin hour, no light penetrates;
At the Mao hour, the sun rises;
At the Chen hour, after meals;
At the Si hour, things are arranged;
At the Wu hour, at the height of the day;
At the Wei hour, the sun sets to the west;
At the Shen hour, dusk falls;
At the You hour, people settle down;
At the Xu hour, it is midnight.
Like the great number, when the You session ends, heaven and earth become dim, and all things decline. After another five thousand four hundred years, the Xu session begins, and it becomes dark, with no living beings. Thus, it is called chaos.
Another five thousand four hundred years later, as the Xu session ends, the virtue of the lower reaches gives rise to the beginning, approaching the Zi session, and gradually becomes enlightened. Shao Kang said:
"At the midwinter, at the Zi hour, the heart of heaven remains unchanged.
When the first yang qi moves, all things have not yet been born."
At this point, heaven begins to have roots.
Another five thousand four hundred years later, in the Zi session, the light and clear rise upward, with the sun, moon, stars, and constellations. The sun, moon, stars, and constellations are called the four images, so it is said that heaven opens at the Zi hour.
After another five thousand four hundred years, as the Zi session ends and the Chou session begins, it gradually becomes solid. The Book of Changes says:
"Great is the pure yang of Heaven!
Great is the pure yin of Earth!
All things are nourished, and they follow the heavens."
At this point, the earth begins to condense.
Another five thousand four hundred years later, in the Chou session, the heavy and turbid sink downward, with water, fire, mountains, stones, and earth. Water, fire, mountains, stones, and earth are called the five forms, so it is said that the earth opens at the Chou hour.
After another five thousand four hundred years, as the Chou session ends and the Yin session begins, all things grow. It is said:
"The qi of heaven descends, and the qi of earth rises;
When heaven and earth merge, all things are born."
At this point, heaven is clear, the earth is fresh, and yin and yang merge.
Another five thousand four hundred years later, in the Yin session, humans, beasts, and birds are born. It is called the three primordial beings—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—being established. So it is said that humans are born at the Yin hour.
Moved by Pan Gu's opening of the world and the governance of the Three Emperors and Five Kings, the world is divided into four great continents:
The East Continent of Jambudvipa,
The West Continent of Cow-Horned Heaven,
The South Continent of Great Eternity,
The North Continent of Wuliangyu.
This book focuses on the East Continent of Jambudvipa.
There is a country called Aolai in the sea, and in the sea stands a mountain named Flower-Fruit Mountain. This mountain is the root of the ten continents and the dragon of the three islands. It was formed after the separation of clarity and obscurity and after the chaos was divided.
How fine a mountain! There is a poem to prove it.
The poem goes:
Its power dominates the vast ocean,
And its might pacifies the sacred sea.
Its power dominates the vast ocean,
As tides surge like silver mountains, and fish dive into their holes.
Its might pacifies the sacred sea,
As waves churn like snow, and the sea serpent departs from its depths.
High in the corners of water and fire,
The eastern sea rises with lofty peaks.
Red cliffs and strange rocks,
Steep cliffs and extraordinary peaks.
On the red cliffs, two phoenixes sing in pairs;
Before the steep cliffs, a qilin lies alone.
At the peak, one hears the singing of the golden pheasant;
In the caves, one sees dragons enter and exit.
In the forest, there are longevity deer and immortal foxes;
On the trees, there are spiritual birds and black-crowned cranes.
The rare grass and flowers never wither,
The green pines and cypresses remain evergreen.
Immortal peaches bear fruit constantly,
And tall bamboos leave clouds behind.
A gully is densely covered with vines,
And the slopes are fresh with green grass on all sides.
It is truly:
Where all rivers converge stands the sky-supporting pillar,
And the earth's root remains unshaken through countless calamities.
At the top of the mountain stands a piece of immortal stone. It is three zhang six chi five cun high and two zhang four chi around. Three zhang six chi five cun high corresponds to the three hundred sixty-five degrees of the celestial sphere; two zhang four chi around corresponds to the twenty-four solar terms. It has nine holes and eight openings, corresponding to the nine palaces and the eight trigrams. There are no trees to shade it on all sides, but orchids and bamboo accompany it on the left and right.
Since the world's opening, it has absorbed the true qi of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon, and has long been influenced, thus gaining a spiritual and responsive nature. Inside, it nurtured an immortal embryo, which one day cracked open, giving birth to a stone egg, as large as a round ball. When it saw the wind, it transformed into a stone monkey, complete with all five senses and four limbs. It began to crawl and walk, paying homage to the four directions.
Two golden rays of light shot up to the heavens, startling the High Heaven Holy One, the Great Compassionate and Benevolent Jade Emperor, Lord of the Universe, Sovereign of the High Firmament. He sat in the Golden Gate Palace, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, gathered the immortal officials, and saw the blazing golden light. He immediately ordered the (Thousand-Eyed) and () (Thousand-Ears) to open the Southern Heaven Gate to observe.
The two generals immediately went out and reported:
"We have been ordered to observe the golden light. It is at the boundary of Aolai in the East Continent of Jambudvipa, on Flower-Fruit Mountain. There is an immortal stone on the mountain, which gave birth to an egg. When it saw the wind, it transformed into a stone monkey, which is crawling and walking, paying homage to the four directions, and shooting golden rays to the heavens. Now, it is nourishing itself with water and food, and the golden light is about to fade."
The Jade Emperor, with great compassion, said:
"These creatures below are born of the essence of heaven and earth, and there is nothing unusual about them."
The monkey in the mountain could walk, jump, eat grass and herbs, drink from the gullies, pick flowers, and gather fruits. It was companions with wolves and insects, herds with tigers and leopards, friends with deer and macaques. At night, it slept under the stone cliffs, and in the morning, it roamed the peaks and caves.
Truly, in the mountain, there is no concept of time; when winter ends, it does not know the passing of years. One day, the weather became hot, and the monkeys sought refuge from the heat under the shade of the pines.
Look at them:
Jumping on trees and branches,
Picking flowers and fruits.
Throwing pebbles,
Playing with marbles.
Running in the sand,
Building towers.
Chasing dragonflies,
Pouncing on bees.
Worshipping the (Heavenly Lord),
Bowing to the Bodhisattva.
Pulling vines,
Weaving grass huts.
Picking lice,
Biting and pinching.
Combing fur,
Picking fingernails.
Pushing,
Scratching,
Shoving,
Pressing,
Pulling,
Tugging.
In the pine groves, they play at will,
And by the green streams, they wash themselves.