Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 274: Enduring Patience

After leaving the South Sea, Wukong rushed back to the Bottomless Gorge. Though he wanted to visit Qi Tian Ling, he feared it would take too much time and arouse suspicion.

Beside the Bottomless Gorge, Tang Seng sat on the ground, his face pale as clay, muttering prayers. Wu Ping and Wu Hui sat on either side of him, looking helpless. There was a bowl of vegetarian rice beside them, seemingly untouched.

Seeing Wukong return, Wu Hui said cheerfully, “Master, the eldest disciple is back.”

Tang Seng opened his eyes and asked Wukong, “Wukong, do you have a way to cross the bridge?”

Wukong replied, “I’ve been to many places. The thousand-zhang jade mentioned by Wu Ping is too heavy; even I can’t lift it. Later, I sought guidance from Guanyin Bodhisattva, who advised me to try magic first.”

Tang Seng said happily, “Since it’s the Bodhisattva’s guidance, it must be correct.”

Wukong added, “If magic can be used, crossing this gorge will be a piece of cake.”

Although he knew wood-related magic, he didn’t want to use it in front of others. Instead, he took out the Ruyi Tianji Stick. With a thought, it transformed into a flat bridge over ten feet wide. Wukong said, “Master, please cross the bridge!”

Wu Hui helped Tang Seng onto the bridge. Though wide, it was flanked by bottomless abysses. Tang Seng stepped onto the bridge cautiously. After a few steps, he refused to go further, pulling Wu Hui and wanting to turn back.

Wu Hui didn’t know what to do and turned to look at Wukong.

Wukong snapped, “Master, if you can’t cross this bridge, how can you reach the Western Heaven?”

Tang Seng seemed to ignore him, repeating, “Turning back means safety, turning back means safety…”

Wukong realized that seeing the Bottomless Gorge and the inscription on the stone tablet—“The sea of suffering is boundless; turning back means safety”—had planted a knot in Tang Seng’s mind. Until that knot was resolved, he would be unable to move forward.

Wukong dismissed his magic, and Tang Seng returned to the shore. He could barely stand, collapsing to the ground with cold sweat on his forehead.

Wukong said, “Master, have you forgotten what the Sutra of Multiple Minds says: ‘Because of Prajna Paramita, the mind is free from attachments. With no attachments, there is no fear’?”

It took Tang Seng some time to recover. He said, “My disciple, how could I forget? But near this deep gorge, I suddenly became uneasy and forgot everything else.”

Wukong asked, “When you first left the Great Tang, did you make a vow not to return to the Eastern Land until you obtained the true scriptures?”

Tang Seng replied, “Times have changed. Look at this deep gorge—it’s clearly a natural barrier created by heaven and earth to make me give up.”

Hearing these words from Tang Seng, Wukong was no longer the steadfast pilgrim determined to obtain the sacred scriptures; he now resembled an ordinary man who had lost his resolve. He shouted, “Tang Seng, if you act like this, not only will you be laughed at by everyone, but we too will be dragged down with you! I’ll ask you just one thing: do you still want to obtain the scriptures? If not, I, Old Sun, will leave right away and roam freely across the heavens and earth. Why should I stay here to watch you fail?” Wukong spoke these words with great severity, for Tang Seng’s resolve was already weakened, and strong measures were needed.

Tang Seng trembled and said, “Wukong, how dare you speak to me like this?” His brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression showed extreme pain, clearly suffering greatly. Everyone knew about the mission to obtain the scriptures, and giving up halfway would be a laughingstock. Not only would he be ridiculed, but he might even lose his status as a Buddhist disciple. Yet this deep gorge seemed truly ominous; its mere presence filled Tang Seng with fear.

Wukong said again, “Master, enough. Out of respect for our master-disciple relationship, I’ll send you safely back to the Eastern Land to see King Tang. We can just say there are too many demons along the way, preventing us from reaching the Western Heaven. How about that?”

Upon hearing the name King Tang, Tang Seng shouted, “No! Without obtaining the true scriptures, how can I have the face to return? Cross the bridge!”

Seeing that Tang Seng had finally regained his courage, Wukong used his magical powers once more. Fearing Tang Seng might become timid, he expanded the bridge to two zhang wide. Wu Ping and Wu Hui supported Tang Seng from either side, helping him take steps forward onto the bridge.

The bridge appeared to be suspended in midair, but it was actually extremely safe. Wukong controlled it with his Ruyi Jingu Bang as if it were his own arm. If anything went wrong on the bridge, he would simply lift the spell, allowing them to return to the shore safely.

This time, Tang Seng mustered up his courage and walked more than twenty zhang before saying, “Why is this bridge so long? I won’t go any further! I’m turning back!” He tried to retreat.

Wukong shouted from the shore, “Don’t let go! Even if we have to drag him, we must get him across!”

Tang Seng cried out, “I won’t go! What’s the use of obtaining those worthless scriptures? They only bring harm to others and to oneself!”

Wu Hui and Wu Ping ignored Tang Seng’s delusions and followed Wukong’s orders, forcing him to cross to the other side. Tang Seng cried again, “Don’t force me! Buddha, please don’t force me!”

Hearing this, Wukong grew suspicious. What nonsense was this monk talking? He demanded, “Dare you defile the Buddha?”

Tang Seng mumbled as if in a dream, “The Buddha? What Buddha? It’s all emptiness, it’s all illusion, it’s all chaos.”

Wu Hui and Wu Ping exchanged glances, not knowing what to do. Wukong ordered, “Keep walking! Don’t stop!”

Tang Seng said again, “You claim all beings are equal, yet you refuse to give me the scriptures and instead force me to fetch them. You go to great lengths to humiliate me—how despicable, how unbearable…” Tang Seng even started cursing, completely losing any trace of a monk’s dignity and behaving like an ordinary mortal.

Wukong was increasingly shocked. It turned out Tang Seng never really wanted to retrieve the scriptures at all. These thoughts had been hidden in his heart for who knew how long. He had heard that Jinchanzi was demoted for despising Buddhism; now, hearing Tang Seng speak such heretical words, he guessed Jinchanzi must have been in a similar situation back then.

Only in times of crisis does one’s true nature reveal itself. Perhaps this was the real Tang Seng now. Maybe when he first resolved to retrieve the scriptures, his past aspirations had not yet been awakened. What mystery lay in this Boundless Gorge that could make Tang Seng show his true self?

The Boundless Gorge was only about a hundred feet wide. Wu Ping and Wu Hui dragged Tang Seng along for a long time, only to find that the stone bridge formed by Wukong’s iron rod seemed endless. After walking for ages, they were still in the middle of the gorge.

Wu Ping shouted, “Great Sage! Something’s wrong! Continuing is pointless!”

Wukong, who was on the shore and unaware of the situation on the bridge, asked, “Why pointless?”

Wu Hui replied, “Elder Brother, it can’t take this long to cover a distance of just a hundred feet. The more we walk, the wider the gorge becomes, and we still can’t see the other side!”

Wukong let out an exclamation of shock. Suddenly, he remembered what Guanyin had said—“All those tales of thousand-foot jade and immortal vines are just empty promises.” He said, “We’ll only know whether it works or not by trying it.” It seemed Guanyin had already known this method wouldn’t work.

With that thought, Wukong dismissed his supernatural powers. Wu Hui and Wu Ping helped Tang Seng back to the east shore, all looking worried. Once on shore, Tang Seng regained his senses. He opened his eyes slightly and asked, “Disciples, have we crossed the Boundless Gorge?”

Wukong replied, “Master, don’t worry. We will definitely make it!”

Hearing this, Tang Seng realized they hadn’t crossed yet. He snapped, “You monkey! How dare you deceive me!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he collapsed backward—having exhausted too much energy earlier, he had fainted.

Wukong ignored Tang Seng and pondered deeply. This Boundless Gorge was truly mysterious—neither magic nor building a bridge worked. This wasn’t some trick but rather great supernatural power. Whoever this was was truly formidable, aiming to completely break Tang Seng’s resolve to retrieve the scriptures. Who could they be?

Wukong soared into the air and circled above the Boundless Gorge. He jumped to the other side but found it to be ordinary, with no trace of supernatural power. After thinking for a moment, he jumped in headfirst, diving to the bottom of the gorge. It was extremely deep, filled with thick mist and clouds. After descending hundreds of feet, everything was pitch black. Suddenly, Wukong had a strange feeling—this place resembled the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds greatly. He continued diving until he reached the bottom.

Wukong saw two lines of large characters carved on the rock wall beside the bottom of the ravine: “Endure patiently and remain motionless like the earth; meditate deeply and quietly like a hidden treasure.” Ksitigarbha! It was him!
Hou Tu had once told Wukong that Ksitigarbha strongly disapproved of the quest for the scriptures, as this man had made a vow that he would not achieve Buddhahood until hell was emptied. Wukong knew that such people, whether good or bad, were extremely stubborn, and it would be extremely difficult to change their minds. He had thought that it might be Ksitigarbha acting this time, but he hadn’t expected it to be so direct.
After reading these two lines of scripture, Wukong climbed back up. Tang Seng had already been awakened by Wu Ping. Wukong said, “Master, there are two lines of scripture. I’d like to offer my interpretation.”
Tang Seng asked, “Why ask about scripture at this moment?”
Wukong replied, “If we can understand these scriptures, we might be able to proceed.”
Tang Seng said, “Then tell me.”
“These two lines are: ‘Endure patiently and remain motionless like the earth; meditate deeply and quietly like a hidden treasure,’” Wukong said.
Tang Seng frowned slightly and said, “These are phrases from the ‘Ksitigarbha Sutra.’ Why ask him about them?”
Wukong replied, “Just now, when I went to the bottom of the ravine, I saw these two lines carved on the rock wall. I thought they might be related to this endless ravine, so I came to ask.”
Ignoring Wukong, Tang Seng murmured to himself, “Uphold precepts firmly, like a lofty mountain; be diligent and unbreakable, like a diamond treasure; endure patiently and remain motionless, just like the earth; meditate deeply and quietly, like a hidden treasure; be noble and splendid, like a beautiful flower crown; possess profound wisdom, like the ocean…” As he recited, he suddenly became alert, stood up, and exclaimed, “These are Mahayana scriptures. I’ve never seen them before—how did I suddenly recite them?”
Hearing Tang Seng’s words, Wukong was also puzzled. Tang Seng’s quest was to obtain Mahayana scriptures. Guanyin had said when persuading him that there were only Hinayana scriptures in Jambudvipa, with no Mahayana. If Tang Seng knew Mahayana scriptures, why go to the West? Perhaps he had gone mad on the bridge, reminding him of his past lives?
In his past life, Tang Seng was Jinchanzi, who held a noble status and must have studied Mahayana. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made Tang Seng remember his past life—this was indeed a ruthless tactic. Buddha sent Tang Seng to the West to obtain Mahayana scriptures, but it was actually unnecessary. Tang Seng already had these scriptures in his heart; he was just deluded in this life and couldn’t remember many things from his past life. Ksitigarbha only needed to awaken Tang Seng’s memories, helping him recall bit by bit, and the Mahayana scriptures would naturally appear in his mind. Why go to the West then?
Wukong understood what Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva intended to do, but he only wanted to complete the quest for the scriptures and uncover the mysteries of the Journey to the West step by step. How could he reveal these secrets to Tang Seng? This Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was truly skillful. With this deep ravine in the way, it indeed had a sense of “enduring patiently and remaining motionless like the earth.”