Liu I-ming on How to Read the Hsi-yu chi (The Journey to the West)

[image from www.innerjourneytothewest.com]

 

Translated and Annotated by ANTHONY C. YU
Additional Annotation by DAVID L. ROLSTON

1. The book, The Journey to the West, is the great way transmitted from mouth to mouth and from mind to mind by the sages, generation by generation. What the ancients dared not speak of was spoken of by Patriarch Ch'iu [Ch'iu Ch'u-chi 丘處機, 1148-1227]; what the ancients dared not relate was related by Patriarch Ch'iu [in this book]. When the heavenly mysteries are revealed so abundantly, this is a matter of the utmost consequence. Wherever this book resides, there are heavenly deities standing guard over it. The reader should purify his hands and burn incense before reading it, and it should be read with the utmost reverence. If he becomes bored or tired, the reader should close the book and return it to its place on high so that it will not meet with disrespect. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
2. The rhetoric of The Journey to the West is quite similar to the mysteries of Zen. The real message completely transcends the actual words of the text. Sometimes it is hidden in vulgar or ordinary language, sometimes it is conveyed through [the description] of the terrain and the characters. Sometimes truth and perversity are distinguished from each other through a joke or jest; sometimes the real is set off from the false in the space of a word or a phrase. Sometimes the real is made manifest through the false; sometimes truth is upheld in order to vanquish perversity. There are countless variations, appearing and then vanishing like gods or demons, and it is most difficult to divine their depths. The student must undertake a regimen of profound reflection and research; to be satisfied with but the surface meaning of the text is like scratching an itch with your boots on. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
3. The Journey to the West is a book of gods and immortals, quite different from those "books by and for geniuses" [ts'ai-tzu chih shu 才子之書]. "Books by and for geniuses" talk about the way of the world, and although they may seem true, they are actually false; the books of gods and immortals speak of the way of Heaven, and though they may seem false they are actually true. Since literary technique is what is valued in those "books by and for geniuses," the language is ornate but the meaning shallow. Since the meaning is what is valued in those books of gods and immortals, the style is plain but the ideas are profound. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
4. The Journey to the West is a book that is permeated through and through with the truth of the unity of the Three Teachings [Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism]. This truth is found in the Diamond Sutra and the Lotus Sutra in Buddhism; in Confucianism it is found in the Ho t'u 河圖 [The Diagram of the Yellow River], the Lo shu 洛書 [The Book of the Lo River], and the I Ching 易經[Book of Changes]; and in Taoism it is found in the Ts'an t'ung ch'i 參同契 [The Kinship of the Three] and the Wu-chen p'ien 悟真篇 [Poetical Essay on the Primary Vitalities]. Therefore the story of the acquiring of the scriptures in the Western Heaven is used to expound the mysteries of the Diamond and Lotus Sutras; the principle of Nine Times Nine to Return to the Real 6 is used to explain the secret of the Ts'an t'ung ch'i and the Wu-chen p'ien; and the T'ang Monk and his disciples are used to expound the meaning of the I Ching, the Ho t'u, and the Lo shu. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
5. In The Journey to the West each episode [an 案] has its own meaning, each chapter has its own meaning, and each word has its own meaning. The Adept [Ch'iu Ch'u-chi] never spoke without purpose or used a superfluous word. The reader must pay attention to every line and every phrase, not even a single word should be permitted to slip by. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
6. In The Journey to the West is to be found an exhaustive treatment of the principles of the mundane world and of the Tao, of the seasons of Heaven and the affairs of men. As for such as the method of learning the Tao, the art of self-cultivation, and the proper way to conduct oneself in the world, there is not one of these that is not dealt with completely. Among the various alchemical classics past and present, this is the number one extraordinary book. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
7. The Journey to the West possesses the power to alter [the processes of] birth and death and appropriate the secrets of Creation. [Like the Great Man], when it precedes Heaven [hsien-t'ien 先天], Heaven does not contradict it; when it follows after Heaven [hou-t'ien 後天], it never contradicts Heaven's timing. It is against complete immersion in one's own mind and thoughts and the mere playing with the concepts of vacuity [k'ung 空] and nirvana. The student must not become too preoccupied with the "monkey of the mind" [hsin-yuan 心猿], the "horse of the will" [i-ma 意馬], "the transformed body" [hua-shen 化身], or the "bag of flesh" [jou-nang 肉囊]. He ought rather to begin without any conception of form or image and from there work toward the apprehension of the real nature and pattern [of the cosmos]; only then will he not labor in vain. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
8. The great way of The Journey to the West deals with the methods of prefiguring Heaven [hsien-t'ien 先天] before it reveals itself in form; it has nothing to do with the various perverse manipulations of form and appearance after Heaven has revealed itself [hou-t'ien 後天]. One must first discard such things as the making of internal elixirs of immortality through refinement by brazier and fire. Only then can one go on to investigate thoroughly the correct doctrines and obtain success. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
9. As for the episodes [kung-an 公案] of The Journey to the West, some of them take up the space of one or two chapters, some take up three or four chapters, and some take up five or six chapters; the number of chapters is not equal. The central idea of each, however, is always to be found at the very beginning of each episode, where it is plainly and clearly pointed out. If one passes carelessly over these parts, the rest of the episode may seem completely without focus. Not only will the subtle meaning of the episode then be difficult [for the reader] to realize, but even the literal meaning of the sentences and phrases will be hard to construe. The reader will obtain results only by first distinguishing clearly the important points of connection [lai-mai 來脉] to the rest of the novel and then going on to read carefully what follows in the episode. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
    
10. The subtle meaning of each chapter of The Journey to the West is to be found in the titular couplet [t'i-kang 褆犅 (not sure about these characters -the transcriber), and the crucial words of the titular couplet are never more than one or two. Take for example the titular couplet for the first chapter: "When the spiritual root is nourished and brought to term, the origin emerges; / Once the moral nature is cultivated and maintained, the great Tao is born." The crucial words of the first line are "spiritual root" [ling-ken 靈根]; in the second line the crucial words are "moral nature" [hsin-hsing 心性]. We can see that the spiritual root is the spiritual root and the moral nature is the moral nature, but the spiritual root is used to cultivate the moral nature &emdash; it is not the case that the cultivation of the moral nature is [the same as] the cultivation of the spiritual root. How clear, how plain is the meaning! Again, take the couplet for the second chapter: "Thoroughly comprehend the true and wondrous doctrine of the Boddhi; / Destroy mara, return to the root and unify the soul." "Thoroughly comprehend" [wu-ch'e 悟徹] would be the crucial words of the first line, "destroy mara" [tuan-mo 斷魔] would be the crucial words of the second line. One must comprehend a principle thoroughly before one can act, for it is comprehension that unifies action, while it is action that verifies comprehension. When knowledge and action are seen to be mutually reliant, then one can return to the origin and unify the soul. Within the chapter, there may be thousands of words and countless transformations, but they are always contained within the central idea of the titular couplet. It is the same with all of the chapters, and the reader should pay strict attention [cho-yen 着眼] [to the titular couplets]. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
11. The acquisition of the true scriptures by means of The Journey to the West actually means the acquisition of the true scripture of The Journey to the West. Apart from The Journey to the West there are no other true scriptures to be acquired. The Journey to the West is transmitted through the story of the transmission of the scriptures by the Tathagata Buddha, that is all. If one can truly understand The Journey to the West, then the three baskets of the true scripture will be found within it. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
12. At the conclusion [shou-shu ch'u 収束處] of every episode [kung-an 公案] in The Journey to the West, there are two lines of summary [tsung-chieh 總結] which provide, as it were, the skeletal structure [ku-tzu 骨子] of the entire episode. Countless subtle meanings are to be found in these pairs of lines. They must not be lightly skimmed over. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
13. The Journey to the West treats the truth of the union of [the] Three and [the] Five 12 and that of "after firmness arises origination" [chen-hsia ch'i yuan 貞下起元]. This is why the T'ang Monk begins his journey in the thirteenth year of the Chen-kuan reign period [A.D. 639], why he takes on three disciples during the journey, and why he returns to the East after fourteen years. One must scrutinize [cho-yen 着眼] such passages carefully. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
14. The official rescript that serves as a passport [for Tripitaka] in The Journey to the West is in effect the certificate or license of one who practices the Tao. It is a key item [kuan-mu 關目] in the entire book. This is why it has stamped on it precious seals of the various nations and why it was obtained [from the emperor] at the beginning of The Journey to the West and returned [to the emperor] when the pilgrims returned to the East. From beginning to end, it has been handled with care and reverence, never leaving [its owner] for a single moment. One must think carefully and discriminate clearly before one can apprehend the truth behind this. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
15. There are many inconsistencies [p'o-chan ch'u 破綻處] in The Journey to the West, but those are the very places where secret formulas are likely to be found. For it is only by means of inconsistencies that the suspicion of later readers may be aroused. Without such suspicion, the reader will not ponder [the meaning hidden in the text]. These are places on which the Adept [Ch'iu Ch'u-chi] expended a lot of thought and where he employed his most subtle brushstrokes. Take, for example, the fact that Sun Wu-k'ung, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, is refined in the Brazier of the Eight Trigrams and attains an indestructible, diamond-hard body. How then could he be imprisoned beneath the Mountain of the Five Phases [by the Tathagata Buddha]? Hsiian-tsang was born in the thirteenth year of the Chen-kuan reign period. By the time he avenges his father's murder eighteen years later, it would already be the thirty-first year of the Chen-kuan reign period. How could it be that it is still the thirteenth year of the Chen-kuan reign period when he begins his journey to acquire the scriptures? In the Lotus Flower Cave [episode], the fact that Sun Wu-k'ung has already killed Mountain-climbing Tiger and Sea-reclining Dragon was already known to the old fiends [the Gold-Horn and Silver-Horn Demons]. Why then does Sun Wu-k'ung change into [the form] of Sea-reclining Dragon when he tries to steal the magic gourd later? One must pay special attention to such places in the text. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
16. That the official rescript in The Journey to the West has been stamped with the precious seals of the various nations is the subtle message of the book. It makes the book a place where a person who practices self-cultivation may bring peace to his life and establish himself. It is, in effect, a formula for immortality when abroad. Concerning such places [in the text] one must tenaciously seek out the true reason for them. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
17. Every time the pilgrims pass through an ordeal in The Journey to the West, the author invariably records the year and the month first before continuing the narration. The hidden allegorical meaning found in the compression of years into months, months into days, and days into hours is similar to the device of relating how the official rescript issued in the thirteenth year of the Chen-kuan reign period is returned after the pilgrims return to the East with the scriptures. This is the so-called "after firmness arises origination" [chen-hsia ch'i yuan 貞下起元]. Within a single hour, the elixir of immortality is complete. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
18. Among the crucial and climactic episodes [cho-chin ho-chien ch'u 着緊合尖處] in The Journey to the West, there are none that surpass the episodes of the Plantain Cave, the Heaven-reaching River, and the Scarlet-Purple Kingdom. The way in which the "temperature, timing, and sequences" [huo-hou tz'u-hsü 火候次序] of alchemical refinement are treated in [the episode of] the Plantain Cave, the way that the "weighing out of medicinal substances" [yao-wu chin-liang 藥物斤兩] is treated [in the episode of] the Heaven-reaching River, the way that the process of "summoning and integrating the soul" [chao-she tso-yung 招攝作用] is treated in [the episode of] the Scarlet-Purple Kingdom may be said to be profound and exhaustive indeed. If the student will delve deeply into such places, he may be assured that he will come to understand a large part of the Great Way of the Golden Elixir. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
19. There is both unified narration [ho-shuo 合說] and separate narration [fen-shuo 分說] in The Journey to the West. The first seven chapters are [an example of] unified narration. They move from activity [yu-wei 有為] to nonactivity [wu-wei 無為]; and from the cultivation of life-store [ming 命] they proceed to the cultivation of nature [hsing 性]. The sequence of elixir formation and the labor of refinement by heat — none of this is not completely covered there. The rest of the ninety-three chapters treat either the orthodox or the heterodox, nature or life-store; or they speak of nature along with life-store or life-store along with nature; or they relate the true fire-times [huo-hou 火候] or point out the errors in the fire-times [of the alchemical refinement of the elixir of immortality]. They amount to nothing more than making analyses by means of single incidents and do not depart from the subtle truths [embodied] in the first seven chapters. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
20. [The heart of] The Journey to the West is the same as the teachings of Confucius on the exhaustive investigation of truth [ch'iung-li 窮理], the perfection of nature [chin-hsing 盡性], and the fulfillment of one's life-store [chih-ming 至命]. When the Monkey King learns the Tao at the West Aparagodamya Continent, this is illustrative of the exhaustive investigation of truth; when he thoroughly comprehends the wondrous doctrine of Boddhi, this also illustrates the exhaustive investigation of truth; when he destroys mara and returns to the origin, this is illustrative of the perfection of nature. His acquisition of the gold-hooped rod and full battle dress and his erasure of his name from the Register of Life and Death, his becoming Great Sage Equal to Heaven and his entering the Brazier of the Eight Trigrams to be refined are illustrative of the fulfillment of life-store. Kuan-yin's redemption of the three disciples and her search for the scripture pilgrim are illustrative of the exhaustive investigation of the truth. Again, the T'ang Monk's passing the Double-Fork Ridge and arriving at the Mountain of the Two Frontiers are illustrative of the perfection of nature, while the taking of the three disciples and the crossing of the Flowing-Sand River exemplify the fulfillment of life-store. Similarly, the episodes that relate the pilgrims' passing through countless foreign regions, traversing a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters, their arrival at Cloud-transcending Stream, and [their sailing in] the bottomless boat are all illustrative of such teachings. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
21. The Journey to the West has passages that have the power to strike a blow at perverse doctrine in order to bring the reader back to sound doctrine and there are passages that have the power to verify sound doctrine in order to strike a blow at perverse doctrine. For example, in the episodes of the marriage in the Land of Women and of becoming an imperial son-in-law in India, you have the attacking of perversity in the midst of the verification of sound doctrine. In the episodes of subduing the three fiends at Lion-Camel Kingdom, the submission of Yellow Brows at the Little Western Heaven, and the elimination of the leopard at Mist-concealing Mountain, you have attacking perverse doctrine in order to bring the reader back to sound doctrine. The reason why the Adept [Ch'iu Ch'u-chi] used such a double-edged [shuang-kuan 雙關] style and expended an immeasurable amount of compassionate care on this was surely his desire that every person might become an immortal or a Buddha. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
22. In The Journey to the West there are passages that expound orthodoxy, and there are those that attack heterodoxy. The passages that portray the various monsters in different mountain caves are attacks on heterodoxy, whereas those treating the kings and rulers of various lands expound orthodoxy. This is the fundamental significance of the entire book. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
23. The so-called monsters in The Journey to the West are of two kinds: they are either monsters of the orthodox tradition or monsters of the heterodox tradition. Monsters like those of Little Western Heaven and Lion-Camel Cave belong to the heretical or heterodox tradition. Monsters like the Bull Monster King and the Raksa Woman, the Great King of Miraculous Power, Jupiter's Rival, and the Jade Hare are unenlightened monsters who nonetheless belong to the orthodox tradition and are thus different from the other monsters. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
24. Among the hexagrams and their images from the I Ching expounded in The Journey to the West, some are used more than once but, since each is used because of a particular incident, although the hexagram might be the same, the meaning is not the same. Therefore it does not matter that some are used more than once. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
25. In The Journey to the West, there is the method of first striking down the false when one wants to show forth the true [yü shih-chen erh hsien p'i-chia chih fa 欲示真而先劈假之法]. For example, when the author wishes to describe the true tiger [nature] of Pilgrim at the Mountain of the Two Frontiers, he first uses the ordinary tiger of Double-Fork Ridge to lead into [yin 引] the topic. When he wishes to describe the true dragon [nature] of the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean, he first uses the serpents and snakes of Double-Fork Ridge to lead into the topic. When he wishes to describe the true yin 陰 and yang 陽 of Pilgrim and Pa-chieh, he first uses the false yin and yang of Kuan-yin Hall to lead into the topic. When he wishes to describe the dragon horse of the Serpent-coiled Mountain, he first uses the ordinary horse given by the T'ang emperor to lead into the topic. When he wishes to describe the true earth [nature] of Sha Monk, he first uses the false earth [nature] of the Yellow Wind Monster. Such a device is used extensively throughout the work. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
26. In The Journey to the West, there are some passages that are very difficult to understand, but are nevertheless really very easy to understand. Take, for example, the fact that Tripitaka's three disciples have attained immortality. How, then, could Sun Wu-k'ung end up pressed beneath the Mountain of the Five Phases? How could Chu Wu-neng [Pa-chieh] get reincarnated into the wrong womb and Sha Wu-ching [Sha Monk] be banished to the Flowing-Sand River? Why did they have to embrace Buddhism before they could truly attain ultimate fruition? That the three disciples must still embrace Buddhism points to the fact that they have perfected their life-stores but not their natures. Moreover, the episodes of the Mountain of the Five Phases, the Cloudy Paths Cave, and the Flowing-Sand River point to the fact that the T'ang Monk has not perfected his life-store though he has perfected his nature. This use of the same pen to treat two sides of a problem at once [i-pi shuang-hsieh — 筆雙寫] shows the truth that there can be no cultivation of nature without the cultivation of life-store and no cultivation of life-store without the cultivation of nature. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
27. There are many passages in The Journey to the West that seem to deal with different incidents, but ultimately refer to the same thing [pu t'ung erh ta-t'ung-che 不同而大同者]. The Journey to the West, for example, takes its name from the story of the T'ang Monk's journey to acquire scriptures in the Western Heaven. Why, then, does the story of Sun Wu-k'ung appear in the beginning? What the reader overlooks is the fact that Sun Wu-k'ung's birth in the Pūrvavideha Continent is analogous to the T'ang Monk's birth in Great T'ang of the Land of the East; that Sun Wu-k'ung's learning the Way in the West Aparagodānīya Continent is analogous to the T'ang Monk's acquisition of the scriptures in the Thunderclap Temple of the Western Heaven; that Sun Wu-k'ung's return to his mountain after attaining enlightenment is analogous to the T'ang Monk's return to his country after the acquisition of the true scriptures; and that Sun Wu-k'ung's being caught in Buddha's palm after getting out of the Brazier is analogous to the T'ang Monk's return to the Western Heaven after the transmission of the scriptures. Though the incidents are different, the meaning is the same, for they are all summed up and unified in the [idea of a] Journey to the West. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
28. Whenever a most difficult or perilous situation occurs during The Journey to the West, Pilgrim seeks assistance from Kuan-yin. This is a most important feature [kuan-mu 關目] of The Journey to the West, for it embodies the most crucial lesson for the person practicing self-cultivation. Success in the cultivation of life-store and nature is entirely dependent on the assistance of the superintending gods and spirits. [Both Ch'en Shih-pin and Liu I-ming insist on the importance of the teacher in self-cultivation and the impossibility of the project without external help.] Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
29. The first seven chapters of The Journey to the West proceed from life-store to nature, from activity to nonactivity. The remaining ninety-three chapters proceed from nature to life-store and return from nonactivity to activity. The profound truth of the entire work is nothing more than this. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
30. In The Journey to the West, Tripitaka represents the substance [t'i 體] of the Supreme Ultimate, while the three disciples represent the energies of the five phases. Tripitaka's acceptance of the three disciples thus refers to the control of the five phases by the Supreme Ultimate, while the fact that the three disciples make their submission to Tripitaka means that the five phases are what constitutes the Supreme Ultimate. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
31. When The Journey to the West speaks of the T'ang Monk and each of his disciples, two different sets of names are used, and they ought not to be thought of in the same breath. For example, [the names] Hsiian-tsang, Wu-k'ung, Wu-neng, and Wu-ching refer to the substance [t'i 體] of the Tao, whereas [the names] Tripitaka, Pilgrim, Pa-chieh, and Monk refer to the function [yung 用] of the Tao. Since function does not exist apart from substance nor does substance exist apart from function, therefore there are two names for each of them. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
32. The references in The Journey to the West to the T'ang Monk and his disciples have both primary and auxiliary functions [yung 用]. Take, for example, the names Ch'en Hsiian-tsang, Tripitaka T'ang, Sun Wu-k'ung, Pilgrim Sun, Chu Pa-chieh, Chu Wu-neng, Sha Wu-ching, and Sha Monk—these are made to serve the primary function. The names T'ang Monk, Pilgrim, Idiot, and Monk are made to serve the auxiliary function. The primary function serves solely to explicate the substantive truths of life-store and nature, whereas the auxiliary function serves simultaneously to give form to the meanings of the ordinary world. People should not regard them as if they were all the same. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
33. The Journey to the West uses the three disciples to represent the great medicine outside of the five phases. This belongs to the category of prenatal endowment [hsien-t'ien 先天] and is not to be compared with the perverse five phases that belong to the postnatal condition [hou-t'ien 後天], where they possess shape and form. One must clearly distinguish the true source of things and not try to locate it on the bag of flesh or skin [i.e., the body]. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
34. The Journey to the West describes all three disciples as having hideous features. Hideous features are, in fact, distinguished features, and distinguished features are marvelous features. They may be said to be hideous, but what they do is marvelous. Moreover, they possess neither "egotistical" features nor "popular" features, neither the features of the moral multitudes nor those of the long-lived ones. That is why, wherever the three disciples go, people fail to recognize them [for what they really are] and become afraid or amazed at the sight of them. In such places [in the text], one must take careful note of this feature. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
35. The Journey to the West describes all three disciples as having different abilities. Sha Monk is not capable of transformations at all, Pa-chieh knows thirty-six transformations, while Pilgrim knows seventy-two transformations. Though his number of transformations is said to be seventy-two, Pilgrim is actually capable of countless transformations. Why is this? He is the Metal within Water, the true yang principle external to one's self. Belonging to the category of life-store, lord of hardness and motion, he signifies the primal breath of all living creatures and unites the strategic nodes of the seventy-two time periods [hou 候] of the year. [These time periods were made up of five days each. There may be a pun involved here, as the name of the time period and the word monkey [hou 猴] are homonyms.] There is nothing that is not included in him, nothing that is not perfected by him. A perfect substance [t'i 體] having a great function [yung 用], he is an all-pervading principle of unity. That is why he is capable of boundless transformations, unimaginably wonderful and mysterious. Pa-chieh happens to be the Wood within the Fire, the true yin principle internal to one's self. Belonging to the category of nature, lord of pliancy and quiescence, he holds the handle by which the illusory body is controlled, but he can only change into substance that is posterior to Heaven [hou-t'ien 後天] and not the true treasure that is anterior to Heaven [hsien-t'ien 先天]. His transformations are incomplete, and that is why, of the seventy-two transformations, he is capable of only thirty-six. As for Sha Monk, he is the true Earth, and he lives to guard the Central Quarter and to harmonize the yin and yang. He is incapable of any transformations. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
36. There is great significance in The Journey to the West's description of the divine weapons belonging to the three disciples. Both Pa-chieh and Sha Monk carry their divine weapons along with them in their hands. The gold-hooped rod of Pilgrim, however, can be transformed into the size of an embroidery needle; it is then stored in his ear and taken out only when needed. Why is this so? The rake and the priestly staff, you see, though treasures in themselves, represent the practice of the perfection of form by means of the Tao. Once the matter has been pointed out by the teacher, the person himself can attain its realization. The gold-hooped rod, on the other hand, is actually the secret truth that has been transmitted from mouth to mouth by sages through succeeding generations, a secret that was whispered from ear to ear. It is the technique of prolonging one's life through magic, fabricated out of nothingness. It is so huge that it has no circumference, so small that it has no interior. It roams at will between Heaven and Earth, with nothing to withstand it, and that is why it must be stored in the ear. These mysterious and marvelous functions [of the gold-hooped rod] are as different as night and day from those of the rake and priestly staff. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
37. In The Journey to the West, the three disciples represent the substance [t'i 體] of the five phases, while the three weapons represent the function [yung 用] of the five phases. When the five phases are compressed together, [fully integrate the five elements] then both substance and function are perfectly present. This is why they can successfully escort the T'ang Monk to fetch the true scriptures and meet the real Buddha. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
38. There are many accounts in The Journey to the West of how Sun Wu-k'ung triumphs over the most difficult of obstacles by pulling off pieces of hair from his body and transforming them. The pieces of hair, however, are not all the same nor are the transformations. Sometimes he pulls off pieces of hair from behind his head or from either his left or right arm, sometimes he pulls off pieces of hair from both arms or from his tail. There are great differences here, and one must not be careless in distinguishing between them. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
39. When The Journey to the West describes Sun Wu-k'ung's changing into someone else, the accounts vary: sometimes he himself is transformed, sometimes he uses his rod, and sometimes he uses pieces of hair. The transformations of himself and his rod are true transformations, whereas the transformations of the pieces of hair are false transformations. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
40. In The Journey to the West, Sun Wu-k'ung is called the Great Sage and Pilgrim. These two names are vastly different from each other and they ought not to be thought of in the same breath. One must look to the source. If the source is real, then everything is real; but if the source is false, then everything is false. Never confuse the real with the false, or the false with the real. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
41. Sun Wu-k'ung calls himself Sun Wai-kung 孫外公 [Maternal Grandfather Sun] everywhere he goes and always mentions "that bit of business five hundred years ago." Now, Sun Wai-kung actually refers to the emptiness within, while "five hundred years ago" actually refers to that which is anterior to Heaven [hsien-t'ien 先天]. One must realize that the vital force anterior to Heaven originates from nothingness. It is the formula for immortality external to oneself and not something that one can produce within oneself. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
42. After Sun Wu-k'ung attains the Tao on his Journey to the West, he can neither be drowned in water nor burned by fire. When he caused a great uproar in Heaven, even the divine warriors of the various Heavens could not prevail against him. Why, then, is he repeatedly overcome by monsters when he is accompanying the T'ang Monk to acquire scriptures in the Western Heaven? The reader must take such problems and carefully distinguish the issues involved; only then can he discover their true meaning. If he just muddles through his reading, he will never gain any insight. Remember that the name Pilgrim is a nickname given by the T'ang Monk to Sun Wu-k'ung. Now this nickname may be explained as referring to someone who has understood the truth but who must still engage in action or as a name for any person practicing self-cultivation. The Pilgrim who is overcome by monsters refers, in fact, to any pilgrim practicing self-cultivation. Do not confuse one with the other. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
43. Whenever the T'ang Monk and his disciples pass through a country in The Journey to the West, the official rescript must first be examined and stamped with the precious seals [of the country] before they are permitted to proceed. This is a matter of primary importance in the whole enterprise of acquiring scriptures. One must seek out the true meaning of this matter. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
44. The Journey to the West has been annotated [chu-chieh 注解] countless times. As for quality explanations, there is not one per hundred. The Chen-ch'üan 真詮 [True Explication] of Wu-i-tzu [this refers to The True Explication of the Hsi-yu chi 西 遊真詮, 1696] may be considered the foremost set of annotations for this book, but it is unavoidable that even it overlooks certain things. The reader should not read only the annotations and neglect the text itself. He should rather read the annotations only from the perspective of the text. In this way he may avoid the mistake of compounding the errors of others. Only he who knows this can read The Journey to the West.
     
45. The reader of The Journey to the West should first exert great effort on the text itself. He should again and again strive to comprehend its meaning, and he should not rest until he has savored its true flavor and truly gained insight [into its real meaning]. If he has indeed gained some insight, he can then read annotations [chu-chieh 注解] done by others in order to enlarge his understanding. This will enable him to distinguish between that which should be accepted or rejected in the other interpretations, and he can also find out the validity or speciousness of his own perceptions. If he persists in such efforts for a long time, he will certainly arrive at an advanced state of understanding. But even then he must not consider himself always in the right. He should seek out teachers for further illumination. Only then will he be able to see the bright flame of real knowledge and avoid the mistake of regarding the semblance of truth as truth itself. The foregoing forty-five items constitute the essentials of how to read The Journey to the West. I have carefully recorded them at the beginning of this volume as an act of friendship extended to the appreciative reader.