ortals, sitting quietly and expounding the Mantingfang.

' The
Mantingfang contains the truth about the Way, so if you're not an
Immortal, what are you?" The woodcutter laughed. "It's quite true
that the song is called 'The Fragrance of the Mantingfang,' and an
Immortal who lives near my hut taught me it. He said he saw how hard
I had to work and how I was always worried, so he made me sing this
song when things were getting me down. It lightens my cares and makes
me forget my weariness. I was singing it just now because I had some
problems on my mind, and I never imagined that you would be
listening." "If you've got an Immortal for a neighbour, you ought to
learn from him how to cultivate your conduct and get him to teach you
a recipe for eternal youth." Journey to the West Chapter 1 16 "I've
had a hard life," the woodcutter replied. "My mother and father
brought me up till I was about eight, and just when I was beginning
to know about life my father died. My mother remained a widow, and I
had no brothers or sisters. As I was the only child I had to look
after my mother morning and night. Now she is old that I can't
possibly leave her. Our land is so overgrown that I can't grow enough
to feed and clothe both of us, so I have to cut a couple of bundles
of firewood to sell in the market for a handful of coppers to buy the
few pints of rice that I cook for myself and for my mother. That's
why I can't cultivate my conduct." "From what you say," the Monkey
King replied, "you're a filial son and a gentleman−−you're bound to
be rewarded for it one day. But I'd be grateful if you could show me
where that Immortal lives, so that I can go and pay him my respects."
The woodcutter said, "It's not far from here. This mountain is the
Spirit Tower Heart Mountain, and in it there is the Cave of the
Setting Moon and the Three Stars. In that cave lives an Immortal
called the Patriarch Subhuti. I don't know how many disciples he has
trained−−there are thirty or forty of them cultivating their conduct
with him at the moment. If you take that path South for two or three
miles you'll reach his home." The Monkey King tugged at the
woodcutter and said, "Take me there, Elder Brother. If I get anything
out of this, I won't forget your kindness." "You idiot," the
woodcutter replied, "didn't you understand what I told you just now?
If I went with you I wouldn't be able to earn my living, and who
would look after my poor old mother then? I've got to get on with my
woodcutting. Go by yourself." After hearing this the Monkey King had
to take his leave. He came out of the forest and found the path,
which led up a mountain slope for two or three miles, when he saw the
cave. He pulled himself up to his full height to take a look, and it
was a really magnificent place: Misty clouds scattered colours, Sun
and moon shimmered bright. A thousand ancient cypresses, Ten thousand
lofty bamboos. A thousand ancient cypresses, A soft green drawing the
rain from the sky. Ten thousand lofty bamboos, And a misty valley is
azure blue. Outside the gate rare flowers spread brocade; Beside the
bridge wafts the scent of jade flowers. Rocky crags jut, glossy with
green moss; Journey to the West Chapter 1 17 On overhanging cliffs
blue lichen grows. Sometimes the call of the crane is heard And often
you see the phoenix soar. The call of the crane Echoes beyond the
Ninth Heaven and the Milky Way. When the phoenix soars, The
brilliance of its wings colours the clouds. Black apes and white deer
can be just made out; Golden lions and jade elephants prefer to keep
hidden. If you look closely at this happy land, You will see that it
rivals paradise. He saw that the doors of the cave were shut fast,
and that everything was still, with no signs of any people. He turned
round and noticed that there was a stone tablet about thirty feet
high and eight feet wide at the top of the cliff. On it was carved in
enormous letters: SPIRIT−TOWER HEART MOUNTAIN, CAVE OF THE SETTING
MOON AND THE THREE STARS. The Monkey King exclaimed with delight,
"The people here really are honest. The mountain and the cave do
exist." He took a good long look, but did not dare to knock on the
door. He climbed to the and of a pine branch and ate some pine seeds
to amuse himself. Before long the doors of the cave opened with a
creak, and an immortal boy came out. In the nobility of his bearing
and the exceptional purity of his features he was completely
different from an ordinary boy. His hair was bound with a pair of
silken bands, His flowing gown had two capacious sleeves. His face
and body were naturally distinguished; His mind and appearance were
both empty. For many years a guest beyond the world of things, An
eternal child amid the mountains, Untouched by any speck of dust,
Journey to the West Chapter 1 18 He let the years go tumbling by.
When this boy had come out he shouted, "Who's making that row out
here?" The Monkey King scampered down the tree, went up to him, and
said with a bow, "Immortal child, I am a disciple who has come to ask
about the Way and study under the Immortal. The last thing I'd do
would be to make a row here?" The boy laughed. "So you've come to ask
about the Way, have you?" "Yes," the Monkey King replied. "Our master
has just got up," the boy said, "and has now mounted the dais to
expound the Way. Before he had started to explain about origins he
told me to open the door. He said, 'There is someone outside who
wants to cultivate his conduct. Go and welcome him.' I suppose he
must have meant you." "Yes, he meant me," the Monkey King said with a
smile. "Come with me," the boy said. The Monkey King straightened his
clothes and followed the boy deep into the depths of the cave. He saw
majestic pavilions and towers of red jade, pearl palaces and gateways
of cowry, and countless rooms of silence and secluded cells leading
all the way to a jasper dais. He saw the Patriarch Subhuti sitting on
the dais and thirty−six minor Immortals standing below it. A golden
Immortal of great enlightenment, free from filth, Subhuti, the marvel
of the Western World. Neither dying nor born, he practices the triple
meditation, His spirit and soul entirely benevolent. In empty
detachment he follows the changes; Having found his true nature he
lets it run free. As eternal as Heaven, and majestic in body, The
great teacher of the Law is enlightened through aeons. As soon as the
Handsome Monkey King saw him he bowed low and knocked his head on the
ground before him many times, saying, "Master, master, your disciple
pays his deepest respects." Journey to the West Chapter 1 19 "Where
are you from?" the Patriarch asked. "You must tell me your name and
address before you can become my pupil." "I come from the Water
Curtain Cave in the Flowers and Fruit Mountain in the land of Aolai
in the Eastern Continent of Superior Body," replied the Monkey King.
"Throw him out," the Patriarch roared. "He's a liar and a cheat, and
even if he tried cultivating his conduct he would get nowhere." The
Monkey King desperately kept hitting his head on the ground and said,
"Your disciple spoke the truth. I promise I wasn't lying." The
Patriarch asked, "If you were speaking the truth, why did you say
that you came from the Eastern Continent of Superior Body? Between
here and the Eastern Continent there are two seas and the Southern
Jambu Continent, so how could you possibly have come here from
there?" The Monkey King, still kowtowing, replied, "I sailed across
seas and oceans, crossed frontiers and wandered through many
countries for over ten years before I arrived here." "So you came
here by stages," the Patriarch remarked. "What is your surname?" "I'm
not surly," the Monkey King replied. "If people call me names it
doesn't bother me, and if they hit me I don't get angry. I'm just
polite to them and that's that. I've never been surly." "I didn't ask
if you were surly. I wanted to know the surnam