Chapter 1 17 Journey to the West
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,aion kina, and that everything was still, with no signs of any people. Heturned round and noticed that there was a stone tablet about thirty feet high and eight feet wide at the top ofthe cliff. On it was carved in enormous letters: SPIRIT?TOWER HEART MOUNTAIN, CAVE OF THESETTING MOON AND THE THREE STARS. The Monkey King exclaimed with delight, "The people herereally are honest. The mountain and the cave do exist." He took a good long look, but did not dare to knock onthe 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 hisbearing 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,cheap aion kinah,
6 月 2010
Chapter 1 16 Journey to the West
"I've had a hard life," the woodcutter replied. "My mother and father brought me up till I was about eight, andjust when I was beginning to know about life my father died. My mother remained a widow, and I had nobrothers or sisters. As I was the only child I had to look after my mother morning and night. Now she is oldthat 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 fewpints 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 berewarded for it one day. But I'd be grateful if you could show me where that Immortal lives,city of villains power leveling, so that I can goand pay him my respects."
The woodcutter said, "It's not far from here. This mountain is the Spirit Tower Heart Mountain, and in it thereis the Cave of the Setting Moon and the Three Stars. In that cave lives an Immortal called the PatriarchSubhuti. I don't know how many disciples he has trained??there are thirty or forty of them cultivating theirconduct 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,city of villains infamy, Elder Brother. If I get anything out ofthis, 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 Iwouldn't be able to earn my living, and who would look after my poor old mother then? I've got to get on withmy 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, whichled up a mountain slope for two or three miles, when he saw the cave. He pulled himself up to his full heightto 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;
Chapter 1 14 Journey to the West
"Watching the chess game I cut through the rotten,
Felling trees, ding, ding,
Strolling at the edge of the cloud and the mouth of the valley,buy eq2 platinum,
I sell firewood to buy wine,
Cackling with laughter and perfectly happy.
I pillow myself on a pine root, looking up at the moon.
When I wake up it is light.
Recognizing the old forest
I scale cliffs and cross ridges,
Cutting down withered creepers with my axe.
When I've gathered a basketful
I walk down to the market with a song,
And trade it for three pints of rice.
Nobody else competes with me,
So prices are stable.
I don't speculate or try sharp practice,
Couldn't care less what people think of me,
Calmly lengthening my days.
The people I meet
Are Taoists and Immortals,eq2 power leveling,
Sitting quietly and expounding the Yellow Court."
The Monkey King was overjoyed to hear this, and he said with glee, "So this is where the Immortals havebeen hiding." He bounded deeper into the woods for a closer look and saw that the singer was a woodcuttercutting firewood. He was wearing the most unusual clothes:
Chapter 1 13 Journey to the West
They never fear that the King of Hell will come to get them.
When trying to ensure their sons and grandsons inherit their wealth and power,cheap eq plat,
They have no time to stop and think.
Although he asked about the way of the Immortals,everquest plat, the Monkey King was unable to meet one. He spent eightor nine years in the Southern Jambu Continent, going through its great walls and visiting its little counties.When he found that he had reached the Great Western Ocean he thought that there must be Sages andImmortals on the other side of it, so he made himself another raft like the last one, and floated across theWestern Ocean until he came to the Western Continent of Cattle?gift. He went ashore and made extensiveand lengthy enquiries until one day he came upon a high and beautiful mountain, thickly forested on its lowerslopes. Not fearing wolves, and undaunted by tigers or leopards, he climbed to the summit to see the view. Itwas indeed a fine mountain:
A thousand peaks brandishing halberds,
Screens ten thousand measures tall.
In the sunlight the mountain haze is lightly touched with blue;
After the rain the black rocks look coldly green.
Withered creepers coil round ancient trees,
And the old ford marks the bounds of the mysterious.
Strange flowers and precious plants,
Flourishing in all four seasons, rivaling fairyland.
The nearby cry of a hidden bird,
The clear running of a spring.
Valley upon valley of mushroom and orchid,
Lichen grows all over the cliffs.
The range rises and dips in dragon?like majesty.
Surely there mush be lofty hermits here.
As he was looking at the view the Monkey King heard a human voice coming from the depths of the forest.He rushed into the trees, and when he cocked his ear to listen he heard a song:
Chapter 1 13 Journey to the West
They never fear that the King of Hell will come to get them.
When trying to ensure their sons and grandsons inherit their wealth and power,
They have no time to stop and think.
Although he asked about the way of the Immortals, the Monkey King was unable to meet one. He spent eightor nine years in the Southern Jambu Continent, going through its great walls and visiting its little counties.When he found that he had reached the Great Western Ocean he thought that there must be Sages andImmortals on the other side of it, so he made himself another raft like the last one, and floated across theWestern Ocean until he came to the Western Continent of Cattle?gift. He went ashore and made extensiveand lengthy enquiries until one day he came upon a high and beautiful mountain, thickly forested on its lowerslopes. Not fearing wolves, and undaunted by tigers or leopards, he climbed to the summit to see the view. Itwas indeed a fine mountain:
A thousand peaks brandishing halberds,
Screens ten thousand measures tall.
In the sunlight the mountain haze is lightly touched with blue;
After the rain the black rocks look coldly green.
Withered creepers coil round ancient trees,eq power leveling,
And the old ford marks the bounds of the mysterious.
Strange flowers and precious plants,
Flourishing in all four seasons, rivaling fairyland.
The nearby cry of a hidden bird,
The clear running of a spring.
Valley upon valley of mushroom and orchid,cheap everquest plat,
Lichen grows all over the cliffs.
The range rises and dips in dragon?like majesty.
Surely there mush be lofty hermits here.
As he was looking at the view the Monkey King heard a human voice coming from the depths of the forest.He rushed into the trees, and when he cocked his ear to listen he heard a song:
Yellow−skinned loquats with their leaves on.
Rabbit−head pears and chicken−heart jujubes
To quench your thirst,kal geons, remove your cares, and sober you up.
Fragrant peaches and tender apricots,
As sweet and luscious as jade wine.
Crisp plums and arbutus,
As sharp as glistening yogurt.
Ripe melons with red coats and black seeds,
Big, four−sectioned persimmons with yellow skins.
Bursting pomegranates:
Cinnabar pips shining like fire−crystal pearls.
Opened water−chestnuts
With firm round flesh like golden agate.
Walnuts and gingko fruits to eat with tea;
Coconuts and grapes to make into wine.
Dishes loaded with pine cones, yew−nuts,cheap kal geons, filberts, and crab−apples;
Tangerines, sugar−cane and oranges covering the table.
Hot roast yams,
Tender boiled Solomon's−seal.
Pounded china−root and Job's tears.
Simmered in soup in a stone−pot.
Although we humans have rare delicacies to eat,
We are no happier than those monkeys in the mountains.
To this the Monkey King replied, "Yes, we don't have to submit to the laws and regulations of human kings, and we don't live in terror of the power of birds and beasts. But the time will come when we are old and weak, and the underworld is controlled by the King of Hell. When the time comes for us to die, we won't be able to go on living among the Blessed, and our lives will have been in vain." All the monkeys covered their faces and wept as everyone of them thought about death.
Suddenly a gibbon jumped out from their ranks and shrieked in a piercing voice,fiesta gold, "If Your Majesty is thinking so far ahead, this is the beginning of enlightenment. Now of the Five Creatures, there are only three that do not come under the jurisdiction of the King of Hell."
"Do you know which they are?" asked the Monkey King.
"Yes," the ape replied. "They are the Buddhas, the Immortals and the Sages. They are free from the Wheel of Reincarnation. They are not born and they do not die. They are as eternal as Heaven and Earth, as the mountains and the rivers."
"Where do they live?" the Monkey King asked.
"Only in the human world," the ape replied, "in ancient caves on magic mountains." The Monkey King was delighted to hear this.
"I shall leave you all tomorrow,cheap fiesta online gold," he said, "and go down the mountain. If I have to, I'll roam the corners of the oceans and go to the edge of the sky to find these three kinds of beings and discover the secret of eternal youth that will keep us out of the clutches of the King of Hell for ever." Goodness! Because of these words he was to learn how to be free from the Wheel of Reincarnation and become the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
All the monkeys clapped with approval and said, "Great! Great! Tomorrow we'll climb all over the mountain and get lots of fruit to give Your Majesty a really big banquet to send you off."
The next day the monkeys set out to pick magic peaches, gather rare fruits, dig out yams,and cut Solomon's−seal. Magic fungus and fragrant orchid were collected, and everything was set on the stone benches and the stone tables, with fairy wine and dishes. You could see
Golden pills and pearl pellets,
Bursting red and plump yellow.
The golden pills and pearl pellets were winter cherries, beautiful and sweet;
The bursting red and plump yellow were ripe plums, tasty and sharp.
Fresh, sweet−fleshed longans with thin skins.
Fiery lichees with tiny stones in a red sack.
Branch after branch of crab−apples,
They lined up in groups in order of age and paid their homage as at court, all acclaiming him as the "Great King of a Thousand Years." The stone monkey then took the throne, made the word "stone" taboo, and called himself Handsome Monkey King. There is a poem to prove it that goes:
All things are born from the Three positives;
The magic stone was quick with the essence of sun and moon.
An egg was turned into a monkey to complete the Great Way;
He was lent a name so that the elixir would be complete.
Looking inside he perceives nothing because it has no form,
Outside he uses his intelligence to create visible things.
Men have always been like this:
Those who are called kings and sages do just as they wish.
Taking control of his host of monkeys, apes, gibbons and others, the Handsome Monkey King divided them into rulers and subjects, assistants and officers. In the morning they roamed the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and in the evening they settled down for the night in the Water Curtain Cave. They made a compact that they would not join the ranks of the birds or go with the running beasts. They had their own king,flyff penya, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
In spring they picked flowers for food and drink,
In summer they lived off fruit.
In autumn they gathered tares and chestnuts,flyff penya,
They got through the winter on Solomon's−seal.
The Handsome Monkey King's innocent high spirits could not, of course, last three or four hundred years. One day he suddenly felt depressed during a banquet with his monkey host, and he started to weep. The startled monkeys crowded round, bowed to him and asked, "What's the matter, Your Majesty?"
"Although I'm happy now," the Monkey King replied, "I'm worried about the future. That's what's getting me down."
The other monkeys laughed and said, "Your Majesty is being greedy. We have parties every day; we live in a mountain paradise, in an ancient cave in a divine continent. We are spared the rule of unicorns, the domination of phoenixes, and the restraints of human kings. We are free to do just as we like−−we are infinitely lucky. Why make yourself miserable worrying about the future?"
"We're in luck, we're in luck," he said with a chuckle. All the other monkeys crowded round him asking, "What's it like in there? How deep is the water?"
"There's no water, none at all," replied the stone monkey. "There's an iron bridge, and on the other side of the bridge there's a house that must have been made by Heaven and Earth."
"How ever could you see a house there?" the other monkeys asked. The stone monkey chuckled again.
"The water here comes under the bridge and through the rocks, and it hides the gateway to the bridge from view. There are flowers and trees by the bridge, and a stone house too. Inside the house are stone rooms,tibia gold, a stone stove, stone bowls, stone plates, stone beds, and even stone benches. In the middle of it all is a tablet which says 'Happy Land of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, Cave Heaven of the Water Curtain'. It's just the place for us to settle down in−−there's room there for thousands. Let's all move in, then we won't have to put up with any more nonsense from heaven. In there
We can hide there from the wind,
And shelter from the rain,
With nothing to fear from frost and snow,
And never a rumble of thunder.
The coloured mists glow bright
And the place smells lucky.
The pine and bamboo will always be beautiful,
And rare flowers blossom every day."
The other monkeys were all so delighted to hear this that they said, "You go first and take us with you."
The stone monkey shut his eyes, crouched, and leapt in again, shouting, "Follow me in, follow me in." The braver monkeys all jumped through. The more timid ones peered forward, shrank back, rubbed their ears, scratched their cheeks, shouted, and yelled at the top of their voices, before going in, all clinging to each other. After rushing across the bridge they all grabbed plates and snatched bowls, bagged stoves and fought over beds, and moved everything around. Monkeys are born naughty and they could not keep quiet for a single moment until they had worn themselves out moving things around.
The stone monkey sat himself in the main seat and said, "Gentlemen, A man who breaks his word is worthless. Just now you said that if anyone was clever enough to come in here and get out again in one piece, you'd make him king. Well,tibia gold, then. I've come in and gone out, and gone out and come in. I've found you gentlemen a cave heaven where you can sleep in peace and all settle down to live in bliss. Why haven't you made me king?" On hearing this all the monkeys bowed and prostrated themselves, not daring to disobey.
As a King he will enter the Immortals' palace.
Watch him as he shuts his eyes,cheap daoc platinum, crouches, and springs, leaping straight into the waterfall. When he opened his eyes and raised his head to look round, he saw neither water nor waves. A bridge stood in front of him, as large as life. He stopped, calmed himself, took a closer look, and saw that the bridge was made of iron. The water that rushed under it poured out through a fissure in the rocks, screening the gateway to the bridge. He started walking towards the bridge, and as he looked he made out what seemed to be a house. It was a really good place. He saw:
Emerald moss piled up in heaps of blue,
White clouds like drifting jade,
While the light flickered among wisps of coloured mist.
A quiet house with peaceful windows,
Flowers growing on the smooth bench;
Dragon pearls hanging in niches,
Exotic blooms all around.
Traces of fire beside the stove,
Scraps of food in the vessels by the table.
Adorable stone chairs and beds,
Even better stone plates and bowls.
One or two tall bamboos,
Three or four sprigs of plum blossom,
A few pines that always attract rain,
All just like a real home.
He took a good, long look and then scampered to the middle of the bridge, from where he noticed a stone tablet. On the tablet had been carved in big square letters: HAPPY LAND OF THE MOUNTAIN OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT, CAVE HEAVEN OF THE WATER CURTAIN. The stone monkey was beside himself with glee. He rushed away, shut his eyes,buy daoc platinum, crouched, and leapt back through the waterfall.