Chapter I The Transmigration of Song-jin

THERE are five noted mountains in East Asia.
The peak near the Yellow Sea is called Tai-
san, Great Mountain ; the peak to the west,
Wha-san, Flowery Mountain ; the peak to the south,
Hyong-san, Mountain of the Scales ; the peak to the
north, Hang-san, Eternal Mountain ; while the peak
in the centre is called Soong-san, Exalted Mountain.
The Mountain of the Scales, the loftiest of the five
peaks, lies to the south of the Tong-jong River, and
on the other three sides is circled by the Sang-gang,
so that it stands high, uplifted as if receiving adoration
from the surrounding summits. There are in all
seventy-two peaks that shoot up and point their spear-
tops to the sky. Some are sheer cut and precipitous
and block the clouds in their course, startling the world
with the wonder of their formation. Stores of good
luck and fortune abide under their shadows.

The highest peaks among the seventy-two are
called Spirit of the South, Red Canopy, Pillars of
Heaven, Rock Treasure-house and Lotus Peak, five
in all. They are sky-tipped and majestic in appear-
ance, with clouds on their faces and mists around
their feet, and are charged with divine influences [i].
When the day is other than clear they are shrouded
completely from human view.

In ancient days, when Ha-oo restrained the deluge
that came upon the earth [2], he placed a memorial
stone on one of these mountain tops, on which was

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

recorded his many wonderful deeds. The stone was
divinely inscribed in cloud characters, and, while
many ages have passed, these characters are clear
cut as ever.

In the days of Chin See-wang [3], a woman of the
genii, named Queen Wee, who became a Taoist by
divine command, came with a company of angelic
boys and fairy girls and settled in these mountains, so
that she was called Queen Wee of the Southern Peak,

It is impossible to relate all the strange and won-
derful things that have been associated with these
mountain fastnesses.

In the days of the Tang dynasty a noted priest
came hither from India, and being captivated by the
beauty of the hills built a monastery on Lotus Peak.
There he preached the doctrines of the Buddha,
taught his disciples, and put an end to fearsome
demons and foul spirits, so that the name of Gautama
grew great in influence, and people bowed before it
and believed, saying that God had again visited the
earth. The rich and honourable shared of their abund-
ance, the poor gave their labour, and so they built a
wide and spacious temple. It was deeply secluded
and quiet, with a thousand and one beautiful views
encircling it, and a majesty and impressiveness of
mountain scenery for background that was unsur-
passed.

This preacher of the Buddha had brought with
him a volume of the Diamond Sutra, which he ex-
pounded so clearly that they called him Master of
the Six Temptations and the Great Teacher of the
Yook-kwan. Among the five or six hundred dis-
ciples that followed him there were some thirty well

4

The Transmigration of Song-jin

versed in the teaching, and far advanced. One, the
youngest of them, was called Song-jin, Without
Guile. His face was fair and beautiful to see and the
light of his expression was like running water. He was
barely twenty, and yet he had mastered the three
Sacred Books. In wisdom and quickness of percep-
tion he surpassed all the others, so that the Master
greatly loved him and intended later to make him his
successor.

As the Teacher expounded the doctrine to his
disciples, the Dragon King himself, from the Tong-
jong Sea, used to come in the person of an old man
dressed in white clothes to listen and learn. On a
certain day the Teacher assembled his pupils and
said to them : "I am now an old man and frail in
body, and it is thirteen years and more since I have
been outside the mountain gates. Who among you
will go for me to the Palace of the Waters and pay
my respects to the Dragon King ? " At once Song-
jin volunteered. The Teacher, greatly pleased at
this, had him fitted out in a new cassock, gave him
his ringed staff of the gods, and he set off briskly
towards the world of Tong-jong.

Just at this moment the priest who guarded the
main entrance to the monastery came to say that the
noble Lady of the Southern Peak had sent eight
fairy messengers to call, and that they were now
waiting before the gate. The Master gave command
that they be admitted, and they tripped across the
threshold in modest order, circling about three times
and then bowing and scattering the blossoms of the
genii. They knelt reverently and gave their message
from the Lady, saying : " The noble Teacher lives

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The Cloud Dream of the Nine

on the west side of the mountain and I on the east.
While the distance is not great, and we are com-
paratively near as neighbours, still I am of humble
birth and am so busily occupied that I have never
come even once to the sacred temple to hear the
doctrine. I have no wisdom of my own to keep me
in touch with the good, but now I am sending my
serving maidens to pay my respects, and at the same
time to offer to your Excellency flowers of Paradise
and fairy fruits, along with some other gifts of silk,
which I sincerely trust you will accept as a token of
my earnest heart."

Each then made her presentation of flowers and
treasures to the Master. These he received and
passed on to his disciples, who had them placed as
offerings before the Buddha. With much bowing
and folding of the hands, according to the required
ceremony, he replied : " What merit has an old
man like me, I pray, to have such gifts as these pre-
sented to him ? "

He gave liberally to the eight maidens in return
and they set off lightly on their way.

They passed out through the mountain gate hand
in hand, talking as they went. Said they : " These
divine mountains of the south, being of one range
and having the same streams encircling them, once
upon a time were all within our own boundaries,
but since the setting up of the temple of the Great
Teacher certain limitations have shut us off from
freedom so that we have not seen the beautiful places
that were once our own. Now by the good fortune
of our Lady's commands we are here in this valley
at this lovely season of the year. It is early in the day.

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The Transmigration of Song-jin

Let us take the occasion to go up to the heights and
have a breath of the sweet air of Lotus Peak, dip
our kerchiefs in the Hmpid water, sing a verse or
two and awaken our souls to the joy of Hfe. On re-
turning home we shall be the praise and envy of all
our sisters. Let us do this."

They set off, on their way looking down with
wonder at the rushing water, walking skilfully along
the giddy ridges and following the streams. At last,
on this happy day of the third moon they found
themselves on the stone bridge that spanned the
torrent.

All the flowers were in bloom ; the streams beneath
them sparkled with silvery brightness. There hung
a tent-work of flowers and leaves like a silken canopy.
The birds vied with each other in the beautiful notes
of their singing. The soft breezes awakened glad
and happy memories, while the beauty of the scene
held them spellbound.

Thus were the eight fairy messengers charmed as
they sat in delight on the bridge looking down at
the wonderful mirror of the streams that met and
sparkled in a crystal pool below. Their delicate
eyebrows and glowing bright faces shone forth,
reflected in the water as if seen in a famous picture
from a master's hand. They were so entranced that
they had no thought of going till the sun began to
descend toward the western hills and the day to
darken.

At this moment Song-jin crossed the Tong-jong
River and entered the Water Palace of the Dragon
King. His Majesty was greatly delighted at his
coming, stepped outside the gates to meet him, took

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The Cloud Dream of the Nine

him by the hand, led him in and bid him share his
throne.

Song-jin made his obeisance and gave his message
from the Master.

The King in response bowed low and ordered a
feast of welcome to be prepared, at which were fruits
and dainties of the fairies in abundance, and of such
flavour as the dwellers in the hills alone know. The
Dragon King himself passed the glass and urged
him to drink. Song-jin several times refused, saying :
" Wine is a drink that upsets and maddens the soul,
and is therefore strictly forbidden by the Buddha,
so your humble servant must not partake."

But the Dragon King replied : " I am aware that
among the five things forbidden by Gautama wine
is one, but the wine that I offer is different altogether
from the maddening kind that men drink. It represses
the passions and quiets the soul. You will not mis-
trust my sincerity in offering it I am sure."

Song-jin, moved by this kindness, could not any
longer refuse, and he drank three glasses. He then
spoke his greeting and came forth from the Water
Palace, riding on the wind and sailing directly for
Lotus Peak.

When he had landed at the base of the hill the
influence of the wine was already manifest in his
face and a feeling of dizziness possessed him, so that
he reprimanded himself, saying : " If my honoured
Master sees me with this inflamed expression
how startled he will be and how soundly he will
chide me."

He sat down by the bank of the stream, put off
his outer garments, placed them on the clean sand

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The Transmigration of Song-jin

and dipped his hands in the limpid water. Thus he
sat bathing his hot face, when suddenly a strange
and mysterious fragrance was borne toward him,
not the perfume of orchid or musk nor that of any
special flower, but something wholly new and not
experienced before. The soul of passion and un-
cleanness seemed dissipated by its presence, and a
purity indescribable seemed to remain. He said to
himself : " What wonderful flowers are these by
the side of this brook that such sweet perfume should
come floating on its wavelets ? I will go and see from
whence it comes,"

He dressed carefully, followed the course of the
stream upwards, and found the eight fairies seated
on the stone bridge so that they met suddenly face
to face, he and they.

Song-jin laid aside his pilgrim's staff and made a
deep, low bow, saying : " Ladies of the Fairies'
Paradise, hear what a poor priest has to say. I am a
disciple of the Master Yook-kwan and live on Lotus
Peak. Just now I am returning from a mission be-
yond the mountains on which he sent me. This stone
bridge is very narrow, and you goddesses being
seated upon it block the way ; will you not kindly
take your lotus footsteps hence and let me pass ? "

The fairies bowed in return and said : " We
attendants who wait on Queen Wee are on our return
from carrying a message of goodwill to the Master
of the Temple, and have stopped here for a little to
rest. We have heard that it is written in the Book of
Ceremony concerning the law of the road that man
goes to the left and woman to the right. Now as this
bridge is a very narrow one, and we are already seated

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

here, it would seem more fitting that you should
avoid it altogether, and cross by some other way."

Song-jin said in reply : " But the water of the
stream is deep, and there is no other way. Where do
you suggest that your humble servant should go ? "

The fairies repUed : "It is said that the great
Talma [4] came across the ocean on a leaf. Now if
you are a disciple of the Teacher Yook-kwan and have
learned the doctrine from him, naturally you will
have learned to do some such wonderful thing. There
surely will be no difficulty for you to cross this narrow
stream instead of standing here and disputing with
us girls about the way."

Song-jin laughed and said : " I see by your lady-
ships' behaviour that you ask that I pay some price
or other for the right to cross, but I have no money,
for I am only a poor priest. I have, however, eight
jewels which I will present to you if you will kindly
permit me to pass by."

At this he threw the peach blossom that he carried
in his hand before them and it became four couplets
of red flowers, and these again were transformed
into eight jewels that filled the place with sparkling
light, shooting up to heaven.

The fairies each picked up one ; then they looked
toward Song-jin, laughed in a delighted way, arose,
mounted the winds and sailed off through the air.

Song-jin stood at the head of the bridge and
watched them for a long time till they were lost in
the clouds and the sweet fragrance had melted away.
In loneliness, as though he had failed of his highest
hopes, he came back to the temple and gave his
message from the Dragon King to the Master.

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The Transmigration of Song-jin

The Master reprimanded him for his late return,
and Song-jin said : " The Dragon King treated me
so liberally, sir, and his urgent request to stay was
so impossible to refuse, that I have been delayed
beyond the time."

The Master gave no direct reply, but simply said :
" Go away and rest."

Song-jin went back to his little hut of meditation
while the evening shadows closed down upon the
day. Since meeting with the eight fairies his ears had
been ringing with sweet voices, and though he tried
to forget their beautiful faces and graceful forms he
could not succeed. However much he endeavoured to
rein in his thoughts he found it impossible. His mind
was as that of a person half insane or half intoxicated.
He pulled himself together, however, and knelt
reverently, saying : " If a man study diligently the
Confucian Classics and then grow up to meet a king
like Yo or Soon, he can either become a general to
go abroad, or be a minister of state at home. He can
dress in silk and carry a seal of office at his belt ; can
bow before the king ; can dispense favours among
the people ; can look on beautiful things with the
eyes and hear delightful sounds with the ears. He
can have his fill of glory in this life, and can
leave a reputation for generations to come ; but we
Buddhists have only our little dish of rice and flask
of water. Many dry books are there for us to learn,
and our beads to say over till we are old and grey.
It may be high and praiseworthy from the point of
view of religion, but the vacant longings that it never
satisfies are too deep to mention. Even though one
gets to understand all the laws of the Mahayana

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The Cloud Dream of the Nine

revelation, though one proclaims the same and finds
oneself exalted to the place of sage and teacher, when
once the spirit and soul dissipate into smoke and
nothingness, who will ever know that a person called
Song-jin once lived upon this earth ? "

So his thoughts wandered. He tried to sleep but
sleep refused to come. The hours grew late. Some-
times he closed his eyes for a little, but the eight
fairies persistently appeared before him in a row and
drove sleep far away. 'Then he suddenly realised
that the great purpose of Buddhism was to correct
the thoughts and the heart. *' I have been a Bud-
dhist for ten years," said he, " and I had well-nigh
succeeded in getting done with the world till this
deceitful mind of mine got itself tangled up to the
damage of my soul."

He burned incense, knelt, called in all his thoughts,
counted his beads, recalled to his consciousness the
thousand Buddhas that could help him, when sud-
denly one of the temple boys came to his window
and spoke, saying : " Elder brother, are you asleep ?
The Master is calling you."

Song-jin, in alarm, said to himself : " His calling
me in this unusual way in the middle of the night
can only mean something serious."

He went along with the boy to the Audience Hall
of the Buddha, where the chief had assembled all
the priests of the temple and was sitting in solemn
silence. His appearance was one to inspire fear and
question. The light of the candles shone brilliantly.
He spoke with great care, but with severe intonation.

" Song-jin, do you know how you have sinned ? "

Song-jin, who was bowed low, kneeling before the

12

The Transmigration of Song-jin

dais, replied : " I have now been a disciple of the
Master for ten years and more, and have never dis-
obeyed any command or any order concerning acts
of worship in which I have had a part. I am dark
and ignorant I know, and so am not aware of how I
have offended."

The Master said : " There are three things that
must be exercised in the ordering of one's acts,
namely, the body, the mind, and the soul. You went
to the Dragon King and drank wine, did you not ?
Again, on your way back by the stone bridge you had
a long and frivolous conversation with the messengers
of Queen Wee. You gave them each a flower and
made jokes and light talk. Since coming back, too,
you have not put these recollections from your mind
and heart, but instead have allowed yourself to be
entangled with worldly delights ; you have been
thinking of riches and honour with all the other
temptations of the earth, and have turned with loath-
ing from the doctrine of the Buddha. Thus your
three degrees of attainment have all fallen from you
in a single hour. You can remain here no longer."

Song-jin, overcome to tears, prayed for forgive-
ness. He said : " Great Master, I am indeed a sinner.
Still my breaking the rule regarding drink was be-
cause the king so forced and compelled me ; and
my talking with the fairies was only because I asked
of them the way. I had had no such intention in my
heart. Why am I thus condemned ? I will go back to
my cell, and though evil thoughts assail me I will
keep my spirit awake against them and overcome
their madness, so that a true mind will assuredly
return. I will bite my hands and I will repent of the

13

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

wrong I have done, and my heart will be restored.
It tells in Confucianism how one can thus return to
the right way. As I have sinned will my revered
Father not give me a flogging and set me right ?
This is what I understand to be the teaching of the
Buddha. Why should you drive me away from all
possibility of reformation ? I came to you when
I was only twelve years of age, gave up my parents
and relatives, cut my hair and took the vows of a
priest, and ever since have lived dependent on you.
It is just as though you had begotten me and brought
me up, and our love is as between an only son and a
father. My cell is the special meeting place of the
monastery, and my hopes are all here. Where shall
I go ? "

The Master said : " You desire to go and that is
what makes me send you off. If you did not desire
to go who would ever think of sending you ? You
ask ' Where shall I go ? ' I answer ' To the place
where you desire to go.' "

He then shouted : " Hither, Yellow Turban
Guards ! " Suddenly the commander of the guard
dropped from mid-air, bowed low and received his
orders.

The Master said : " Arrest this guilty man, take
him to Hades, hand him over to the King of Youma
and then come back to me."

When Song-jin heard this his spirit seemed to
depart from him, his eyes streamed over with tears,
he fell forward and cried out : " Father, father,
please hear me, listen to what I have to say. In olden
days the great teacher Aron entered the house of a
harlot and had intercourse with her, and so broke

14

The Transmigration of Song-jin

all the laws of the Buddha. Still the divine Sokka did
not condemn him, but took him in hand and showed
him more clearly the way. I am guilty of a lack of
care, but still as compared with Aron I am surely
less at fault. Why do you send me thus to Hell ? "

The Teacher replied : " Even though Aron fell
into sin, still his mind was repentant ; you, on the
other hand, have had but one sight of these seduc-
tive things and have lost all your heart to them. Your
thoughts are now turned to a life of pleasure and
your mouth waters for the riches and honours of
the world. If we compare you with Aron you are
worse by far. You cannot escape the sorrow and
distresses that lie before you."

Still Song-jin cried for mercy, and had no thought
of going, so that the stern Teacher comforted him
finally, saying : " While your mind remains un-
purified even though you are here in the mountains,
you cannot attain to the truth ; but if you never
forget it and hold fast you may mix with the dust
and impurities of the way, and your return is safe
and sure. If you ever desire to come back here I will
go and bring you. Depart now without doubt or
question."

There being no help for it, Song-jin made a low
bow before the Master, said good-bye to his priest
companions, and went along vsrith the constables of
Hell past the Look-out Pavilion till he came to the
outer walls, where the guards at the gate asked the
cause of his coming.

The constables repUed : "At the order of the
Teacher Yook-kwan we have arrested this guilty man
and brought him."

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The Cloud Dream of the Nine

The soldier guards then opened the gates for
them. The constables reached the inner enclosure
and announced why Song-jin had been arrested.
The King of Hades had him brought in and then
spoke to him in the following way : " Honoured
Master, although you live in the Nam-ak Hills under
Lotus Peak, your name is, already on the incense
table before the great King Chee-jang [5] . I have said
to myself that hereafter when you are exalted to the
throne of the lotus all living creatures of the earth
will be greatly blessed thereby. For what possible
cause are you arrested and brought here thus in dis-
grace ? "

Song-jin, in confusion and shame of face, did not
reply for a long time. At last he said : " I met the
fairy maidens of Queen Wee on the stone bridge of
Nam-ak and failed to restrain my thoughts about
them. Thus I sinned against my Master and now I
await the commands of your Majesty."

The King of Hades sent a message by those who
waited on him to King Chee-jang that ran thus :
" The Teacher Yook-kwan of Nam-ak has sent me
one of his disciples under arrest by his Yellow Turban
constables in order that we may decide here in Hell
as to his guilt. As he is different from ordinary
offenders I am asking counsel of your High Majesty."

King Chee-jang replied : "A man who would
be perfect has his journey to make, and his return,
in order to accomplish all things in accord with his
own will and purpose. He cannot escape it, so there
is no use to discuss the matter."

Just as the King of Hades was about to decide,
two devil soldiers announced that the Yellow Turban

16

The Transmigration of Song-jin

guards, by command of Master Yook-kwan, had
brought eight more offenders, who were outside the
gate waiting. When Song-jin heard this he was
greatly alarmed.

The King then ordered them in, when, behold,
all the eight fairies of Nam-ak came haltingly over
the threshold, and knelt down in the court. The
King spoke, saying : " You fairy maidens of Nam-ak,
listen to me. Fairy folk live in the most beautiful
worlds that are known, and have joys and delights
beyond measure. How is it that you have come to
such a place as this ? "

The eight in great shame and confusion made
reply : " We were ordered by Queen Wee to go
and make inquiry of the Teacher Yook-kwan as to
his health and welfare. On our way back we met
with his disciple Song-jin, and because we talked
with him the Teacher said that we had defiled the
sacred precincts of the hills, and he wrote and asked
that we be sent to the place of the dead. All our hopes
and prayers are with your Majesty. Pray have mercy
upon us and let us go once again into the world of
the living."

The King of Hades then called nine messengers
who appeared before him. He ordered them in a low
voice, saying : " Take these nine and get them back
as soon as possible into the world of the living."

Scarcely had he finished when a great wind arose
and whirled about, carried off the nine into space,
drove them asunder, and sent them into the four
corners of the earth. Song-jin, following his leader,
was borne along by the wind, tossed and whisked
through endless space till he seemed at last to land

17 B

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

on solid ground. Then the tempest calmed down.
Song-jin gathered his scattered senses, and found
himself shut in by a range of hills with the waters
of a clear, beautiful stream running by. He also
saw inside a bamboo paling and between the shady
branches of the trees glimpses of thatched roofs, a
dozen or more. Two or three people were standing
and talking together. They said in his hearing : " The
hermit Yang's wife, now over fifty years of age, is
to give birth to a child, a marvellous thing indeed !
We have expected it now for some time, but no
infant's voice is yet heard, a somewhat anxious
circumstance."

Song-jin said to himself : " I am to be born again
among men, for now that I behold myself I have no
body, but am a spirit only. My body I left on Lotus
Peak, where it has already been cremated, and be-
cause I was so young I had no disciples to take my
saree [6] and safeguard them."

Thinking thus over his past his mind was dis-
tressed, when a messenger appeared and waved his
hand to him to come, saying : " This is So-joo town-
ship of Hoi-nam county, of the Tang Kingdom, and
this is the home of the hermit Yang. He is your father,
and his wife Yoo See is your mother. You are
destined from a former existence to be a son in this
home. Go in quickly and do not lose the favourable
moment."

At once he went in, and there the hermit sat with
his reed hat on his head and a rough hempen coat
wrapped about him. He had before him a brazier
on which he was preparing some medicinal drink,
the fragrance of which filled the house. In the room,

i8

The Transmigration of Song-jin

indistinctly, there were heard accents of suffering.
The messenger urged him on, saying, " Go in quickly
now," but as Song-jin still hesitated and delayed,
the messenger pushed him from behind and Song-
jin fell to the ground, when suddenly he lost con-
sciousness, seeming to pass into some great con-
vulsion of nature. He called, saying, " Save me,
save me ! " but the sounds stuck fast in his throat
and failed to find expression, so that they became
the cries of a little child only. The attendants quickly
informed the hermit that his wife had borne him a
beautiful son. He took the medicinal drink that he
had prepared, went close up to her and they looked
at each other with happy faces.

When Song-jin was hungry milk was given him,
and when his wants were satisfied he ceased to cry.
When first born his little mind still recollected the
happenings on Lotus Peak, but when he grew older
and learned to know of the love of his parents the
things of his former existence faded away, so that he
forgot them altogether.

When the hermit saw how handsome he was and
well gifted he stroked his little brow, saying : " This
child has indeed come from heaven to sojourn among
us," so he called his name So-yoo, Little Visitor,
while the special name given him was ChoUee,
Thousands of Miles.

Time that goes like running water saw him grow
as in the space of a moment to ten years of age.
His face was like the jade-stone and his eyes like the
stars of the morning. His strength was firm and his
mind pure and bright, showing him to be indeed a
Superior Man. The hermit said to his wife : " I am

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The Cloud Dream of the Nine

originally not a man of this world, but because I was
united to you I have remained long among the dust
of this mortal way. My friends of the genii who live
on Mount Pong-nai [7] have sent me many messages
asking that I come. On account of your labour and
sorrow, however, I have refused, but now that God
has blessed us and given us a gifted son superior to
others in his attainments, on whom you can rely and
by whom in your old age you will assuredly see riches
and honour, I shall delay no longer to go."

On a certain day a number of the genii came to
escort him on his way. They rode some on the white
deer, some on the blue heron, sailing off toward the
distant hills. Though one or two letters came at in-
tervals from the blue sky, no traces of the hermit were
ever seen on earth again.

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